 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Hi. Considering next half-term in Wengen. We are a blue and red cruisers as a family so don't need info regarding off-piste or steeps but I have had a bit of conflicting advice about how quick and easy it is to link the areas via lifts and trains. Both views, "no problem" and "can take ages" are from people who "know". One of the possibilities is staying with Clubmed but, again, short walk or a pain? It doesn't look too far on google but I've been caught out before. So, I would be grateful for any advice. Many thanks in anticipation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
you're pretty close to the Mannlichen cable car, so if you're only skiing Wengen/Grindelwald I don't see why you'd need to worry about trains. Unless you want a day trip to Murren.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
If you go with ClubMed then if there is a long walk they are likely to put on mini-buses. This is certainly what they did in Cervinia.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Club Med is at one end of the High Street the Railway Station is at the other end of the High Street and the Cablecar is roughly halfway between the two, it's less than 10 mins in ski boots to walk from one end of the street to the other even for an unfit person like me, however the very end of the street just before Club Med is steeper than the rest of the street (which is flat) and can get icy under certain conditions, there are handrails to hold on to though.
You may find that club med has a deal with central sport to allow you to leave your skis and boots there (or if you hire kit you can do so as part of the deal) the cablecar station is next door to central sport, who I would happily reccomend
There are busy times at the cablecar and station, in particular between 9 and 10 am when the ski school classes are all trying to get up the mountain.
The Cablecar takes about 5 mins to go up and when its busy they run continuously, when it's quiet they run every 15 mins but that will be rare in Feb
The train takes 41 mins to go from Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg, most people only need to use this once or at most twice during the day (if you have to meet up with kids at lunchtime in Wengen) this is what you have to put up with to get the advantage of long cruising red and blue runs though.
You might be interested in the DHO club who do daily guided trips around the mountains, they have a clubroom in what was once the Eiger hotel, right by the railway station, on Sundays the guided trip takes you on a gentle cruise round the immediate area http://www.downhillonly.com/site/dhowengen.shtml
If you want any particular info on the area feel free to ask I've been going to Wengen since I was born 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
@skitrack, As Wengen is more or less vehicle free, I doubt that's likely 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Club Med have a big trailer they put behind a vehicle to pick up luggage from the station on changeover days but thats about it for transport, it's really not far from the club med hotel to more or less anywhere in Wengen itself and the village is generally easy to get around they tend to leave snow on the road just coating it with chippings but once it starts turning to ice they come along, and remove the ice sweeping up the chippings to re use later
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@under a new name, Good point, I'd forgotten that 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
Many thanks for your help so far. Would I be right in assuming that both the cable car and the train could be a pain at ski school time in the morning? Does the train take a long time wherever it goes? Is this just part of the "atmosphere" of the area? Is there enough skiing to occupy your week without venturing to First or Murren? As you can see I don't really have a handle on this yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@kennethm, Ker-ching! Take plenty of Swissies is my advice!! CH-land is off my radar for the foreseeable....... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
The all-inclusive Clubmed just about makes the place possible!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
@kennethm, .......so long as you don't eat on the mountain, do any off-site apres or buy a lift pass? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We stayed in the Chalet Rosa located in Lauterbrunnen, run by Ski Miquel over New Year 2014 which was ideally located for both Murren and Wengen. Great chalet with heated ski lockers at Lauterbrunnen train station so easy walking back to chalet. IMHO the trains just added to the magic of the place. Never had a problem getting on one, they run frequently and are as reliable as a swiss watch. New Year's Eve in Wengen was great but so was sledging on the Murren side with the children. Both areas are quite different from each other and Lauterbrunnen was ideal for trying both. There were 28 of us and we're all agreed it was the best group holiday we've had in the last 10 years that we've been going. We'll be going back again without a doubt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
@kennethm, usual practice is to drop kids with ski school and make a mad dash for train or cablecar, if you go later or earlier it's not a problem, I usually try to get up on an earlier train or cablecar, then take an early lunch somewhere, that way I get up to an hour of almost empty slopes in the morning and another hour of quiet slopes at lunch time, then I frequently come back to wengen a little earlier than most in the afternoon and avoid the crowds in the narrow home run below Allmend Station
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
@Markymark29, Yes, quite but the lift pass is included as is full board. Yet to suss out the lunch arrangements so don't know if it involves coming back for lunch or if it can be had in a nominated hut. If I have a big breakfast I will survive until returning in late afternoon for cake. Many thanks to you all for your advice. I'm taking it all in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Went to wengen for the first time last easter. Didn't feel rip-off prices (for Switzerland). Got speaking to a couple in geneva on the way home who went to the 3V, it turned out Wengen was cheaper for everything but wine.
The train is slow, but i think it suits the pace of the resort.
Never went to Murren, but First wasn't too time consuming to reach (mighta got lucky with the bus connection) and the skiing there was really nice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
The train from Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg takes 26 minutes (not 41 minutes as referred to above). The train from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg takes 43 minutes.
From observation, it would seem that the Club Med package includes two or three lunches on the mountain, to be taken at the Berghaus self service restaurant at Mannlichen or the Eigernordwand self service restaurant at Kleine Scheidegg. Otherwise, Club Med guests have to return to the hotel at lunch time to benefit from the full board.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Yup my mistake I stuck in the Lauterbrunnen to Kl Scheidegg train time, no idea why I really should know better
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
I saw 2 ladies in full length burkas taking a selfie on Wengen station last week. That made me smile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
