Switzerland, Europe
Savognin
Savognin: 73.5km piste, 1545m vertical drop, 2713m summit in Graubünden. Family terrain, uncrowded slopes, Surses valley.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
7 Dec 2025
Closes
30 Mar 2026
Days open
113
Annual snow
4m
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Savognin spans 1168 to 2713 metres across the eastern flanks of the Surses valley, delivering 73.5 kilometres of piste and 1545 metres of vertical drop. The terrain splits 44 per cent beginner, 52 per cent intermediate and 4 per cent advanced across two distinct sectors centred on Piz Martegnas (2670 metres) and Piz Cartas (2713 metres). Annual snowfall averages 4.3 metres, supplemented by snowmaking on 5 kilometres of piste, with skiing predominantly above 1800 metres ensuring reliable mid-winter conditions.
The area spreads across north and east-facing slopes that hold snow well into spring. Piste 13, an 11.5-kilometre descent from Piz Cartas, threads the entire vertical and serves as the main artery connecting both sectors. The Martegnas side offers wide cruising runs ideal for carving, whilst Piz Cartas terrain opens to high alpine bowls accessed via 3.1 kilometres of sequential T-bars. Intermediate skiers find the resort particularly well suited, with long fall-line runs and minimal flat sections.
The base village sits at 1200 metres astride the Julia River, crossed by a medieval stone bridge and flanked by three historic churches. On-mountain, Tigignas (1600 metres), Radons and Tigia mountain restaurants provide stopping points along the descent. Crowds remain light even during Swiss school holidays. The area holds family-oriented certification and maintains an affordable, unpretentious character distinct from neighbouring prestige resorts.
Savognin operates independently without major pass affiliations, running mid-December through early April. The 2025-26 season opened 7 December and closes 30 March. Children aged 6-9 ski nearly free when accompanied by a paying adult under the Flurin-Kids programme. The resort suits families seeking authentic Swiss alpine skiing, intermediates after mileage, and skiers who value uncrowded slopes and reasonable pricing over glitz.
1545m
Vertical
0
Runs
73.5 km
Piste
4m
Annual snow
The Terrain
0 runs across 73.5 km of piste
It leans intermediate at 52%.
Terrain split
0
runs
0 runs across 4 grades
Beginner0 runs · 44%
Intermediate0 runs · 52%
Advanced0 runs · 4%
Expert0 runs · 0%
Time it right
When to visit Savognin
The 2025-26 season runs 7 December to 30 March, with weekend-only operation initially on the Savognin-Piz Martegnas axis before full daily opening from 13 December. Typical seasons span mid-December through early April, totalling 16 to 17 weeks. Closure aligns with Easter Monday in many years. Early-season openings depend on natural snowfall blanketing the predominantly above-treeline terrain, though snowmaking on key pistes ensures base coverage.
Annual snowfall averages 4.3 metres, with summit elevations above 2100 metres receiving the bulk of accumulation. The sheltered Surses valley position delivers consistent snowfall without excessive wind exposure affecting higher peaks. East-facing aspects catch morning sun whilst preserving powder into afternoon hours on north-facing sectors off Piz Martegnas. February typically delivers the snowiest conditions, with 36 centimetres falling during peak weeks. March sees 63 sunny days on average, exceeding the Swiss resort average and making it ideal for spring skiing.
January through March offers the most reliable conditions, with base depths typically exceeding one metre at altitude. December and early April bring more variable coverage, though the resort's elevation range and aspect diversity extend the viable season. Weekends see higher visitation from Swiss day-trippers, whilst midweek periods remain quiet. The resort's family focus means Swiss school holiday weeks in February bring the year's busiest crowds, though queues stay minimal by international standards.
Savognin hosts early-bird skiing events on February and March Sundays, opening lifts from 6:30. Two kilometres of night skiing operates on lighted pistes. The longest toboggan run, Schlittada, descends 900 metres over 7.5 kilometres from Somtgant, passing through a tunnel. A 10.5-kilometre panoramic variant exists. Cross-country trails total 40 kilometres, with 1.3 kilometres illuminated for evening skiing.
