Crans-Montana, Switzerland: February 10, 2023

[ChrisC]

I was not sure where to head next after Portes du Soliel.

• I was potentially interested in Gstaad but after my experience at lower elevation Morzine - decided it would be best visited on another trip. Lots of pistes were closed and it was only reporting about a 30-60cm base.
• Grimentz / Zinal was a nearby option, however, some of its expert zones were closed that I was interested in. Another trip.
• Murren had received about 30cm from Monday's storm, but too far and I had skied there on a prior trip.

So Crans-Montana was the final choice. I was getting tired by this point, so why not try an area that sits in the sun? I did not really care too much about conditions - knew it did not have much steep terrain - but it did start at 1500m and rise up to a glacier at 3000m. So overnighted in Sion and drove up the next morning, but I could not even see snow as I ascended up the hillside.

Crans-Montana is a unique resort. It's a series of surprisingly high-end Swiss villages strung out on a large south-facing plateau. Guess it resembles St. Moritz / Corviglia a bit - that area resort 3 main resort entry points on a south-facing mostly intermediate mountain.

Crans Montana is a completely modern resort - feels like all new lifts/gondolas with great grooming/cruising. Easy to make lots of laps even with later start, lunch, and another dessert stop.

I started the day at the far west end of the complex - looker's left - in the town of Crans. Most of the lifts from any village converge at Cry D'er. Also, noted a lot of the newer lifts have mid-stations so you do not have to ski into a village if snow conditions deteriorated. This was not a problem today in mid-winter but could be in the spring.
Beautiful views of the Rhone Valley below. You can see most of the major Western Alps peaks. And similar to Laax, Crans has a large terrain park. There are some surface lifts at the top allowing park rats and beginners to stay up high.

Lots of lunch and drink spots all over Crans-Montana.

Views of the villages of Crans and Montana situated on the plateau. Off to the right across the valley is Veysonnaz and Thyon - the eastern end of the 4 Vallees/Verbier complex.

Big open cruisers and terrain. My only disappointment ski-wise was the World Cup course was closed for race preparation.

Made my way over to the center of the complex to check out the glacier. Again lots of high-end lifts at Crans: unique leading for a 6-pack and ads for Swiss watches.

Not only does the watch company sponsor the lift - the towers are sponsored by Prada. Guess this says something about the clientele.

Lots of scenic mountain huts.

View over to the Taules lift.

Glacier Funitel.

Summit - Plain Morte. Glacier country at 3000m Note the cross-country track setup. Crans Montana encourages A LOT of other winter activities - noticed many pedestrians on the mountain to sled or just eat and take in the views.

The summer ski surface lift. Really good snow up on the glacier and coming off of it.

Views over to Verbier.

The major piste off the summit had some pitches. The off-piste was ok - wind compacted. Obviosly lots of potential with new snow.

Views over to Val d'Anneviers

Pistes of Vercorin across the valley come into view.

Tsa lift. Lots of rolling terrain. Not usable today - still chilly - but you could have fun on a powder day. Friendly mountain.

I quickly googled some lunch spots and this is Cabane des Taules. Only open on sunny days since there is no indoor seating. And only serves 3 things: Raclette $6, Goulash soup $5, and a tarte $5. Wine of the Month $3. Exceptional value for Switzerland. Portions not huge but adequate.

And great views. Mont Blanc high point in center.

Worked my way back to Cry D'er. Another nice view to Tseuzuier Lake.

Mont Blanc and Nendaz-Verbier.

Another Prada lift - Bellalui.

 

[ChrisC]

Decided to do another end-of-day glacier run. Off-piste would be really fun.

Bode still gets work in Europe.

Dessert - Bombardier.

Standard signage.

Way home to Crans.

Crans-Montana is a really easy-going place. The ski area gets a lot of sun, so it's great for those who like cruising around - but don’t want to start first thing in the morning (when the slopes can be icy) or carry on until the lifts close (when they get slushy) - and don’t mind stopping regularly for a drink, or a bite to eat, or just to admire the gorgeous views.

It would be fun with new snow in mid-winter. Or with corn in the spring?

I debated whether to continue onto Murren but enough. I was starting to go worn down and develop a cold. Went back to Milan to fly home for the Super Bowl.

 

[jasoncapecod]

Thanks for the great report!! Looks like my kind of place

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Thanks for all the photos, which are helpful because when I visited the region six years ago I went to every ski area EXCEPT Crans Montana even though my hotel was halfway up the access road. Can't recall why -- I may have not been in a big-resort frame of mind on that trip. I remember reading that Roger Moore (my favorite James Bond with his 70s suave) had a home there. Here's Candide at CM in late spring -- especially nice that there's no obnoxious music over the clip.

