Skiing in Arolla: To Ski or Not to Ski?

There are two ways to love winter in Arolla, and both are worth it. The skier’s way, drawn by a high, wild and little-frequented ski area; and the other way, for those who find in the snow a thousand reasons to walk, to contemplate and to rest. Here you never need a lift pass to have a beautiful winter.

For skiers: an area apart

The Arolla ski area stays under the radar: a handful of lifts that rise to nearly 3,000 metres, pistes facing Mont-Collon, the Pigne d’Arolla and the Aiguille de la Tsa. The snow is dry and cold, and queues are unknown. You click in almost at the foot of the hotel, ski the afternoon in full sun, and come back into the warm without having met a crowd.

Ski touring, the other way

Arolla is ski-touring country. The routes climb from the village towards the valleys and the huts, in search of untouched snow. It is skiing of effort and silence, calling for solid basics and, on steep slopes, the company of a guide from Hérens Montagne.

For non-skiers: everything else

And if you don’t ski? The mountain does not close for that. Snowshoes to the frozen Blue Lake, a winter walk along the Borgne, a crossing of the larch forest, cross-country skiing in the valley, a dog-sled outing: the snow can be lived in a thousand ways. Between outings, the hotel lounge and its fireplace keep their promise of warmth.

Winter as a great garden

In truth, Arolla in winter is like a great white garden, open to every rhythm. You come for sport or for calm, sometimes for both the same day. And every evening, the table of L’Honorine gathers skiers and walkers around the same flavours of the valley.

To ski or not to ski: in Arolla, the question hardly matters. The snow is there, and so is the setting — all that remains is to choose how to live them.