PARSENN
In the Parsenn, a crescent-shaped range of peaks in German-speaking Switzerland, skiing is all that counts. The ski area—finest in the world—stretches across 150 snowy square miles, three-quarters of which are broad and open slopes. It faces north, south, east and west, virtually guaranteeing a wide variety of snow conditions in different suns and seasons. Comfortable funiculars service the towering Weissfluhjoch and other peaks along the hump of the massif. The trails themselves range from the vertical to the sensible, and around the edge of the crescent runs the Rhaetian Railway, always ready to take the skier back to the funicular where he can start all over again.
Running up from the Rhaetian Railway station at Davos to the lower terminal of funicular up the Parsenn, skiers scamper past a picturesque village church on their way to the top of the 8,735-foot Weissfluhjoch.
Swinging down through a fall of new powder snow, two experts link Christiania turns on the first pitch of a run from the Weissfluhjoch.
Riding high above the village of Klosters, skiers peer down from the windows of the cable car carrying them to the runs on the Gotschnagrat.
Resting up after the morning run, skiers make a noontime stop at the Weissfluhjoch restaurant for Rösti mit Bratwurst, coffee and schnapps.
Starting off behind their instructors, novices crowd together nervously before beginning their cautious snow-plows down the Hohenweg.
Racing down the almost vertical Gotschnawang in snow that is dangerously close to the avalanching point, two skiers collide in a flurry of white far below the Klosters aerial cable car.
SIX PHOTOS
TONI FRISSELL