 Poster: A snowHead
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Travel: Landed in Geneva around 3pm and quickly found ourselves in an enormous queue for passport control. We waited for over an hour. Once through, our bags were ready and waiting on a stationary carousel, which we collected and went straight to the train station to embark on an epic 4-hour train journey with changes in Bern, Interlaken, and Lauterbrunnen. All in all, the journey went much better than expected. Our previous journey, from Zurich to Zermatt, did Swiss Rail no favours – late trains, missed connections, and crowded carriages with no place for luggage. This time we opted for the 1st class upgrade, which was worth every penny. You may not get a free lounge, or food, but what you do get is a quiet and spacious carriage. The 4 hours flew by.
Hotel: The Falken, which is near the bottom of piste 36, a blue run down from Kleine Scheidegg. The hotel is old but charming, and is marketed as “ski in, ski out”. The charm, however, quickly wore off after several nights of disturbed sleep from creaky floorboards. The food, I’m happy to report, was fine. The first night, a Saturday, was a buffet, followed by a set four course menu from Sunday to Friday. The only option is the main, where you can choose between meat, fish, or veg, but the accompanied sides were generally the same. All the staff were pleasant and accommodating, and we left with a very positive view of the hotel.
Rental: The hotel came with a 20% discount at Ski Set, so we went there. The prices were relatively reasonable, and the staff were great, even after several return visits to switch boots. I ultimately ended up in a pair of (Nordica) rear-entries for the first time, which were honestly a revelation, despite the slightly loose heel – just being able to quickly lock and unlock the boot at the same position in seconds felt like unlocking a superpower.
Wengen: The village is surprisingly small. It’s got a pretty good bakery, two grocery stores (local and a Coop), a few bars, and loads of hotels. But, sadly, no proper coffee shop. The scenery is stunning, and the hiking is fabulous. Highly recommend the hike from Wengen up to Kleine Scheidegg, particularly after a snow dump! Finally, the village is absolutely packed with Brits. I knew it was an old British favourite, but it took us by surprise.
Ski & Weather:
Sunday: wind and closed links. No skiing.
Monday - Tuesday: on Kleine Scheidegg with very poor visibility; could barely see the next piste marker on the Monday. Little skiing.
Wednesday: huge dump of snow on Tuesday night, so the pistes were rather unpisted. No skiing.
Thursday - Friday: glorious sun shine; spent all our time on Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen. Good skiing!
Rudeness: We encountered a shocking number of rude and ill-mannered skiers. We were pushed and shoved countless times while waiting for the train or disembarking. And my wife, who is quite cautious, was skiing into Wengen when she was approached from behind by a British male and female shouting “for f*** sake” and “that b**** better move out of our way”, before skiing either side of her, limiting her ability to turn. I could list other encounters, but what’s the point. It just baffles me how people on holiday can have so much aggro, but I guess that’s the privileged and entitled nature of a lot of skiers. If I could just work out how to avoid them…
Overall: A good holiday. I'd recommend Wengen if you're a fairly good skier or travelling with non-skiers. If you're relatively new, or cautious, I'd probably advise you look elsewhere, given the "easy" runs into Wengen and Grindlewald can get pretty narrow, steep, and cut up, and are fairly long, particularly if you're going slowly. My only complaint, really, is the frequentness of the trains; lots of waiting. All in all, our skiing progressed nicely, the hiking was excellent, and although the GBPCHF exchange rate is quite punishing, the quality is worth it in my opinion. It reinforced my fondness for Switzerland – I’d just avoid Geneva Airport in future!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Orwell wrote: |
| It reinforced my fondness for Switzerland – I’d just avoid Geneva Airport in future! |
Yes, if you're going to the Jungfrau region by train then either Zurich or Basel airports are better imv, There are some trains from Zurich airport to Interlaken Ost where you don't have to change in Bern, and Basel main train station has some direct services through to Interlaken Ost again with no changes at Bern.
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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?
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Due to my OH lack of fondness for train swapping we chose to wait a bit more by the airport so we could take the direct train from Zurich to Interlaken OST.
I think Grindelwald makes more sense as a winter base for skiing while Wengen is better for the summer hikes.
But both of them are places that always make me smile when I remember the view, the atmosphere, the hikes and the pistes.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@drporat, I don't like staying in Grindelwald, finding the way the Eiger looms over the town quite threatening.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Orwell, thanks for the report and glad you say you had a good time despite all the challenges.
I did a similar trip with a group earlier in the season and thankfully didn’t encounter the problems at Geneva, but have had big queues there in the past.
We also avoided ill mannered skiers but it sounds like our conditions were a bit better so perhaps there was a little less stress up on the mountain.
It is a stunning area though, I agree and loved the old world charm of the village
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| drporat wrote: |
I think Grindelwald makes more sense as a winter base for skiing while Wengen is better for the summer hikes.
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Yes I agree - the new funitel gondola from GWald has taken away a lot of the train faffage.
As the OP mentions, choose your hotel carefully in that region as there are a lot of old relics trading on past glories. No excuse for creaky floorboards!
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@Hurtle, to me it's the other way around, people are so different... 
The close presence of the steep eternal mountains makes me feel at ease with my mortality and let me appreciate the minimal moments I spend underneath those rugged peaks.
They are there to protect and shelter, not to threaten. Like Munch shielding the Jungfrau from the monstrous Ogre.
And to take me skiing up to First.
The last time I was there I met an older French lady who owns Chalet LeCocq in Bort.Now that would be a special place to spend a week in winter time with friends and family.
Wengen, kind and lush, always inviting to unwind, is perfect for the summer hikes.
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@EdYarker, that’s good to hear and I suspect you’re right. I’d probably feel a little less positive if we weren’t headed to Corvara on Saturday. That said, the forecast is lacking sun right now… hopefully that’ll change!
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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.
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@Orwell, marvellous! Corvara should be great as well. 2 good choices this year! Hope the weather behaves
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@Orwell, Stay in Lauterbrunnen next time - cheaper / prettier and means you can get on the train and bag the best seats before the Wengen chavs embark!
Did you ski the blue down to Brandegg / Grindelwald from Kleine Scheidegg and have pastries at the bottom? Empty most of the time and if conditions are good can make you feel like a skiing god!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Belch,  duly noted. Lauterbrunnen valley is quite something. We hiked down from Wengen on one of the days; big mistake, should have trained down and walked up! Knees didn’t thank me. We did ski over to Grindelwald, but not sure what pastries you’re referring to. We stopped at the Brandegg restaurant for some pulled pork, Rösti, and apple fritters.
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FAQ
