Switzerland 

                                       Spotlight On Riederalp

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

                                                                         Riederalp? Bettmeralp? Fiescheralp? Huh?

You mean you haven’t heard of this trio of interconnected resorts that sit on a high plateau in southern Switzerland, sunny but high enough to be snow-sure?

Resort officials in the Alps maintain there is always snow if you go high enough. They say that magic number is 6,000 feet. These three resorts qualify.

One reason they may not be on the tip of your tongue is that they are remote in their perch on the high terrace, traffic-free villages accessed by cable cars from the valley. The Rhone River flows through the valley into the nearby city of Brig and on its way toward and through Lake Geneva and into France. Beside the river are a highway and the railroad on which the famed Glacier Express runs.

Swiss and German winter sports fans know these resorts, however. The dark wood chalets and hotels have been their vacation homes for generations. Fresh air, southern exposure, mostly intermediate skiing terrain, a high pine forest, and Switzerland’s nature conservation center are among the attractions.

Oh, yes, the glacier. The Aletsch glacier ends near these resorts after originating 14 miles north near the Jungfrau Mountain. Europe’s longest glacier is hidden behind a ridge and not visible from the villages. Skiers ride up to the Moosfluh ridge and winter wanderers walk up to where they can marvel at the massive river of snow and ice. The surface of the glacier looks too crinkled for comfort, but it is skiable with the right conditions and with a mandatory guide.

The vertical drop back down to Riederalp is only 1,300 feet, but when there is enough snow, continuing down into the valley makes it almost a mile. Anyone who accepts the ebony black challenge at the top of the Eggishorn above Fiescheralp can have a 3,300 feet descent back to the village.

The side by side villages have 71 miles of prepared slopes, only about 20 percent of them considered difficult. Thirty-five lifts include 18 draglifts. Aggressive snowboarders may get bored here, but the rest of the family will have a ball.

The areas offer helicopter skiing, ice skating, hiking, snowshoeing, sleigh and sled riding, in addition to skiing. There is a sports center and swimming pool in Bettmeralp.

Because the villages have 1,700 inhabitants but five times as many guest beds, you can assume there is much action after dark. Hotel dining rooms are alive and restaurants, bars and discos thrive.

Although these are the primary resorts, other hamlets in the so-called Aletsch region include Breiten, Kühboden, Mörel, Blatten and Belalp.

Historic Brig is only a few miles from the bottom station of the cable car and is worth a visit. You have already been there if you rode the Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt. But if you had stopped to ski in the Aletsch region, you would be one up, make that three up, on name-dropping friends.