Switzerland 

                                       Spotlight On Leysin

                                                                  (Originallywritten for OnTheSnow.com)
                                                                                       by Ted Heck)

Many hundreds of years ago farmers in the Lake of Geneva region took to the hills here to avoid robbers. At the turn of the 20th century it was another kind of haven for patients with respiratory diseases.

But in the past 50 years it has developed into a winter resort that attracts skiers who like the mix of sport and culture. Home to the American School of secondary and university education, Leysin is a popular conference center, just the place to solve economic problems, but only in seminars conducted before the ski lifts open or after they close.

The ski area is smaller than other well-known Swiss resorts, but there’s plenty here for nearly everybody except those who seek pitch and peril. Only 15 percent of its 37 miles of prepared slopes are rated difficult. Despite a top skiable elevation of only 7,200 feet on Chaux de Mont, there is an impressive vertical of nearly 3,000 feet and a longest run of three miles. With a lot of sunlit terrain, it is an intermediate’s delight.

Among the mountain restaurants is a revolving one that offers skiers a 360-degree panorama during lunch.

Some ski guides describe Leysin in concert with the nearby but smaller Les Mosses ski area. But there are many other possibilities within an hour or so in the French-speaking Lake of Geneva region, including Chateau-d’Oex, Les Diablertets and Villars. Cross country skiers can find miles of tracks everywhere and hiking trails abound. Name a winter activity, outdoor or indoor, and you will find it here.

The village of Leysin has Old World-Old Wood charm that belies its present day international and cosmopolitan reputation. Some of the chalet-type buildings contain restaurants that any après ski gourmet would give two thumbs up.

Although Leysin has tough competition with the bigger boys, it has a real advantage in being more accessible. It is 90 minutes from the Geneva Gateway airport and 20 minutes from the city of Aigle. The journey is mostly on the motorway that goes around the north shore of Lake Geneva, past Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux, all attractive alternatives for skiers who are susceptible to fourth-day syndrome and may want a day off to enrich themselves culturally. The famed Castle of Chillon is just outside Montreux and the worthwhile Olympic Museum sits lakeside in Lausanne.