In this chapter I propose only to describe such of the larger Swiss places as I know personally, or by reputation. There are a great many smaller places where equally good, or even better, Ski-ing may be found, but, as my book is meant mainly for beginners, it seems preferable to adhere to the advice given in the preface, and for me to mention only such centres as provide comfort in the hotels and good coaching and organization of tours, as well as facilities for playing other games. Most people when they go to the Alps for their first winter visit wish to try all the different sports in order to see which they like best, and there seems to me to be no question but that the all-round sportsman gets the most out of his holiday.

There may be days when Ski-ing is not possible or when a few hours on the rink or toboggan run offer a relief to a stale Ski runner. It is usually only the really keen enthusiast of some years' standing who can spend the whole day waxing or oiling his Skis, or poring over a map planning future runs.

When choosing a place the first objective is a good supply of snow. This does not seem to depend entirely on height, though there is more likelihood of finding it above 4,000 feet than below that height. Above 5,000 feet there is less chance of thaw and rain—the bugbears of all Winter sportsmen, who can only go out for the Christmas holidays.

I have known a Winter when snow has lain in one district at 5,000 feet and not at 6,000 feet in another, but this was exceptional. The higher you go, the more hope you have of snow as a rule and also of frost, which is so necessary to keep the snow in good condition.

The centres I recommend are mainly arranged in groups geographically, taking the Canton of Graubunden, or the Grisons first, because it is the country I love best, having spent most of my early life there. The heights are taken from Murray's Handbook.

KLOSTERS, 3,970 feet above the sea. This seems to me to be one of the very best Winter Sports centres. It is a small village with two large and a few small hotels. It usually has good snow and is protected from wind. There is plenty of sun, but North slopes provide good runs near the village as well as on the Parsenn.

The Rhaetische Railway helps runners to get the maximum of downhill running for the minimum of climb, especially opening up the whole Parsenn district to those who want a long day's tour with only some 1-1/2 hours' climb.

The Nursery slopes are good, and there is plenty of open ground near the hotels for practice. The Ski-ing is well organized by the local club, and there are 1st-class Ski Instructors, as well as Certificated Guides.

The rinks are well kept and the Klosters run of old renown is maintained in good condition for tobogganing or bobbing.

There is quite a good Ski map to be obtained locally, but the Ordnance
Map should be used as well.

Skis can be hired locally.

DAVOS, 5,015 feet above the sea, was one of the first places at which Winter sports began, and it still offers almost everything desired by the Ski runner. The fact that Davos is much visited by invalids deters a great many people from going there, for fear of infection. As a matter of fact they are probably a good deal safer there than in some other places where there may be a few invalids, but where the same precautions regarding disinfection may not be taken.

Two or three hotels are kept open for sports people only, and at these the life is just the same as in all the other well-known centres.

Davos is within very easy reach by the Rhaetische Railway of all the Parsenn runs. The side valleys, Fluela, Dischma and Sertig, all offer innumerable good runs to the energetic runner who does not object to climbing, and there are endless Nursery slopes. It is one of the few places whence tours can still be planned over almost unlimited snow-fields when a track is a rare sight except on the few ordinary short runs or on the Parsenn.

The local club organizes the Ski-ing, and good Ski Instructors and
Guides are available.

The rinks are excellent and the Schatzalp and Klosters runs are maintained for bobbing and tobogganing.

There is a good Ski map showing all the runs round Davos, but the
Ordnance Map should be used as well.

Skis can be hired locally.

AROSA, 5,643 feet above the sea, is said to be excellent for Ski-ing, but I do not know it well. There is no railway to help runners much. Invalids go there as well as to Davos, but the same precautions are taken as at Davos.

There are rinks and a very good run for bobbing and tobogganing.

LENZERHEIDE, about 4,500 feet above the sea, has a fine reputation for easy Ski-ing. There is no railway to help it and all uphill work has to be done on Skis. I have never been there in Winter-time, but know that a great many runners speak well of Lenzerheide. The Ski-ing is organized, and good Instructors and Guides are available.

There is probably a good rink, but of this I have no personal knowledge.

In the Engadine[1] valley, which is also part of Graubunden, the following centres can be recommended.

