Skiing in Switzerland - Secret Hideaways For A Swiss Alps Vacation
If you have skiing in Europe on your agenda, it will not be complete unless you try Skiing in Switzerland. Since more than 150 years, Switzerland counts as the Winter Wonderland. However, we Swiss have not invented any of the winter sports – on the contrary. A Couple Enjoying The Sunshine And Admiring The Swiss Alps
It was only about one hundred years ago, that farmers attacked skiers with cow dung. The British became bored very quickly during their Spa stays in the winter. Therefore, they wanted to kill their time with different physical activities. First, it was on sleds, later on by skating, and than by Alpine skiing. Unfortunately, cross-country skiing was never on the agenda of the British. The Early Days of Skiing in Switzerland Having Fun While Skiing in Switzerland Already the following winter, in the 1935/36 season, the famous T-bar ski lift came into operation. The capacity doubled since two people could be transported up the mountain. At that time, it was called the "She and He" T-bar and made skiing in Switzerland much more comfortable. More than ten years later, the first chair lift came in service on January 1948 in Braunwald. Special about that was that you sat across sideways towards the landscape and therefore you had a wonderful view over the Alps. Skiing in Switzerland Today Today, there are nearly 2,000 kilometres of cable car in operation. The cable car companies provide more than 7500 kilometres of pistes, ready for guests to discover. Naturally, each meter must be maintained, monitored and marked daily. The Pretty Ski Resort of Villars Switzerland To maintain one kilometre of piste costs the cable car operators from 50,000 to 70,000 Swiss francs. Of course, the piste preparation is just one of the many security measures that the operators need to worry. Therefore, you can really look forward for that perfect winter Swiss Alps vacation. This is achieved mostly with good snow quality and excellent service. Skiing in Switzerland is an experience you will always remember and I am sure you will come back again. When you come to Ski Switzerland, you will discover this incredible nature with its majestic mountains and the villages at the foot. The sparkling hut experiences reflect this and offer you countless Swiss alps vacation options. No matter whether you are looking for a traffic-free village or rather enjoy the nightlife, you will certainly find an ideal vacation destination for every taste and interest. Diversity in The Snow Today, Switzerland provides the largest and the most advanced winter sport region in Europe. The high-end ski resorts always have the newest technology in ski lifts and gondolas to get you comfortably up to the mountains. The luxury resorts also have excellent 5-star hotels and luxury Swiss chalets to accommodate you for that perfect Switzerland vacation. However, there are countless small but excellent ski resorts with guaranteed snow conditions and perfect pistes. When Skiing in Switzerland, you will also have an advantage thanks to the good public transportation system. The railway plays an important part here. The transfer from your arrival airport to your ski resort is often by train. Cogwheel trains also run to the top of many mountains and double as ski lifts in Switzerland. With nearly 30 ski areas located over 2800 m above sea level and the longest downhill runs, Switzerland is the most snow secure Alpine country. The hospitality at most Swiss ski resorts meets all expectations you may have. Not only snowboarders, skiers and cross-country skiers will find ideal conditions for an exciting Switzerland vacation. There are many more alternatives. Relaxing winter walks through the freshly snowed forests, breathtaking snowshoe tours or toboggan runs down into the valleys. If you rather stand with your feet on the ground, Switzerland offers you a choice of over 2500 kilometres of groomed winter hiking trails, the largest network in Europe. There are also countless ice skating rinks for skating or curling. The best skiing in Switzerland is in the Cantons of Valais/Wallis, Graubünden (Grisons), Bernese Oberland and Vaud. Central Switzerland also offers some excellent skiing. This page concentrates on the various ski regions and their smaller ski resorts. If you are looking for the top high-end Swiss ski resorts, please click here. Valais/Wallis Above the village of Zermatt, you can see the towering Matterhorn. The Valais/Wallis region has many large Alpine glaciers, among them the Aletsch glacier. It is the largest