Lauterbrunnen Skiing Holidays

• Lauterbrunnen Resort Statistics+

  Slope Direction	N S E W
  Very Easy Runs	0
  Easy Runs	23
  Medium Runs	35
  Difficult Runs	22
  Toughest Run Name	Oh God
  Skiable Vertical	2176m
  Number Of Lifts	46
  Top Lift Height	2971m
  Night Skiing	N
  Snowboarding Parks	3
  Half Pipes	2
  Swimming Pools	1
  Night Clubs	1
  Mountain Restaurants	20

• Lauterbrunnen Piste Map+

  

• Lauterbrunnen Transfer Times+

  Zürich:	0 minutes
  Basel - Müllhouse:	0 minutes

Lauterbrunnen is not a ski resort per se, but a small valley village in a spectacular location beneath two beautiful ski areas - Wengen and Murren. The resort is unspoilt and largely made up of just half a dozen attractive Swiss chalet-style hotels, with traditional wooden balconies, the majority classified three star.

Century old funicular railways run up either side of the valley, so that each morning you choose whether to ski in one area or the other. In fact your choice is still larger as you can opt to stay on the funicular and carry on to Grindelwald (or switch to ski lifts and ski over from Wengen).

Lauterbrunnen's location is stunning, and has attracted great artists and poets searching for inspiration, to the village for centuries. When the snow melts, a major spring and summer attraction is the Staubbach waterfall just by the village.

Although the ski run back down from Murren is not usually open and you need to take funicular or cable-car and bus down the final section, the lift-served vertical from Lauterbrunnen at 800m to Piz Gloria above Murren at 2970m at 2170m is one of the world's best.

An annual ski race, The Inferno, one of the world's oldest and longest amateur races, does make the full descent. The race dates to the early years of skiing, which was pioneered in the region by early British ski tourists in the first decades of the twentieth century.

The Jungfrau lift pass covers all the ski lifts in the region and the railway lines between them. This means that you can take a day or evening trip down to the small city of Interlaken below the resort, opening up a lot of different après ski and non-ski activity options, further adding to the unique ski holiday experience of a stay in Lauterbrunnen.

• Beginners+

  Learning to ski in Lauterbrunnen is a pay-off between two factors. On the positive side you are starting your life on skis in one of the world's most beautiful locations, with high quality instruction and good nursery slopes.
  
  Against this you do have the minor inconvenience of needing to get up the mountain to take your lessons at Murren or Wengen, whereas most ski resorts offer more convenience with many boasting nursery slopes just outside your hotel door.

• Intermediates+

  Intermediates have four main choices at the start of each morning. They can take the train up to Grindelwald or Wengen, or the funicular up to Murren, with the option of stopping at Winteregg on the way up, from where the Winteregg chair takes you straight in to Murren's ski area.
  
  The fourth option is to take the bus up the valley to Stechelberg, from where a cable car lifts you in four stages on the world's longest cable car ascent to the Schilthorn (although you can opt to stop ascending and start skiing sooner, at the second or third stages).
  
  The Schilthorn is the highest ski region in the Bernese Oberland and became world-famous for the 1969 James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" - the revenue from filming it helped towards the cost of building the revolving restaurant there.
  
  The largest single sector on the Jungfrau pass is however Klein Scheidegg - Mannlichen which covers the terrain between Grindelwald and Wengen. In addition Grindelwald has its own First ski area.
  
  Most of the terrain across the region is suited to the intermediate skier, and although new high -speed chair lifts have made getting around easier and quicker than in the past, these are the same classic ski runs that have entertained skiers for more than 70 years. Pistes are up to 12km (seven-and-a-half miles) long.

• Advanced+

  With 14 marked black slopes covering more than 34km (21 miles) and representing 15% of the total skiing in the Jungfrau area, the area offers more challenging terrain than most resorts, before you add in to the mix a further couple of unprepared downhill runs (marked in yellow on the piste map) and extending to 10.2km (six miles) between them.
  
  No visit to the region is complete without paying homage to the legendary Lauberhorn downhill piste at Klein Scheidegg, scene of so many great World Cup downhill races each January over the years.
  
  Other famous runs are the feared 'Black Rock' which begins at the base of the Eiger, and the equally accurately titled "Oh God" - piste number 27. There is also an infamous black descent from Piz Gloria at the top of the Schilthorn.
  
  Heliskiing is an option here, along with numerous off piste routes, and high mountain ski touring in the company of a local mountain guide.

• Snowboarding+

  There are two terrain parks in the Jungfrau region. The First area above Grindelwald has a snow park with superpipe, whilst Klein Scheidegg - Mannlichen has a park, half pipe and "Jump Street". First's Stoneland Park contains kickers, rails, corners, wave ride and dips and is designed with different lines for different ability levels from beginners to experts.
  
  The superpipe at Schreckfeld has a five-and-a-half metre radius and is widely acknowledged as one of the biggest and best pipes in Switzerland. Other facilities include a boardercross course on the Oberjoch.

• Other Activities And Facilities+

  Winter hiking is a major attraction around Lauterbrunnen where there are around 80km (50 miles) of marked paths which are cleared of snow when there's snow in the valley. In the region you can try paragliding in the care of a qualified pilot, landing gently on the Höhematte meadow.
  
  Zorbing involves climbing in to a giant clear plastic sphere and rolling down the valley on the world's steepest zorbing run.
  
  Slower snow sports available in the area include moonlit sledging at Saxten above Wilderswil, a village located between the resort and Interlaken. Here you travel by postbus to the mulled wine bar at Chalberboden, from where you hike into the valley to Alp Nessleren. After a thrilling, four-kilometre downhill sledge run you can treat yourself to a fondue or raclette in the cosy Restaurant Pintli.
  
  Nighttime snowshoe treks on Lombachalp above Habkern, another village in the area, are also available by moonlight, with mulled wine and fondue optional extras. There are dozens of other outdoor activities available including climbing, horse riding and ice canyoning.
  
  The much-acclaimed SPA at the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel in Interlaken is open to non-residents, and offers attractive services including the Winter Magic Day Spa and a soothing massage with authentic Swiss Alpine herbs.
  
  Wengen also has a public sports centre. Other indoor options include bowling, ice skating, and there's tennis and golf.
  
  A trip up to the Jungfraujoch, Europe's highest-altitude railway station, is a must during your stay, perhaps as part of a ski day. There are amazing views and an ice palace to visit here.

• Apres Ski And Dining Out+

  There are a handful of hotel bars and restaurants in Lauterbrunnen, but the trains from Murren and Wengen run late in to the evening, so it's easy to stay for après ski and dinner on the mountain if you want something different.
  
  A third option with the biggest choice is Interlaken, which has more than fifty bars, restaurants, night clubs and a casino, centred on the half mile Höheweg Central street.
  
  As well as traditional Swiss cuisine on the menu, there are several different choices of Far Eastern style - Chinese, Korean, Indian, Thai and Japanese. In addition, the Carlton hotel has a French restaurant and the Toscana offers 'Italian-Swiss' cuisine.
  
  There are several late night spots with live music, dancing and entertainment through to 3am (you would need to get a taxi back or wait for the first train of the morning a few hours later).

• Families+

  Children will enjoy the spectacular setting of Lauterbrunnen and the fun of getting about on mountain trains and cable cars, as well as sitting in a revolving restaurant that featured in a James Bond film!
  
  Wengen operates a non-ski childcare facility Klein Spielhaus for children aged two to seven in the resort's Spots Pavillion. There are ski kindergartens at all three of the Jungfrau altitude resorts - the closest at Murren and Wengen - and a children's ski lift at Habken near Interlaken.