At a good two dozen meters above the ground, they hammer and screw, make circular saws howl, and install turnstiles. The last work still needs to be done before the supposedly longest treetop path in the world can be opened, and so this airy construction site in the mountains of Graubünden is quite busy.
Reto Poltera, a strong man with a gray beard, climbs the last steps of the entrance tower and makes his way through construction workers, tools lying around, cables and loose wooden planks. Then it lies in front of him: the almost 1,600-meter-long, almost finished walkway through the treetops. There is a smell of freshly sawn spruce wood, the planks glow almost white in the July sun, and the massive Flimserstein plateau stretches towards the sky on the horizon.
Reto Poltera is a member of the management of the Weisse Arena, the company that operates the ski area around Flims, Laax and Falera, including mountain railways, shops, restaurants and accommodation. In 2017, Poltera and his colleagues had the idea of building a treetop path in Laax, which is actually known for its winter sports events. “It’s something for the whole clan,” says Poltera, “from great-grandfather to youngest child.” He points to the elevator that is in the entrance tower. “People with walking disabilities or families with strollers can also go up here.”
Snow is one thing – but not enough to attract tourists eleven months a year
Above all, Laax complements its summer offer with the treetop path, which connects the two districts of Murschetg and Laax Dorf. “Snow is one thing,” said Mayor Franz Gschwend in December 2018 when the community voted on the project. “But we have to make sure that we expand tourism to eleven months a year.” A majority of Laax residents agreed, and so the community took up the idea of the White Arena and invested around eight million francs in the project.
They are now hoping to attract 130,000 visitors a year, and the mayor estimates the potential for added value at five million francs. It is primarily advertised with a superlative: According to the Weisse Arena, which operates the path on behalf of the municipality, the Laax Treetop Walk is the longest in the world. “At least the longest stilted one,” explains Reto Poltera. Others are longer, but keep touching the ground. The footbridge in Laax hovers continuously above the ground, the distances are between two and 28 meters. In addition, the creators of the path promise that it will be an “educational trail to raise awareness of nature”. On display boards, but soon also on loanable tablets, visitors learn interesting facts about the landscape around Laax as well as the plants and animals of the forest.
Always along the slope, the path leads wheelchair-accessible through the forest.
(Photo: Philipp Ruggli / Flims Laax)
But: The people of Laax can’t completely hide the fact that this project wasn’t primarily about forest and nature. After all, the treetop path cuts a considerable swath through a beautiful piece of mountain forest. It is true that the community, as the client, and the Weisse Arena, as the operator, have reacted to criticism from nature and landscape conservationists and made some compromises in the planning: the path deliberately runs along the edge of the forest, the lines take account of the trees and opening times The rest periods played an important role for the animals. Reto Poltera still points to the stilts that are boring into the forest floor: “All screw foundations, no concrete!” He says proudly. “If we no longer want the path, we dismantle it, take out the foundations, and then there really is nothing left.”
Nonetheless, the path has changed the Laax forest. The two massive entry towers, for example, are visible from afar – and the one in Murschetg not only includes the elevator, but also a 73-meter-long slide for children, which can be booked with the path ticket.
One of the entry towers to the path also has a long slide, but you have to pay extra for it.
(Photo: Flims Laax)
In general, the makers do not seem to trust their promise of a “unique experience of nature” themselves: In addition to the slide, they have also put a lot of work into the digital accompanying offer, which will only be available from autumn. At the entrance tower in Murschetg and on the four platforms of the path, visitors can then use a tablet to tell them in “augmented reality” how the Flims landslide came about or which tree species are native to Laax. A story about the path was specially invented for the children, told by animated characters with local color. An elaborate offer, but still: instead of looking unfiltered into the landscape for once, many on the path will again have a screen in front of their noses.
Faceless vacation areas and parking spaces can be hidden on the airy footbridge
The 1.6 kilometers through the Laax Forest, which have been open to everyone since July 11, are a special, albeit quiet, experience even without aids. There is no loud action on the wooden planks, instead: a unique mountain view, the spicy scent of the forest floor and now and then a spruce branch on your face. Even if you are rarely actually at eye level with the tree tops, you come close to the spruce, fir and pine trees, and sometimes a woodpecker. Ferns, young trees and flowering heather can be found where the path hovers close to the forest floor. And the best part: You can hide a lot on the airy walkway. Faceless holiday settlements, for example, parking spaces, shopping streets or whatever has just become normal in tourist mountain resorts.
Incidentally, based on the children’s story, the people of Laax called their path “Senda dil Dragun”, “Dragon Path” in Romansh. The language choice is not flirtatious: the majority of the population here speaks Romansh on a daily basis, the fourth official language in Switzerland, which has a total of only a few ten thousand speakers. The Romansh version does not only appear on the trilingual information boards, it comes first. “That was important to us,” says Reto Poltera. “We are so few speakers, it just has to be preserved.” This long footbridge through the Grisons forest is unique on several levels.
Adults: 16 francs (approx. 15 euros), children 6-17 years: 8 francs, slide 5 francs, flimslaax.com