TRAVEL Winter sports.qxp
Living travel
Living travel © Oetztal Tourismus/Isidor Noesig
Emily Mawson explores three Alpine getaways perfect for winter sports holidays
Escape
© Tristan Shu
© OT Samoëns/ Christian Martelet
© Tristan Shu
Off the beaten track: Samoëns (Haute-Savoie, France)
to the mountains
Alpine wellbeing: Ötztal (Tyrol, Austria) The sky above is silvery blue and, as I lie with weightless limbs in the high-concentration salt water, I can make out rocky summits cloaked in white. This is the Aqua Dome thermal spa in Laengenfeld, a village halfway along the 67-kilometre Ötztal valley. Its three thermal pools (brine, massage and whirlpool) are luscious after cross country skiing along the surrounding 60 kilometres of trails. Under darkness, I will go sledging at the Gaislachalm (mountain guest house) near Sölden, a lively resort higher up the valley. There is a bus to the top of the five kilometre, floodlit sledge run, which is open until 11 p.m. But I will need an early night, so the following day I can ski the slopes – none of them lower than 1,800 metres – at Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, the highest resort in the valley. While the famous Hohe Mut off-piste run entertains the better skiers, I will admire views of the Tyrol's highest mountain, Wildspitze (3,774m), and sip hot chocolate with rum. Getting there
In the high season, easyJet fly twice weekly from © Aqua Dome
90
There are eight ski resorts in the Ötztal, connected by bus. Other activities include ice skating (Piburger Lake), sledging and horse-drawn carriage rides. For details and lift passes visit www.oetztal.com.
Icy hues of blue and cream compose the landscape around Samoëns, where a voluptuous carpet of snow meets frost-dusted pine trees and a winter sky. The medieval village, with timber-fronted bakeries and a Gothic church, is 700 metres above sea level. It is characterful compared to the other four resorts in the Grand Massif ski area – built-up Flaine, Morillon, Sixt and Les Carroz – yet it is only eight minutes by gondola from the snow-sure slopes at 1600m. There are 265 kilometres of pistes, including 17 green, 63 blue, 46 red and 14 black runs. I enjoy the 14-kilometre Piste des Cascades. The longest blue run in Europe, it descends from Les Grandes Platières (2,580m, Flaine) to Sixt (700m). The following day I experience a 30-minute dog sled ride through the white meadows of the Upper Giffre Valley. Snow sprays my face and there is a chill in my fingertips. This is one very special way to enjoy the pretty resort.
Information
Getting there
Liverpool to Innsbruck (www.easyJet.com). The Ötztal Shuttle takes you to your hotel (www.oetztal.com).
© Ernst Loernzi
© OT Samoëns/ Christian Martelet
Where to stay
Aqua Dome**** (Laengenfeld) – attached to Tyrol’s only thermal spa (www.aqua-dome.at); EdelweissGurgl****(Obergurgl) – ski in and out (www.edelweissgurgl.co.uk); Das Central***** (Sölden) – luxury for families (www.central-soelden.at) What to do
Visit www.obergurgl.com, www.soelden.com and www.oetztal.com
© Oetztal Tourismus/Isidor Noesig
chalets in a traditional farm (www.machamp.fr); Neige et Roc*** – ideal for families (www.neigeetroc.com) What to do
There are four ski schools in Samoëns. Other activities include off-piste skiing, cross country skiing, snow-shoeing, and dog sled rides. Information
Visit www.samoens.com © OT Samoëns
During high season, fly Leeds Bradford to Geneva with easyJet (www.easyjet.com). Samoëns is an hour's drive from the airport. For car hire visit www.travelsupermarket.com.
