I have always dreamed of snowboarding or skiing in Switzerland, so when an opportunity presented itself, I decided to seize it.
From the many possible Swiss resorts, I selected Verbier based on feedback from a Swiss citizen who has lived there. My alternatives included Zermatt, Chamonix in France, and St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria.
Since I originally planned to take the train from Paris, I needed the ski resort within an easy train ride (in case of heavy snowfall). Chamonix, Zermatt, and Verbier were possible, but St. Anton would be too far (even by train). Chamonix did not have a track record of adequate snowfall in early January, so I selected Verbier. Verbier is a substantial Swiss skiing resort with 45 lifts and a maximum vertical drop of 6000 feet, so it is the safest choice for early-season skiing.
When our plans to visit Paris changed, and we decided to travel and spend Christmas week in Turin, Italy, it added some complications in traveling to Verbier. In retrospect, Zermatt would have been much more accessible to visit by train (without a car). I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that driving a vehicle in January through Switzerland might be risky due to unexpected snowfall. However, all of the Swiss roads seemed dry and well-maintained. I would have been much better off (financially and time-wise) if I had driven from Turin to Verbier (or Zermatt) by car.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Our travel day to Verbier, Switzerland, started out with a train ride from Turin's Porta Susa train station to Milan's Centrale Railway station at 9:10 am, arriving in Milan at 10:40. From Milan, we boarded the 11:23 EC52 train bound for Frankfurt with a stop in Brig. We arrived in Brig at 13:26 and missed our connecting train to Martigny by one minute. Since the next commuter train was coming in 40 minutes, we did not have to wait too long.
We boarded the next 13:56 train to Martigny, arriving in about 45 minutes. We were supposed to board the special local train to Le Chable from here, but it required separate tickets (which I did not pre-purchase in Turin).
When I finally found a ticket vending machine that sold the required tickets, the unique local train already left! We had no other choice (and nothing else to do), so we waited for the next train at a local cafe.
From the many possible Swiss resorts, I selected Verbier based on feedback from a Swiss citizen who has lived there. My alternatives included Zermatt, Chamonix in France, and St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria.
Since I originally planned to take the train from Paris, I needed the ski resort within an easy train ride (in case of heavy snowfall). Chamonix, Zermatt, and Verbier were possible, but St. Anton would be too far (even by train). Chamonix did not have a track record of adequate snowfall in early January, so I selected Verbier. Verbier is a substantial Swiss skiing resort with 45 lifts and a maximum vertical drop of 6000 feet, so it is the safest choice for early-season skiing.
When our plans to visit Paris changed, and we decided to travel and spend Christmas week in Turin, Italy, it added some complications in traveling to Verbier. In retrospect, Zermatt would have been much more accessible to visit by train (without a car). I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that driving a vehicle in January through Switzerland might be risky due to unexpected snowfall. However, all of the Swiss roads seemed dry and well-maintained. I would have been much better off (financially and time-wise) if I had driven from Turin to Verbier (or Zermatt) by car.
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Our travel day to Verbier, Switzerland, started out with a train ride from Turin's Porta Susa train station to Milan's Centrale Railway station at 9:10 am, arriving in Milan at 10:40. From Milan, we boarded the 11:23 EC52 train bound for Frankfurt with a stop in Brig. We arrived in Brig at 13:26 and missed our connecting train to Martigny by one minute. Since the next commuter train was coming in 40 minutes, we did not have to wait too long.
We boarded the next 13:56 train to Martigny, arriving in about 45 minutes. We were supposed to board the special local train to Le Chable from here, but it required separate tickets (which I did not pre-purchase in Turin).
When I finally found a ticket vending machine that sold the required tickets, the unique local train already left! We had no other choice (and nothing else to do), so we waited for the next train at a local cafe.
We decided to eat a quick lunch at a nearby Bar le Terminus but were shocked at the high prices for two Croque Monsieur sandwiches and tea - 20.50 euros! Instead of leaving at 14:41, we waited another hour until 15:41 for the next train.
When we arrived in Le Chable, we had to take the bus to Verbier, as the gondola did not have space for all of our baggage (the snowboard bag was quite heavy to carry around). The bus tickets cost CHF 6.00 per person and took about 30 minutes. At first, the bus driver demanded Swiss francs (CHF), but he settled for Euros.
