Arosa is a municipality in the district of Plessur in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is known for being both a summer and a winter resort. Arosa is situated at the end of the Schanfigg valley at a height of 1,742 to 1,775 m above sea level. The place is at the foot of the Weisshorn (2,653 m). It possesses a well-known and safe skiing area and boasts over 60 kilometers of slopes. The municipality comprises an area of 42.54 square kilometres. Skiing in Switzerland received a big boost in England from none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes series. Doyle, an avid sportsman, was spending winter time in Davos, long before it became fashionable to take winter vacations in the Alps. For entertainment, he ordered some skiing "boards" from Norway and hiked up the mountain with two local guides. They then skied down into Arosa, ending their journey with a luncheon at a local inn, the Seehof, the first Hotel in Arosa. Doyle wrote of his pioneering Davos/Arosa ski adventure in a British magazine, The Strand, in 1894, and the story attracted British skiers to Switzerland. It's said that no guides today will retrace Doyle's route over the Meyer-felder Furka Pass because of the avalanche risk inherent in the terrain.
