New for the 2016/17 Swiss Ski Season

Another ski season is not far away, and many Swiss resorts have been busy upgrading their facilities ready for season 2016/17.

In Zermatt the ancient gondola below the Rothorn from Gant to Blauherd is being replaced by a six-seat chairlift.
Saas-Fee in Saastal
In Saas-Fee the equally ancient gondola in the Spielboden sector is being replaced by a faster 10-seater gondola.

Andermatt continues its aggressive program of expansion. This season two T-bars will be replaced by six-seater chairlifts. In the following two seasons an additional two six-seater chairlifts and an eight-seater gondola will link the Nätschen area of Andermatt to Sedrun and open up 26km of new piste. Sedrun itself replaces a t-bar with a chairlift, a trend across many Alpine resorts.

Most people know Klosters for the Parsenn area, but the seperate Madrisa area is popular with families. Here an innovative six-seater chairlift, “Schaffürggli”, is being installed, the first of its kind in Switzerland. It features a laser scanner that uses hydraulics to adjust the height of the seat, making it much easier for children to get on and off. The chairlift will also have heated seats and can take wheelchair users up the mountain.

New lifts and replacement lifts are planned for a number of other resorts including Flumserberg, The Four Valleys, Corvatsch, Crans-Montana, Pizol, Les Diablerets, Villars-Gryon, Grüsch-Danusa and Val Müstair.

I’ve often thought it would be fun to have a drone film my descent. It would also be useful to give visitors to swisswintersports.co.uk an idea of what to expect. Well Verbier got there first and is offering Europe’s first self-tracking drones. The drones follow you on the slopes using Bluetooth and a GPS-enabled Smartphone App and Téléverbier rents them out the Hexo+ drones for CHF400 per day or CHF250 for a half day, providing assistance and a video at the end of the day.

All of the major airports in Switzerland lie just outside the Alps, but Swiss International Airlines now plan to provide a scheduled service between Sion and London, subject to a number of test flights. Sion Airport is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, and so close to the slopes you can actually see planes take off and landing from the pistes of several nearby resorts, including Verbier and Nendaz. Sion has been used for civilian flights for some time, but the last scheduled service from the UK was withdrawn a few years ago and the military will be withdrawing from using it from next year. The director of Sion airport, Aline Bovier-Gantzer says that “The initiative for the new flight is due to a collaboration with the Swiss tourism industry: Valais is already a favourite destination of British tourists during the winter months thanks to its proximity to some of Switzerland’s most popular ski resorts.”

Of course, if you fly to Switzerland, independent travellers can easily get to their resorts using the fabulous transport infrastructure available without having to resort to lengthy, uncomfortable coach transfers. You can also make the entire trip from many European cities directly by train, including London with the Eurostar ski train, booking for which is now open.
Snowboarders in the Alps
Just outside Switzerland’s borders but very popular with Swiss skiers is the Arlberg area in Austria. I remember that once you could get round the circuit that includes St Anton, Lech and Zürs, but for some years this has not been the case. Now a new gondola is scheduled to open that will link Zürs and Stuben to create the largest ski area in Austria, one of four new lifts that will be built in Ski Alberg over the summer. For the 2016/17 season this means Ski Arlberg will total 305km piste served by 87 lifts, fully linking St Anton, Stuben, St Christoph, Lech, Zürs, Schröcken and Warth.

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Join a Snow Train

Despite the weak pound providing a welcome boost for UK seaside resorts, if you want the white stuff you pretty much have to go abroad, the often excellent Scottish resorts notwithstanding. The most ecological way to get to the Alps is undoubtedly by train, and one of the best options is the special Eurostar ski train that runs from 17th December this year until the 8th of April.

Tickets for the service this winter have just gone on sale. Two trains will run each week, leaving London St Pancras on Friday evening and Saturday morning for Bourg St Maurice, with drops convenient for a number of French resorts – particularly Les Arcs.

I can remember ski trains being pretty lively, with disco carriages at one time, but the frivolity is rather more limited these days and no alcohol is permitted on board.

Tickets are available from eurostar.com.

As an alternative, scheduled Eurostar services now run to Lyon (or you can take normal Eurostar trains to Paris and change if the direct Lyon train times don’t suit you). From Lyon you can take a Lyria train direct to ski resorts in France and, in particular, Switzerland. More details on various options for taking the train to the slopes are given at snowandrail.com.

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Short Trips to Winter Sports Resorts

If you are fortunate enough to live in Switzerland, or have some other reason to be in or near Switzerland between November and May, it is remarkably easy to take a day trip to the Swiss Alps. Although it is convenient to use a car, there is very little reason not to take public transport. The travel times are comparable, it is at least as convenient by public transport and the ecological footprint is smaller. In addition many trains provide buffets and if they don’t, the local kiosk or Co-op can sell you snacks and refreshments to take with you. It is quite acceptable on Swiss trains to bring on board your favourite tipple to enjoy apres ski in the comfort of your return journey, reflecting on your day in the mountains whilst the mountain scenery passes alongside.
Probably the most cost-effective way to ski or snowboard is to take advantage of the Swiss Railways “Snow’n’Rail” scheme, which offers discounts on ski hire from the ubiquitous Intersports hire shops and significantly reduced charges for a combined rail and ski passes. You receive a ticket and a seperate voucher for the ski pass which can be exchanged for a ski card at the mountain resorts. Often there is a small deposit on the ski card, typically 5 SFr, redeemable when you return the card. The ticket and voucher can be purchased at railway stations either at a counter or from a ticket machine. The ticket machines will guide you through the purchase in English, French, German or Italian, and the online and printed brochures promoting the scheme are available in these languages too – although only the German version is comprehensive and the online versions are only available in season.
You can buy Snow’n’Rail passes for one or two days. There are also some destinations which offer six days passes, Engadin St Moritz being the most attractive. Astoundingly you can get to most ski areas in Switzerland by public transport on a day pass and get a full day’s skiing, provided you are willing to get up early enough! Some Snow’n’Rail desinations involve a combination of train and bus – don’t be put off by using buses, the buses are as efficient as the trains and the transfers are usually as easy as they are between trains. Most stations, hire shops and ski areas provide storage facilities if you don’t want to carry your gear around with you when you ski, although many regulars of the Snow’n’Rail service I know literally leave home in their ski boots ready to leap off the destination lift or train right onto the slopes.
Snow’n’Rail is not just for residents or people passing through Switzerland. It is entirely feasible to take a flight to Zurich Airport and get a full day skiing at somewhere like Flumseberg, two hours away from the terminal. An evening flight to Basel and a night at the YMCA near the station means you can get a full day skiing the next day at resorts like Wengen and Engelberg. Flying into Geneva on a Friday and staying at a hostel in Zermatt can give you two full days on the slopes before you return home on a Sunday evening flight.
Snow’n’Rail’s online brochure is produced seasonly, but this link will help you navigate it when it is available.

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