We arrived in Verbier quite tired and checked into our Hotel Bristol. Our room on the 5th floor #509 was small, but well-furnished, with an up-to-date shower. The elevator only went as far as the 4th floor, so we had to lug all our heavy suitcases from the 4th to the 5th floor.
The hotel Wi-Fi worked well, and so did the T.V. After dropping off our luggage, we found a place to eat dinner.
The receptionist at Hotel Bristol was helpful, but we had expected more from a $400/night 4-star hotel. We had a better and friendlier service from our 3-star Torino Centro hotel. When we asked our receptionist to call a couple of restaurants to make dinner reservations, our receptionist explained that he doesn't make dinner reservations and that we must do so ourselves!
We had problems calling Swiss numbers on our mobile phones (a + is required when calling from U.S. phones to Switzerland), and it took a few attempts to figure it out. Since our receptionist was not helping, we decided to walk around the village and try our luck.
Thus, we ate our first dinner at Borsalino Pizza.
Eating at Borsalino after Turin was a major disappointment. Not only were the pizza prices 3x Turin's, but even with its inflated price, the pizza was of significantly lower quality.
After dinner, we walked around a bit, looking for an open cafe or tea house, but could not find any! There isn't a lot of demand for coffee or tea in Verbier - a big surprise to us (who are used to multiple cafes in Whistler or South Lake Tahoe).
Exciting clubs and fancy stores were peddling expensive clothing for ultra-wealthy people.
Besides, most stores seemed to shut down after 19:00 (unlike Whistler). I thought that Verbier had a nightlife? There wasn't much happening in the evening. This is nothing like Whistler - where the fun doesn't stop until midnight.
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
In the morning, we enjoyed our prepaid breakfast at Hotel Bristol. The breakfast buffet included the following items:
We decided to sample all of the various items. I was looking forward to trying Swiss specialties such as Swiss Cheese. I tried the premade scrambled eggs (they were not well prepared), a sandwich with Swiss cheese and deli meat, and chocolate croissants. I also made English breakfast black tea. The breakfast was enjoyable (but I would not rate it as a 4-star hotel); it was on the same level as our 3-star Hotel Residence Torino Centro. I was surprised to see Philadelphia Cream Cheese! Really?
What could have made it better? Better quality scrambled eggs, more meats, fruits, and vegetables, and more pastries (only two types of croissants were available).
After breakfast, we purchased our Verbier lift tickets from the receptionist and walked over to the Verbier Medran gondola. The lift ticket prices were much cheaper than U.S. Ski Resorts.
For an adult like me, the Verbier 4 Valleys ski pass was CHF 66.00 (about USD 66), and for Alex (a young adult), the price was CHF 56 (about USD 56).
In comparison, Kirkwood costs $109, Heavenly costs $146, and Whistler charges CAD 164 (USD 123).
The walk to the Medran Gondola took about 10 minutes, which gave me time to warm up my muscles (and even sweated a bit).
During this time, Inna would try one of the nearby spas in Martigny. She had a fantastic time.
The line to get on the Medran gondola was very long, and it took us 20 minutes to wait in a long line before boarding the gondola.
During our first day of snowboarding in Verbier, we stuck to red (intermediate) pistes, avoiding black runs due to icy conditions and our general unfamiliarity with Verbier. Verbier runs are generally longer than they appear on the map and can be steep.
Here is a GoPro Hero7 Black video of my first day snowboarding:
When we arrived in Le Chable, we had to take the bus to Verbier, as the gondola did not have space for all of our baggage (the snowboard bag was quite heavy to carry around). The bus tickets cost CHF 6.00 per person and took about 30 minutes. At first, the bus driver demanded Swiss francs (CHF), but he settled for Euros.
We arrived in Verbier quite tired and checked into our Hotel Bristol. Our room on the 5th floor #509 was small, but well-furnished, with an up-to-date shower. The elevator only went as far as the 4th floor, so we had to lug all our heavy suitcases from the 4th to the 5th floor.
The hotel Wi-Fi worked well, and so did the T.V. After dropping off our luggage, we found a place to eat dinner.
The receptionist at Hotel Bristol was helpful, but we had expected more from a $400/night 4-star hotel. We had a better and friendlier service from our 3-star Torino Centro hotel. When we asked our receptionist to call a couple of restaurants to make dinner reservations, our receptionist explained that he doesn't make dinner reservations and that we must do so ourselves!
