Gems off the Beaten Path - Excursion ideas - Bernese Oberland

What man doesn't wish to do this? To drive around the white pistes in a vehicle with a lot of horsepower, leaving traces in the snow. Adelboden enables you to do this - in a two-hour crash course it introduces hobby caterpillar drivers to the technical details and practical applications. You practise on the cross-country track, followed by a more difficult ride on the mountain, where you prove yourself in the company of an experienced driver.

Cut the ski short, add some wood - and the Skibock is complete. The Adelboden way to go sledding reminds one of riding a unicycle, but it is easier to learn. And it is much more fun. Especially if one builds the Skibock oneself. Adelboden offers an entire event program where the Skibock is built and tested under expert guidance. After the nighttime sledding party, the "Swiss-certified Skibock builders" are rewarded with a fondue dinner.

Not everyone who dares to tour the mountains with snowshoes or cross-country skis can assess the dangers accurately. Outdoor fans will learn important facts that ensure safe enjoyment of the mountains in an applied avalanche science course in the Diemtig Valley (Diemtigtal). In a practical manner, specialists impart theoretical knowledge in an area where it is tested: during a ski or snowshoe tour in the field. Learning this way is guaranteed fun.

He lives with his dogs in an igloo and welcomes guests, who share his passion for dog-sledding: The "Swisskimo" Markus Röthlisberger offers dog-sledding adventures with a difference, for example, for children (from age 9). Here the little "mushers" get to know the world of huskies.

Like giant fire bugs they climb at night across the white slopes of the snow-clad mountains and untiringly prepare the runs for the next day: the snowcats. The men in the cockpits of the high-horsepower caterpillar vehicles have a demanding and lonely, yet fascinating job. If you want to convince yourself, come and sit as a co-pilot by the driver's side and experience up close and personal what it means to be a piste-preparer.

How does one interpret an avalanche bulletin? And how does one recognize impending danger? During the "Avalanche Safety Days" in the Jungfrau Region, snowsports enthusiasts and winter hikers learn to avoid risks and assess dangerous situations. In the Training Center, participants in the course can virtually search for those buried in an avalanche, and in the afternoon the serious undertaking becomes plain fun: participants practice in the glittering powder snow what they have learned in the course.

Kandersteg brings to life the Golden Age of Tourism by celebrating a "Belle Epoque" week: Tourism as it was one hundred years ago. During the nostalgic winter adventure week, there will be bobsledding on the original bobsled run, Eisstock-Schiessen ("Bavarian curling") and curling on the natural ice rink as well as telemark courses. The Grand Café Schweizerhof welcomes visitors at "Tea Time", and the legendary Hotel Victoria Ritter hosts an opulent Belle Epoque Ball.

They sniff around a bit and will not give up until they have found what they are looking for. Often only avalanche rescue dogs are able to find people, who have been buried in the snow, and to pull them out of the snow mass alive.

None is longer, none is more famous: The Lauberhorn Race is the ultimate World Cup event. You can hear exciting stories and hair-raising anecdotes about the legendary ski race at the weekly inspection of the run, accompanied by the organizers of the World Cup (only for experienced skiers). Included in the package: Timing the speed achieved at the Haneggschuss as well as a tour of the new house at the finish line, the television production facility and the Zielschusscafé (Café at the finish line).

Are these people really like everyone else? Are there really 300 bottles of noble wine in the cellar? Where do they wash their linen? What else is stored underground? Daniel Borter, director of the 5-star Hotel Lenkerhof invites you to do some "hotel hopping" and says he will reveal a few secrets. The entertaining guided tour through the "Backstage area" of one of Switzerland's best hotels ends with an apéritif and a risotto party in the hotel's kitchen.

Two hearts beat in his chest: one for skiing, the other for music. When Albert «Böbs» Feuz blows the Alphorn, everyone is moved. And after participating in the Inferno race, you sometimes see him standing on the winner's podium. Böbs Feuz is a ski instructor, musician and a village original. Upon request he shows expert skiers his favorite run from the Schilthorn to Mürren, and afterwards he introduces them to the secrets of Alphorn blowing.