The title for the steepest ski slope in the world goes to a place just outside of Interlaken: the Schilthorn above Mürren. More specifically it goes to Run No. 9 “Direttissima” which – with an 88% incline – is sure to provide you a nice adrenaline rush. This daring downhill starts at Birg, the middle station of the Schilthorn cableway, and takes you directly down to Engetal and then onwards to Mürren.
Schilthorn, James Bond & steep, steeper, steepest ski slopes
Schilthorn Piz Gloria is unique among ski destinations, not only for the steepest ski slope in the world, but also for its James Bond fame, unique backdrop of the Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau mountains and its infantomable 2175m vertical drop which you can ski in one go. Easily and cheaply visit this amazing ski area with the winterlaken card that lets you ski the Mürren / Schilthorn ski area and the rest of the Jungfrau ski region (Grindelwald, Wengen,..) for a bargain.
At Schilthorn Piz Gloria you can literally ski in the schuss steps of 007 whose famous mountain top and skiing scenes of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was filmed there in 1963. Descending from the Schilthorn is already a daunting task with only a black run with an inclination of 75% being available to reach the Birg middle station. This is just the warmup before you reach the real steepest ski slope in the ski area and in the world!
An ‘easy’ warm up run towards the real steepest slop in the world which is 88% steep
Steepest Ski Slope in the World
From Birg the real ‘vertical wall’ skiing starts when you take a right turn onto slope number 9 called the Direttissima. The slope is aptly named as it just goes directly and straight down an 88% incline. Mostly it is extremely well groomed and super smooth as there are not many people that actually ski it. This is due to the fact that there are also a super easy blue ski run and a comfortable red run around it.
Find this amazing no. 9 Direttissima ski run easily on the map below. You might miss it the first time but just take the chair lift back up to Birg and you will able to ski it…
Steeper than the Streif, Swiss Wall & Harakiri
The Direttissima with 88% is steeper than The Streif – Kitzbühel, Austria which has a Max Gradient of 85%. The latter definitely enjoys a lot more fame and the run in its entirety is a classic in the Alps.
Schilthorn’s Direttissima is also steeper than the world famous ‘Swiss Wall’ La Chavanette in Avoriaz (also known as the Mur Suisse) and also steeper than Mayerhofen’s crazy Harakiri black run which tops at 78%. The latter is often claimed to be the world’s steepest groomed run but the Direttissima is actually quite a bit steeper!
The only exception might be Corbet’s Couloir in Jackson Hole but that is not a ski slope but an out-of-bounds off piste run so we don’t count it here.
Happy steep skiing everyone!