Under the peaks of swiss giants in Jungfrau region

ludekjirous
May 19, 2015
4 min read

The north face of Eiger, Jungfrau and it's highest altitude railway station in Europe, Schliter-Horn and the lagacy of James Bond ,cool sledging runs, cute villages, cheese fondue, Lauberhorn world cup race and hundret of kilometrs of slopes, this is Jungfrau region, one of the best known skiings areas in Switzerland.

The region consists of three ski resorts that are well connected with a system of trains, lifts and cablecars, Grindelwald-First, Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen and Mürren-Schilthorn offer together 206 km of slopes of all levels. My job of ski instructor brought me to this region in winter 2015 and I spent here whole winter season.

I lived and worked in Grindelwald, a little quite town just 30 minutes away by train from Interlaken. From town one can easily visit two ski areas, Kleine- Scheidegg by train and Grindelwald-First with a cable car. For those who can't ski well yet or want to learn ski there is a small beginner area right in the town, Bodmi, which consist from a magic-carpet lift and one drag lift. This are is perfect to learn first steps and turns on skies.

One can go from Grindelwald to Mahnilichen area as well, but then it is requeired to take a ski bus and than to get on the cable car in Grindelwald - Grund. Ski resort Murren-Schliterhorn is possible to visit too, but it is more comlicated. One must take a train to Lauterbrunen via Zweilütschinen from Grindelwald, which takes usually about 35 minutes and then a cable car to Murren and a short train and another lift up. It might sound horrible to get there, but it is definitely worth to visit.

Grindelwald-First area lays in 2000 meters and one can enjoy gorgeous views from there. Most of the slopes there are quite narrow red or steep blues. For advanced skiers there are couple of black slopes that are fun to ski. Those who like to go off piste, will consider this area as a real playground, freeride is awayable right from ski lifts, so any walking and sinking in a deep snow is required. The area of Grosse Scheidegg is perfect for ski touring and one can enjoy calm and pure nature there. Best place where to finish your day is a bar called Bus stop which is on the bottom of whole area. It is a lovely bar made from an old bus, where one can get a special hot coctails and just chill outside with a music. In the town there is one more bar which is worth to mention and it's Avocado. In the whole town there are only two discos - Mescalero and Plaza, as I said on the beginning:,, Grindelwald is a quite town''. This destination is convinient for those who like to enjoy their holiday with relaxation and in calm and peace, for families with kids or eldery people.

Kleine Scheidegg lays just on the opposite site and one can get there from Grindelwald or Wengen with a train. The icons of this area are the mountains Jungfrau joch and Eiger. Slopes here are mostly red and again quite narrow. The resort is conected with Mahnlichen resort as well, so one can spend here very nice day with exploring this area. In both areas there are plenty of restaurants and bars, for those who like to just walk are prepared hikking roads and for more adventurous non skiers there are awsome sledging runs. The slopes lead straight to Grindelwald-Grund and Wengen so when the day is over one can ski all the way down. Definitely worth mentioning is the black slope where is hold the world cup race, which ends in Wengen.

Mahnilichen area is more for the intermidiates skiers, on the top of the mountain there are blue ski roads and wider red slopes, in the midle of the area the slopes are getting wider and from the first cable car station leads a long narrow red slope to Grindelwald - Grund.

Wengen is very cute town without any cars, the night life is a little bit more lively than in Grindelwald, but still this place is more convinient for a family holiday. The free car zone creates a specific atmosphere here.

Murren is even more picturesque and charming village, set in 1650 meters above the see, surronded by swiss giants, Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch. This cozy village and it's ski resort are definitely a must visit. This area boasts with a legacy of James Bond movie, On her Majesty's secret service, which was made in revolving restaurant in the summit. Nowadays there is a museum and of course a restaurant, the panoramatical views are overwhelming and probably comparable with Jungfraujoch's views. So one can save some franks for a beer.

Jungfrau region is very charming and one can enjoy amazing views. the slopes in general are quite narrow here but one can still enjoy themself. For non skiers there are great sledging runs, zip line and about 50 kilometers of hikking treks. I give 3,5 points out of 5 to this resort.