Skiing in Adelboden: An Unexpected Delight

16th February 2023 | Claire McAteer, Adelboden

Last modified on February 20th, 2023

I’d heard of Adelboden in Switzerland, but knew little about it except that it holds the formidable World Cup race each January.

Images of the race this year were beamed around the world – but the famous steep white slope was surrounded by green meadows this winter.

You may have seen the race on the BBC’s Ski Sunday.

‘No publicity is bad publicity,’ a local told me cheerily though – and it was still a claimed success.

Thankfully, they’ve had more snow since.

Although there was not huge amounts of much fresh stuff, they’d had a light dusting in the last couple of days as I arrived in resort and the first glimpse of the snowy mountains was breath-taking.

Claire McAteer, Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

It was a wonderful reward after a day of travelling.

As that’s perhaps a downside of a holiday in Adelboden – getting to the resort.

It’s not as easy as reaching some of the more well-known resorts in Switzerland.

After flying with Swiss from Heathrow to Zurich, I caught two trains and then a bus before reaching my final destination.

The train and bus takes about three hours.

I question whether it’s a downside though, because I sat with my face gazing out of the window the whole time.

The views were incredible.

I suggest looking up from your book or snooze at Bern –  the church steeple and the bridge over the river are magnificent, so snap a pic if you’re quick enough.

I wasn’t.

Then I kept watching …

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Everyone is super friendly too, making the experience much more enjoyable.

Celine, the ticket inspector on the train, even printed out a voucher for me and my friend to have a free coffee.

‘I want you to have a great time in my country,’ she said.

We were baffled – and grateful.

Not the sort of thing you get on Great Western Trains.

But it was the bus ride, I loved the most.

It’s Swiss, so of course it was on time.

The winding journey took us through the most picturesque villages with stunning, old buildings that you won’t believe still exist.

Plenty of skiers piled on the stop before ours, which boded well for our skiing the next day and then we pulled into Adelboden.

Pretty much just a street but with three bakeries (I counted), a butcher (he was a character), a quaint church (worth a peek inside) and some good-looking eateries.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland.Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The first day we skied in the main area, Adelboden-Lenk.

My first impressions:

I was genuinely surprised at how big the ski area was and continually found myself asking: “Why is it not more well-known to British skiers?”

It wasn’t too busy.

More crowded than my recent Canadian ski trip – PanetSKI hits Canada for a bucket list ski trip

But definitely less busy than a January or February equivalent to one of the large French ski areas the Brits tend to head to.

Adelboden-Lenk have more than 210km of pistes.

The main access gondola drops skiers and riders at the summit of Sillerenbühl, from which fun runs fan out in all directions.

Think wide, open and often sunny reds and blues – bliss.

From chats on the lifts with Christian, our local guide, I gathered Adelboden is the resort where Swiss families come to ski, which gave the place a lovely vibe.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

After warming up on some cruisy blues with grippy snow, we headed for the Chuenisbärgli, the home of the World Cup track.

Christian showed us where the race started – it was still packed with ice.

Trying it for ourselves, I added a few more turns than racers do and slid over so some very steep, icy bits.

You can tell how close to the edge the racers must be.

I imagined myself coming round the final corner in front of 35,000 fans.

What a rush it must be.

I’d love to watch for myself one day, but for now I was quite happy to return to my reds and blues.

It’s mainly Swiss German that is spoken in Adelboden, be warned, there’s not many menus in English (which I actually quite enjoy) – but everything we ate was delicious and served by genuinely friendly people.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

I barely heard an English accent all day – until I met up with the James Cove, editor of PlanetSKI, at lunchtime.

By co-incidence he was nearby on his endless multi-resort alpine travels and dropped in.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

He has skied here several times and loves the place.

He prefers to stay out of town at a little B&B he knows above the village.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The dawn views are spectacular.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

We both agreed Adelboden was full of pleasant surprises right down to the last run of the day.

An unforgettable run that James loves and few take as they prefer to get the lift down.

It’s a blue that took us across bridges, along rivers, through houses and delivered us right to the car door back in the village.