For years, they've been threatening to connect CM by tram to Anzère but I haven't heard about any progress lately:

FYI, Aminona on the far looker's right used to be connected to Petit Mont Boivin -- see the older trail map below and the Google map above. I can't remember why they ended lift service but people on Alpinforum were upset because it was the insider's tip for parking on busy days.

 

[ChrisC]

FYI, Aminona on the far looker's right used to be connected to Petit Mont Boivin -- see the older trail map below and the Google map above. I can't remember why they ended lift service but people on Alpinforum were upset about it because parking was reportedly a lot easier.

It looks like it will be returning soon.

Parking can be an issue since you are using garages in Crans-Montana. It was about $10. In general, Switzerland charges for parking since you are not using public transportation - believe fees go to the government, not the resort. I believe I've paid at Engelberg, and Zermatt, but not at Diavolezza/Lagalb. Otherwise, I've stayed in a village where you could walk to the lifts.

Skiresort.info has a great global database of ski lifts: past, current, and future.

Aminona-Colombire-Grangettes

NEW! YOC 2023, planned, Aminona-Colombire-Grangettes: Circulating ropeway/gondola lift at the ski resort Crans-Montana, 8pers. Gondola lift (monocable circulating ropeway)

www.skiresort.info

 

[ChrisC]

Also important to note - Crans-Montana employs dynamic pricing for its lift tickets. Walk-up is $89 Francs/USD (Swiss Francs to USD has hovered near par), but can be as low as $35 if bought days out. I even saved about $10 with 24-hour pre-purchase.

Andermatt employs this software/model as well.

 

[ChrisC]

Thanks for the great report!! Looks like my kind of place

Yeah. A lot of intermediates who go to Verbier would be better served to come to Crans-Montana. The intermediate footprint at Crans is much larger.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

using garages in Crans-Montana. It was about $10. In general, Switzerland charges for parking since you are not using public transportation - believe fees go to the government, not the resort. I believe I've paid at Engelberg, and Zermatt, but not at Diavolezza/Lagalb.

Yes, parking fees, usually 5 CHF, or if there's a big parking garage, approx. 10 CHF, go to the local town. It's a logical argument that people using public transport to go to a ski area shouldn't subsidize those who drive their polluting car. Still, we're annoyed because Swiss lift tickets are normally 20-25% more expensive than elsewhere in Europe AND we have to pay for parking. First-world problems.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I had no idea until these recent posts that ChrisC's Euro trip was almost as long as ours. I'm sure he skied at least twice the vertical.

As ChrisC noted, the other big intermediate Swiss areas that are predominantly south facing are Corviglia and Flims-Laax. Conditions in this TR seem between my two experiences at those other places. Corviglia is surely the most reliable because it essentially never rains in that relatively high and far SE corner of the Alps. It also reinforces our recurring schedule of late January/early February. If you go after the school holidays in March, there are numerous resorts like this which would rarely have decent conditions.

Last spring we paid for parking at Nendaz and Verbier but not at St. Luc-Chandolin.

 

[ChrisC]

Interesting. Not every Olympian needs the gnar. However, the snowboard park is definitely one of the best in Europe.

Olympic Snowboarder Chloe Kim:

Her favorite mountains to travel to are the Swiss Alps, especially Crans-Montana, where Kim actually lived for a few years when she was younger. There, she gets to practice her French and enjoy the amazing views.​

​

“I actually would love to have a home there at some point,” she said. “[There’s] so many fun activities, it's beautiful… The people are so kind, the food is amazing. I love it there, I want to go back.”​

Olympian Chloe Kim on Her Favorite Mountains, Embracing Jet Lag, and Becoming an Example for Young Female Snowboarders

Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim chats with T+L about becoming an inspiration to younger snowboarders and where she loves to travel.

www.travelandleisure.com

 

[ChrisC]

https://www.facebook.com/100064059609014/posts/pfbid0ht5SjfSvJznX51RicWGoGfpqFbLxrXTPAXtyvozXxbEAvmBEJ62fypasb7wFXRmJl

Maybe not a bad thing. I did read that skier numbers had fallen off in more recent years.

Potential Euro Epic Pass Resorts:
3 Vallees, Verbier/4 Vallees, Crans-Montana, Andermatt-Sedrun, Arlberg and Dolomites. That’s quite the Alps offering! Weeks of skiing.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

3 Vallees, Verbier/4 Vallees, Crans-Montana, Andermatt-Sedrun, Arlberg and Dolomites. That’s quite the Alps offering! Weeks of skiing.