PONTRESINA, 5,916 feet above the sea. The Nursery slopes are very extensive and offer short runs to the beginner. The Muottas Muraigl funicular conveys runners up some 2,000 feet, when after an easy climb of one hour a really good run may be obtained back to Pontresina.

The Rhaetische and Bernina Railways open up a large number of good runs in the Engadine valley and also up the Bernina and Morteratsch districts.

Open wood-running as well as glacier-running under safe conditions can be enjoyed near home, and Pontresina is undoubtedly one of the best places for people who want to perfect their cross-country running under different conditions.

There are no short afternoon runs ending in the village, but the railways enable people to enjoy all the tours of the Upper Engadine.

The longer tours, such as those over the Kesch Glacier to BergÜn or
Davos, are unequalled so far as I know.

Having spent two Winters at Pontresina, I can recommend it from intimate knowledge, but only for the real beginner or for the expert who wants amusing running. It is not the place for Ski-ers who only want a short run between lunch and tea.

First-class Guides and good Instructors are available. The Ski-ing is organized and plenty of coaching is given to members of the Public Schools Alpine Sports Club.

Excellent rinks and short bobbing and tobogganing runs are maintained.

A useful guide describing all the runs in the Upper Engadine can be obtained locally.

Skis can be hired locally.

ST. MORITZ, 6,037 feet above the sea. CELERINA, 5,750 " " " " SAMADEN, 5,669 " " " " are all served by the Rhaetische and Bernina Railway, and have the same Ski-ing facilities as Pontresina.

Their rinks and toboggan runs are well maintained, those at St. Moritz being, of course, among the best in Switzerland.

Good Guides and Ski Instructors are available, but, so far as I know,
Ski-ing is not in any way organized for beginners in these places.

Skis can be hired locally.

ZUOZ, 5,617 feet above the sea, is also a good Ski-ing centre further down the Inn Valley. There are only two or three hotels, and the village is quite unspoilt. It provides the most wonderful open South slopes for Ski-ing and North slopes are also within reach across the valley.

Zuoz lies almost at the foot of the climb for the Kesch runs and also taps the country further down the Inn valley behind Schuls.

So far as I know the Ski-ing is not organized in any way, but Guides are available.

There are rinks, but, Zuoz being still one of the old-fashioned places, life would be quiet there.

CAMPFER, about 5,850 feet above the sea, and

SILS-MARIA and SILVAPLANA, about 5,950 feet above the sea, lie further up the Inn valley beyond St. Moritz. No railway exists to help Ski runners, and the slopes are somewhat steep and apt to be precipitous except in the Fex Thal, south of Sils-Maria, which has lovely snow-fields.

Campfer and Silvaplana tap the country lying behind the Julier Pass, but, as no railway helps here, the tours entail a lot of climbing and a drive on the way home.

MALOJA, 5,935 feet above the sea, lies at the upper end of the Inn valley.

Never having been there in Winter, I cannot describe it during that season.

It is a beautiful place in Summer, and may open up a good deal of country which is not much tracked, as there is no village and only one large and two small hotels.

The post road runs zigzagging down into Italy and is said to provide a very fine bob or toboggan run. A Rink is kept open. Now that Maloja is being opened as a Winter centre, every amenity for a Winter holiday will probably be offered.

The Bernese Oberland is also one of the best Ski-ing districts in
Switzerland.

Mr. A. Lunn has produced a very helpful guide to all the Ski-ing tours and also, with the help of Herr Gurtner, a first-class Ski-ing map, using the Ordnance Map as its basis, so that only one map need be carried.

MÜRREN, 5,368 feet above the sea, seems to me to be one of the very best centres for beginners as they receive so much help, and there are numbers of short runs aided by the Allmendhubel funicular which runs up some 700 feet above the village. From the top of this several short runs end in the village or on the Berner Oberland Railway, which brings the tired novice home without much effort.

The Berner Oberland and the Wengern Alp Railways also enable people to get the best of the Scheidegg runs down to Wengen or Grindelwald.

The Ski-ing is very highly organized at MÜrren and beginners receive a great deal of help and encouragement.

There are Guides and Instructors.

The Rinks and bob run are admittedly among the best in Switzerland.

Skis can be hired locally.

WENGEN, 4,187 feet above the sea, is a lovely place, with the most beautiful view of the Jungfrau. It faces south, but provides two or three nice home runs, which remain in good condition except for the tracks of innumerable runners.

