Category: Ski Switzerland

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Jungfrau V-bahn railway project gets green light overcoming opposition

Jungfrau v-bahn railway project gets green light.

The controversial Jungfrau V-bahn railway project gets green light overcoming opposition.

The Federal Office of Transport has approved a CHF400 million ($405 million) mountain railway project that will carry tourists faster up to the Jungfraujoch in the Bernese Alps. The project has been modified to appease local opponents who had raised environmental and aesthetic concerns.

At the heart of the controversial plan is a V-shaped cable car route that would allow more tourists to swiftly reach the Eiger Glacier station from where they can take the mountain railways to the Jungfraujoch “Top of Europe” tourist station.

Photomontage of the possible new situation in the ground in Grindelwald. Left the new Männlichenbahn, right the Eiger Express and the parking garage. Both planned new buildings are marketed under the name V project
Photomontage of the possible new situation in the ground in Grindelwald. Left the new Männlichenbahn, right the Eiger Express and the parking garage. Both planned new buildings are marketed under the name V project.

Local authorities and residents of the Bernese Alps feared the “Eiger express” line, which would start from the village of Grindelwald, would disfigure the landscape. Seventeen objections were made but advocates gave up the fight in February accepting in exchange a donation for a good cause.

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THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche

An avalanche has swept two cars while crossing the Klausen Pass in Switzerland. THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche. Photo of an avalanche by Caspar Rubin - Unsplash.

Three hurt: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche.  “Three people have been hurt after an avalanche swept away two cars attempting to cross an alpine pass in Switzerland on Sunday. All three were taken to hospital where their condition is described as non-life threatening.
The incident took place at around 2pm on the Klausen Pass that connects cantons Uri and Glarus in central Switzerland. At nearly 2,000 meters high, the mountain pass is still affected by snow and had only opened for road traffic earlier in the week”, reports Swissinfo.ch.



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“Canton Uri police report that the avalanche struck 200 metres from the top of the pass, sweeping about 100 metres down the road. The injured car occupants were airlifted to hospital and a fourth passenger escaped from the incident unhurt.

Klaussen pass, where the avalanche struck two cars and pushed them away 200 meters from the top of the pass. THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche
Klaussen pass, where the avalanche struck two cars and pushed them away 200 meters from the top of the pass. THREE HURT: Cars swept away by Swiss alpine pass avalanche. Photo: Worldradio.ch

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GOTTHARD TAILBACKS: San Bernardino Alpine tunnel closure causes major holiday traffic disruption

Gothard tunnel traffic - Uri Bilder- GOTTHARD TAILBACKS: Alpine tunnel closure causes major holiday traffic disruption

Gotthard Tailbacks: Alpine San Bernardino tunnel closure causes major holiday traffic disruption. 

Traffic queues of up to 28 kilometres were reported at the northern entrance to the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday, owing to a long weekend and the closure of another major Alpine road tunnel because of a fire.

San Bernardino tunnel at the east of Switzerland was closed due to a fire, which brought massive queues at the Gotthard tunnel this past weekend. GOTTHARD TAILBACKS: Alpine tunnel closure causes major holiday traffic disruption.
San Bernardino tunnel at the east of Switzerland was closed due to a fire, which brought massive queues at the Gotthard tunnel this past weekend. GOTTHARD TAILBACKS: San Bernardino Alpine tunnel closure causes major holiday traffic disruption.

Saturday has seen the longest tailbacks at the Gotthard tunnel since Pentecost 1999, entailing waits of some five-hours.

As well as being a holiday weekend, the San Bernadino tunnel in southeast Switzerland was closed on Friday afternoon after a German tourist bus caught fire in the tunnel, leaving two people with minor injuries. It is expected to remain closed over this Pentecost weekend, since the tunnel needs to cool down and be checked for any infrastructure damage.

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Sportpass Top4 (Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg) goes into the second season.

Over 1 Million Skier Visits for the Jungfrau Ski Region Grindelwald. First Winterski - Wetterhorn. - Photo by Jungrau Ski Region.

Sportpass Top4 goes into the second season. Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, the Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg have launched the Top4 Sportpass this winter. Following a successful launch with 36,200 sold subscriptions in advance sales, the offer will continue unchanged in the upcoming winter sports season 2018/2019.



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In the fiercely contested winter sports market, the four largest Bernese ski resorts have decided on a common forward strategy and in autumn 2017 launched the new season subscription Top4. The winter sports pass with access to 666 km of piste was sold in advance for 666 francs. 36’200 times the subscription to the advance sale discount went over the counter, which clearly exceeded the target of 20’000. The responsible persons have decided to continue the offer after the successful premiere.

Sportpass Top4 goes into the second season. Photo by Jungfrau Ski Region.
Top4 Ski Pass – Kleine Scheidegg Lauberhorn – Starthuesi – Photo by Jungfrau Ski Region.

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Three Spaniard Skiers have died and two others are injured in Switzerland after an avalanche in Fiescheralp.

Photo by JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock (9488635h) Rescue crews move into direction of the avalanche site to search for five hikers who were carried away on 31 March by an avalanche in Obers Taelli over the Fiescheralp, in Fiesch, Switzerland, 01 April 2018. An avalanche reportedly 'carried away' five people on 31 March in Fiesch in the Swiss Upper Valais region. Police said on 01 April that three persons were killed and two others were injured. Rescue works after avalanche in Swiss Alps, Fiesch, Switzerland - 01 Apr 2018. Three Spaniard Skiers have died and two others are injured in Switzerland after an avalanche.

This past Sunday, three Spanish skiers have died, overtaken by an avalanche and two others where found alive in  Fiescheralp, communicated the Swiss Police. This winter and spring were one of the most mortal ones due to avalanches. 

