Hello everyone! Today I’m gonna introduce to you the village surrounded by mountains and covered in now in winter, even the lake.
St. Moritz – the most expensive ski resort in the world
St. Moritz is a high Alpine resort in the Engadine in Switzerland at an altitude of about 1,800 meters above sea level. It is Upper Engadine’s major village and a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It lies on the southern slopes of the Albula Alps below the Piz Nair (3,056 m) overlooking an astoninglishly flat and quite wide valley with a lake of its own name at its feet: Lej da San Murezzan (Romansh for Lake of St. Moritz). St. Moritz hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948.
St. Moritz is a popular destination for the upper class and international jetset. It is also regarded as the most expensive ski resort in the world, with many luxurious five star hotels and upscale shops. Thanks to its favorable location, St. Moritz enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year. Every winter it hosts the “White Turf” horse race on the frozen Lake St. Moritz attended by the international upper class.
Popular pastimes include skiing, snowboarding, and hiking, and nearby there is also the world-famous Cresta Run toboggan course.
International Horse Races since 1907 – White Turf
However, the purpose of my this trip to St. Moritz is to have a look the popular and famous International Horse Races since 1907 – White Turf.
For three weekends every February, horse races are held on the frozen lake St. Moritz. This races called “White Turf” are held since 1907 and brings the wealthy tourists to the lake for champagne and betting. This is also the location, where sports enthusiasts invented the sport of skijoring. In this type of race, thoroughbred horses compete without riders on their backs, but instead skiers in tow. While the sport is also played in other alpine countries, it still is mainly found in the region in which it as originated. The sport has evolved since the first race in 1906: the race as held on the road from St. Moritz to Champferand as won by the President of Alpina Ski Club Philip Mark and his horse Blitz (German for lightning). Today, the race is run similar to other horse races, with all horses starting at the same time and running around the track. Steering is very difficult complicating the race significantly requiring great strength and skill on behalf of the athletes. The skier with the most points after the three races on consequitive Sundays is crowned the “King of the Engadin Valley”.
If you wanna know more about the history of White Turf horse races, please click here.
Those above are the pictures I took during the 2016 White Turf St. Moritz. If you are interested I’ll give some information about the programs, race dates, tickets etc. of the 2017 White Turf Horse Races.
Dates:
12th, 19th. 26th of February, 2017.
The Program:
For the 2017 White Turf St. Moritz horse race program please click here.
Entry tickets:
- Standing space: CHF 20.–. Children up to 16 years free
- Standing space inside the oval racetrack CHF 40.- (sales only on site at the main ticket office)
- Grandstand A+: CHF 80.– (numbered seats)
Grandstand A: CHF 70.-
Grandstand B: CHF 60.-
Grandstand C: CHF 40.- - Family ticket for grandstand C (C1): CHF 50.-
1 adult, max. 3 children up to 16 years - Family ticket for grandstand C (C2): CHF 90.-
2 adults, max. 3 children up to 16 years - For resale tickets please click here.
For VIP packages, seats or standing places plan, accommodation and how to get there, please click here.
Be careful, if you wanna stay over or try the VIP packages they can be very expensive. That’s why the White Turf is called an upper-class event lol.
Anyway, if you just wanna go there, have a walk in the town, watch the races, have some meals, it won’t be a make-you-bankrupt price lol. However, do choose a sunny day as otherwise some of the races might be cancelled due to safety reasons. Also, it would be like the previous time I went there, it was so cold because there was no sun but still, the lake started thawing…… So, choose a sunny day, enjoy the snow and sun and have fun!