But there were even more ski areas to explore, and I visited three more in the Adelboden Valley on the trip.

•   Elsigenalp is for more advanced skiers with tougher challenges and a host of freestyle terrain.

•   TschentenAlp is the closest to the actual village of Adelboden and has its own small cluster of runs as well as other activities like sledding and a giant swing (more on those below…).

•   Engstligenalp, is famous in summer for its beautiful waterfall and its steep cliff faces.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

A small but stunning ski area, Engstligenalp has brilliant beginner slopes but also some fun steeper runs, served by four drags.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

One of my favourite runs of the trip was an empty, rolling blue here at the top right of the Dossen T-bar, that was still perfectly groomed even by midday – corduroy skiing at its best.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

There is a ‘a monkey tail’ drag lift, which you need quite strong arms for (tip: keep your arms straight and use your core).

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The area is great for families with beginner slopes right opposite a cafe and you can pretty much see all slopes from the bottom in the plateau.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

As it’s over 2,000m above sea level so you can ski here right through until May.

I’d definitely consider it for a late season trip.

Snowboard wise, the whole Adelboden ski area has a lot of flats and whilst the lifts have been modernised there are still plenty of drag lifts to be found.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

But I did see plenty of snowboarder tracks in the off-piste, so don’t let that put you off.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

If you’re looking for things to do that don’t involve skiing, there’s plenty for you.

Donning snowshoes and poles, I enjoyed my first proper snow-shoe hike on, about two hours of trekking through pure nature by night.

Freezing but worth it.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The crampon-style shoes you put on over your footwear keep you safe on the snow, even the steep bits (though a good tip is to bend your knees and lean back slightly going downhill).

Our guide Mike from Alpinschule Adelboden checked the pace was okay and and provided a hot drink mid-hike.

Gazing at the magnificent, glowing mountains and watching the moon rise was a pinch-me moment.

The experience ends at the ‘Raclette stübli’, where I demolished three rounds of a delicious raclette, washed down with a local beer.

The views of the village by night were well worth it.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Then there’s the giant swing.

If you’re afraid of heights, I wouldn’t recommend – but luckily I’m not and it has to be one of the most fun swings I’ve ever been on.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Of course when someone dared me to stand up, I couldn’t resist.

My inner child came out.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

There’s also sledding with a high variety of slopes and ‘vehicles’.

Again, not for the faint-hearted, but a lot of fun once I worked out how to slow down.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

And again, the views were just magical from the top of the sledding run.

At the end of a full day’s skiing you can’t beat a soak and a steam at a spa and The Cambrian hotel’s award-winning one is jaw-dropping.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

You’ll be rejuvenated for tomorrow’s skiing in no time.

The Cambrian is a four star family-friendly hotel which offers luxury without the stuffiness.

Staff are incredibly friendly.

The design is high-end and so is the food.

“It was set up by two Welsh brothers who used to ski in Adelboden and dreamt of staying here one day,” the general manager, Lorenz Maurer, tells me.

“30 years later they bought it when it came up for sale.”

One of the brothers, Bryn Williams is married to Sharleen Spiteri from the band, Texas, and they come regularly with their children.

If you’re into your yoga, the hotel’s yoga teacher, Manu, is a psychologist who works with the staff on wellbeing, and her classes are dreamy.

There’s stunning mountain views in every direction and a brilliant bar for some fine apres-ski.

And if you’re up for a different sleeping experience, you could stay at Adelboden’s real-life igloo right on the Engstligenalp slopes.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Ducking in for a nosey mid-ski, I couldn’t believe it actually wasn’t that cold inside – and it was beautiful.

I could just imagine going to sleep looking up at the twinkling icy snow roof.

Going to the toilet in the middle of the night, however, perhaps not so fun…

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The term ‘hidden gem’ gets overused when it comes to travel writing, but I feel for Adelboden it really rings true.

It’s a rare privilege to get to explore somewhere new and Adelboden is full of unexpected surprises.

If you’ve not been yet, I suggest you change that.

I’ll certainly be back.

I have conversations with the locals to continue.

Adelboden, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

Adelboden Fact Box:

PlanetSKI logo