Industry News
The restaurant Berghaus Foppa burnt down in the Flims-Laax-Falera ski region in Switzerland on Wednesday, October 2. The local cantonal police, Kantonspolizei Graubünden, received an emergency call around 8:30 p.m., alerting them to the fact that a fire had broken out in the popular mountain restaurant. The restaurant is open almost year-round for hikers, skiers, and boarders. It is located at 1,424 meters (4,672 feet).
The fire brigade rushed to the on-mountain restaurant, where workers from a nearby construction site tried their best to keep the flames at bay. Unfortunately, despite everyone’s best efforts, the fire spread to the entire building and destroyed it completely.
The Flims fire brigade, supported by a firefighting vehicle of the Ems-Chemie fire brigade, was able to stop the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and forested areas. It took until after midnight to get the fire under control, and an amber watch is in place until Thursday, October 3. Thankfully, no personal injury was reported. The property damage is estimated to exceed CHF 1 million ($1.2 million). The cantonal police of Graubünden are investigating the cause of the fire.
Flims-Laax-Falera is located in the canton of Graubünden/Grischa in the south-east of Switzerland, about two hours from Zurich airport. The combined ski area offers 140 miles (224 km) of groomed runs and five terrain parks serviced by 28 ski lifts. Most of the resort is situated at an altitude of between 6,560 and 9,840 feet (2,000 to 3,000 meters), making it one of the most snowproof ski resorts in the world. Flims-Laax, as it is known for short, is well known as a Freestyle mecca and each year hosts the FIS Freeski & Snowboard World Cup in Slopestyle and Halfpipe, also known as the Laax Open.
Recently, both Vail Resorts and Alterra have been rumored, according to Swiss industry insiders, to be hoping to purchase or partner with Flims-Laax-Falera. The resort could be a great addition to either company’s portfolio of European resorts. The Flims-Laax ski resort is owned by Die Weisse Arena Gruppe (English: ‘The White Arena Group’), a listed company with shares traded over the counter (OTC). The majority shareholder is Reto Gurtner, who stepped back as CEO in 2020, making a sale more likely due to his age.
Flims Laax ski region is set to open for the 2024-25 winter season on November 29.
