mürren Archives - Alpine Winter Sports

31/03/202101/04/2021

Ski Movies – Part One

With most people unable to go skiing this season, what is there better to do than curl up with a good ski movie. Or a bad one. Or even one that features a few scenes in a ski resort.

Here are some suggestions:

Slalom (2021) – French

The Guardian film critic asks “Is this a tale of abuse, or forbidden love? Or is there something insidious in asking that question, suggesting an ambiguity that will err leniently on the side of love?” Well, that’s for you to find out in this well regarded French movie from Charlène Favier, who drew on her own experiences in Val-d’Isère in the making of her debut feature.

Nordwand (2008) – German

This film is about mountaineering rather than skiing, but it all takes place on the North face of the Eiger in 1936, above Grindelwald, and is compelling viewing – which is more than can be said for some of the movies I’m going to review that feature a lot more slope-side action.

Chalet Girl (2011)

This story of a working class girl becoming a snowboard champion in St Anton is entertainingly watchable dross. It has Bill Nighy in it. Do you need to know anything more?

Claim (2008)

Full movie

The press release says: “CLAIM, The Greatest Ski Movie… EVER!” A truly epic film shot in the most amazing locations, featuring the best and boldest skiers in the world today: Mark Abma, Jon Olsson, Shane McConkey, Eric Hjorleifson and more. I would add it only takes an astonishingly awesome 2 minutes before the film features “The Final Countdown”.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Trailer

This is one of my favourite Bond films, despite starring the relatively unpopular George Lazenby. A whole bunch of the action takes place on the Schilthorn, above Mürren in Switzerland, including a memorable ski chase.

There’s five to start with. If nothing takes your fancy here, I will be adding a couple of dozen more in upcoming posts.

03/01/202104/01/2021

Ski and Snowboard Playlist

In the absence of the opportunity to ski and snowboard so far this year I put together a list of songs with some vague association with winter sports.

The top 10 are:

Doors: Riders on the Storm
Moby: Extreme Ways
David Bowie: Station to Station
Cream: White Room
Foreigner: Cold as Ice
Led Zeppelin: Misty Mountain Hop
Scooter: J’Adore Hardcore (soundtrack to great ski video)
Of Monsters and Men: Mountain Sound
Fleet Foxes: White Winter Hymnal
Sufer Koe and the Surfaris: Wipe Out

The spotify playlist is here.

Other songs that could have made it but didn’t include:

Kanye West: Coldest Winter
John Denver: Rocky Mountain High
Janes Addiction: Mountain Song
Moutain: Nantucket Sleighride
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow
Wham: Last Christmas
Nina: Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?”
Darlene Love: Winter Wonderland

The Nina song is a bit twee but did feature in James Bond’s OHMSS, which also featured the ski chase off the Schilthorn above Mürren. The video for the Wham song was filmed in Saas-Fee. Rocky Mountain High is the official state song of Colorado which, as both the cannabis capital of the world and the home of some of the world’s most awesome skiing is pretty appropriate. My most recent US ski trip is featured here.

21/12/202031/05/2021

Best Ski Resorts in Switzerland

I recently revisited my Swiss Winter Resorts web site to update it with what I have learned skiing and talking to people these last two months. I also revamped one of the landing pages, largely because I have come up with a few recommendations framed in terms of the ‘best five’ for various criteria. What do you think?

Resorts you could spend a whole season in – good altitude, good attitude:
1. Zermatt, 2. Verbier, 3. St Moritz, 4. Davos, 5. Saas-Fee

Best for boarders and parkers:
1. LAAX, 2. Saas-Fee, 3. Adelboden, 4. Arosa/Lenzerheide, 5. Grindelwald

Intermediate heaven:
1. Champéry – Portes du Soleil, 2. Saas-Fee, 3. LAAX, 4. Samnaun, 5. Wengen

Cute car-free ski-in, ski-out resorts:
1. Wengen, 2. Mürren, 3. Aletsch Arena, 4. Stoos, 5. Lauchernalp

Resorts with a great hostel – good for budget breaks and singles:
1. St Moritz, 2. Scuol, 3. Saas-Fee, 4. Grindelwald, 5. LAAX

Resorts young families and beginners like:
1. Saas-Fee, 2. Villars, 3. Wengen, 4. Thyon, 5. Grächen

Best for backcountry:
1. Verbier, 2. Val d’Anniviers – St-Luc/Chandolin, 3. Davos, 4. Arolla, 5. Disentis

Good snow record, long season:
1. Zermatt, 2. Saas-Fee, 3. St Moritz, 4. Verbier, 5. Andermatt

Good for spa and ski:
1. Leukerbad, 2. Arosa, 3. Scuol, 4. Lenk i.S., 5. Saas-Fee
Other resorts with spas include Vals, St Moritz, Bad Ragaz, Ovronnaz and Villars.

Eating out at the Olympique, Attelas, Verbier

Foodies delight:
1. Zermatt, 2. St Moritz, 3. Gstaad, 4. Arosa, 5. Crans-Montana

Most highly rated hotels:
1. Zermatt, 2. St Moritz, 3. Lenzerheide, 4. Pontresina , 5. Flims
If you include all the hotels in the Gstaad area, it would have been on the list.

Best resorts from Geneva, Geneva Airport and Lausanne for short or long breaks:
1. Champéry – Portes du Soleil, 2. Villars, 3. Verbier, 4. Leysin, 5. Zermatt
Geneva has an inter-regional railway station within the airport building.

Best resorts from Zürich or Zürich Airport for short or long breaks:
1. Engelberg, 2. Andermatt, 3. Arosa, 4. Davos/Klosters, 5. Jungfrau (Wengen/Grindelwald)
Zürich has an inter-regional railway station within the airport building.

Smaller resorts you can get to quickly from Zürich for day trips:
1. Hoch-Ybrig, 2. Flumserberg, 3. Braunwald, 4. Toggenberg, 5. Stoos

Best resorts from Basel for short or longer breaks:
1. Jungfrau (Wengen/Grindelwald), 2. Engelberg, 3. Adelboden, 4. Gstaad Mountain Rides, 5. Meiringen-Hasliberg

Smaller resorts you can get to quickly from Basel for day trips:
1. Feldberg (DE), 2. Engelberg, 3. Sörenberg 4. Klewenalp, 5. Melchsee-Frutt
With the exception of the first in the list, these are also the most convenient for Luzern.

Rhein Valley gems:
1. Flims/Laax/Falera, 2. Obersaxen, 3. Disentis, 4. Sedrun, 5. Brigels/Breil

Rhône Valley gems:
1. Crans-Montana, 2. Nendaz, 3. Aletsch Arena, 4. Anzère, 5. Belalp

23/02/201717/03/2017

March skiing

March is probably my favourite month for skiing, the longer evenings and sunny skies heralding Spring. And, of course, you do tend to get Spring ski conditions – crusty off-piste, whilst the pistes are icy first thing and slushy at the end of the day. So a good tip is to look for resorts where most of the skiing is high.

No schools in Europe have half term during March this year, so there should be some good bargains for accommodation, particularly family-friendly resorts.

Some of the medium-sized resorts are perfect to visit since they have lower lift pass prices and should have the full extent of their ski area still open.

Booking.com

These, then, are my top tips for March skiing, all resorts with plenty of altitude:

Saas-Fee
Ski Saas-Fee