Skiing in Switzerland: Lenzerheide joins Arosa Until this season, the local skiing terrain around this small, discreet Alpine town consisted of a relatively modest terrain of about 155km of mostly blue and red pistes, combined with some extensive off-piste, spread out across both sides of the valley. For the most part it is above the treeline, though there are some pleasant tracks through the forest - all in all, just about enough variety to keep you going on a four- or five-day ski holiday . All that, however, will change early this season, when a new 1.7km double-track cable car will open, uniting Lenzerheide with the resort of Arosa, in the adjacent valley to the north. With a capacity of 150 skiers in each car, it will connect the Hörnli of Arosa with the Urdenfürggli in Lenzerheide. On the Lenzerheide side, two new six-man chairs form a new link from Heimberg to Urdenfürggli via Motta. The result - which is currently scheduled to be operational by the New Year - will transform both resorts, catapulting them into the top 10 Swiss ski areas with a fully linked domain of 42 lifts and 225km of pistes, at an altitude of 1,230-2,865m. Skiiers at the Arosa resort Clearly, this is good news for Lenzerheide, which, next season, is also opening a new four-seater chairlift to improve the connection across the two sides of its own valley. But perhaps the primary beneficiary will be Arosa, which is set in a mainly south-facing bowl, well above the treeline. With fewer than half the number of pistes offered by its neighbour, its aspect also means that the snow conditions are vulnerable to hot spring sunshine. It's a pleasant option for a weekend break; rather too limited for a longer stay. From December it will be able to offer more than three times as much skiing, and the alternative aspects of the two sides - one facing east, the other facing west - of the Lenzerheide valley. Despite its smaller local ski area, Arosa also has far more accommodation (more than 5,000 beds, compared with 2,000 in mostly rather exclusive hotels in Lenzerheide). And it had a huge publicity boost last March when Princes William and Harry turned out for a friend's wedding at the Grand Hotel Tschuggen - which is connected by its own private ski-lift to the main Arosa slopes. Though Lenzerheide is clearly the better base from a skier's point of view, with a much bigger domain on its doorstep, it hasn't been quite so lucky in the PR stakes. Despite the Federer connection, how many British skiers have even heard of it, let alone skied here? In two days exploring the resort last season, I heard only one other British voice. So few of us come here that the Panoramarestaurant is about the only place here that bothers to print menus in English. Don't let that put you off, though. I've never known quite such friendly service in a European ski resort - perhaps because it has for so long depended on local Graubünden people and weekend skiers from Zurich and Germany. In fact, back in the 1960s and 1970s, Lenzerheide was a little better known in Britain, but fell out of favour as the fashion grew for high resorts with big ski domain s. Now that it is catching up, it is attracting interest from one or two of the more upmarket British ski operators and agents. The tailor-made and family specialist Powder Byrne, which trialled the resort last season in anticipation of the new link, will be expanding its programme with a choice of five high-end hotels. So, while it's not clear whether Federer will enjoy the growing attention on his new mountain home, it looks pretty certain that he has made a canny investment. Other new links Lech and Zürs in Austria are being linked by gondola to Warth and Shröcken, resorts little known to Britons but packing a mighty powder punch as they're the snowiest destinations in the Alps. The combined ski area is 50 per cent bigger than the existing Lech-Zürs terrain. Verbier in Switzerland is linking to the slopes of Bruson on the other side of the valley via a new gondola from La Châble. It offers Verbier's visitors much easier access to Bruson's intermediate pistes and extensive off piste terrain including skiing through well spaced trees. Lech and Zürs in Austria The Swiss resorts of Grimentz and Zinal, favourites of off-piste enthusiasts, are being linked by a new cable car. Both resorts are in Val d'Annivers , home to four distinct ski areas. The new lift from Grimentz village to the heart of the Zinal ski area is the first time any of the areas have been linked. Breckenridge in Colorado, still the most popular US resort, opens a new area, Peak 6. Served by two new chairlifts it offers skiers and snowboarders 400 acres of lift-served terrain, some of it wickedly challenging. There's a further 143 acres on offer if you're prepared to hike for it. The new development increases the resort's overall ski terrain by 25 per cent. Red Mountain in British Columbia, Canada, is a cult resort with expert skiers attracted by its steep terrain, powder-stuffed bowls and wide glades. This season the resort is opening up 1000 acres of additional terrain on newly accessed Grey Mountain. The terrain is largely intermediate and should help to propel the resort into the big league, in North America at least. Breckenridge, Colorado Lenzerheide is about two hours south of Zurich, which is served from the UK by British Airways (ba.com), easyJet (easyjet.com) and Swiss (swiss.com) and is generally a less crowded and more pleasant option than flying through Geneva. There is a rail link (sbb.ch/en) direct from Zurich airport to Chur, where you must change for the train to Arosa, or the bus (30 minutes) to Lenzerheide. Staying there Nick Trend travelled with Powder Byrne (020 8246 5300; powderbyrne.com). A four-day break in January staying at the Hotel Schweizerhof costs from £2,078 per person half board, including flights, return private transfers, and a pre-departure service (which includes booking ski guides, resort shuttle, equipment, lift passes and mountain restaurants). During half-term (February 15-22, 2014) it also offers its escorted programme for families with children aged four to 14. More information Lift passes for the combined area for the 2013/2014 season cost £48 for one day, £230 for six days. For full facts and details of the resorts see arosalenzerheide.ch.