Arosa Lenzerheide is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

located in

Arosa Arosa is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort. On 1 January 2013, the former mu ...

Lenzerheide Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein. Th ...

, Valbella,

Parpan Parpan was a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Plessur (district), Plessur of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Malix and Parpan merged into Churwald ...

and

Churwalden Churwalden is a municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It incorporates the former municipalities of Malix and Parpan. History Churwalden is first mentioned in 1149 as ''silva Augeria''. In 1191 it w ...

, Graubünden/

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It originated 2013/14 by connecting the existing ski areas of

and

. With a total of 225 kilometers (140 miles) of

ski slope Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

s and 43 cable cars it is the largest contiguous ski area in Graubünden.

Location and description

Arosa Lenzerheide is located in northern and central

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

. It extends from the innermost Schanfigg via Urdental to the neighboring western valley with Lenzerheide, Parpan–Valbella and Churwalden. The ski area covers an altitudinal range of . Outstanding summits with

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

s and panoramic restaurants are the

Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German language, German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major mountain, peak of Switzerland and the Alps, culminating at above sea level. It is part of the Pennine Alps and is located between the valleys of Anniviers and Mat ...

and the

Parpaner Rothorn The Parpaner Rothorn is a mountain of the Plessur Alps, overlooking Parpan in the canton of Graubünden. The summit is easily accessible with a cable car from Lenzerheide, the upper station being located 30 metres below the main summit. See a ...

which also marks the highest point of the ski area. 60 per cent of the slopes are groomed with

artificial snow Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

. Arosa Lenzerheide also offers more than of

cross-country skiing trail A cross-country skiing trail or ''loipe''From or ''Langlaufloipe'', pl. –''n'', ''loipe'' is a loanword in English-language travel guides, referring to cross-country ski trails in Europe. It is a Germanization of the Norwegian language, Norwegia ...

s and 4

terrain park A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. From th ...

s («Park'n'Pipe Tschuggen», «Wood Ranch» and «Bärensnowpark» in Arosa as well as «Jibarea Stätz» in Lenzerheide). In addition there are of sledding runs and of prepared winter hiking

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

s. In the summer season the region is a popular

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

resort. Arosa and Lenzerheide are connected by a cable car called « Urdenbahn». This aerial tramway was built in 2013 and is located between the Arosa Hörnli and the Urdenfürggli on the Lenzerheide side. It is long and surmounts just about of altitude. The ski resort is operated mainly by and .

Ski lifts

A total of 43 ski lifts operate in Arosa Lenzerheide: 14 in Arosa, 12 in Lenzerheide east side (incl. Urdenbahn and chairlift Obertor), 13 in Lenzerheide west side (incl. chairlift Obertor) and 4 in Churwalden. There are 4

s, 4

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate suppo ...

s, 18

chair lift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

s (17 detachables) and 15

T-bar T-bar may refer to: * T with bar (Ŧ, ŧ) * T-bar lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once pre ...

button lift A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, or ...

Urdenbahn (Hörnli–Urdenfürggli cable car)

The centrepiece of the resort compound is the Urdenbahn cable car, built and operated by the Arosa Bergbahnen company. The Austrian-Swiss cableway manufacturer Steurer Seilbahnen created two parallel single-track twin-cable aerial ropeways which manage with a single rope span without pylons. There are two rope loops, the return of the ropes is in each case on the track of the other path. For stabilizing the ropes 17 large supporting cable tabs are used. Two glazed Kuechler design cabins from Gangloff are installed with six automatic doors and a capacity of 150 people each. The hourly transportation capacity is 1,700 persons per direction. At low ridership or technical restrictions the Urdenbahn can be operated with just one car. The emergency passenger evacuating concept includes the use of winches between the two cabins.

Technical specifications

* Runway length: * East station Arosa:

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by employ ...

* West station Lenzerheide: asl * Altitude difference: * Capacity/payload per cabin: 150 + 1 Pers. / * Dimension suspension ropes: * Dimension pull ropes: * Average power: * Maximum travelling speed: * Average travel time: 5 minutes (incl. waiting time in cabin) * Installed carrying capacity: 2 × 850 Pers./h

Ski schools

Arosa Lenzerheide has a variety of

ski school A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typically in a ski resort. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and establ ...

s. Each has several different classes, based on age and ability.

Recent investments and notable investment projects

In 2016

snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

facilities were installed between

and

as well as between Pradaschier and Churwalden. In 2017 the mountain restaurant 'Motta' was rebuilt. In 2019 the chairlift 'Brüggerhorn' was rebuilt. In 2020 snowmaking facilities were installed along the 'Black Diamond Slope'. In 2021 the chairlift 'Weisshorn Speed' was equipped with new chairs and new transport facilities for mountain bikes.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Urdenbahn
Official website of Arosa Lenzerheide

YouTube-channel displaying all ropeways in Arosa Lenzerheide
Ski areas in Switzerland Arosa Tourist attractions in Graubünden Buildings and structures in Graubünden 2013 establishments in Switzerland