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 , neighboring_municipalities= Alvaneu, Davos, Langwies, Lantsch/Lenz, Molinis, Peist, Schmitten, Tschiertschen, Vaz/Obervaz, Wiesen , twintowns = Fukumitsu (Japan) Arosa is a town and a municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton o ...

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. The ...

, Valbella,

Parpan Parpan was a municipality in the district Plessur of the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipalities of Malix and Parpan merged into Churwalden. History Parpan is first mentioned in 1208 as ''Partipan''. Former ...

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 was ...

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

and

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

ski slope A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or parti ...

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. 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, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

s and panoramic restaurants are the

Weisshorn The Weisshorn (German, lit. ''white peak/mountain'') is a major 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 Zermatt in the canton of Val ...

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 ...

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 german: Loipe 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 word, ...

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 thei ...

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 small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

s. In the summer season the region is a popular

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and mountain biking 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 Arosa Bergbahnen and Lenzerheide Bergbahnen.

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 sup ...

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, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

s (17 detachables) and 15

T-bar A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

button lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher- ...

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 * 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 establi ...

s. Each have 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