St Moritz: piste guide - Telegraph From St Moritz Dorf a two-stage railway goes up to Corviglia, a lift junction at the eastern end of a sunny and rather monotonous area of slopes facing east and south over the main valley. The peak of Piz Nair, reached from here by cable car, separates these slopes from the less sunny and more varied ones in the wide bowl above Marguns - and gives fabulous views across the valley to Piz Bernina. From Corviglia you can (snow permitting) head down easy paths to Dorf and Bad; you'll probably pass through Salastrains - just above Dorf, with nursery slopes, restaurants and two hotels. There is a red run from Marguns to Celerina. From Surlej, a few miles from St Moritz, a two-stage cable car takes you to the north-facing slopes of Corvatsch, which reach glacial heights. From the mid-station at Murtèl you have a choice of reds to Stüvetta Giand'Alva and Alp Margun. From the latter you can work your way to Furtschellas, also reached by cable car from Sils Maria. If you're lucky with the snow, you can end the day with the splendid Hahnensee run, from the northern limit of the Corvatsch lift system at Giand'Alva down to St Moritz Bad - a black-classified run that is of red difficulty for 95% of its 6km length. It often opens around noon, when the snow softens. It's a five-minute walk from the end of the run to the cable car to Corviglia. The third area consists of two peaks on opposite sides of the Bernina pass road to Italy, about 20km away (50 minutes by bus). Diavolezza (2980m) has excellent north-facing pistes of 900m vertical, down its cable car. Lagalb (2960m) is a smaller area with quite challenging slopes - west-facing, 850m vertical - served by a smaller cable car. From late February these cable cars run until 5pm. Fast lifts Plenty of options St Moritz has invested heavily in upgrading lifts, especially on Corviglia and Marguns, where there are fast chairs all over the place. Corvatsch still has some T-bars, though. The area as a whole has a lot of modest-sized cable cars - both for getting out of the resort and for access to peaks. Queues Not much of a problem Queues for the cable cars are not unknown, and we had a high-season report of a one-hour queue to get out of Bad in 2010. But reporters have generally had good experiences lately and say that the slopes tend to be quiet early and late in the day. Terrain parks World class facilities The Crowland Park on Corviglia is easily reached from Celerina as well as St Moritz. The park was designed with female pro skiers and snowboarders and advanced riders in mind, and is home to some of the biggest contests for women. There are three lines, the hardest including a big 12m tabletop jump, plus a brilliant 400m easy line. There are many rails and boxes of all sizes, and a boardercross course. The Engadinsnow Park on Corvatsch has a bagjump, half-pipe and boardercross and uses natural terrain features. For experts Dispersed challenges Few of the black runs are genuinely steep; those at Lagalb and Diavolezza are the most challenging. But there is good off-piste terrain, and it doesn't get tracked out. There is an excellent north-facing slope immediately above Marguns, for example. There are tough routes from Piz Nair and the Corvatsch summit. More serious expeditions can be undertaken - eg the Roseg valley from Corvatsch. Out at Diavolezza, a very popular and spectacular off-piste glacier route goes off the back beneath Piz Bernina to Morteratsch. There's a 30-minute plod at first, then it's downhill, with splendid views. It is not difficult, but may take you close to crevasses; we wouldn't do it without a guide. On the front of the mountain, the Gletscher chair accesses an excellent shady run down Val d'Arlas. And across at Lagalb, a route goes steeply off the back down towards La Rosa. There are a couple of firms offering heli-drops on Fuorcla Chamuotsch, for runs back to the Engadin valley. For intermediates Good but flattering St Moritz is great for intermediates. Most pistes on Corviglia are very well groomed, easyish reds that could well have been classified blue - ideal cruising terrain, or monotonous, depending on your view. The Marguns bowl is more interesting, including some easy blacks and the pleasant Val Schattain run away from the lifts. The Corvatsch-Furtschellas area is altogether more varied, interesting and challenging, as well as higher and wider. In a word, wilder. There are excellent red runs in both parts of the area, including the runs from the Corvatsch glacier, which give fabulous views, and descents to the two valley stations - particularly the Furtschellas one. Do these in the morning, and at the end of the day return to St Moritz Bad via the lovely Hahnensee run - an easy black. There isn't much easy skiing at Corvatsch; some of the blues (eg the lower bit of 19) should be red. Diavolezza is mostly intermediate stuff, too. There is an easy open slope at the top, served by a fast quad, and a splendid long intermediate run back down under the lift. The link to Lagalb requires use of parts of a black run, but it is of red gradient. Plans to improve this link seem to have stalled. Lagalb has more challenging pistes - two reds and a genuine black. For beginners Not ideal Beginners start up at Salastrains or Corviglia, or slightly out of town at Suvretta. Celerina has good, broad nursery slopes at village level and a child-friendly lift. But progression from the nursery slopes to longer runs is rather awkward - there are few blue runs without a difficult section. Nor are there any free lifts, or particularly helpful special passes. For boarders Very welcoming The terrain in St Moritz is boarder-friendly. Freeride tours are available through the ski schools and the best freeride terrain is on Diavolezza and Corvatsch, but there are several draglifts on Corvatsch. Apart from those, most of St Moritz's lifts are chairs, gondolas, cable cars and trains; beginners will enjoy the rolling blue runs, and intermediates will relish the red runs. The great thing for freeriders is that terrain can stay untracked for days after a snowfall. There's a very good and varied park on Corviglia. The World Snowboard Tour stops off at the Engadinsnow Park. Playground in Paradise is a specialist board shop. For cross-country Excellent This is one of the premier regions in the Alps, with 200km of trails, some floodlit, amid splendid scenery and with fairly reliable snow. A reporter recommends lessons at the Langlauf Centre near the hotel Kempinski. But the best bases are outside St Moritz, along the valleys.