Braunwald
A car-free Swiss family resort above the Linth valley that gave up alpine skiing from the winter of 2026-27, shutting four lifts after losing up to 2.3 million francs in a single season.
- Region
- Glarus
- Country
- Switzerland
- Status
- closed
- Year closed
- 2026
- Reason for closure
- Years of losses on a shrinking snow season. The annual deficit had settled at around 1.5 million Swiss francs and reached 2.3 million in 2023-24, which the board judged no longer sustainable, and it decided to shut the four ski lifts permanently from the winter of 2026-27 and refocus on gentle year-round tourism.
History
Braunwald sits on a sunny terrace above Linthal in the canton of Glarus, a car-free village reached by funicular, and for generations it was the sort of place Swiss families learned to ski. The economics stopped working. Losses ran at about 1.5 million francs a year and hit 2.3 million in the 2023-24 season, on a snow record that no longer supported a full winter, and the Bergbahnen board decided to end alpine skiing rather than keep funding it. The four ski and chairlifts - Mattwald, Gumen, Seblengrat and Bächital - are being shut permanently from the winter of 2026-27. The gondola up to Grotzenbüel and one lift there are being kept for winter walkers and sledgers, and the resort is reorienting around winter hiking, snowshoeing, sledging and a substantially expanded summer offer. The decision provoked a backlash from holiday-home owners in the village, whose properties were bought on the assumption of a ski area. Braunwald is one of the larger names in a long Swiss list: around 167 ski areas in the country have closed, roughly 148 of them dismantled entirely. Its opening year, lift build dates and piste names are not recorded in accessible sources.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mattwald | Surface lift | One of the four lifts shut permanently from the winter of 2026-27 | |
| Gumen | Chairlift | One of the four lifts shut permanently from the winter of 2026-27 | |
| Seblengrat | Surface lift | One of the four lifts shut permanently from the winter of 2026-27 | |
| Bächital | Surface lift | One of the four lifts shut permanently from the winter of 2026-27 | |
| Grotzenbüel | Gondola | The gondola from Braunwald to Grotzenbüel, retained along with one lift there for winter walking and sledging |
Sources and further reading
- https://www.watson.ch/schweiz/klima/241129571-braunwald-stellt-skigebiet-ein-das-sagt-der-bergbahnen-chef
- https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/sklifte-stehen-still-braunwald-stellt-skibetrieb-ein-908843483540
- https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/braunwald-gibt-skibetrieb-auf/91617794
- https://www.schneehoehen.ch/artikel/braunwald-schliessung-skigebiet
- https://www.20min.ch/story/braunwald-gl-skibetrieb-eingestellt-ferienhausbesitzer-schlagen-alarm-103608111
More in Switzerland
Location
46.9393, 8.9985