The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow…Or Just In Time To For It To Set

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

After a morning’s aborted hike in the mountains and the drive in a snowstorm, we’d lost hope that the weather would turn around or that we would be able to fit in a decent hike.

The weather in Switzerland is changeable By mid afternoon, the weather Grindelwald had begun to clear. By late afternoon, we’d taken our coats off. What’s not to love?

Us…in front of some mountains

A Snowstorm…On Easter?!? (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Les Incompetents Vol. 9 – Whimps In An Alpine Snowstorm (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Paragliding, What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)

Paragliding, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

French, Germans and Swiss are paragliding enthusiasts. In this adventure vacation paradise, paragliding is huge. Many weekends (in summer and winter) we see paragliders soaring over valleys… from the (relative) safety of a mountain.

When we were skiing in Chamonix, we saw paragliders jump off the mountain! They soared over the valley next to Mont Blanc. We watched them from the cable car all the way down into town. Someone even landed down there wearing skis! It was impressive (sorry I couldn’t get a picture).

Paragliding involves a manual launch, in other words, you run off the mountain! Paragliders have “flown” off almost all the US and Europe’s major peaks. A couple of paragliders have even launched off Mt. Everest!

The paraglider, also known as the pilot, sits in a harness, manipulating the fabric wing made of rip-stop nylon to soar upwards on currents of air. They maneuver Kevlar suspension lines and to control the pressure of the air entering the vents to catch air currents to gain height and change direction. They can stay aloft for hours (the record is 11) and travel long distances (the record is 186.4 miles/300 km).

We saw an introductory, tandem launch. Beginners must learn to launching, turning and landing to fly by themselves. Paragliders risk their lives by running off a precipice. As such, pre-flight is of paramount importance. They research the site, the weather forecast, and carry out pre-flight checks to their gear is in perfect condition and ready to deploy. The maxim “it is better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air rather than in the air, wishing you were on the ground” reminds paragliders to abort takeoff if their flight is compromised.

Other popular paragliding spots include:

Skiing in Sunny, Snowy Crans Montana

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

Last weekend, I met some friends from Belgium in Crans Montana, Switzerland. They were lucky enough to vacation there for a week and I crashed with them for a couple of nights.

Their apartment had an insane view. I can’t imagine waking up to a sunrise over mountains like this every morning.

Although I’ve been to Swiss ski towns (Grindelwald, Zermatt) and skied in France (Contaimines, Clusaz) and Italy (Courmayeur), it was my first time skiing (and renting skis) in Switzerland. Typically, it runs about 18 Euros ($24). When I rented skis at Crans Montana, I gasped at the price. It was 64 CHF ($69) for one day! You would think that I would be used to Swiss prices by now. They haven’t lost their ability to shock me.

English: Lac de la Moubra in Crans-Montana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I guess I should have expected it, Crans Montana is a tony town where wealthy Russians, private bankers and the occasional celebrity (Roger Moore, the Sarkozys, Celine Dion, Princess Caroline) congregate. In addition to skiing, it is known for its golf course (redesigned in 1999 by Seve Ballesteros), meeting facilities and hotel school.

Crans Montana is on the north side of the valley in the Valais region of Switzerland, the sunniest part in all of Switzerland. It was a glorious sunny day, with plenty of snow and stunning views of the Swiss Alps on the other side of the valley. It’s snowed in Geneva, but the mountains have received even more of it. The snow report: lots of it.

These guys were brave enough to go off piste and look good doing it. Seriously, they were hopping around like little bunnies. I was just happy to just not fall (on piste) and embarrass myself even more than I did.

Once again, I was (by far) the worst skier in the group. Thankfully, everyone was very patient and encouraging. I gathered my courage and tried a black run for the first time over here.

At the top of the run, notice the pole with the black in the background

The good news is that it was tons of fun and I made it down in one piece. The bad news is that I was incredibly slow and slid about 40 feet down on my back, head first).

I slid down like the panda in this photo from Arkive.org

On second thought, that panda doesn’t look sufficiently panicked. He looks like he is enjoying himself and isn’t worried about the possibility of death or serious injury. Good thing I wear a helmet.

Courmayeur (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Tour de Romandie presents 2012 route (velonation.com)
Anzère, Switzerland: the world’s greenest ski resort? (telegraph.co.uk)
Men’s World Cup Super-G races canceled in January have been rescheduled (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

Courmayeur

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

Courmayeur is an adorable town nestled in the mountains. We have visited Swiss ski towns (Zermatt, Grindelwald), French ski towns (La Clusaz and Contamines) and now an Italian ski town. Each country’s towns seem to have their own flavor despite being geographically close.

Even non skiers could happily spend a day enjoying Courmayeur‘s charming, car free streets. Shops, bars and restaurants fill its stone buildings. Whether you want to buy upscale apparel, outdoor gear, art, antiques, modern design items, wine or any special Italian food, you can find it in Courmayeur. In the evenings, people stroll the narrow, but chic streets. People were shopping, window shopping, people watching and on their way to the bars for a drink (a football game was about to start). The activity gave the town a cheery, festive but relaxed ambiance.

No Italian town would be complete without a church and religious statues. They look even more beautiful when surrounded by stunning mountains and the shadows they create.

As the evening progressed, people settled into its cozy cafes and restaurants. The vivacity continues on into the evening as Courmayeur has a lively nightlife. On our stroll home we saw bars were still packed. We also saw a man walking his miniscule pooch; they were wearing matching shiny puffy jackets. Sorry it was too cold to get out my camera (I would have had to take off my gloves).

Courtesy of Courmayeur.com

Courtesy of wheretoskiandsnowboard.com

Grindelwhat? Grindelwald!

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Schwingen In Switzerland

When we were in the Bernese Oberland, we stayed in a night in Grindelwald (one option if you do Kleine Scheidegg or Jungfraujoch). We suspected that it might be a bit big and a bit touristy for our tastes. When you have views like these of the Eiger, who cares?

In the late 18th century, foreigners discovered the scenic town. The scenery is so photogenic that pictures of the vistas were widely reprinted. This made the village internationally famous (the Eiger is Switzerland’s second most famous mountain after the Matterhorn), which, in turn, brought more visitors.

In the 19th century, Englishmen came to the village to climb the alpine peaks around the valley, including:

Finsteraarhorn (4,274 m/14,022 ft),
the Wetterhorn (3,692 m/12,113 ft),
the Eiger (3,970 m/13,020 ft),
the Schreckhorn (4,078 m/13,379 ft), and
the Gross Fiescherhorn (4,049 m/13,284 ft).

It’s in the heart of the Jungfrau region of the Bernese Oberland (the Bernese Alps). In the summer, it is a popular base for hikers and a ski town in the winter.

I think this is technically Wetterhorn. Until the Eiger became more famous, it was Grindelwald’s iconic symbol.

Improvements in transportation infrastructure, the Grindelwald road (built in 1860-72) and the Bernese Oberland railway (connected to the village in 1890), transformed the difficult trip into a simple one. As a result, tourists to flooded into the village and many hotels/resorts were built.

A rack railway was built to Kleine Scheidegg in 1893; it was expanded to the Jungfraujoch in 1912. It is still in use. We watched it wind up the mountain from the balcony of our hotel room. One of the great things about Switzerland is that the mountains are so accessible. In the late, 19th and early 20th centuries, numerous ski lifts, cable cars, hiking trails and alpine huts were built. Today, Grindelwald’s economy of is virtually entirely based on tourism. Like I said, it’s a bit touristy, but with beauty like this, who cares?