Helicopter searching the Spaniards caught in an avalanche. Photo EFE. Three Spaniard Skiers have died and two others are injured in Switzerland after an avalanche.
Helicopter searching the Spaniards caught in an avalanche. Photo EFE

As per the press release from the Police Office of the Valais canton, of a group of five skiers, three people have died and other two have been found alive. “The first investigations point to the victims being from Spanish origin. The formal identification of the deceased is being taking place”, says the release.



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The five people were part of a group that on Saturday started a ski touring trip in direction of the Fiescheralp station, in the Valais canton, near the Aletsch glacier. When they were at 2,450 meters of altitude, around 16.45 hours (14.45 GMT), an avalanche trapped the five skiers.

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Tragedy strikes again in the Verbier region of Switzerland, one skier is dead and three are missing after an avalanche.

Avalanches- Mount Aspiring, an angry mountain, New Zealand- Photo by Aleks Dahlberg- Unsplash.

Tragedy strikes again in the Verbier region of Switzerland, one skier is dead and three are missing after an avalanche.

The authorities have found this past Saturday the lifeless body of one skier in the Verbier region. The group skiing with him is missing.

Verbier - Valais - Another avalanche killed one and three are still missing -
Verbier – Valais – Another avalanche killed one and three are still missing –

 

The dead skier was part of a group of four people that an avalanche caught last Friday. The police of the area have started to look out for the rest of the group.

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Crowdfunding action for Saas-Fee wins Marketing Trophy 2018

Saas-Fee in winter- Photo credit: Matterhorn Region- Saas Fee.

The crowdfunding for the WinterCARD of the Saastal Bergbahnen AG (“That’ll blow you over!”) is considered one of the most spectacular marketing campaigns of recent years. And has now been honoured with the Marketing Trophy 2018 in the field of SMEs.



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No wonder: with an innovative marketing campaign, the cable cars sold more than 90,000 season tickets from October to December 2016, generating revenues in excess of CHF 20 million. The action was developed by matter + gretener and was based on the crowd funding principle: because more than 90,000 skiers and snowboarders wanted a season pass for 222 francs, the “Hammer Deal” became reality. And the European record in crowd funding was set up.

Saas-Fee beautiful scenery at night - Saas-Fee won the Marketing Trophy thanks to its crowdfunding campaign- Photo: Matterhorn Region AG- Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee beautiful scenery at night- Saas-Fee won the Marketing Trophy thanks to its crowdfunding campaign – Photo: Matterhorn Region AG- Saas-Fee

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The Magic Pass – the multi-area ski pass for 30 Swiss French resorts is on SALE now

Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets is one of the resorts in the Magic Pass.

The Magic Pass, this multi-area ski resort pass launched in the Swiss French regions last year – with 25 ski resorts of all sizes, attracted by the end of February 2018, 2.177 million skier-days which brought a 30% increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous season on the same date. In terms of turnover, an increase of 10% was achieved by the end of February compared to the season total from 2016/17.

Magic Pass is on sale for the 2nd year in the row with more ski areas, with some also usable for summer.
Magic Pass is on sale for the 2nd year in the row with more ski areas, with some also usable for summer.

These results were very encouraging, from very small resorts such as Rathvel, which got 220%, increase in visits, to larger resorts, such as Crans-Montana, that their numbers rose more than 30%.

This spirit of cooperation amongst ski areas has guaranteed an appreciable level of stability for the smaller, less well-known ski areas.

Now looking to the 2018-19 ski season, the Magic Mountains Cooperation is launching the MAGIC Pass with more ski areas- The new areas waiting to be discovered by pass holders are: the Espace Dent Blanche (Evolène – La Forclas – Arolla), the Vallée de Joux (L’Abbaye, – L’Orient – Le Brassus), and the Riviera (Les Pléiades- Rochers-de-Naye). In total, Magic Pass 2018/19 includes more than 30 ski areas of all shapes and sizes.

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Avalanches claim several lives this past weekend in Switzerland

An Avalanche claimed a death in Arolla- Photo: Arolla in Switzerland.

In one report from Swissinfo.ch – a 40-year old hiker and a 57-year-old cross-country skier lost their lives in two separate avalanches in the Swiss Alps in recent days.

Arolla3-photo.
Arolla3-photo.

The hiker was a in a group of four that were swept away by an avalanche on Saturday near a steep gorge at 3,600m above the village of Arolla, which is popular starting point for hiking and ski tours. Rescue services managed to reach them and they were transported to hospitals in Martigny and Sion. However, the 40-year old woman from Valais died on Saturday night in the hospital. The other three hikers are recovering but are not in danger of losing their lives.

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Packing list for your family ski holiday

Skiers Over New Year Prepare for a £450 Wipeout at the Car Hire Rental Desk. Photo by Adrian - Unsplash - taken in Mont Saint Helens, USA.

Going skiing with the family is great, but you need to plan your bag ahead, and be sure that your little ones will not be suffering from the cold, or if not, your holiday might be jeopardised if they are too cold for skiing.

A stop in the way when driving - Photo by Easton Oliver - Unsplash - Estes Park, Colorado
A stop in the way when driving – Photo by Easton Oliver – Unsplash – Estes Park, Colorado

When you are packing, I suggest thinking on your ski clothes first, and doing the normal clothes later. You will not need too many normal clothes if you are self catering, a couple of trousers, shirts or t-shirts and warm jumpers if you are planning to dine outside, unless you are staying in a hotel or chalet and you have to go out for dinner or you have included half or full board, that you might want to look smart every evening.

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