Season 2025 - 2026
7 Dec 2025
Opens
30 Mar 2026
Closes
113
Days open
4 m
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Savognin, and where to stay
Savognin anchors the Surses valley (also called Oberhalbstein) in southeast Graubünden, 47 kilometres south of Chur and 37 kilometres north of St Moritz via the Julier Pass. The village occupies a wide basin at 1200 metres where the Gelgia River flows through terrain ringed by 3000-metre peaks including Piz Ela and Tinzenhorn. Parc Ela, Switzerland's largest nature park, surrounds the valley. The municipality merged with eight neighbouring villages in 2016 to form greater Surses, though Savognin remains the valley's main centre with district hospital and secondary school.
Tiefencastel lies 9 kilometres north and serves as the key transport junction. Chur, Graubünden's capital, sits 40 kilometres north. Lenzerheide is 20 kilometres northwest. The linguistically diverse region blends Romansh (spoken by 53 per cent of residents), German and Italian influences. Historic stone bridges, three churches and traditional architecture define the village character. Cunter, Riom-Parsonz and Salouf occupy the wider valley. St Moritz lies 40 kilometres southeast; Bivio, 18 kilometres south, marks the route to the Engadine.
Motorway A13 from Zurich to San Bernardino provides main access, exiting at Thusis-Süd (exit 22), then continuing via Tiefencastel and Cunter on well-maintained valley roads. Chur to Savognin takes 40 minutes by car. The Julier Pass (2284 metres) connects to St Moritz but closes overnight in heavy snowfall. Roads within the valley remain passable year-round with winter tyres and chains. Parking exists at the gondola base and free lakeside lots. No direct motorway reaches the resort.
Zurich Airport lies 160 kilometres north, roughly two hours' drive. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) connects Zurich to Chur in 75 minutes. From Chur, Rhaetian Railway trains reach Tiefencastel in 45 minutes, where PostBus route 182 covers the final 9 kilometres to Savognin in 15 minutes. Direct PostBus service from Chur takes 74 minutes. Train-bus connections run hourly. Innsbruck, Milan Malpensa and Geneva airports serve as secondary options for international arrivals.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Savognin, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.
22 July 2026
South Tyrol Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.
22 July 2026
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21 July 2026
La Thuile's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
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21 July 2026
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
21 July 2026
Ski Portillo Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
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21 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
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19 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Banff Sunshine Village - Nine Metres of Snow and a Season That Runs Until May
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18 July 2026
Current conditions
Snow Report
Updated 15 Aug 2026
2713m
summit
+0cm
new snow · last 24 hours
Clear13°C / 21°C · W 19km/h
Snowfall
24 hours
0cm
48 hours
0cm
7 days
0cm
Base depth
0cm
Season total
11cm
Total lifts12
Live open status isn’t available right now.
7 Dec 2025 - 30 Mar 2026
Hour by Hour
Next 38 hours· Updated Aug 15, 2026 at 6:02 AM
Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo
7-Day Outlook
2,713 mUpdated Aug 15, 2026 at 6:02 AMOpen-Meteo
Days 1–7
0.0cm
Days 8–14
0.0cm
Sat, Aug 15
Thunderstorm
Temp21° / 13°°C
Snow0.0cm(63%)
Wind19 km/h W
Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.
Understanding the Savognin snow report
Savognin snow conditions, updated regularly: current snowfall, snow depth, temperatures, and the outlook for this Switzerland resort.
Snow measurements
Base depth, summit depth, and recent snowfall are the core numbers to watch. At Savognin, summit conditions (2713m) can differ noticeably from the base, so we break both out separately rather than showing a single average.
Weather conditions
Current weather conditions affect snow quality. Cold temperatures with low wind typically preserve snow quality, while warm temperatures or rain can impact conditions negatively — something worth watching closely at Savognin's 1168m base elevation, where temperatures run milder than the summit.
Data sources
We pull Savognin's conditions from on-the-ground mountain reporting, then layer in forecast data so you get a fuller picture than either source alone. The mountain is served by 12 lifts, including a 6-person chairlift and 2 gondolas.
When to check
Snow reports are typically updated early morning and late afternoon. For the most current conditions, check back regularly, especially if a winter storm is approaching.