If the Swiss Alps are beautiful, the Jungfrau Region is their proverbial icing on the towering cake. Here, vintage trains and futuristic cable-cars haul you up to peaks that are as high as the sky. Spruce forests bristle above eyrie-like villages, with cozy log cabin retreats. Vertical cliffs sheer down to valleys frosted white. And set theatrically above it all are colossal, glacier-capped mountains — among them the legendary triple act of the Eiger (13,025ft), Mönch (13,465ft) and Jungfrau (13,642ft). Such scenery is actually distracting when you’re navigating an Olympic black run or Europe’s longest toboggan track.
There’s never been a better time to visit: the recent overhaul of Jungfrau mountain railways, and the arrival of the tri-cable Eiger Express gondola, launching 5 December 2020, are set to significantly slash journey times to Europe’s highest station, Jungfraujoch. And the Top4 Ski Pass, interlinking four ski regions in the Bernese Oberland, makes zipping from peak to peak a breeze.
DAY ONE SKI THE SLOPES
MORNING
Nothing jump-starts a morning like the view of the Eiger’s north face, set among a host of other summits that graze the 13,000ft mark. Bang in the icy heart of the Jungfrau Region, Grindelwald has grandstand views of that ferocious fang of a mountain. Grab an espresso and rent your gear at Grindelwaldsports, then hop on the gondola up to the First station for a mixed bag of long blue and red runs, and freeriding for boarders at the Snowpark. You’ll find more cruisy, above-the-treeline runs with big views in the KleineScheidegg-Männlichen area. Or take it off-piste with a local guide.
This story is from the Winter Sports 2020 edition of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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This story is from the Winter Sports 2020 edition of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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