Four Days In the Clouds...
Part 1 - Ski Week in Crans-Montana, Switzerland
Trip #1: Crans-Montana, Switzerland
Last week, we drove 6.5 hours to Crans-Montana to ski in the Alps for four glorious days.
It has changed me as a human. After a big move and a tough 6 weeks of adjusting, this trip was a balm to my soul. For all of us.
I’m going to write this trip in two parts - Part One will feature fun and fluff. Part Two will have details and data, should you ever want to build this trip for yourself (12/10, highly recommend).
CRANS-MONTANA: PART ONE
We left very early on Wednesday from Königstein and stopped for lunch in Bern, Switzerland, which is the country’s capital. We walked down the very old street and stopped to admire the Zytglogge Tower, a medieval clock tower built in the 13th century. I will never take for granted how much history surrounds us, always.
Just driving through Switzerland is breathtaking. The mountains tower in the background while the green hills are dotted with chalets. We took the Goppenstein, a 15-minute car train that runs through the tunnel, instead of going over the mountain. Safer and faster in winter, and a very cool experience. And then a short drive through the Rhone Valley and up the mountain brought us to our destination - Crans Montana.
We chose Crans because…our Epic passes were accepted there. At the end of last season, before we knew we were moving, we bought Epic passes to head out West this winter. Fortunately for us, Epic partners with two European resorts, and research told me that Crans is better for families and kids. Sadly, Crans is known now for the horrible New Year’s Eve accident at bar Le Constellation. We walked past the memorial and paid our respects.
We arrived at Hotel Valasia on a cloudy afternoon. Where we had just driven through green valleys and hills covered in vineyards, on the mountain, the snow drifts towered over us. We loved this hotel for its location and the ease of getting to the Anouva Gondola, just across the street from the hotel driveway. The hotel provided the perfect bookends to our ski days: an included, delicious breakfast buffet in the morning and a pool, sauna, cold plunge, and steam room in the afternoons. We did have to book two rooms - no room could fit more than 3 persons (which is typical in Europe).
This part of Switzerland speaks French, which was a nice change of pace. Bonjour! Merci! But really, everyone speaks English here since it’s such an international area. Fun fact: Switzerland officially has four languages: French, Swiss German, Italian and Latin.
We showed our Epic passes and exchanged them for our Crans-Montana passes, so we were ready to go the next morning. After a delightful walk through the town, we had dinner at Molino’s Italian restaurant - really because it was the only place that had reservations available. Lesson learned! I spent the next few minutes booking us for the rest of the weekend so we didn’t go hungry.
DAY 1
Yes, we rope dropped on our first day. The Disney rope drop strategy is embedded deep in our vacation psyche, so we were up early and at ‘em, only to wait in line for almost an hour. Earlier in the week, Crans had closed due to avalanche warnings, and on the first day we skied, the warning was 4/5. Thank goodness the following days dropped to 3/5. Was I worried? Yes. It was kinda always in the back of my mind. But thankfully, nothing happened. I also knew that we were going to hit up the lovely groomed runs where the risk is incredibly low.
Aside from the delayed morning opening, our first day was great. It was clear-ish in the morning, and our first couple of runs down the mountain were so freeing. The girls fearlessly tackled each slope, and proud doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt watching them ski. There truly is nothing like skiing in the mountains, surrounded by those views. It’s also hard work, and rewarding to accomplish each run.
By midday, the snow started to really pick up, and so we stopped inside at Cry d’Er for a quick bite to eat before the girls had lessons at 1:30 p.m. A new friend told me about the ESS school, and even though their kids’ club was booked, I was able to get them in for two private lessons for two afternoons.
That afternoon was tough skiing - the snow was blinding, and Tim and I went up to the Cry d’Er to go down runs 5 to 4a, and we couldn’t see. We knew the ski instructor was keeping the girls further down the hill, which was comforting because I was definitely out of my comfort zone.
But it was a great first day, and we were so exhausted that we cancelled our reservation to chill at the hotel. Tim and I went to the local grocery store to pick up items for a charcuterie dinner and movie, and we were all asleep by 9 pm.
DAY 2
One of the great things about our hotel was its heated Boot Room and Skis Room. So nice not have these in the hotel room and have them dry in the morning.
The gondolas opened late again because of the snowy conditions, so after a 45 min wait, we were on our way up. Day two was beautiful - and clear! We could actually see, and we realized how snowy it was the day before. We explored some new runs down the Crans side of the slopes, using the Cry d’Er gondola, which goes from the bottom to the top. We also stopped at Le 2006, a restaurant halfway down the mountain with incredible views. With clear skies and the sun, it was wonderful to sit outside for a break.
The girls headed off to lessons with ESS instructor Guio, and Tim and I decided to tackle some runs we weren't sure we could bring the girls on.
We went down the back of the mountain to Run 12 - the World Cup Nationale Run (Crans-Montana is hosting World Champions next year!) What made it challenging was that there was so much snow and no grooming that all of the slopes were moguls - and big ones.
This is the part of the trip where I blasted through my comfort zone, leveled up my ski skills because I had to, sweat through all my clothes and mittens, thanked the Universe each time I reached the end of the section, and was grateful to reach the end of this run, proud of myself but also not feeling up for a repeat ride.
The upside to this run, though - the views. It was so incredibly pretty, awe-inspiring, and humbling, all in one package.
After a long day, we were all eager to enjoy the pools and head to Le Chalet for a traditional fondue dinner.
DAY 3
We woke up on Saturday to a very snowy landscape…but we loaded up and headed out. After our first run, where we could barely see our ski tips, we called it. We love to ski, but being on the top of a mountain in a blizzard isn’t what I call fun. So we headed back to the hotel to un-gear and wandered into town for crepes. We were bummed, but also tired.
In the afternoon, it started to clear up, so we put all our gear back on and headed out for a great afternoon, since it was our last and we wanted to make the most of it. By day 3, we knew our favorite runs and took turns leading. Everything felt more comfortable and fun.
Happy, tired, and proud that we went back out, we warmed up in the pool and sauna, then headed to dinner at Restaurant Gerber, a short escalator ride down into town. We loved it, and it felt like the local Cheers, where everyone knew everyone. We went to bed with the plan to pack up in the morning and start our 6.5-hour journey back to Frankfurt.
DAY 4
Where our last day was meant to be a travel day, the weather had other plans.
We woke up to a perfect bluebird day, so after packing up, we all quickly came to the same conclusion that we can’t drive away from this day. So we changed back into our ski gear and headed out for one more morning. Best decision ever. It was glorious.
We didn’t even understand what we couldn’t see before - and the silver lining to this trip is that this beautiful day was our last, because if it had been first, we would have been frustrated the rest of the trip. We were in awe of the beauty, the majesty of the mountains.
We ventured up the Bella Lui, a higher chair lift we had been hesitant to explore previously due to the snowy conditions, and could see for miles and miles. It was simply incredible.
We are so happy we had this one final morning. We did all of our favorite runs and took in the views. We definitely had more fun and went a little faster, feeling comfortable with it. We stopped at Le 2006 for one more lunch. And soaked it all in.
I was so sad to leave this incredible place. After having a tough couple of weeks, this trip was a reminder of why we moved here and what we have access to. It was healing. Also, my girls are total baddies.
Can’t wait to get back.
Part two - I’ll share more details and data on the trip!
Fantastic photos Mel. What a great trip z😍