We had problems calling Swiss numbers on our mobile phones (a + is required when calling from U.S. phones to Switzerland), and it took a few attempts to figure it out. Since our receptionist was not helping, we decided to walk around the village and try our luck.
Thus, we ate our first dinner at Borsalino Pizza.
Eating at Borsalino after Turin was a major disappointment. Not only were the pizza prices 3x Turin's, but even with its inflated price, the pizza was of significantly lower quality.
After dinner, we walked around a bit, looking for an open cafe or tea house, but could not find any! There isn't a lot of demand for coffee or tea in Verbier - a big surprise to us (who are used to multiple cafes in Whistler or South Lake Tahoe).
Exciting clubs and fancy stores were peddling expensive clothing for ultra-wealthy people.
Besides, most stores seemed to shut down after 19:00 (unlike Whistler). I thought that Verbier had a nightlife? There wasn't much happening in the evening. This is nothing like Whistler - where the fun doesn't stop until midnight.
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
In the morning, we enjoyed our prepaid breakfast at Hotel Bristol. The breakfast buffet included the following items:
- scrambled eggs
- deli meats
- various cheeses (Swiss, Camembert)
- various freshly baked breads
- cold cereals (with nuts)
- yogurt
- croissants
- jams
- some fruits (mandarins, bananas)
We decided to sample all of the various items. I was looking forward to trying Swiss specialties such as Swiss Cheese. I tried the premade scrambled eggs (they were not well prepared), a sandwich with Swiss cheese and deli meat, and chocolate croissants. I also made English breakfast black tea. The breakfast was enjoyable (but I would not rate it as a 4-star hotel); it was on the same level as our 3-star Hotel Residence Torino Centro. I was surprised to see Philadelphia Cream Cheese! Really?
What could have made it better? Better quality scrambled eggs, more meats, fruits, and vegetables, and more pastries (only two types of croissants were available).
After breakfast, we purchased our Verbier lift tickets from the receptionist and walked over to the Verbier Medran gondola. The lift ticket prices were much cheaper than U.S. Ski Resorts.
For an adult like me, the Verbier 4 Valleys ski pass was CHF 66.00 (about USD 66), and for Alex (a young adult), the price was CHF 56 (about USD 56).
In comparison, Kirkwood costs $109, Heavenly costs $146, and Whistler charges CAD 164 (USD 123).
The walk to the Medran Gondola took about 10 minutes, which gave me time to warm up my muscles (and even sweated a bit).
During this time, Inna would try one of the nearby spas in Martigny. She had a fantastic time.
The line to get on the Medran gondola was very long, and it took us 20 minutes to wait in a long line before boarding the gondola.
During our first day of snowboarding in Verbier, we stuck to red (intermediate) pistes, avoiding black runs due to icy conditions and our general unfamiliarity with Verbier. Verbier runs are generally longer than they appear on the map and can be steep.
Here is a GoPro Hero7 Black video of my first day snowboarding:
Many dangerous cliffs need to be avoided.
Snowboarding at Verbier:
After finishing snowboarding, we returned to Verbier by taking the Medran gondola to the bottom, as I was not sure about snow coverage. (I did snowboard to the bottom the next day).
Verbier is a beautiful ski resort with lots of steep runs and many runs with moguls. There are lots of opportunities to go off-piste.
When we returned home to Hotel Bristol, we dropped off our snowboards in our assigned ski locker and changed back into our regular clothes. We decided to eat something light and delicious at the nearby Milk Bar. I tried a lemon crepe, while Alex decided on a chocolate crepe.
The crepes were delicious but very small, and the other home-made cakes were much better. Prices were crazy high - $16 for a crepe?
When Inna returned from her spa, we ate dinner at Scalco Restaurant. We made reservations in advance, worried about getting in.
I had the Spaghetti with clams. Alex had the Risotto with mushrooms (which made him nauseous), and Inna had the lamb. As an Italian restaurant, Scalco served well-made dishes, but at 3x the price of Turin (and with slightly lower quality).
The overall cost was CHF 125 (quite expensive for dinner). I almost forgot my G7x Mark II camera, but thankfully, I remembered and returned to the restaurant to retrieve it.
