Ski-running Part 2

Campfer and Silvaplana tap the country lying behind the Julier Pa.s.s, but, as no railway helps here, the tours entail a lot of climbing and a drive on the way home.

MALOJA, 5,935 feet above the sea, lies at the upper end of the Inn valley.

Never having been there in Winter, I cannot describe it during that season.

It is a beautiful place in Summer, and may open up a good deal of country which is not much tracked, as there is no village and only one large and two small hotels.

The post road runs zigzagging down into Italy and is said to provide a very fine bob or toboggan run. A Rink is kept open. Now that Maloja is being opened as a Winter centre, every amenity for a Winter holiday will probably be offered.

The Bernese Oberland is also one of the best Ski-ing districts in Switzerland.

Mr. A. Lunn has produced a very helpful guide to all the Ski-ing tours and also, with the help of Herr Gurtner, a first-cla.s.s Ski-ing map, using the Ordnance Map as its basis, so that only one map need be carried.

MuRREN, 5,368 feet above the sea, seems to me to be one of the very best centres for beginners as they receive so much help, and there are numbers of short runs aided by the Allmendhubel funicular which runs up some 700 feet above the village. From the top of this several short runs end in the village or on the Berner Oberland Railway, which brings the tired novice home without much effort.

The Berner Oberland and the Wengern Alp Railways also enable people to get the best of the Scheidegg runs down to Wengen or Grindelwald.

The Ski-ing is very highly organized at Murren and beginners receive a great deal of help and encouragement.

There are Guides and Instructors.

The Rinks and bob run are admittedly among the best in Switzerland.

Skis can be hired locally.

WENGEN, 4,187 feet above the sea, is a lovely place, with the most beautiful view of the Jungfrau. It faces south, but provides two or three nice home runs, which remain in good condition except for the tracks of innumerable runners.

The Wengern Alp Railway is usually open to the Scheidegg, though after a very heavy snow-fall it may take a few days to clear. This enables people to enjoy all the runs down to Grindelwald, returning to Wengen by train.

The Ski-ing is organized and there are good Guides and Instructors.

Rinks and a most amusing toboggan run provide for off-days.

Skis can be hired locally.

GRINDELWALD, 3,468 feet above the sea, is too well-known as a Summer resort to need much description here.

Its main fault in Winter is that the sun disappears behind a mountain for about an hour and a half in the middle of the day. This ensures perfect ice on the rinks and does not much affect the Ski runner, who can climb beyond the shadow for lunch. I cannot resist mentioning my good friend Frau Wolther's tea-shop as one of the great attractions at Grindelwald, drawing many a Ski runner over the Scheidegg from Murren and Wengen! Frau Wolther's unfailing welcome and hospitality are a great joy at the end of a hot, wet run, and the fact that a change of clothes can be sent round by train to her care is a great comfort to those coming from afar.

There are plenty of short Ski runs above Grindelwald, and the Scheidegg railway is kept open as far as Alpiglen to help with the climb on a long day's tour.

There are good Guides to be had, some of whom are probably Ski Instructors.

The Rinks are first-cla.s.s and both bob and toboggan runs are kept up.

Skis can be hired locally.

LAUTERBRUNNEN, about 3,000 feet above the sea. People who know Switzerland well may wonder why I include Lauterbrunnen in my list, but I have often wondered equally why no one makes it a centre for Ski-ing. Though the sun may not s.h.i.+ne there for long hours, the fact that it lies at the junction of the Berner Oberland Railway, the Murren Funicular and the Wengern Alp Railway seems to me to make it a very possible Ski-ing centre.

There are good hotels, and the Herr Gurtners, whose home Lauterbrunnen is, may be depended upon as two of the best Ski runners in Switzerland and two of the most active pushers of Ski-ing, to do their utmost to help any British runners who decide to try Lauterbrunnen.

All the Murren, Wengen and Grindelwald runs are within easy reach of Lauterbrunnen, and if the railways will sell special tickets, the cost of the journeys should not be prohibitive.

To my mind, the fact that one could stop at Lauterbrunnen after a day over the Scheidegg would be a great comfort, as the last journey up to Murren or Wengen is apt to be tiresome after a long run, if often repeated.

In any case it seems to me that runners might do worse than write to Herr Gurtner at Lauterbrunnen and ask for particulars, at any rate for the Christmas holidays, when most of the popular villages are very full and the hotel rates are high.

Good Guides are available at Lauterbrunnen.

KANDERSTEG, 3,835 feet above the sea. I have never been there except in Summer when I know it well.

One great attraction about Kandersteg is that it can be reached by a through train from Calais or Boulogne.

From the Ski-ing point of view, I think Kandersteg might be disappointing to the runner who hopes for short runs. There are excellent Nursery slopes, and the Loetschberg Railway probably opens up quite a lot of country.

Guides are obtainable.

Rinks and toboggan runs are maintained.

ADELBODEN, 4,450 feet above the sea, is said to be an excellent Ski-ing centre, but I do not know it personally, having only just been up there in Summer time.

There is no railway to help, so that all climbing has to be done on Skis. It is within reach of very good tours throughout the lower Bernese mountains.

The British Champions.h.i.+p was held there in 1923, which shows that the Ski-ing is organized, and good Guides are, no doubt, obtainable.

Adelboden, being a well-known Winter Sports Centre, the rink and toboggan runs are probably excellent, but, never having seen them, I cannot vouch for them.

Skis can be hired locally.

SAANENMOSER, 4,209 feet above the sea, lies at the top of the low pa.s.s between the Simmen Valley above Zweizimme and the Sarine Valley running down to Gstaad and Chateau d'Oex.

There is only the one Sports Hotel and no village. It is a most charming place within reach of Ski-ing in all directions among the lower Bernese mountains.

The Montreux Oberland Railway running down both sides of the Pa.s.s helps a little by carrying Ski runners home after some long excursions, but all uphill work has to be done on Skis. The slopes are gradual and the Saanenmoser runs are perfect for people who have learnt the elements of Ski-ing in some active place, and who then want to gain confidence by free running over easy country.

The Ski-ing was not organized when I was at Saanenmoser in 1921, and neither Guides nor Ski Instructors were obtainable. There was only a tiny rink and no toboggan or bob runs.

Skis can be hired at Gstaad.

GSTAAD, about 3,800 feet above the sea, lies below Saanenmoser, and is a large village with numbers of hotels. The Ski-ing is very much the same as at Saanenmoser and the Railway serves the same purpose, only helping runners a little.

I have never stayed at Gstaad, but have heard it well spoken of as a Winter Sports centre offering all the usual attractions.

Skis can be hired locally, I believe, and Guides are obtainable.

The Rhone Valley offers a few centres which I do not know in Winter.

Among those I have heard most about, the following are outstanding.