EUROPE 2008
Dick Surber
OVSC has made the decision to visit Engelberg Switzerland for the 2008 international ski trip.
Engelberg is a town of 5000 in central Switzerland and is not far from Luzern and Interlaken. The town began in 1120 AD with the founding of a monastery that is still in use, and is itself an interesting place to tour (it includes a cheese factory tour). A rail line terminates in Engleberg, and Luzern, an interesting town for shopping and history, is an hour away. Interlaken can also be reached by train. Engelberg has the traditional and charming Swiss architectural look and has many hotels, shops, bars and restaurants.
We are currently considering staying with some other OVSC clubs at the Hotel Terrace, which overlooks the town and has stunning views of the surrounding mountains. The hotel, built in 1905, is charming, in great shape and is easily accessed from town by a one to two minute funicular ride. The main part of town is reached from the base of the funicular by walking one block through a park. Buses to the ski areas pick up every 5 to 10 minutes near the base of the funicular. It is not ski-in/ski-out, but things are very convenient. The hotel has a theme dinner every night and a very active nightclub. The hotel appears to be a very fun place to stay.
There are two ski areas at Engleberg.
The smaller area, which has only 5 lifts, has its base essentially in town. Brunni has a magic carpet for beginners, a winter hiking trail up and down the mountain, tobogganing, a terrain park, cross country skiing, a special park for kids and even down hill skiing. Altitude at Engleberg is 3450 feet, and the top of Bunni is 6690 feet for a vertical of 3240 feet. The full vertical would only be used when finishing up at Brunni.
The larger and more interesting mountain is called Mt Titlis. The top is at 9930 feet, and it has 17 lifts. The area is larger and more varied than Bormio. It has 3 nice beginner areas, a few expert slopes and about 50% intermediate slopes. The top of the mountain is crowned with a major glacier. When we visited Mt Titlis last December, there had been zero snowfall for the season, but we could still ski the top few runs because of the glacier (they were challenging intermediates). There are also winter hiking trails, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, tubing and a terrain park at Mt Titlis.
As another skiing option, there is a possibility that a day trip to Davos will be offered.
At the end of the valley, but still close to town, is a winter park for non-skiers. A gondola ride takes you to the top where you can hike, toboggan and sled.
So many people who went to Andorra were happy with the combination of skiing 4 days and then sightseeing the rest, that the decision was made to make this a so called 5/2 trip as well. The current thinking is to have 5 nights in Engleberg with 2 nights in the very lovely, cosmopolitan and historic city of Zurich.
A pre-trip to Ireland is currently being explored. A post-trip to Paris or a Paris/London combination is also being explored.