Snowboarding at Verbier:
- lift1: 102 Medran from Verbier Medran base to Les Ruinettes
- lift2: 104 Funispace from Les Ruinettes to Attelas
- trail1:
After finishing snowboarding, we returned to Verbier by taking the Medran gondola to the bottom, as I was not sure about snow coverage. (I did snowboard to the bottom the next day).
Verbier is a beautiful ski resort with lots of steep runs and many runs with moguls. There are lots of opportunities to go off-piste.
When we returned home to Hotel Bristol, we dropped off our snowboards in our assigned ski locker and changed back into our regular clothes. We decided to eat something light and delicious at the nearby Milk Bar. I tried a lemon crepe, while Alex decided on a chocolate crepe.
The crepes were delicious but very small, and the other home-made cakes were much better. Prices were crazy high - $16 for a crepe?
When Inna returned from her spa, we ate dinner at Scalco Restaurant. We made reservations in advance, worried about getting in.
I had the Spaghetti with clams. Alex had the Risotto with mushrooms (which made him nauseous), and Inna had the lamb. As an Italian restaurant, Scalco served well-made dishes, but at 3x the price of Turin (and with slightly lower quality).
The overall cost was CHF 125 (quite expensive for dinner). I almost forgot my G7x Mark II camera, but thankfully, I remembered and returned to the restaurant to retrieve it.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
In the morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of cold cereal, croissants, and hot black tea at Hotel Bristol. After breakfast, Alex and I proceeded to the Medran gondola. Today, we explored the other 4 Valleys in this enormous ski resort.
Our snowboarding plan at Verbier was as follows:
- lift1: 102 Medran from Verbier Medran base to Les Ruinettes
- lift2: 104 Funispace from Les Ruinettes to Attelas
- trail1: Lacs trail from Attelas to
- lift3: 118 Lac des Vaux 2 to Chassoure
- trail2: Chassoure Tortin
- trail3: Tortin to Siviez
- lift4: 71 Tortin from Siviez to Tortin
- Boris & Alex separated and used Walkie-Talkies to meet up in Siviez
- lunch at La Tetine: macaronis montagnards, 2 black teas, water
- lift5: 63 Combatseline from Seiviez to Combatseline
- trail4: Combatseline to Siviez
- lift6: 71 Tortin from Siviez to Tortin
- lift7: 1 Col de Gentianes
- trail5: Gentianess to La Chaux
- lift8: La Chaux 2
- trail6: Fontanet to Les Ruinettes
- lift9: 104 Funispace from Les Ruinettes to Attelas
- trail7:
- trail8: snowboard to Les Ruinettes
- trail9: snowboard to Verbier Medran base (long, flat run)
On the run from Tortin to Siviez, we separated (I sped ahead of Alex) and could not find each other. I ended up in Tortin while Alex snowboarded to Siviez. Using our Motorola T600 walkie-talkies, we located each other, and I proceeded to snowboard to Siviez, where I reunited with Alex.
We decided to try eating lunch at a small French bistro called "La Tetine." It reminded me of the Chic Pea Hut in Whistler.
After a delicious lunch, we continued snowboarding. At the end of the day, Alex and I separated again on the final run, and we used the Motorola T600 walkie-talkies to get a hold of each other. We snowboarded to the same Medran base but did not see each other.
When we met, we returned to our Hotel Bristol and stowed our gear.
After some rest and a shower, we decided to try desserts at our nearby Milk Bar. I ordered the lemon cake, while Alex selected the chocolate cake. Alex also tried the mocha milkshake, which he really liked. The bill came out to CHF 50 with two hot black teas.
While we were snowboarding, Inna took a train to visit the beautiful Chillon Castle in Montreux. She really enjoyed her visit and took many photos.
After Inna returned at 7:00pm, we rested and ate dinner at the Restaurant le Caveau.
Alex selected the Classic Fondue Fromage, Inna selected the Fondue with Morilles (a type of mushroom), and I selected the grilled beef fillet.
The cheese fondue was filling, and we were thoroughly stuffed at the end of dinner. The final bill is $125 + $10 tip, for CHF 135. I liked fondue, but it wasn't anything special.
Friday, January 4, 2019
On Friday, we decided to take a break from snowboarding and visit nearby Lausanne (as Geneve was too far away). I write about Lausanne in a separate blog entry.
