Skiing is more than just a sport in Switzerland. As its national sport, it is sacred and intrinsic to the culture. To have a full Swiss experience you will want to glide down the magnificent slow clad Alps. Undoubtedly our ISB families are usually very busy all through winters making the most of the ski opportunities here and have a lot of wisdom to share. This section is especially to help our ski beginner families who are new to this ski country.
GRINDELWALD
About 2 hours away from Basel, Grindelwald is a great option with over 30% of its pistes classified as easy along with the stunning views it offers. It clearly scores as one of top most popular resorts among ISB families.
There are many lodging options in this beautiful village, though for your first visit, it would definitely help to stay close to the train station. Based from here, you would need to take a train up to Kleine Scheidegg which is where the ski slopes start and is a common meeting point for ski instructors.
It's easy to find english speaking ski schools here. The Altitude Ski School is a popular one among ISB families.
Wengen and Mürren are also good places to base yourself from to get to Kleine Scheidegg. Though these are car-free villages and you would need to park your car at the Lauterbrunnen Valley and take a train up.
GSTAAD
Gstaad is about a 2.15 hours drive with plenty of gentle blue runs for beginners. It is also one of the chosen locations for our ISB annual ski camps.
There are many stay options, though in the ski season, being close to the ski lifts would be a key consideration when choosing where to stay.
The Altitude Ski School has a network in many popular ski resorts including here. There are others also like Swiss Ski School (also with a wide network across ski resorts) which offer private and group classes.
ZERMATT
A little under 4 hours drive from Basel, Zermatt is a gorgeous location to learn skiing with the view of the majestic Matterhorn.
Designed to be family-friendly, it is definitely a very popular one especially among tourists. Not surprising you will easily find many English-speaking ski schools.
Zermatt is also a car-free village. You can park at the Tasch and then take a short train to the village.
AROSA
Three hours away, Arosa is considered to be one of Switzerland's best for a first time family ski trip with over a hundred kilometers of blue runs.
ABC Snow Sports and the Swiss Ski School offer group and private classes.
NENDAZ
This is also a favorite of families because of its quiet, friendly environment, childcare services and facilities for beginners.
The Swiss Ski School and the Premier Alpine Center among others have a whole range of group and private lessons available.
The area is also popular for its massive spa and wellness center - Hotel Nendaz 4 Valleys. Many head there for a relaxing break.
ENGELBERG/BRUNNI
Though Engelberg is more suited for intermediate ski levels than beginner, it needs special mention since it is frequently visited by ISB families and by ISB for its ski team practices.
As you and family progress with your skiing, it may be helpful to keep this resort in mind as a place you can go visit for day trips since its just one and a half hours away. It has a mix of slopes catering to various levels. The smaller resort Brunni on the eastern side is more beginner friendly and just minutes away.
While these are names that often come up with ISB families, there are multitude of other equally great places like St. Moritz, Davos/Klosters, Laax, Adelboden, Andermatt , Saas Fee and many more that you can consider for your first family ski holiday. The factors to research are - presence of beginner/ blue slopes, ski schools (especially English speaking ones in case language is an important consideration), hotel accessibility to ski lift and other non-skiing entertainment that you may be looking for like sledging, restaurants, children activities, childcare services, spas etc.
DAY TRIPS
Skiing, you will soon discover, is very addictive! You will look at your weekends and any midweek holiday as an opportunity to hit the slopes. Here is a list along with how long it takes to drive to get there, that many ISB families use to make most of a day!
Grindelwald - 2 hours
Melchsee Frutt - 1.30 hours
Engelberg -1.30 hours
Meiringen - Hasliberg - 2 hours
Andermatt - 2 hours
Klewenalp - 2 hours
Lauterbrunnen Valley (Wengen/Murren) - 2 hours
Sorenberg - 1.30 hours
Zweisimmen (Gstaad) - 2 hours
Feldberg (Germany) - 1.15 hours
CLOTHING
THE LAYERS
It does take some amount of planning before you head out to the slopes. It's all about layering right when it comes to getting clothed for the ski slopes.
Base layer : Thermals - top and leggings
2nd layer : A fleece jacket that is easy to move around in with no hood as you would wear a ski jacket on top.
Outer layer : Ski jacket and ski pants
Ski socks - They are thicker and longer to keep your toes nice and warm on the slopes, and should fit snuggly
Gloves - Good gloves are important and worth spending on. To have a good ski experience you need to make sure your fingers stay properly warm and dry
Neck warmers- Please have something around your neck. A tube scarf or Buff works better when skiing than a regular scarf as it stays in place and has no loose ends to catch on the lift
Ski helmets and Ski goggles are a must. You can buy 'all weather' goggles which will work in most conditions. If you wear glasses, you may want to buy a helmet with a built in visor or wear contact lenses.
And of course in our Covid times, 'masks'
THE STORES
The next obvious question is where to shop for all of these? Here is a list of stores you can go to:
Decathlon is a great place to start out. It has everything you need from the list above and offers good value for money and is located near Tram 11 in Dreispitz
Inter Sport in Lörrach (Germany)
SportsXX in MParc
SportLager Pratteln
You'll get a range of brands in the other outlets and you could also get some on a good discount.
Last but not the least, the ISB Classifieds and the CA Annual Sports Buy and Sell at ISB are great hunting grounds for some great deals!
SKI EQUIPMENT
After getting outfitted, now where can you go for your ski equipment- the skis, the ski poles and the ski boots? There are several places you can rent them out for a weekend or a season. Renting them for the season makes more economical sense. Many ISB families rent from the following stores
Karrer Sport in Laufen
Look Perfect Sport in Reinach
Scheiwi Sport in Arlesheim
Sport Stocklin in Ettingen
Each year, if you re-rent the rental fee also decreases. If you child grows during the season you can also exchange your rentals for the new size.
It would be useful to know that when you are traveling to a ski resort you can choose to get your ski equipment transferred directly to your location and save yourself the inconvenience of carting it with you. Read about it here www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/before-your-journey/luggage/luggage/special.html
SKI PASS
The ski pass is your admission ticket to use the ski resort. It is worthwhile to check the pricing options before arriving at a resort as it may take some time to understand what will be the best choice for your family. Often children under 6 will ski for free but you may need to show an identity document that proves the age. Usually the ticket is similar to a plastic credit card which operates the turnstile to let you in the ski lift area. At the end of your stay, you can return the ticket and receive a 5chf deposit for each one. Some resorts let you use your SBB Swiss Pass as your ticket but you must present it at the Kasse/cashier or ticket machine to activate it, then there is no deposit to worry about.
If you have someone in your group who will not ski, often you can get a reduced price ticket for he or she to take the ski lift with you to a middle lodge where they can watch the rest of the family's progress and have a warm drink. Again, look at the resort in advance to ensure that you are choosing a place with this option.
SKI SPOTS OUTSIDE SWITZERLAND
Even though Switzerland is a ski haven, sometimes it can be nice to explore ski resorts outside the borders. Some of the places popular among the ISB community are :
Germany - Feldberg especially for day trips as it is a little over one hour away and has a nice beginner area.
Austria - The kinderhotels in various ski locations like St. Anton, Ischgl, Montafon, Lech and Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis are an attractive option for families because of the various chid-care and child-friendly facilities available in these places.
France - Chamonix, Tignes and Val-d'Isere are some good options.
WEBSITE LINKS
A couple of websites that we find very useful are: