What’s new in the Jungfrau this winter
The Jungfrau region has always been accessible for a weekend ski break with easy rail links from Zurich and Geneva but this winter season it’s become even quicker to reach the mountains with new flights routes into Bern-Belp airport.
This year the region has introduced more snow fun on Kleine Sheidegg with a new beginner area and fun park, new ‘ice magic’ in Interlaken, a new half pipe in the White Elements Snowpark and a new ‘Winnercard’ that will track, film and photograph skiers in action capturing their holiday and creating a souvenir holiday album. Another series of exciting events has also been announced for 2014-15.
New flight routes into Bern airport – the closest gateway to the Jungfrau
Holidaymakers can now fly directly into Bern airport from a variety of UK airports with new winter routes from Intersky and Skyworks airlines. The international airport Bern-Belp is the closest airport to the beautiful Jungfrau region with transfers taking a short 45 mins into Interlaken where skiers can access the ski resorts of Wengen, Mürren and Grindelwald and the Jungfrau ski region by rail. Bern-Belp has the fastest check-in times in Switzerland, and is favoured (for good reason) by the rich and famous and their private jets. The new routes mean it’s now easier to make a quick ski weekend getaway to the mountains and feel like a film star while you’re at it.
TopSkiSwiss.com will be operating weekly charter flights with Intersky airlines from the following UK regional airports into Bern-Belp; East Midlands, Norwich, Bournmouth, Humberside and London Southend.
Skywork Airlines has also announced it will be operating a series of new flights into Bern-Belp from London’s ‘sixth airport’ customer-friendly London Southend. From 27th October the airline will offer flights twice a day from Monday-Friday and once on a Saturday.
Visit: www.flyskywork.com form more information
New Snow Fun Kleine Scheidegg
New to the 2014/15 winter season, Snow Fun Kleine Scheidegg has been introduced for beginner skiers and snowboarders and those that just want to have fun in the snow. Kleine Scheidegg is located 2,061 metres above sea level and offers visitors some of the most spectacular and arresting views of the Eiger north face, Mönch and Jungfraujoch. First time skiers and snowboarders will feel like they’ve conquered the mountains as they look out over the scenery from confidence-building terrain. The gentle slopes are served by a covered magic carpet for easy beginner access. Other activities such as snow tubing, sledging and snow biking are also available.
Capture the winter fun and win with the new Winnercard
Jungfrau Top of Europe has introduced a new Winnercard that will track skiers and snowboarders round the mountain recording vertical drop, speed and distance travelled and create a holiday album with photos, films, stats and rankings in any friendly competitions. Holidaymakers can pre-register for a free Winnercard online and will find the various photo and movie points on the mountain where a quick swipe with their ski pass will activate the cameras. They can also collect ‘badges’ on the card for the number of consecutive days skied, lifts used in a day and various other point-building activities. Collect the right badge and you would be entered into a prize draw to win an Audi A3. For more information and to register for the new Winnercard visit: www.jungfrau.ch/winnercard
New Top of Europe Ice Magic in Interlaken
Interlaken will open their new ice-skating experience on 20th December 2014. The centre of the town will be transformed into a winter wonderland on ice from December to February with four interlinking ice rinks, runways, skating, curling and cosy restaurants.
Grindelwald embraces the freestyle scene and introduce a half pipe for 2014-15
Snowboarders inspired by Swiss-bred (Russian-born) athlete Iouri Iourеvich Podladtchikov (ipod to his peers) who took gold in the men’s half pipe at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, can now come and practice their moves in the White Elements Snowpark.
Grindelwald will become one of the few wintersports areas in Switzerland with a half pipe. The Grindelwald-First area has a long-standing tradition in freestyle and will develop the White Elements Snowpark to include the pipe, enhancing the fun and freestyle area. The First Aerial Cableway will create the new half-pipe at the Bärgelegg in a natural trough in the landscape. Using the natural topography of the land greatly reduces the manufacturing costs and impact on resources. After the winter season the trough will be fully landscaped and restored to its original state which will also ensure minimal impact on the surrounding landscape.
Winter events
It will be another action-packed year in the Jungfrau with world class downhill racing and freestyle events, mountain safety talks, wacky horn-sledge racing, mega treasure hunts and top music festival SnopenAir. Here is a select of the best of the season’s events.
16th -18th January 2015: Be a spectator for the Lauberhorn 85th World Cup downhill slalom Race. With a length of approximately 4.5 km and race speeds reaching up to 160km per hour it’s the longest and one of the most dramatic downhill races to watch.
19th – 24th January – Join the celebration of ice art at the World snow festival in Grindelwald on the natural ice rink.
7th-8th February – Experience world class snowboard action up close at The Audi Snowboard open series that will take place in Grindelwald-First. The event is establishing itself as one of Europe’s most important junior tours in the snowboard arena with several riders rising to international stardom.
28 February – Take part in the ‘Horn-Sledge’ races, Alpigle. This rustic sport is growing in popularity and is the ultimate kick for both participants and spectators. Keep an eye out for pilots that might stray from the course on this fast-paced ride!
6th-8th March – Get involved with the 7th WHITESTYLE OPEN in Mürren. The quiet mountain village will be transformed into a vibrant urban freestyle scene with daring riders showing off their skills on a kicker in the village centre. As well as the after-dark big air competition there’s also equipment testing and after-party.
4th April 2015 – ‘I’m a Treasure Get me out of Here!’ guarantees sky-high treasure hunting fun and the opportunity to find some incredible prizes. A collection of treasure chests containing a stash of prizes are hidden in the snow in a specific area. As soon as the signal sounds, the treasure hunters are let loose with tools to find and dig them out. The incredible range of prizes includes Stöckli skis, iPads, Jungfrau Ski Region season lift passes, GoPro cameras, travel vouchers, helicopter tours and the first prize is a BMW X1.
11th April 2014 – Get your dance on at SnowpenAir, Switzerland’s biggest winter music event. The high-altitude event in Kleine Scheidegg and can only be reached by a journey on the beautiful mountain railway where national and international bands will play at 2061m. The line-up for the 2015 event will be announced soon. For more details and to purchase tickets visit: www.jungfrau.ch/snowpenair
For more information about snow holidays in the Jungfrau region please visit: www.jungfrau.ch