© Oetztal Tourismus
© OT Samoëns/ Christian Martelet
Where to stay
Gîte du lac de Gers – tranquillity beside the piste (www.samoens.com); La Ferme de Machamp**** –
© OT Samoëns/Christian Martelet
91
Living travel
Living travel
© Michi Portmann
© swiss-image/ Christof Sonderegger
© Michi Portmann
Gourmet skiing: Zermatt (Valais, Switzerland) © Michi Portmann © swiss-image/ Christof Sonderegger
A sea of snowy peaks like meringues in cream swells into the distance. Mont Blanc looms on the horizon and, beyond the end of the piste, the Matterhorn (4,478m) is in touching distance. Nestled between 38 summits over 4,000 metres, this is the Klein Matterhorn Glacier Paradise – one of Zermatt’s four ski areas. The slopes are mostly above the tree line and ideal for gentle cruising. However here, and at the Schwarzsee, Gornergrat and Rothorn areas – which boast 360 kilometres of pistes – there is skiing for all abilities. Cliché says Zermatt's après-ski starts at lunchtime. I sip local wine at Findlerhof (blue run Sunegga, Rothorn) – one of 20 restaurants with Gault-Millau ratings in the resort. “Zermatt is special because it has the best Alpine gastronomy,” says local architect-cum-designer Heinz Julen, “but it is also a traditional village.” Whimsical mazots (huts on stilts) huddle beside chic boutiques. In one window there is a chocolate Horu, as the Matterhorn is known locally. This is the award-winning Fuchs bakery – a real taste of the Alps.
Getting there
During high season fly Leeds Bradford to Geneva with easyJet (www.easyjet.com). The train to Zermatt takes 3.5 hours; tickets from Swiss Travel Centre (www.stc.co.uk). Zermatt is car-free so cars must be left at nearby Täsch. Where to stay
The Omnia – homely luxury and a hot tub with Matterhorn view (www.the-omnia.com); Backstage Boutique Hotel**** – creative design by Heinz Julen (www.backstagehotel.ch); Riffelalp Resort***** – reached by the Gornergrat cogwheel railway (www.riffelalp.com) What to do
There are seven ski schools, as well as one offering heliskiing. All pistes are connected by lifts. Other activities include snow-shoeing, sledging, ice climbing and sightseeing flights (www.air-zermatt.ch). Information
Visit www.zermatt.ch © swiss-image/ Christof Sonderegger
© Kurt Müller
92
93
Living travel © Oetztal Tourismus/Isidor Noesig
Emily Mawson explores three Alpine getaways perfect for winter sports holidays
Escape
© Tristan Shu
© OT Samoëns/ Christian Martelet
© Tristan Shu
Off the beaten track: Samoëns (Haute-Savoie, France)
to the mountains
Alpine wellbeing: Ötztal (Tyrol, Austria) The sky above is silvery blue and, as I lie with weightless limbs in the high-concentration salt water, I can make out rocky summits cloaked in white. This is the Aqua Dome thermal spa in Laengenfeld, a village halfway along the 67-kilometre Ötztal valley. Its three thermal pools (brine, massage and whirlpool) are luscious after cross country skiing along the surrounding 60 kilometres of trails. Under darkness, I will go sledging at the Gaislachalm (mountain guest house) near Sölden, a lively resort higher up the valley. There is a bus to the top of the five kilometre, floodlit sledge run, which is open until 11 p.m. But I will need an early night, so the following day I can ski the slopes – none of them lower than 1,800 metres – at Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, the highest resort in the valley. While the famous Hohe Mut off-piste run entertains the better skiers, I will admire views of the Tyrol's highest mountain, Wildspitze (3,774m), and sip hot chocolate with rum. Getting there
In the high season, easyJet fly twice weekly from © Aqua Dome
90
There are eight ski resorts in the Ötztal, connected by bus. Other activities include ice skating (Piburger Lake), sledging and horse-drawn carriage rides. For details and lift passes visit www.oetztal.com.
Icy hues of blue and cream compose the landscape around Samoëns, where a voluptuous carpet of snow meets frost-dusted pine trees and a winter sky. The medieval village, with timber-fronted bakeries and a Gothic church, is 700 metres above sea level. It is characterful compared to the other four resorts in the Grand Massif ski area – built-up Flaine, Morillon, Sixt and Les Carroz – yet it is only eight minutes by gondola from the snow-sure slopes at 1600m. There are 265 kilometres of pistes, including 17 green, 63 blue, 46 red and 14 black runs. I enjoy the 14-kilometre Piste des Cascades. The longest blue run in Europe, it descends from Les Grandes Platières (2,580m, Flaine) to Sixt (700m). The following day I experience a 30-minute dog sled ride through the white meadows of the Upper Giffre Valley. Snow sprays my face and there is a chill in my fingertips. This is one very special way to enjoy the pretty resort.
