Michael Cranmer tries the high mountain life in his insider guide to Engelberg, and bumps into some unexpected visitors.
Ski Bums and Saris.
Engelberg is a high-altitude village in Switzerland, just a couple of hours train ride from Zurich. Picture-postcard pretty both in summer and winter it’s a magnet for fans of freeride skiing, and Bollywood. Yes, you read it right. The steep off-piste powder runs accessible from the 3,020 metres Titlis cable car are world-renowned, as is the life size cutout there of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling of Bollywood.
On the Rotair 360-degree revolving cable car you’ll find hard-core skiers, dressed in Gore-Tex against sub-zero temperatures, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with shivering sari-clad visitors from the Indian sub-continent eager to strike Instagram poses with their cardboard heroes at the top. Bollywood blockbuster ‘Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge’ was shot on Mount Titlis (standing in for the less accessible Kashmir) and accounts for the huge rise in Indian tourists to Engelberg, ‘the Mountain of the Angel’.
Angelic Panorama.
To divert these non-skiers there’s the ubiquitous cliff walk and ice caves common nowadays to so many high mountain resorts, with yet more Insta-opportunities, and the Panorama restaurant. Its view, truly angelic, the menu, good, if pricey (but this is Switzerland after all). If it’s sunny, booking is necessary, if it’s cloudy head low, the restaurant Ritz Gerschnialp run by Andreas and Christine Häcki, a little off the beaten track and worth the diversion.
Flying Snowflake.
But skiing is really the thing. Reliable glacier-level powder fields with 2,000 metres of descent draw aficionados from all over, particularly Scandinavia. If conditions permit, the off-piste is open from October through to May, pisted runs December to April. Local legend ‘Snowflake’ – aka Heinrich Giesker – is a familiar sight on the powder snow slopes, with his white ski suit, bald dome, flowing white locks and perpetual grin.
No avalanche transceiver, no helmet, no googles, he’s a one-man Health and Safety Hazard. Despite some very near-death experiences, and pushing 78 years old, he says, “Skiing is like flying. It just makes you happy.” Maybe the angel is watching over him.
Squeeze or Quad?
Two others drawn by the Engelberg snow-magnet are Swedish pals Niklas Moller and Eric Spongberg who set up the quirky Ski Lodge in 2008 in a former Edwardian Hotel, now the go-to place to stay for free thinkers, free riders, and free spirits. Interiors, idiosyncratic; vibe, boutique hip; room choice – ‘The Squeeze’ with ‘cozy bunk beds for one or two adventurers and ski enthusiasts who prefer spending their time with friends, outdoors, and at the bar’; or perhaps – ‘The Quad’ with ‘either four single beds or two single beds and one bunk bed’.
No wonder the bar is so popular. Really only one subject of discussion. You’ve got it…skiing. But adventurers need their fuel and the Lodge’s Brasserie Konrad has become one of the town’s most popular places to eat with a first-rate locally sourced menu. The Grilled Swiss Trout Fillet with Hollandaise Sauce paired with a Domaine de Beudon Riesling Sylvaner, is sublime.
Cruisy Blues.
The resort is not all hard-core, with good intermediate slopes in Jochpass on the flank of Titlis, with nice swoopy reds, and a lovely long loop down to the valley, but avoid this late season when the cover is thin. There’s small but good isolated beginner’s area at Gerschnialp, others at Trübsee and Untertrübsee, but for less challenging slopes head for the sunnier south-facing Brunni, a free bus ride up the valley.
Confidence-building blues start here, a convenient café, and lifts heading up to Ristis, with its sunbathing terrace, thence Brunihütte. An easy, cruisy blue wends back through the trees with stonking views of the mighty Titlis across the valley its Panorama restaurant windows glinting in the sun, and the 900-year-old Benedictine monastery dominating the small town below. There’s a cheesemaker in the grounds where you can taste varieties from the valley and if you’re lucky, a glass of Chasselas wine produced by monastery winemaker Beat Burkhardt.
Beans and Books.
There is some après, but no Krazy Kanguruh or Folie Douce. The Chalet at the foot of the Titlis station gets lively, or the Iglu bar halfway down at Trübsee. Back in town, if coffee and books are your thing, The Roastery is a unique blend of coffee roaster, stationery shop and bookstore under one roof. Follow your nose or google map Roastery/Papeterie, Dorfstrasse 9. Run with love, passion and expertise by Oscar and Sophia Wetterblad, it’s a must see.
If crowds aren’t your thing the wood fired hot tub in the garden of the Ski Lodge with good pals and a local beer in hand is hard to beat.
Engleberg is an angelic winter destination for all; freeride fanatics, Bollywood buffs, easy cruisers and family fun seekers.
Tell Me More About Visiting Engelberg
Find out more about this insider guide to Engelberg by visiting Switzerland Tourism and Engelberg-Titlis Tourism,
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) to Zurich from £76 one-way, skis and boots free.
Swiss Travel System offers unlimited travel (rail, bus and boat) on consecutive days from £209 for a three-day second-class ticket.