The Wengern Alp Railway is usually open to the Scheidegg, though after a very heavy snow-fall it may take a few days to clear. This enables people to enjoy all the runs down to Grindelwald, returning to Wengen by train.

The Ski-ing is organized and there are good Guides and Instructors.
Rinks and a most amusing toboggan run provide for off-days.

Skis can be hired locally.

GRINDELWALD, 3,468 feet above the sea, is too well-known as a Summer resort to need much description here.

Its main fault in Winter is that the sun disappears behind a mountain for about an hour and a half in the middle of the day. This ensures perfect ice on the rinks and does not much affect the Ski runner, who can climb beyond the shadow for lunch. I cannot resist mentioning my good friend Frau Wolther's tea-shop as one of the great attractions at Grindelwald, drawing many a Ski runner over the Scheidegg from MÜrren and Wengen! Frau Wolther's unfailing welcome and hospitality are a great joy at the end of a hot, wet run, and the fact that a change of clothes can be sent round by train to her care is a great comfort to those coming from afar.

There are plenty of short Ski runs above Grindelwald, and the Scheidegg railway is kept open as far as Alpiglen to help with the climb on a long day's tour.

There are good Guides to be had, some of whom are probably Ski
Instructors.

The Rinks are first-class and both bob and toboggan runs are kept up.

Skis can be hired locally.

LAUTERBRUNNEN, about 3,000 feet above the sea. People who know Switzerland well may wonder why I include Lauterbrunnen in my list, but I have often wondered equally why no one makes it a centre for Ski-ing. Though the sun may not shine there for long hours, the fact that it lies at the junction of the Berner Oberland Railway, the MÜrren Funicular and the Wengern Alp Railway seems to me to make it a very possible Ski-ing centre.

There are good hotels, and the Herr Gurtners, whose home Lauterbrunnen is, may be depended upon as two of the best Ski runners in Switzerland and two of the most active pushers of Ski-ing, to do their utmost to help any British runners who decide to try Lauterbrunnen.

All the MÜrren, Wengen and Grindelwald runs are within easy reach of Lauterbrunnen, and if the railways will sell special tickets, the cost of the journeys should not be prohibitive.

To my mind, the fact that one could stop at Lauterbrunnen after a day over the Scheidegg would be a great comfort, as the last journey up to MÜrren or Wengen is apt to be tiresome after a long run, if often repeated.

In any case it seems to me that runners might do worse than write to Herr Gurtner at Lauterbrunnen and ask for particulars, at any rate for the Christmas holidays, when most of the popular villages are very full and the hotel rates are high.

Good Guides are available at Lauterbrunnen.

KANDERSTEG, 3,835 feet above the sea. I have never been there except in Summer when I know it well.

One great attraction about Kandersteg is that it can be reached by a through train from Calais or Boulogne.

From the Ski-ing point of view, I think Kandersteg might be disappointing to the runner who hopes for short runs. There are excellent Nursery slopes, and the Loetschberg Railway probably opens up quite a lot of country.

Guides are obtainable.

Rinks and toboggan runs are maintained.

ADELBODEN, 4,450 feet above the sea, is said to be an excellent Ski-ing centre, but I do not know it personally, having only just been up there in Summer time.

There is no railway to help, so that all climbing has to be done on
Skis. It is within reach of very good tours throughout the lower
Bernese mountains.

The British Championship was held there in 1923, which shows that the
Ski-ing is organized, and good Guides are, no doubt, obtainable.

Adelboden, being a well-known Winter Sports Centre, the rink and toboggan runs are probably excellent, but, never having seen them, I cannot vouch for them.

Skis can be hired locally.

SAANENMOSER, 4,209 feet above the sea, lies at the top of the low pass between the Simmen Valley above Zweizimme and the Sarine Valley running down to Gstaad and Chateau d'Oex.

There is only the one Sports Hotel and no village. It is a most charming place within reach of Ski-ing in all directions among the lower Bernese mountains.

The Montreux Oberland Railway running down both sides of the Pass helps a little by carrying Ski runners home after some long excursions, but all uphill work has to be done on Skis. The slopes are gradual and the Saanenmoser runs are perfect for people who have learnt the elements of Ski-ing in some active place, and who then want to gain confidence by free running over easy country.

