Site Map © 2009 Ski Touring Info
The Albula Alps lie in the Engadine valley in South Eastern Switzerland. This area is perhaps most widely known because of the major ski resort, St Moritz. However, the rest of the area is relatively untouched with a scattering of small resorts comprising of a couple of lifts, and it is more than possible to be totally oblivious of the glitz and glamour of St. Moritz just a few miles away.
The Engadine valley is a Romanche speaking area of Switzerland but everybody also speaks high German. And of course many people speak good English.
Public transport in Switzerland runs on military precision and it seems there is no where you can not get to if you are willing to jump on a few buses and trains. The main bases in the Albula Alps are Bergün and Bivio which are both serviced by trains. The nearest airport is Zurich (3hrs to Bergün by train) but Geneva is not out of reach (5hrs to Bergün by train). The best place to check out your public transport choices is http://www.sbb.ch/en/.
The Albula Alps get coverage in Bill O’Conner’s Alpine Ski Mountaineering Book where he describes a 6 day high level traverse. There are of course other options and it is possible to do parts of O’Conner’s trip and combine with other day tours from the huts. The best resource you can buy is the ‘SkitourenKarte’ for the area. With usual Swiss efficiency they produce maps specifically for ski tourers with suggested routes marked on the map and other information about timings and difficulty. The best place I have found to buy
them in the UK is The Map Shop.
There are four main huts that are guardianed during the winter season: Es-
Whether you are looking for day tours from an idyllic valley base, multi day tours
travelling from hut to hut, peak bagging, or star tours, the Albula Alps has it all.
It is a quieter region of Switzerland but still contains well positioned huts and
some wonderful smaller (3000-