Information
Getting there
Liverpool to Innsbruck (www.easyJet.com). The Ötztal Shuttle takes you to your hotel (www.oetztal.com).
© Ernst Loernzi
© OT Samoëns/ Christian Martelet
Where to stay
Aqua Dome**** (Laengenfeld) – attached to Tyrol’s only thermal spa (www.aqua-dome.at); EdelweissGurgl****(Obergurgl) – ski in and out (www.edelweissgurgl.co.uk); Das Central***** (Sölden) – luxury for families (www.central-soelden.at) What to do
Visit www.obergurgl.com, www.soelden.com and www.oetztal.com
© Oetztal Tourismus/Isidor Noesig
chalets in a traditional farm (www.machamp.fr); Neige et Roc*** – ideal for families (www.neigeetroc.com) What to do
There are four ski schools in Samoëns. Other activities include off-piste skiing, cross country skiing, snow-shoeing, and dog sled rides. Information
Visit www.samoens.com © OT Samoëns
During high season, fly Leeds Bradford to Geneva with easyJet (www.easyjet.com). Samoëns is an hour's drive from the airport. For car hire visit www.travelsupermarket.com.
© Oetztal Tourismus
© OT Samoëns/ Christian Martelet
Where to stay
Gîte du lac de Gers – tranquillity beside the piste (www.samoens.com); La Ferme de Machamp**** –
© OT Samoëns/Christian Martelet
91
Living travel
Living travel
© Michi Portmann
© swiss-image/ Christof Sonderegger
© Michi Portmann
Gourmet skiing: Zermatt (Valais, Switzerland) © Michi Portmann © swiss-image/ Christof Sonderegger
A sea of snowy peaks like meringues in cream swells into the distance. Mont Blanc looms on the horizon and, beyond the end of the piste, the Matterhorn (4,478m) is in touching distance. Nestled between 38 summits over 4,000 metres, this is the Klein Matterhorn Glacier Paradise – one of Zermatt’s four ski areas. The slopes are mostly above the tree line and ideal for gentle cruising. However here, and at the Schwarzsee, Gornergrat and Rothorn areas – which boast 360 kilometres of pistes – there is skiing for all abilities. Cliché says Zermatt's après-ski starts at lunchtime. I sip local wine at Findlerhof (blue run Sunegga, Rothorn) – one of 20 restaurants with Gault-Millau ratings in the resort. “Zermatt is special because it has the best Alpine gastronomy,” says local architect-cum-designer Heinz Julen, “but it is also a traditional village.” Whimsical mazots (huts on stilts) huddle beside chic boutiques. In one window there is a chocolate Horu, as the Matterhorn is known locally. This is the award-winning Fuchs bakery – a real taste of the Alps.
Getting there
During high season fly Leeds Bradford to Geneva with easyJet (www.easyjet.com). The train to Zermatt takes 3.5 hours; tickets from Swiss Travel Centre (www.stc.co.uk). Zermatt is car-free so cars must be left at nearby Täsch. Where to stay
The Omnia – homely luxury and a hot tub with Matterhorn view (www.the-omnia.com); Backstage Boutique Hotel**** – creative design by Heinz Julen (www.backstagehotel.ch); Riffelalp Resort***** – reached by the Gornergrat cogwheel railway (www.riffelalp.com) What to do
There are seven ski schools, as well as one offering heliskiing. All pistes are connected by lifts. Other activities include snow-shoeing, sledging, ice climbing and sightseeing flights (www.air-zermatt.ch). Information
Visit www.zermatt.ch © swiss-image/ Christof Sonderegger
© Kurt Müller
92
93
