Switzerland 

                             Spotlight On Crans-Montana

                                                      (Originally written in 2002 for OnTheSnow.com)
                                                                                  by Ted Heck)

There it is, or maybe we should say there they are. High on a plateau that looks out over the Rhone Valley, Crans-Montana really is two side-by-side towns, where no one is surprised to hear French and German languages being used interchangeably. It’s about here that the large canton of Valais becomes known as Wallis.

This sophisticated Swiss resort is a delight for couples who don’t need to outdo each other on the slopes. You can cavort together in the snow or split for non-mutual pursuits. If shopping is one of your pastimes, be assured that there isn’t a French or Italian fashion salon, watch, clockmaker or jeweler that is missing. You can buy a Mont Blanc pen here and remind the gang at the office every time you whip it out that it didn’t come from Target.

The mountain has a variety of skiing that hard core skiers might find too tame. Lots of cruising terrain in mid-mountain and on the high plateau (9,840 feet) of the Plaine Morte glacier, where there are some drop-offs into powder, but also a cross country loop.

Craig Altschul, MountainNews Corp. Editor of OnTheSnow.com, says that it is not all that gentle. The deepest descent is 4,920 feet, a higher vertical than anything in the United States. Crans often hosts international competitions and he once covered the World Alpine Championships here. Craig pre-ran (not to be confused with foreran) the downhill with other fearless writers. “They fared better than I did, which is not an award winning achievement, but they’ll admit, too, that it can be pretty tough,” he says.

So, it’s all here. Tough, easy, cruising. A combination that sends you into the sauna with a sigh.

Crans-Montana is a major resort, with more places for pillow talk than most alpine destinations. Forty thousand beds, most of them in apartments. The crowd comes here for the sport, but they bring a lot of sunscreen with them. Slopes face south, which has pluses and minuses. You tan quicker, particularly if you’re reclining in a beach chair after a gourmet lunch. But the strong sun can chew up the snow.

Palate Pleaser

Craig Altschul was a champion in one venue, Au Greni, a small, 45-seat restaurant with a specialty of Grillades et racletter au feu de bois. He didn’t have to pronounce it; he just went for it, preserving his record as Arizona’s leading consumer of melted cheese.

The Geneva gateway airport is 2.5 hours away, allowing frequent looks at the Rhone River as it builds on its way to France, flowing through Lake Geneva along the way. The Rhone, Germany’s Rhine, and Austria’s Inn all spring up in Switzerland.