Saturday, January 5, 2019
I started developing cold/flu symptoms and was unsure whether I could snowboard on Saturday. After a delicious breakfast of a fresh deli sandwich with Swiss cheese and hot black tea, I felt better, so Alex and I dressed for snowboarding and embarked on another day.
I decided to have an easy day snowboarding since I did not feel 100%. We often stopped in the Igloo and other lodges for hot black tea and snacks (snickers).
Visibility was often poor due to fog, so snowboarding fast was dangerous. There were times when I could barely see a few feet ahead of me, and I did not want to go off-piste or crash into another snowboarder or skier. Snow flurries at Col de Gentianness started up in the afternoon, making visibility even worse than before.
We did manage to snowboard down one black off-piste trail: Gentianness-Tortin. It was a fun, icy way down to Tortin. We ate lunch at our favorite La Tetine bistro between Tortin and Siviez.
At around 15:00, I was tired and concerned about poor visibility. I ended our snowboarding early, and we took the Medran gondola to Verbier base.
After stowing our gear and some needed rest, we waited for Inna to return. She enjoyed her time in Martigny (visiting Barryland - a unique home for Swiss' famous St. Bernard dogs).
She also spent some time at Les Bains de Lavey, where she enjoyed the thermal baths.
When she returned to Verbier, we ate a light dinner at the Milk Bar. Inna and I ate savory crepes while Alex enjoyed his Croque monsieur sandwich. For dessert, we ate chocolate cake. Alex also drank the Mocha milkshake while I had the hot black tea for my sniffles.
Sunday, January 6, 2019
I woke up with a splitting headache and took a Tylenol to try to reduce it. Alex wanted to snowboard, but I was not in any condition. We rested in the early morning and enjoyed a late breakfast at our Hotel Bristol. I ate the usual sandwich with cheese and generous hot black tea.
When I felt better, we decided to stroll through Verbier to get some exercise. We stopped by for lunch during our long walk at the Offshore Cafe.
I ordered the warm goat cheese salad, which was quite delicious. Inna ate the standard salad while Alex ate a burger. This was our best lunch in Verbier!
After lunch, we walked around Verbier and purchased a few T-shirts as souvenirs. All the shops were so expensive. $29 for a T-shirt!
We returned to our Hotel Bristol, where we rested a bit. Eventually, it was time for dinner, and we decided to revisit our friendly Milk Bar.
Inna and I ate a small crepe with meat while Alex enjoyed his Croque Monsieur sandwich.
We also shared one lemon and one homemade Apricot cake for dessert. Alex enjoyed his Mocha milkshake, and everyone drank hot black tea.
On our last full day in Verbier - I was still very sick with the flu. We asked our receptionist to make taxi reservations for 5:50 the following day. I checked multiple times since I needed the taxi to be on time.
Monday, January 7, 2019
Since we wanted to spend a day in Paris, we chose to take the earliest possible train. We woke up at 5:00, packed, and waited for our taxi at 5:50. No taxi arrived! Either our hotel did place the taxi reservation, or the taxi company was inept! Thankfully, Inna found the bus schedule, and at 5:57, we walked to the bus stop, boarding the 6:10 bus to Le Chable (saving some money in the process!)
From Le Chable, we took the train to Martigny, switching to another train heading to Lausanne (and Geneve). In Lausanne, we switched to the TGV bound for Paris ( I pre-purchased these tickets in advance using the OUI app on my iPhone).
Train Schedule
6:10 bus from Verbier to Le Chable (taxi did not show up)
6:39 train from La Chable to Martigny
7:16 train from Martigny to Lausanne (arriving 4 minutes late)
8:23 TGV from Lausanne to Paris Gare De Lyon, departing at 8:23, arriving at 12:03
12:30 UberX from Gare de Lyon to Hotel Novotel near Charles de Gaulle
Observations
- Switzerland has extremely expensive regtermstofvel (train, bus, taxi), restaurants, and hotels.
- Despite the high cost of dishes, most restaurants are vastly inferior in quality, quantity, and service attention to their Turin or Paris counterparts. For example, the $12.00 Pizza Margherita in the Waikiki Pizzeria of the Italian Bardonecchia Ski Resort was vastly superior to the $26 pizza in the Barsolina Pizza in Verbier, Switzerland.
- Verbier has world-class skiing (but more snow would have been fantastic)
- Lift tickets are much cheaper than U.S. and Canadian Ski resorts
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