To ski or not to ski: a winter activity break in the Swiss Alps

IF you don’t ski or snowboard, you might never see the Alps in winter. On my recent trip to Interlaken in Switzerland, I was thinking about all the people I know who would love this Alpine town in January but who would never think to go there because they’re not up for hurtling down a mountainside, eyes wide in panic. Older people wary of breaking bones for example, or friends who never learned to ski as a child and aren’t about to start now.

It was less about adrenalin and speed and more about slowing down and noticing more.

I’d tell them to go there anyway. Skiing wasn’t part of my trip (I did that in Gstaad a few days earlier) but experiencing the beauty and charm of the Alps in winter most definitely was. And there were a lot of gentle, accessible ways of doing it, no snowplough turns required.

A winter break in Interlaken 

It’s always nice if you can see the hotel where you’re staying when you get off the train - and that was the case with the new Essential by Dorint in Interlaken. It’s pretty much on the platform and was strangely quiet at night considering (it must have thick windows). I liked how functional and well-designed my room was with its remote control blinds, Nespresso machine in reach of the bed, and its way of being cosy and minimalist at the same time. 

I knew very little about the town of Interlaken when I first arrived apart from it has a name that sounds like a Kraftwerk song and it’s between two lakes. That evening we were told to wrap up warm because we were heading out onto one of them -  Lake Brienz - on a raft, in the dark, to eat raclette. 

Raclette Rafting on Lake Brienz and the River Aare

I’ll admit I was sceptical about this excursion but that’s because when someone says ‘rafting’ to me I imagine shooting down whitewater rapids, helmet on and paddle in hand. I didn’t see how that would work alongside dinner and drinks but I didn’t need to worry. Wrapped in blankets, at a table set up with little stoves and wine glasses, our raft drifted slowly along the calm, still lake and river, while our guide from Outdoor Switzerland took care of the paddling and steering.

Raclette, for the uninitiated, is a genius Swiss invention (see also fondue) where you heat up cheese until it’s bubbly and liquidified, then pour it over boiled potatoes. It’s proper mountain food - filling, simple and warming - and it tastes even better in the outdoors under the stars.

With towering peaks looming above us, the lights of the town reflecting on the lake, and church bells ringing, it was incredibly atmospheric. What a way to experience the wintery Alpine night.  

Snowshoeing on the Stockhorn

Interlaken acts as a gateway to the Jungfrau region of the Swiss Alps. Day trips from here include the ski slopes of Grindelwald, the waterfalls of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, and the high-altitude Jungfrau railway. Or like us, you can head to the Stockhorn - one of the area’s highest mountains. You can hike up it but you might as well take the cable car and have amazing views from the get-go. 

We disembarked halfway up, above the snowline, but below the point where it gets seriously cold. We were going snowshoeing with Outdoor Switzerland - and I imagined waddling awkwardly along with tennis rackets stuck to my feet. Turns out, snowshoes have evolved since I saw them in Ladybird books as a kid. Nowadays, they’re plastic, lightweight, and easy to use - as long as you follow the two golden rules; don’t walk too close to the person in front (you’ll stand on their shoes), and don’t step backwards. 

I forgot rule number two for a moment and toppled back into deep snow. You’ve no reverse gear on snowshoes - there’s literally no going back. Not that I wanted to. I really enjoyed advancing up the mountainside between snow-laded pine trees. You move much slower than you would on skis so you notice more. Animal tracks disappearing into the forest. The smooth clean lines of snowdrifts sculpted by wind.

It was good exercise and a whole lot easier than trying to walk through deep snow in normal hiking boots. I told Celina, who works for Interlaken tourism, that I was thinking of buying some for the few weeks each year when Kinder Scout is covered in snow. I described it to her as a big hill rather than a mountain. She laughed and said they’re all hills in England to us.

Fair enough. We can’t compete with views like this. On the way back down we crossed a frozen lake where men were fishing through holes in the ice. Then we had lunch in an igloo. I was living in a vintage Ladybird book. Only my new generation snowshoes said otherwise.

Exploring Interlaken

That afternoon I had a few hours to explore the town. There are museums and art galleries and lots of low level walks that take in the countryside and lakes. But I was happy just wandering the pretty streets, photographing the Wes Anderson-esque buildings, and checking out the Swiss version of a charity shop. 

Rather than bargain bins full of unwanted shoes, theirs were full of ice skates. Fans of retro sportswear would love the Swiss-made tracksuits and coats. I got a leather 1970s-style sports bag for £5. I was almost tempted to buy some ice skates to carry around in it.

Kayaking on Lake Brienz

The next morning we took to the lake again, not on skates but in kayaks, with Phoebe from High Tide Kayaking School. After changing into dry suits, thick socks and neoprene boots, we were ready to go. Lake Brienz is the higher of the two Interlaken lakes, and is a different colour to the lower Lake Thun. The difference in shade is because it collects silt that flows down from the mountains, and it’s smaller. On the day we went it was a deep jade against the low, whispy white clouds and russet shores. 

Kayaking along its banks was a very serene way to get immersed in nature. The views down the lake, the soft falling rain, and the sense of space and calm will stay with me. Like the snowshoeing, it was less about adrenalin and speed and more about slowing down and noticing more.

I could have stayed out there on the water all day but we had a bus, a train and a plane to catch that afternoon; I was flying back to Manchester from Zurich at 5pm. It says something about a country’s public transport system when you can be floating on an Alpine lake at 11am and at an airport on the other side of the country at 3pm. 

Interlaken and its wild and beautiful landscapes feel like they’re in another world, but getting there, and getting up close to them, is actually very easy, even in winter.

Follow Sarah on Instagram @sarah.tierney5

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