Downhill to down-right hot in Switzerland

East of Geneva, amid peaks and powder, go-carts and hot springs

November 18, 2007|Kari J. Bodnarchuk, Globe Correspondent

LEYSIN, Switzerland - There's no better cure for a bottomless cheese fondue meal than an 8.6-mile ski run. At least, that's what came to mind as I stood near the summit of a 10,000-foot glacier in the Alpes Vaudoises, preparing for my long descent. My other thought: Please let my legs and lungs be stronger than my resolve to eat lightly on this trip.

Glacier 3000 ski resort (named for its altitude at 3,000 meters, or 9,900 feet) offers wide-open, year-round skiing and snowboarding atop a mountain of snow-covered ice. Skiers can reach the Tsanfleuron Glacier, in the southwestern corner of Switzerland, in a cable car and then use slow-moving T-bars to traverse the immense snowfield. Or, they can catch a helicopter ride to Quille du Diable (Devil's Horn) near the summit of the glacier for a more scenic ascent that offers breathtaking views of the area's 12,000-foot peaks, including Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Jungfrau. From here, powder lovers can ski fresh tracks on the glacier and then make the long-distance run down Les Diablerets mountain for a thigh-burning 6,000-foot descent.

(The peaks east of Aigle and the Rhône Valley are collectively dubbed the Alpes Vaudoises.)

As I slipped away from the Restaurant Botta 3000, I looped around the north side of Oldenhorn peak, which loomed above me at 10,306 feet. Then I followed a silky trail of fresh powder as it switchbacked down the Combe d'Audon route and offered views of snow-capped mountains as far as I could see. This shaded run took me from the Valais canton into the Bernese Oberland region, where I carefully skied along sheer cliffs that were thankfully well marked with symbols that transcend language barriers: big exclamation points and yellow-and-black checkered flags.

I caught my breath on the short chairlift up to Oldenegg, where skiers lounged on wooden recliners outside a restaurant, soaking up the sun or warming up under wool blankets. Then it was a short and final descent to the base of the mountain. As challenging as it sounds, the run is doable for intermediate skiers, with plenty of steeper terrain to challenge experts, and cable cars can whisk skiers down the slopes if their legs give out.

Home base for this trip was Leysin, a town of 2,900 about two hours east of Geneva. Located at 4,300 feet on a south-facing mountain, Leysin is known for its sunshine and clean mountain air. The town overlooks a wide valley, giving it maximum sunlight, and is sheltered from the north's cold winds by a range of mountains.