Davos off-piste & powder guide

Graubünden, Switzerland · 1560m to 2844m · 2 documented zones

Finding powder at Davos

Davos does something unusual: it marks and numbers its freeride descents on the piste map and secures them when they are open, which makes it one of the better places in the Alps to start riding off-piste terrain. Both of the Jakobshorn routes finish in a side valley rather than back at a lift, so the way home is a public bus.

Lift-accessed zones — no walking

Ride up, drop in. These 2 zones need no hiking, which also means they are the first to get tracked out after a storm.

Muehli (Route 13)

Jakobshorn sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledAdvanced

A marked freeride route signed as number 13 on the Davos Klosters piste map, running 3.8km from the Jatzhuette down into the Sertig valley. The hut at the start makes it the most civilised way to begin an off-piste descent anywhere.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Jakobshorn lifts to the Jatzhuette
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed. The route starts at the Jatzhuette.
Getting back
Finishes at Muehle in the Sertig valley, where the public bus takes you back to Davos.
Known hazards
  • Avalanche terrain
  • High-alpine open ground
  • Unmarked obstacles

Teufi (Route 14)

Jakobshorn sector

Marked itinerary - not controlledAdvanced

A yellow-marked route number 14 running 3.9km from the Gueggelbahn mountain station down into the Dischma valley. It is secured by Davos Klosters Bergbahnen when open, and the resort Freeride Learnline sits on it, which makes it the gentlest introduction to the discipline here.

Signed or numbered on the piste map, but ungroomed and generally not avalanche controlled. The marking tells you where the route goes, not that it is safe today.

Lift access
Gueggelbahn
Walk in
No hiking — Lift-accessed from the Gueggelbahn mountain station.
Getting back
Ends at Teufi in the Dischma valley; take the public bus back to Davos.
Known hazards
  • Avalanche terrain
  • Changing snow conditions
  • High-alpine terrain

The avalanche danger scale

Every European bulletin uses this five-level scale. The column that matters most is the last one: around half of all avalanche deaths happen at level 3, not at the extremes, because that is when the snow still looks worth skiing.

1. Low

about 5% of fatalities

Generally stable snowpack. Triggering is only possible with high additional loads, and only in extreme terrain. Natural avalanches are small at most.

The most favourable conditions of the season. Terrain choice still matters in isolated extreme spots.

Forecast on about 20% of the season

2. Moderate

about 30% of fatalities

The snowpack is only moderately well bonded on some steep slopes. Triggering is mainly possible with high additional loads. Very large natural avalanches are unlikely.

Conditions look benign and catch people out. Roughly a third of fatalities happen at this level.

Forecast on about 50% of the season

3. Considerable

about 50% of fatalities

The snowpack is moderately to poorly bonded on many steep slopes. Triggering is possible even from a single skier. Large avalanches are possible.

The most dangerous level in practice. It carries about half of all avalanche deaths, because the skiing still looks good and the snowpack no longer needs much provocation.

Forecast on about 30% of the season

4. High

about 10% of fatalities

The snowpack is poorly bonded on most steep slopes. Triggering is likely even from a single skier, and numerous large natural avalanches are expected.

Off-piste travel should be limited to low-angle terrain well away from anything steep above you.

Forecast on only a few days a year

5. Very High

rare enough that no share is published

An extraordinarily unstable snowpack. Numerous very large and often extremely large natural avalanches are expected, even on moderately steep terrain.

Do not go off-piste. Roads and parts of the resort itself may be closed.

Forecast on very rarely forecast

Scale and statistics from European Avalanche Warning Services - Avalanche Danger Scale.

What you need to carry

Transceiver

Worn on your body, not in your pack, and switched to transmit before you leave the lift. Every member of the group needs one; a single person without makes the whole group less safe.

Probe

Pinpoints the burial once the transceiver has brought you close, so you dig in the right place first time rather than in a hole beside them.

Shovel

A real collapsible avalanche shovel. Digging is the slowest part of a rescue, and it is what actually gets your partner out.

Airbag pack (optional)

Helps keep you nearer the surface in a moving slide. It supplements the three items above and never replaces them.

How to ski it

Read the bulletin before you go, every day

The danger level, the problem type and the aspects and altitudes it applies to matter more than anything on this page. Conditions change overnight.

Practise with your kit until the search is instinctive

Owning a transceiver is not the same as being able to use one under pressure. Run search drills at the start of every season.

Never ski off-piste alone

Companion rescue is the only rescue fast enough to matter. Burial survival drops sharply after about fifteen minutes.

Ski steep slopes one at a time

Exposing one person at a time keeps the rest of the group free to dig, and reduces the load on the slope.

Hire a guide for terrain you do not know

Local guides know which aspects have loaded, which lines cliff out and where this season's weak layer sits. Every resort guide on this page says the same thing.

Plan the exit before you drop in

Several classic routes finish in a different valley or a long way from a lift. Know how you are getting home, and what time the last lift and last bus run.

Keep planning

Davos snow report & forecastSnow history & depthMore resorts in Switzerland