Hi,

I was just wondering if any of you lovely people could tell me how the whole snow'n'rail thing works here and if it's a decent deal or not?

See http://www.railaway.ch/francais/snow...bier-4vallees/ for info.

Specifically we're looking to go to Verbier at some point and would like to know:

o If it's good value for money
o If you get a decent amount of time on the mountain
o If you MUST take a specific train home/ is the ticket valid for a return journey on any train.


Also, if anyone has any tips on going snowboarding (so no resorts with masses of flat areas please) from Lausanne without a car, then they would be dearly appreciated.

Cheers,

S

Snow and rail usualy proves to be excellent value for money.

Your time on the mountain is only limited by what time you want to get up, and what time you want to leave, as you only have to take your ticket to the ski lift where it will be immediately exchanged for a ski pass.

There are no restrictions on the trains you have to take, only that they are all on the same day. The return is covered.

You normally get 2 tickets, 1 for the journey, and one that is effectively the ski pass, which you hand in at the lift.

If you can get a combined ticket, I guess that it will be better value.

When I went to Verbier using a Swiss Pass, they wouldn't recognise it at any of the Ski Lifts and were charging full price. Everywhere else offered 50% discount.

Thanks for the replies.

I take it that I simply turn up at the train station and buy a "snow and rail" pass for whichever destination takes my fancy?

That's exactly right. We usually go to Saanen Moser using a snow and rail, basically from Montreux the cost is Chf 10.00 more than the ski-pass alone. The train station is about a 5 minute walk from the ski-lift.

It's a great deal and we get to have a snooze on the way home rather than drive.

Enjoy the winter

Cheers
nats

No surprise there, that is exactly what the validity map for the Swiss Pass shows - maybe you should look at the map first next time!

Yes, I know that now. Having had my Swiss Pass accepted everywhere else prior to that, I didn't think to check first.

Ok - so we went to Verbier last weekend and it was perfect - nice and sunny and a reasonable amount of "artificial" snow.

There were only 3 runs open but that didn't bother me because I spent most of the day teaching my flatmate how to snowboard.

Thanks for all the info (especially which places don't accept the demi tariff) and I'm sure I'll do it again.

If anyone has any suggestions for other resorts which are worthwhile going to from Lausanne I'd be happy to hear them.

Cheers,

Shippy.

Hi Shippy,

Went to Leysin a few times last winter using the snow and rail ticket from Lausanne. The saving was marginal over separate ticket prices, but it was easy to get to and not too far away (journey took about an hour, with a change in Aigle onto a little mountain train)

Also went to Villars once but it took longer and the slopes were a bit too crowded for my liking (I'm a bit of a nervous beginner and don't fancy being wiped out form behind by faster skiers!)

Have fun!
Katy

Between Leysin and Villars, we go to Les Diablerets and love it. http://www.diablerets.ch/web/home.php
We prefer Les Meillerets side as there are two chairlifts to the top which is heaven for snowboarders. On the Isenau side there is a Gondola to the top although the runs are shorter and it is all tir-fesse (thingie you put between your legs to get up the hill) once you are up there. The exception is the run from the top of Isenau back to the Gondola start point but as you can imagine it can get busy there.
It is also easy to get to by train from Lausanne. Lausanne to Aigle and then the small local train to Les Diableret. If you get off the stop before Les Diablerets called Vers L'Eglise there is a small uncrowded ticket office there with a tir-fesse that connects with a T-bar to the top.
After your first visit keep the keycard you get as a skipass (and for which you pay a deposit). In all the Alpes Vaudoise stations (http://www.alpes.ch/en/Destinations.3) you can then use these keycards to buy passes online and they are especially cheap the night before or the same day purchase. Unfortunately the different stations weren't connected by a central purchasing portal and you needed to register at each one but that is not a major hassle. Maybe this year it wil be centralised.
We'll see you up there this year.

Hey, this is all great info.
What are the best places to go to by rail from Lausanne for advanced skiers?
Any advice would be appreciated.

This is my first winter here and it would be great to get in touch with anyone who could show me around the mountains. I'm not working at the moment so am keen for a ski weekdays or weekends.

Cheers,
Lachie.
lisforlachlan@yahoo.co.nz

Cheers for all the info ladies and gents,

To hopefully stimulate more replies, this topic is now getting bumped.

"bump"

So far we've been going to Verbier and Portes du Soleil (Champery).

Both of which are less then 2 hours away but I'm not terribly impressed with the route to Avoriaz from the Swiss side of the PdS (very flat). I'll have to see if there's another route the next time I go.

Verbier is fine but I'm not too impressed with the range of umps offered at the park - it seems more focused on rails and boxes to me.

S

Yeah man, verbier is definitely not for park.

Its really an off-piste heaven.. stick to avoriaz if your a park guy.

Yeah - shame the pistes to Avoriaz from are sooooooooooo flat.