General
In this crystalline landscape, snow covered pine wooods under brilliant blue
winter skies alternate with age-blackened wooden houses
Raclette and Fendant wine, glacier bars, fondue evenings,
The ski season began early, in October, autumnal rains bringing 200cm of snow to
the glaciers. Verbier and Saas Fee were open.
The trendy skier is never without a pocket-sized Motorola Talkabout walkie
talkie with a range of two miles and up to one hour's continuous talk time
The cost of a ski pass is dearer in Switzerland than anywhere else in Europe and
Zermatt, followed by Verbier and St Moritz is the dearest, at an average of 105
pounds for a week. But it is double that in America.
The Glacier Express offers spectacular journeys through central Switzerland's
chocolate box cantons.
There are three key areas - The Bernese Oberland which includes Gstaad, the
mighty Jungfrau, the Eiger offer demanding runs,
Grindelwald- the ski resorts of the Jungfrau lie below the world famus backdrop
of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau
Gstadd - Up to 3,000 m. - no queues - 69 cable cars, 250km of pistes, 100km of
cross country ski trails, the famous Tiger Run, après ski on the pedestrian
boulevard, the Restaurant Chesery is a typical swiss chalet serving culinary
dreams to local high society and the visiting jet set or delivers to your home
Valais - from the Rhone glacier to Lake Geneva, more than 50, 4,000 metre peaks
reach up to the Valais skies
Zermatt - a car free village, easy to get round on foot, the Zermatt-Cervinia
(Italy) offers 245km pistes, 54 mountain restaurants, night life - for demanding
skier, hihglights include ice tower climbing in the village, free ski passes for
under 9 year olds, visit thje glacier cave on the Klein Matterhorn at 3,820m -
this swanky skiing and mountaineering resort bathes in the reflected glory of
one of the most famous peaks in the Alps, the 4478m Matterhorn. Here is virtual
all year round skiing on the glacier,take the popular cog-wheel railway to
Gornergrat, crammed with traditional tumble down wooden Valais homes. In the
cemetary, inscibed on stone monumentsm the names of those who attempted the
Matterhorn and did not live to tell the tale are a sobering sight.
Graubünden - Switzerland's holiday corner
St Moritz - the palatial Carlton - the St Moritz Olympic bobsled run
Sports include ski sailing above ground, snow golf, putting a red ball on a
white green, paraglider taxis wearing skis to high altitude pistes, hot-air
ballooning, snowboarding, cross country, sleighrides, snow shoeing, thermal
spas, tandem paragliding, zorbing, curling