The Ski-ing was not organized when I was at Saanenmoser in 1921, and neither Guides nor Ski Instructors were obtainable. There was only a tiny rink and no toboggan or bob runs.

Skis can be hired at Gstaad.

GSTAAD, about 3,800 feet above the sea, lies below Saanenmoser, and is a large village with numbers of hotels. The Ski-ing is very much the same as at Saanenmoser and the Railway serves the same purpose, only helping runners a little.

I have never stayed at Gstaad, but have heard it well spoken of as a
Winter Sports centre offering all the usual attractions.

Skis can be hired locally, I believe, and Guides are obtainable.

* * * * *

The Rhone Valley offers a few centres which I do not know in Winter.
Among those I have heard most about, the following are outstanding.

VILLARS, 4,000 feet above the sea, is reached by a railway from Bex. It lies on slopes facing South, and I gather that the Ski-ing there is somewhat limited.

The rinks are said to be good and the usual Winter attractions are offered.

MONTANA, 5,000 feet above the sea, is reached by a funicular railway from Sierre. Like Villars it also lies on slopes, facing almost south, but there seems to be good Ski-ing among the mountains behind.

MORGINS. In addition to the above, I would mention Morgins, which I do not know personally, but of which I have heard a good deal. Morgins is 4,406 feet above the sea, and is particularly well-known for its rinks, which seem to be first-class. The Ski-ing is said to be good but not extensive. There is no railway.

DIABLERETS, 3,849 feet above the sea, in a valley going from Aigle among the mountains to the East, might be a good centre for Ski-ing, but I only know it in Summer. So far as I have heard it offers the usual attractions in Winter, but there is no railway to help much.

In other districts of Switzerland the following places should be mentioned, although I have never been to them in Winter time.

ENGELBERG, 3,343 feet above the sea, in the Stans valley near Luzern, is often well spoken of as a Winter centre, though it is liable to thaw and shortage of snow. From what I know of it in Summer time I should think that most of the surrounding slopes are too steep and precipitous to allow of much free running, but the Titlis group probably provides some open country and there is a short funicular above the village.

There are excellent hotels, and all the usual attractions are offered.

ANDERMATT, 4,738 feet above the sea, lies in the Gothard Valley above the Tunnel, and is easily reached in Winter by express trains stopping at Goeschinen, whence a short mountain railway runs up to Andermatt.

I have only been there in Summer, and from what I saw should imagine that Andermatt was subject to a great deal of wind. The slopes all look somewhat steep and are bare of forest, so that they might be somewhat dangerous on account of avalanches.

There is no railway to help Ski runners, but Andermatt might offer quite a lot of good runs to experienced people.

I know nothing of the other attractions for the all-round Winter sportsman, but have little doubt that Andermatt, which is a go-ahead place, does all it can to satisfy them.

There are, of course, innumerable other places which may be good
Ski-ing centres, not only in Switzerland, but also in Germany,
Austria, and the Italian Tyrol.

The Jura mountains and places, such as Splugen and Schuls in
Graubunden, might open up new districts. There is much new country to
explore, and I have only picked out for notice the few places to which
I have been myself, or of which I have heard from people I trust.

My description may not always be appreciated by people who have special affection for any one centre, but I have only tried to put forward my own impressions for the guidance of any beginner who may feel in a quandary as to what place to choose.

So much depends on weather conditions: if there is plenty of snow and if the sun shines, almost every place is delightful. If, on the other hand, a thaw settles in or fog descends on the mountains, or a blizzard blows the snow about, or, worst of all, if rain falls, reducing the snow to slush, nobody will be satisfied anywhere. Luckily for Ski runners, even a few inches of wet snow will provide practice, so that they suffer less than other Winter sportsmen when the weather is unfavourable.

One thing can invariably be depended upon in Switzerland, namely a warm welcome from the hotels, and every endeavour made to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of their clients.

No country in the world lays itself out more for the satisfaction of its visitors, and no holiday can beat a Winter holiday among the Alps when the conditions are favourable and the sportsmen determined to enjoy themselves.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: There is apt to be a certain amount of wind in the whole Engadine but its height counterbalances this by usually ensuring that there is not a thaw, even at Christmas time.]