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Ski and Snowboard from London

Ski and Snowboard from London, UK OK, so there is not a lot of skiing in London, and the Shard is way too steep for even the most accomplished freerider. In East London, there used to be the Beckton Alps, and I spent many visits to that now defunct venue, but it wasn't like the real thing. The UK does have some excellent slopes, in Scotland, but they are not particularly convenient for London, or for most of Scotland for that matter. And the weather is very unpredictable. If you're there in winter, have wheels, and the weather looks good, I highly recommend trying out Cairngorm, Nevis or Glenshee.

But you CAN ski out of London - albeit it is a stretch for a day trip (but not impossible). The main options are to take the Eurostar overnight service to France and Switzerland or fly into a convenient airport - Zurich is probably the best. You can also take the day train, changing in Paris, or drive. And Euroairport at Basel is almost as convenient as Zurich - even more so for resorts in the Bernese Oberland.

Zurich has a railway station right in the airport, and Switzerland's legendary railways do not disappoint. The infrastructure in Switzerland is second to none, so despite an image as expensive, you can actually have a relatively cost effective break - and you can be on the slopes within a couple of hours of arriving. Incidentally Swiss airways let you take your ski and snowboard gear on board for free.

And Zurich is not only convenient for Swiss resorts - there is a direct rail service to St Anton in Austria, and the drive to the other Arlberg resorts or Ischgl is pretty straightforward too. I've driven between Zurich and St Anton in a little over 2 hours without breaking a speed limit once. See my blog article on driving from Switzerland to St Anton for more information. There is also a daily shuttle bus from Zurich Airport provided by the Arlberg Express.

Below are details of resorts you can get to from Zurich by public transport and the rough transfer times from Zurich HB, all taken from this web site. I won't go too much into the ins and outs of travelling within Switzerland - this is covered at the page on Getting About - and individual resort pages provide more detail for each resort, but I will include here a selection of journey times. The prices quoted are for the return rail fare to/from Zurich and lift pass for one day on the slopes using the Swiss Rail Snow'n'Rail discount scheme. A two day pass will cost you another SFr30-70 depending on the resort.

ResortPiste(km)Least TimeLeast ChangesSnow'n'RailOne Day Snow'n'Rail Price
4 Vallées412    3 hrs 17 mins2Y207.80
Adelboden210    2 hrs 32 mins2Y168.60
Airolo30    1 hr 44 minsY100.00
Aletsch Arena104    2 hrs 37 mins1Y192.80
Alt St Johann60    1 hr 55 mins2Y104.60
Andermatt125    1 hr 53 mins1Y103.20
Anzère52    3 hrs 15 mins2N
Arolla47    3 hrs 50 mins2N
Arosa225    2 hrs 32 mins1Y117.60
Belalp60    2 hrs 36 mins1Y187.20
Bettmeralp104    2 hrs 37 mins1Y192.80
Braunwald32    1 hr 30 mins1Y79.80
Brig110    2 hrs 08 minsN
Brigels75    2 hrs 25 mins2Y
Bruson40    3 hrs 17 mins2Y207.80
Celerina163    3 hrs 08 mins1Y182.40
Champéry650    3 hrs 51 mins2N197.00
Chandolin75    2 hrs 43 mins3Y216.00
Château-d'Oex30    3 hrs 10 mins2Y166.40
Chur20    1 hr 31 minsN
Crans-Montana140    3 hrs 21 mins2Y217.80
Davos300    2 hrs 13 mins1Y142.40
Diavolezza35    3 hrs 44 mins2Y182.40
Disentis60    2 hrs 34 mins1Y138.40
Engadine350    3 hrs 08 mins1Y182.40
Engelberg82    1 hr 49 mins1Y113.40
Fiescheralp104    2 hrs 57 mins1Y192.80
Filisur    2 hrs 25 mins1N
First50    2 hrs 37 mins2Y169.60
Flims Laax Falera235    1 hr 50 mins1Y145.80
Flumserberg75    1 hr 04 mins1Y93.40
Glacier 300025    3 hrs 38 mins2Y166.40
Goms5    3 hrs 07 mins2N
Grächen40    2 hrs 48 mins1Y
Grimentz72    3 hrs 43 mins3Y216.00
Grindelwald160    2 hrs 37 mins2Y168.80
Gstaad250    2 hrs 49 mins2Y166.40
Hoch-Ybrig50    1 hr 28 mins2Y85.40
Interlaken    1 hr 55 mins1N
Klewenalp40    1 hr 53 mins2Y93.60
Klosters300    1 hr 48 mins1Y142.40
Lausanne    2 hrs 12 minsN
Lenk i. S.210    2 hrs 59 mins3Y168.60
Lenzerheide225    1 hr 55 mins1Y117.60
Les Diablerets100    3 hrs 38 mins2Y194.20
Les Marécottes25    3 hrs 32 mins2N
Leukerbad52    3 hrs 05 mins2Y203.20
Leysin100    3 hrs 19 mins2Y194.20
Lötschental33    2 hrs 41 mins2Y170.80
Meiringen60    2 hrs 08 mins1Y108.00
Melchsee-Frutt32    2 hrs 12 mins2Y101.60
Mürren54    2 hrs 49 mins1Y168.80
Nendaz412    3 hrs 15 mins2Y207.80
Obersaxen120    2 hrs 38 mins2N
Obertoggenburg60    1 hr 55 mins1Y104.60
Pizol40    1 hr 18 mins1Y93.60
Pontresina35    3 hrs 44 mins2Y182.40
Portes du Soleil650    3 hrs 51 mins2Y197.00
Riederalp104    2 hrs 34 mins1Y192.80
Rosswald26    2 hrs 53 mins2N
Rougemont62    3 hrs2Y166.40
Saanen86    2 hrs 59 mins2Y166.40
Saanenmöser85    2 hrs 17 mins1Y166.40
Saas-Fee145    2 hrs 57 mins1Y217.00
Saas-Grund35    2 hrs 44 mins1Y217.00
Saastal145    2 hrs 57 mins1Y217.00
Savognin80    2 hrs 37 mins1N
Schönried109    2 hrs 17 mins1Y166.40
Scuol80    2 hrs 39 mins1Y146.40
Sedrun50    2 hrs 53 mins2Y103.20
Sierre-Anniviers228    3 hrs 47 mins3Y216.00
Siviez412    3 hrs 15 mins2Y207.80
Sörenberg53    1 hr 53 mins2Y112.00
Splügen30    2 hrs 26 mins1Y141.80
St Anton128    2 hrs 17 minsN
St Moritz350    3 hrs 26 mins1Y182.40
St. Stephan88    2 hrs 17 mins1Y166.40
St-Luc75    3 hrs 42 mins3Y216.00
Stoos35    1 hr 15 mins2Y83.80
Unterbäch20    2 hrs 31 mins2Y184.80
Unterwasser60    1 hr 55 mins1Y104.60
Vals25    2 hrs 34 mins2Y142.20
Verbier412    3 hrs 17 mins2Y207.80
Veysonnaz412    3 hrs 11 mins2N207.80
Villars100    3 hrs 58 mins2Y194.20
Wengen110    2 hrs 49 mins3Y168.80
Wildhaus60    1 hr 55 mins1Y104.60
Zermatt350    3 hrs 11 mins1Y258.00
Zinal72    3 hrs 47 mins3Y216.00
Zweisimmen85    2 hrs 17 mins1Y166.40