(Lenk, Switzerland)

Monday, March 5 was a beautiful day on the Lenk-Adelboden slopes.  The sun was shining and the day should have been one long “Kodak Moment”.  Alas, since I inadvertently left my camera’s memory card in my laptop computer (which was back at the hotel), I was unable to capture any of it!

Still, this was another reminder that it is important to live in the moment.  I figured we would probably have other photo opportunities during our week in Lenk, so I just focused on enjoying the excellent ski conditions.  The photographs in today’s post are all from subsequent days.

After a couple of days of skiing in Lenk-Adelboden, I have grown fond of the almost non-existent lift-lines, the long and wide pistes, and the quintessential Alpine scenery.   For sheer Alpine drama, nothing can compare to the mountains around Wengen.  However, the pistes themselves at Lenk are certainly comparable.  And the snow conditions have been great, considering that we are now well into March.

Alas, no discussion of Swiss skiing can ignore the high costs.  Even in Lenk, the prices are still much higher than those in Italy…although I think they are slightly lower than in Wengen.   So, in an attempt to control my food budget, I continue to eat lots of mostly meat-free dishes such as rösti and spätzle.  Any main course featuring meat is often in excess of 30 Swiss Francs…or more than $40.00 (Canadian).

Despite high food costs, our accommodation costs in Lenk are relatively reasonable.   Wages are very high here, so the lack of 24-hour staffing at our hotel helps keep the costs in line.  In addition, the (included) breakfasts are still plentiful, so we don’t need to eat quite as much for lunch in expensive mountain restaurants.

It also costs a lot of money to get from the airport to the ski resort.  Overall, however, I think we’re close to achieving a nice balance of world-class skiing without world-class crowds.  The lift ticket prices are near Western Canada/U.S. levels but, with no lift-lines, we are getting far more skiing time than we would at similarly-priced resorts in North America.

My next post will be about an especially dreamy day at Betelberg, Lenk’s other ski area….where all of the high costs were quickly forgotten!