Murren - slopes
Ski highlights for all levels
Beginners: there’s sufficient skiing, particularly on the nursery slopes around Allmendhubel reached by the funicular, with some fairly easy runs down to the village. On Birg-Engetal there is an easier run down to the Riggli chairlift, and it’s possible to return to Mürren by cable car.
Intermediates: pretty much all the groomed runs in the resort are in the intermediate range – around Birg (but perhaps not the black run from the top of the Schilthorn), from Schiltgrat down to Gimmeln, and the long run from Maulerhubel down to Winteregg (the middle section of the Inferno route).
You can also enjoy a torch-lit descent organised by the ski school.
Experts: the black run from the top of the Schilthorn can be quite a challenge if it’s mogulled, and there are one or two other black trails on the mountain. The Kanonenrohr (gunbarrel) can get pretty gnarly at times.
Off-piste
To get the best out of Mürren’s more challenging skiing it pays to hire a mountain guide who can reveal all kinds of “secret itineraries”.
Experienced skiers can make easy day trips on touring skis to the Hundshorn (2,928m) and Sulegg (2,412m). Do take a guide because without one you can get into all kinds of scrapes skiing off-piste in Mürren.
Ski schools and guides
Mürren’s only ski and snowboard school is the Swiss Snow-Sports School (00 41 33 855 12 47), which also offers heliskiing, cross country skiing, torch lit descents, snowshoe trekking and curling.
Lift system
Mürren has some 16 lifts, including the cable cars that access the resort from the Lauterbrunnen Valley and the resort’s main arterial lift, the Schilthornbahn cable car. After its first leg two sections (Stechelberg to Gimmelwald, and then on to the village centre) this cable car climbs all the way to Birg at 2,676m before the final leg to the summit at 2,970m.
This winter the resort is opening two new lifts in the Winteregg area – a two seater chair will connect Allmiboden with Allmendhubel, which will eliminate the need to make a detour into Mürren village to take the funicular to Allmendhubel. And a new high-speed quad will replace the existing Winteregg-Maulerhubel lift.
Snow reliability and snowmaking
Although Mürren is the highest resort in the Bernese Oberland, its snow record on the lower slopes could be better, which is why the Inferno race is often shortened. There’s snowmaking on about 15km of the more vulnerable runs mid-way down the mountain – that’s just under a third of all the runs.
Terrain park
There’s usually one on the lower slopes of the Schiltgrat area.