WENGEN, SWITZERLAND

A paradise for beginners and intermediates, the Alpine village of Wengen shares the Jungfrau ski area with its neighbour Grindelwald. Take the train all the way up through the heart of the Eiger to the UNESCO World Natural Heritage site of Jungfraujoch for breath-taking views.

For Beginners there are nursery slopes in Wengen and just above Grindelwald, including the blue piste at Oberjoch, a ‘slow speed zone’ (Grindelwald). Quick progress will be made with lessons from the excellent English speaking Ski Schools.

The full area Jungfrau Top Ski Region ski pass covers not only Wengen but 213kms of pistes, providing almost unlimited scope for Intermediates on a range of relaxing runs or more testing routes down the Kleine Scheidegg mountain.

Highlights include the 8km run from Oberjoch down to Grindelwald and the powder slopes from the Eigergletscher to Wengernalp.

Experts can try the famous Lauberhorn World Cup downhill piste, or the fearsome Black Rock run which starts at the base of the Eiger. If you can cope with any more then there is the famous black, almost vertical ‘Kanonenrohr’ in Murren.

There are two half-pipes in the region, a jumpers corner in Wengen, a terrain park at Schreckfeld and excellent runs for beginners.

There are 150 snow cannons contributing to the natural snowfall in Wengan and the Jungfrau ski area for more guaranteed skiing throughout the winter season.

Evening entertainment in Wengen centres around the busy bars and restaurants, there is also a cinema which quite often has English language films. For non skiers there is plenty to do in Wengen and it is easy to meet friends up the mountain for lunch.

Other activities in Wengan

• Cross-country skiing
• Indoor Tennis
• Indoor swimming pool
• Squash courts
• Heli-skiing
• Curling
• Winter walking
• Hang-gliding
• Billiards
• Kindergarten
• Sauna and solarium
• Bowling

Bern and Zurich are the closest international airports to Wengan transfer times between car and rail are around 2-3 hours dependant on traffic. Wengan is a car free ski resort so the last part of the journey into resort will be via rail.