Gstaad: Skiers share blue skies with balloon festival
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What do you do when you go on a ski trip and a hot-air balloon festival pops up?
You get to enjoy both.
In January, four of us flew from Istanbul, Turkey, to Switzerland for a ski vacation in the Gstaad ski area, about a two-hour drive southwest of Zurich. When we left Zurich, there was some concern about the ski conditions: The ground and hills were green and brown, with only a hint of snow. Soon though, the white peaks of the Swiss Alps appeared as we neared our destination of Chateau-d’Oex.
After dumping our stuff in our rented chalet, it was off to the village of Rougemont to the ski shop to rent ski equipment, find out where to ski and what time the slopes opened.
There are six sections, or sektors, with more than 155 miles of slopes for skiers and snowboarders of all skills at Gstaad. Sektor 4 has the highest elevation, about 10,600 feet, and you can ski on Glacier des Diablerets. The largest ski area is Sektor 1, where it is possible to ski from La Videmanette in Rougemont, to Gstaad, and then hop over to Schonried, Saanenmoser, Zweisimmen and end up at St. Stephan. We decided Sektor 1 would satisfy our ski desires and we would start at Rougemont in the morning.
First things first: We needed to stock our chalet with food, beverages and supplies (it isn’t cheap eating out in Switzerland and definitely not at a ski resort). After shopping at the Migros grocery store (I thought they were a Turkish chain) it was back to the chalet to prepare our first meal and get ready for the next day.
The morning greeted us with a bright yellow sun, clear blue sky and sparkling snow. At Rougemont we boarded the cable car to the top of La Videmanette, about 7,500 feet high, and stepped out onto a large outdoor balcony and cafe where we beheld a view of mountain peaks, green forests and little ant people skiing below us.
We discovered that to get down to the ski area, we had to traverse a death-defying trail that Bode Miller would hesitate to try — well, maybe he wouldn’t but we would. When we got to the slopes, after dodging little rocket pilots called children, we enjoyed the wide runs, quick lifts and small crowds. The Swiss Alps are spectacular and there is no such thing as a bad view.
We finished the afternoon at the snow bar and toasted our first day of skiing. Remember one thing when you’re at a snow bar: Pick up the ski poles you left on the table behind you.
The next day as we were finishing breakfast, a strange sight floated by our window. It was a multicolored hot-air balloon. We immediately grabbed our cameras and scrambled onto the balcony to see the bobbing bags of color drift by our chalet.
Our visit coincided with the 28th annual Chateau-d’Oex Hot Air Balloon Festival. Balloons from all over the world with many different designs converged upon the village to take advantage of the weather conditions that make ballooning in the Alps possible. Most days we were treated to a colorful show as the balloons inflated and lifted into the skies above.
The next two days were more of the same: beautiful weather, great scenery and fantastic skiing. Oh, we found our poles the next morning, right where we left them (whew). Each day we started at a different ski area.
Schonried was fun because it connects to four ski areas. Though you did hop from cable car to chairlifts, you still got a nice cross section of easy-to- difficult runs. There was enough room for skiers and snowboarders to enjoy the same slopes.
One of our favorite break spots was on top of Rinderberg. From there you could gaze upon the peaks and valleys of the Swiss Alps while working on your suntan. After finishing our beverages, we enjoyed skiing down the long run to the village of Zweisimmen, more than 6,000 feet below.
After three straight days of skiing, we took a break, no pun intended, and gave our bodies a rest. This gave us a chance to do a little sightseeing. Each of the villages in the Gstaad region offers beautiful scenery, historical buildings, museums and cafes to get a delicious snack. While walking through Chateau- d’Oex we learned that the first around-the-world flight by a hot-air balloon took off from there.
We awoke the morning of our last ski day to falling snow. That meant one thing: powder! It was back to Schonried and its wide runs and connections to the other ski areas. Our skies and boots disappeared into the powder and would pop out like dolphins swimming in a bow wave. It made difficult runs easy and easy runs more fun.
As we did our last run, the sun glimmered through the clouds and falling snow. The slopes were almost vacant except for a few of us die-hard skiers. It was a wonderful way to conclude a great ski vacation.
Michael Eggers is stationed in Istanbul with the U.S. Army.
For more information ...
Here are two helpful Web sites:
• For more on Chateau-d’Oex, including accommodations, festivals and outdoor activities, see www.chateau-doex.ch/english/index.htm.
• To learn more about the International balloon festival, see www.ballonchateaudoex.ch/?Lang=EN.