Remind me how VR earns money by purchasing Euro resorts given that the lifts, F&B, hotels, etc. are usually owned by different entities?

 

[ChrisC]

Remind me how VR earns money by purchasing Euro resorts given that the lifts, F&B, hotels, etc. are usually owned by different entities?

Obviously they are earning less than at an American ski resort. No vertical Integration (?) in Europe.

All the above resorts except Andermatt and Crans-Montana are just partnerships. Assume not always exclusive since the Dolomites are also Ikon partners.

However it’s still hard to justify an Epic Pass just for Europe. You could likely ski 3 weeks at these Euro resorts for less than the cost of a pass.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

No vertical Integration (?) in Europe.

Sorry for being business-dense but exactly what is VR buying in a Euro resort without vertical integration?

Even though the game has changed due to mega passes, this 2012 article from The Atlantic is still relevant/helpful, at least to me!
At Whistler and Vail, the mountain is more like a cruise or amusement park, where vertical integration means vertical integration. From village to peak, Vail and Whistler own all the key businesses -- equipment rentals, food and beverage, and snow school. Maybe the best analogy to ski resorts is the casino.

 

[ChrisC]

Sorry for being business-dense but exactly what is VR buying in a Euro resort without vertical integration?

From Vail's FY 2023 10K:

As part of our continued strategy to drive pass product sales and create a stronger connection between key skier markets and our iconic destination mountain resorts, we have continued to expand our portfolio of properties in recent years. In August 2022, we acquired Andermatt-Sedrun, located in Switzerland, marking our first strategic investment in, and opportunity to operate, a ski resort in Europe

They likely need some Euro resorts on the Epic Pass in order to sell to the Euro ski community. A lot of Europeans feel the USA has more consistent snow conditions, and would want to book a week. However, they really need ski passes to make it affordable to come over the pond. (I filled all my UK friends in about our $200+/day tickets if you do not buy a season pass). And having some Euro resorts on the pass can help justify a purchase.


But -yes- they lose out in all the following categories in Europe:

Premier Ski Schools
Our mountain resorts are home to some of the highest quality and most widely recognized ski schools in the industry. Through a combination of outstanding training and abundant work opportunities, our ski schools have become home to many of the most experienced and credentialed professionals in the business. We complement our instructor staff with state-of-the-art facilities and extensive learning terrain, all with a keen attention to guest needs. We offer a wide variety of adult and child group and private lesson options with a goal of creating lifelong skiers and riders and showcasing to our guests all the terrain our resorts have to offer.

•Dining
Our Resorts provide a variety of quality on-mountain and base village dining venues, ranging from top-rated fine dining restaurants to trailside express food service outlets. For the 2022/2023 ski season, we operated approximately 270 dining venues at our Resorts.

•Retail/Rental
We have approximately 340 retail/rental locations specializing in sporting goods including ski, snowboard and cycling equipment. Several of our rental locations offer delivery services, bringing ski and snowboard gear and expert advice directly to our guests. In addition to providing a major retail/rental presence at each of our Resorts, we also have retail/rental locations throughout the Colorado Front Range and Minneapolis. Many of our retail/rental locations near key population centers also offer prime venues for selling our pass products.

•On-Mountain Activities
We are a ski industry leader in providing comprehensive destination vacation experiences, including on-mountain activities designed to appeal to a broad range of interests. During a normal winter season, in addition to our exceptional ski experiences, guests can choose from a variety of non-ski related activities such as snowtubing, snowshoeing, scenic snow cat tours, backcountry expeditions, horse-drawn sleigh rides and high altitude dining. During the summer season, our mountain resorts offer non-ski related recreational activities and provide guests with a wide array of options including scenic chairlift and gondola rides, mountain biking, horseback riding, guided hiking, 4x4 Jeep tours and our Epic Discovery program at Vail Mountain, Heavenly and Breckenridge. The Epic Discovery program encourages “learn through play” by featuring extensive environmental educational elements interspersed between numerous activities, consisting of zip lines, children’s activities, challenge ropes courses, tubing, mountain excursions, an alpine slide and alpine coasters. The Mountain segment also operates several company-owned mountain resort golf courses, including three in Colorado, one in Vermont and two in Pennsylvania.

