Ski week in Wengen, Switzerland

At the top of the Shilthorn

Last week I was lucky enough to go skiing in Wengen, Switzerland, with my dad for the week. We had absolutely stunning weather all week with barely a cloud during the time that we were there. It made for some absolutely stunning scenery and with the lack of crowds on the slopes we could enjoy everything to the full. There were a few downsides, namely that I got a slightly sun burnt nose and combined with the end of the season it meant that in the afternoons the lower slopes could get pretty slushy. Although by staying high and picking the north facing slopes we managed to ski until 4pm most days.

My favourite run was bombing off the top of the Shilthorn on a virtually empty piste. The steep start makes you feel like an accomplished skier (which I'm not) before you drop into the bowl for some sweeping carving turns. Can I got back up the cable car another four times to do it again please?

Lunch in Grindelwald

I'm used to a ski resort being just ski lifts and slopes, so one of the things which really struck me was how much extra Wengen had a on offer. For the skiers there were several speed traps, timed slalom courses and fixed cameras around the resort that you could take advantage of. At the end of each day you could also get a print out of the activity logged against your ski pass for that day (number of lifts taken, a graph of the altitude you skied at, how long you'd been skiing etc..). It all added to the fun.

For the non-skier there were plenty of toboggan runs across the resort plus a zip wire in Grindelwald and over in Murren they were making much more of the James Bond connection that than I've seen on previous visits. All the attractions seem to be working as there were quite a few non-skiing tourists in the resort.

Timothy Dalton at the Shiltorn 

We stayed at the Hotel Belvedere in Wengen, a fairly solid 3* hotel. It isn't going to win any awards but was a solid choice. It is short walk from the lifts so being able to leave our skis and boots at the hire shop (Skiset) every night was a bonus.

About to hit the slopes underneath the Eigernordland chair