glacier in the Alps with a length of about 23 km. Of course, the Valais/Wallis region does not have just the high-end resorts of Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Crans-Montana or Verbier. There are many more excellent ski areas like Anzère, Fiesch-Eggishorn, Graechen, Leukerbad, Morgins, Nendaz, Riederalp or Veysonnaz. Grisons (Graubünden) The Rhine and Inn rivers contain the source in this sparsely populated region. World famous is the Engadine Valley with its excellent ski resorts like St. Moritz, Davos, Flims Lax Falera and Arosa. Of course, there are many more beautiful ski resorts perhaps not as well known to some travellers. To mention a few are Brigels, Lenzerheide, Pontresina, Samnaun, Savognin, or Sedrun Oberalp. Bernese Oberland The pretty town of Interlaken is a good place from which to explore the Lake region in the summer time. By the way, Interlaken is not a ski resort but rather a destination from which many excursions start. However, the Jungfrau Region with its ski resorts of Grindelwald, Muerren and Wengen is world famous and close-by. Grindelwald is only a 40-minute train ride (30 min. by car) southeast of Interlaken. Most skiers in Europe know the resort of Wengen. It is famous for its annual downhill world cup ski race, which is held in the middle of January on the Lauberhorn. The resort of Muerren is located a little higher than Wengen and offers a magnificent view to the Jungfrau massif. Both Wengen and Muerren are especially popular by British Alpine fans. The resorts are small and maybe less exciting for Après-Ski enthusiasts, but perfect for those searching for challenging pistes. The Jungfrau Region offers without doubt one of the best skiing in Switzerland. The western part of the Bernese Oberland is best known for the glittering high-end ski resort of Gstaad in the Simmental. Central Switzerland Melchsee-Frutt is a small holiday region. It is located at the end of Melchtal / Kerns at an altitude of 2,000 meters in the heart of Switzerland. This sunny little village on the shores of the Melchsee is not only perfect for a quiet family vacation. It is geared primarily towards group travelers, clubs and schools. The resort of Andermatt is one of the best winter sports centres in Switzerland for guaranteed snow. The ski area is ideal for more experienced skiers, snow boarders or powder snow fans because of the wide-open ski slopes. Former Olympic and World Ski Champion Bernhard Russi grew up in Andermatt. Of course, there are easier slopes close by on the Gurschenalp, Naetschen and Winterhorn (Hospental). Vaud Les Diablerets lies between Lake Geneva and Gstaad. The village is at an altitude of only 1,200 meters with access to three ski regions. It offers a total of 125 km of pistes and a snow park, which extends up to an altitude of 3,000 meters. Les Diablerets connects with the ski area of Villars. The ski resort of Leysin is accessible from Aigle by rack railway or by car. Because of its sun-rich and mild climate, it made a name as a health resort for people with lung diseases since the fifties. Leysin is not just a beautiful ski region with 17 ski lifts and a snow park with a half pipe, cross-country skiing trails and a toboggan run. It is also a great place during the summer with 250 km of hiking and biking trails. Even mountaineers find several challenges in the precipitous chalk rock-faces, which resembles the Dolomites. Both Leysin and Villars accommodate many people that are coming from the Lake Geneva region. When you come for a vacation to ski Switzerland, you will notice that the Swiss cuisine is one of the best, although it is certainly underrated. Many of the top restaurants are located in ski resorts like Gstaad, St Moritz or Verbier, not just in the Swiss cities and towns. Switzerland is generally considered the Rolls Royce of European ski resorts, and it may be a little more expensive for your ski vacations. However, since the introduction of the Euro in most European countries, skiing in Switzerland has become much cheaper. Many of the Swiss ski resorts developed from farming villages. Therefore, most resorts have retained their village feel, a real plus when compared with some of the rather soulless purpose built ski resorts elsewhere. This makes skiing in Switzerland worthwhile to discover. Didn't find what you were looking for? Use this search feature to find it. Return from Skiing in Switzerland to High End Travel Switzerland
|
To do that, thousands of people care each year that the dream of powder snow does not become a nightmare while skiing in Switzerland. 