•Lodging and Real Estate
High quality lodging options are an integral part of providing a complete resort experience. Our owned and managed properties proximate to our mountain resorts, including six RockResorts branded properties and a significant inventory of managed condominium units, provide numerous accommodation options for our mountain resort guests. Our recent real estate efforts have primarily focused on the potential to expand our destination bed base and upgrade our resorts through the sale of land parcels to third-party developers, which in turn provides opportunity for the development of condominiums, luxury hotels, parking and commercial space for restaurants and retail shops. Our Lodging and Real Estate segments have and continue to invest in resort related assets and amenities or seek opportunities to expand and enhance the overall resort experience.

But at the end of the day, most of Vail's revenue is from Lift Passes and Tickets: Passes (~60%) / Lift Tickets (~40%). Interestingly, skiers days are Pass (~75%) and Lift Ticket (~25%). Vail is still a Lift Company at its core. Assume they need to be involved in the European Market - similar to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

But at the end of the day, most Vail's revenue is from Lift Passes and Tickets

Thanks, that was helpful and interesting to note that lift tix are where Europe is substantially different from the U.S. -- i.e. one day at the biggest, most expensive Alps ski areas is about the same as what smaller independent places like Plattekill, Ski Cooper, and Baldy fetch here.

 

[ChrisC]

As important as the vertical integration/auxiliary revenue sources are for both Vail and Alterra - perhaps more important is that together they have created an oligopoly (duopoly) in the North American ski industry. This allows them to fully exploit the pre-pay season pass model. This model is somewhat influenced by carrot incentives - relatively cheap skiing. However more important is now the stick incentive - an unaffordable day pass.

Overall, the Vail playbook/model will not work in Europe - both from:

1. Controlling/owning ski schools, on-mountain restaurants, ski shops, lodging, activities, etc. These are already independent.
2. The inability to create a stick of an unaffordable day pass. This will never work in Europe since there is no Vail/Alterra duopoly.

Assume European expansions/partnerships are to give more options to their heavily North American customer base. And perhaps lure some Europeans to North America.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Assume European expansions/partnerships are to give more options to their heavily North American customer base. And perhaps lure some Europeans to North America.

I'm still trying to figure out how Vail's bean counters allowed them to move forward with these Euro partnerships if that ^^ is the main upside (since they're not cashing in on any of the profit centers you mention above). Is it more about the prestige of collaborating with world-renown resorts rather than immediate bottom-line profits? I don't get it but it would be interesting to learn their strategy.

 

[ChrisC]

I believe Vail needs to be in every major ski geography in order to create a Global Epic Pass.

Their Swiss resorts have decent skier days perhaps putting them near the top 10 of Epic resorts and definitely in the top 20.

Lots of Swiss ski data:

• Snowbrains Here
• Cable Cars Switzerland (SBS). The association of the Swiss cable car industry with around 350 full members. Here
  • Great 2023 Report Here
  • Executive Summary Here

Some highlights

• While US ski resorts booked a record season in 22/23 with 64.7 million skier visits, Swiss ski resorts had an average season with 23.2 million skier visits. Skier visits in Switzerland were down 9% on last year, however, 21/22 had been the second-best year in the last ten years, putting this season’s ski resort visitation number in line with their five-year average
• Nevertheless, for a country with a population of only 8.7 million inhabitants, Switzerland’s skier visit numbers are very high on a per capita basis. The United States has a population of almost 40 times that of Switzerland yet less than three times the skier visits. This is due to the large participation rate of the Swiss population in skiing, which is around 35% for this Alpine nation. The participation rate in America is around 3%. Switzerland also has about 33% foreign visitors to its resorts, while the USA only has 6% international ski tourists.
• Aside from regional variations, strong variations were also seen in resort size. Large ski resorts with more than CHF 10 million in revenues saw a growth in both visitors as well as revenues, while those below the CHF 10 million threshold lost both visitors as well as revenues. The largest resort by revenue in Switzerland is Zermatt, followed by the combined resorts of Arosa-Lenzerheide, Davos-Klosters, the Jungfrau region, and Adelboden-Lenk. Large resorts increasingly attracting the lion's share of visitors, is a global phenomenon and has been one of the driving forces behind a lot of mergers of adjacent ski resorts in the last two decades. Smaller resorts most likely also faired worse as they typically lack snowmaking facilities.

Top 20 Swiss Ski Resorts by Skier Days 2022/23

• Looks like 4 Vallees/Verbier should be #1 before Zermatt with 1.7 M skier days - but the 4 Vallees are broken apart.

Top 20 Swiss Ski Resorts by Revenue

• Looks like Vail's Swiss Resorts of Andermatt and Crans-Montana (TBD) have at least revenues of 17m CHF and 14m CHF respectively from lift services.

European Country Skier Days

I am sure I missed some interesting nuggets because I got tired of translating German.