I enjoyed a short trip to Grindelwald, in the Jungfrau ski region, Switzerland, to find out what it’s like for a skiing holiday. Here is a travel article I wrote for The Scotsman magazine.
All aboard the Eiger express
Riding a swift gondola that climbs from Grindelwald in Switzerland past the towering north face of Europe’s iconic mountain, the Eiger, I can’t help but exhale a stunned “wow”.
I stand up, gaze upwards and then turn a slow full circle, looking out of the windows of the large aerial cabin at a spectacular landscape of snow-covered Alpine peaks in the wider Bernese Oberland.
Beside the Eiger, with a summit of 3970m, there are other high tops with names that I recognise, including the Münch, reaching to 4099m, the Silberhorn at 3695m and the tallest, Jungfrau at 4158m.
Peering below, I see the smooth, pisted slopes of the Lauterbrunnen valley, which is part of the wider Jungfrau Ski Region, snaking down through a forest of evergreen trees and linked by a network of chairlifts.
A local, who has been sitting quietly nearby looking at me, looking at the scenery, takes me by surprise as he starts to point out some of his favourite attractions.
“You should ski the Engi run, from the top station down to the Wixi lift, and also the red runs from the Wixi,” he says. “Over there, you’ll find the Lauberhorn World Cup run, too.”
He explains that at 4.3km in length, the Lauberhorn is the world’s longest downhill ski race, taking place every year before the opening of the winter season.
It strikes me that this man must have ridden the Eiger Express gondola many times and I ask if he ever tires of the views. Without hesitation, he replies: “Never!”
After some thought, he adds: “I live in Grindelwald and every day I see these mountains, but the views are always changing because of the seasons and the weather. It is a very special place and the best place to live.”
Top Swiss ski destination: Grindelwald
His home – and my destination for a ski holiday – is located in the Bernese Alps, between the northern Swiss canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, in western Switzerland.
From Grindelwald, located at 1034m elevation – that’s higher than many of Scotland’s tallest mountains – there is easy access to a mountain playground extending across three resorts, Grindelwald-Wengen, Grindelwald-First & Mürren-Schilthorn and 211km of ski runs.
In fact, the easy access started at Zurich Airport the day before, where a short walk from the arrivals area took me to a railway station and a very comprehensive timetable of connecting trains.
Six of the daily train services are “new and faster”, requiring only one station change (at Interlaken Ost) for the two hour, 45 minute journey.
If you know anything about Switzerland, you will be aware that they pride themselves on efficient and timely trains. During one journey during my stay, I’m amazed to hear an announcement apologising for the service being 30 seconds late.
Grindelwald train station is also just one stop from a vast modern ski terminal building, where the Eiger Express and another recently upgraded gondola whizzes passengers high into the Grindelwald-Wengen ski area.
The Männlichen gondola cableway takes just 19 minutes to travel 6239m in distance and gain some 1280 metres vertical. It is capable of transporting 1900 people per hour.
There is capacity to carry another 2200 passengers each hour by the Eiger Express, which is acclaimed as the world’s longest tricable gondola at 6483m in length. Each of the 44 cabins has 26 heated seats and reaches a slightly higher point in the resort, Eigergletscher (Eiger Glacier) at 2320m elevation.
This glacier station is also the start point of an historic mountain railway, which, remarkably, was built between 1986 and 1912. The Jungfrau Railway – the highest in Europe – climbs 9km to the Jungfraujoch at 3454m elevation.
As before, the vistas are breath-taking. It was worth braving the icy wind to walk on to a viewing platform to survey the panorama, with the Aletsch Glacier – the longest in the Alps at more than 20km – on one side and the many pointed peaks of the Swiss Mittelland on the other.
Did you know? The area is home to the highest official ski school in Switzerland.
Still cold but away from the biting wind, I also enjoyed a walk through tunnels of mirror smooth ice walls inside the glacier. Fantastic ice sculptures offer another feast for the eyes.
A Top of Europe Flagship Store is a treasure trove of many of the country’s traditional souvenirs, including watches, chocolates and Swiss Army knives.
Fantastic skiing in Jungfrau ski region
But it’s the skiing that is the main attraction of my trip and from the door of the glacier station a beautifully groomed slope beckons me downwards.
There’s a delightful 1377m of elevation drop to return to Grindelwald base, although I accumulate far more ascent and descent over several days of exploring the resort on a great mix of runs, from easy greens, through blues, reds and more challenging blacks.
I also experience those ever-changing views that the man in the Eiger Express extolled. From morning as the sun rose, through sunshine and blue sky, drifting mist, heavy snow clouds, back to clear skies and to the setting sun, the mountainscape in the Jungfrau region is consistently and astonishingly beautiful.
I learn later that the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch is designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It does not surprise me.
Did you know?: The highest speed recorded in a Lauberhorn World Cup World Cup race was 161.9 km/h (100.6 mph), while the average gradient of the course is 25.3 per cent.
Travel notes
Getting to Grindelwald
Fly direct from Edinburgh to Zurich Airport with Swiss International Air Lines. There are also regular flights from London Heathrow, London City and Manchester airports See: www.swiss.com.
Take a train from Zurich Airport to Interlaken Ost and on to Grindelwald. See https://www.sbb.ch/en
If you have a Jungfrau Winter Sport Pass, trains from Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald are included. See www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb.
Where to stay:
Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof, Grindelwald.
Where to eat:
- Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof
- Barry’s Restaurant in the Hotel Eiger.
Skiing in the Jungfrau Ski Region
Jungfrau Winter Sport Pass: Adult price, CHF 75 for one day and CHF 385 for 6 days. Young people aged 16 to 19, CHF 45 and CHF 247; children 6 to 15, CHF 38 and CHF 183; seniors aged over 62, CHF 68 and CHF 347
Connecting ticket to Jungfraujoch –Top of Europe is CHF 63 with the Skipass Jungfrau.
See : www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb and www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst.
Other things to know:
Grindelwald Terminal doubles as a ski station and shopping centre and also has restaurants, a hospitality suite, ski rental at Intersport Rent-Network – and ski lockers for hire.
See Grindelwald Terminal.
Other things to do:
- Freestyle snow park and a half-pipe
- Zip wires: Flying Fox and First Glider in winter. See: www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst
- Night sledging – Eiger Run. See: https://www.jungfrau.ch/de-ch/schlitteln/eiger-run/
- Note, the trip was by invitation and organised as a press familiarisation trip. All words are my own. I was not paid to take the trip.