Switzerland 

                               Spotlight On Chateau-d’Oex

                                                              (Originally written for OnTheSnow.com)
                                                                                    by Ted Heck)

Skiers who like to "get some air" can have a tankful of it in Chateau-d'Oex, a small resort in the Lake of Geneva region. They can jump over transitions on the slopes, go hang gliding or parasailing and soar in a hot air balloon.

This "corner of timeless Switzerland" (their advertising slogan) is renowned for its annual balloon festival, held during the last week of January. It was also the launching spot for the first successful non-stop balloon trip around the world.

Chateau-d'Oex is in the French-speaking part of a valley, near where the language changes over to German, another of the four official tongues of Switzerland. (The others are Italian and Romansch.) Up the road only 20 minutes away is Gstaad in the German-speaking canton of Bernese Oberland.

They speak skiing, too, in Chateau-d'Oex, with 19 miles of pistes on the terrain above the village. The vertical rise here is 2,296 feet and longest run is five miles. That may be enough for skiers who like the relaxed atmosphere here. But most serious skiers utilize a regional pass that opens gates at 62 lift stations and accesses 155 miles of groomed slopes in eight different resorts. Chief among these are Gstaad, Saanemöser and Schönried, plus the glacier above Les Diablerets, which is skiable year round.

Longest run in the region is nine miles from the glacier down to the village of Reusch; it drops more than a mile over mostly intermediate terrain that has several mogul fields.

There are 27 miles of cross country, with varying tests of Nordic skating or sliding ability.

Chateau-d'Oex takes pride in being so relaxed a resort that curling or bowling might be active enough sports for some guests. It has a full menu of après-ski possibilities in restaurants, bars, and discos. Folklore evenings, concerts and museums are other attractions.

Fashionable Gstaad offers better shopping opportunities and the chance to see well-togged people who have come to strut instead of ski. But it is less expensive to stay in Chateau-d'Oeux. Even in high season, two people in a three-star hotel can have bed and breakfast for $70 to $80 apiece.

The village's location, in addition to its proximity to other attractive ski areas, also grants sightseeing opportunities on a day when you take a break from skiing, or when weather is a wet blanket. Only an hour and a half from the Geneva gateway, the resort is convenient for day trips to the lakeside Castle of Chillon (saluted by Lord Byron) and the cities of Montreux and Lausanne. The latter is headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and site of the outstanding Olympic museum.