Gruesch Danusa

Whilst the pistes are pretty good for a quiet burn, if you like your freeriding served up untracked and off the side of pistes, then Grüsch is worth consideration for a day or two. To the side of the red-8 is mellow open powder field, between runs 3 and 4 right under the gondola can be pretty fun and as steep as you’ll get.

There are a few small couloirs easily spottable from the ride up to the top which don’t require any hiking and link back onto the piste, but this place is no Chamonix. You’ll find some fun tree shredding opportunities at the top of red runs 7 and 8, the trees are very tight so wear your lid, and be the first to hit the stumps and small drop offs.

There is a small terrain park located beside the Bünda t-bar. Don’t go expecting much, but the crew have been pretty creative with the size and resources they have. You should find a number of flat-down, rainbow and down rails, with a few small kickers leading from the top of the t-bar. At the bottom there’s usually a few freeform jib features and a little chillout hut laying out some tunes.

The only chairlift serves the beginner area and it is also home to a small boardercross course when there’s enough snow.

Following almost the spine of the mountain from the top gondola, you can access two nice long intermediate runs, and snow depending you can either just take the t-bar back up, or continue another 4km back to the base.

You’ll find no place better for a well earned afternoon beer than the TipiBar which is located about a third way down the red-3 run. It’s a proper teepee that bangs out some tunes, but don’t be put off by the cannibal cooking pot next to it – it’s just an outdoor hot-tub.

Beginners will find much of the resort a little frustrating. The lift served beginner area is a no brainer, but beyond that things can be tricky. The top of the mountain is all pretty flat, and the runs down to the mid-station dip like a roller coaster, so you really need to tank it or walk it. Once you negotiate these bits then things get much better and eventually open out at the bottom into a fantastic wide area, great for confidence building snowboarding.