Switzerland In Focus - Discover Switzerland: Experience the Best of Switzerland - page 582

Bernese Oberland & Central Switzerland
If only all ski resorts were like those in the Bernese Oberland. At its winter wonderland
heart is the Jungfrau, an unspoilt Alpine region with dark timber villages and scenery
lovely enough to distract anyone from mastering parallel turns.
The region is criss-crossed with 214km of well-maintained slopes, ranging from easy-
peasy to hair-raising, which afford fleeting views of the 'Big Three': the Eiger, Mönch
and Jungfrau. Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren all offer varied skiing and have a relaxed,
family-friendly vibe. For more glitz and Gucci, swing west to Gstaad, which has fine
downhill on 250km of slopes and pre- and post-season glacier skiing at nearby Glacier
3000, framed by 4000m peaks.
Surprisingly little-known given its snow-sure slopes and staggering mountain backdrop,
Engelberg is dominated by the savage rock and ice walls of glacier-capped Mt Titlis. The
real treasures here are off-piste, including Galtiberg, a 2000m vertical descent from the
glacier to the valley.
Online Ski Deals
For last-minute ski deals and packages, check out websites like www.igluski.com and www.j2ski.com . Local tourist
offices, Snowfinders ( www.snowinders.co.uk ) and My Switzerland ( www.myswitzerland.com ) might also
have good-value offers.
Speed to the slopes by prebooking your ski and snowboard hire at Ski Set ( www.skiset.co.uk ) or Snowbrainer
( www.snowbrainer.com ) , both of which offer discounts of up to 49% on shop rental prices. If you want to skip to
the front of the queue, consider ordering your lift pass online, too. Swiss Passes ( www.swisspasses.com ) gets you a
reduction of 5% to 15% on standard lift pass prices.
Valais & Zermatt
One of Switzerland's most-enduring images is the perfect pyramid-shaped peak of the
Matterhorn, soaring 4478m above Zermatt. Snowboarders, intermediates and off-pisters
are all catered for in this car-free resort with 300km of eye-poppingly scenic runs. You
can even ski over to Cervinia in Italy. Verbier has a cool 412km of slopes and some ter-
rifically challenging off-piste spots for experts. Hard-core boarders favour snow-sure,
glacier-licked Saas Fee. Snuggling up to France's mammoth Portes du Soleil ski arena,
Champéry has access to 650km of slopes. Queues are few and families are welcome in
lesser-known beauties such as Bettmeralp.