Life on the Piste - The Swiss Traveller's Guide.

Your team! We are very proud to present your team who will be looking after you when you come on holiday with us this winter. GRINDELWALD: Ellie Joy With a season under her belt and a true love of the outdoors, Ellie is the Resort Manager for OTP in Grindelwald and the Jungfrau region. She is champing at the bit to is sure to show you around the slopes! NENDAZ, Les 4 Vallées: Chris Jenkins From Doncaster and with a solid background in resort work, Chris is the Resort Manager for Nendaz and the 4 Vallées region, returning for a 3rd season.  Chris is an excellent person to show you the region and make sure your holiday runs smoothly.  SAAS-FEE: Tom Senior  From Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire, many of you will know Tom - OTP Senior Resort Manager and back again to charm you in Saas-Fee. Tom is a qualified ski instructor too and not only back with us again, he is in charge of all winter resorts. ZERMATT: ...

With spring conditions upon us and the winter season drawing to a close, the OTP Resort Managers were given a taste of what other exciting activities Switzerland has to offer. Partnering up with  Fly Zermatt , the Resort Managers were each given the opportunity to go paragliding and soar above some of Switzerland's most iconic peaks. Although the OTP team took off from Zermatt's Rothorn peak (3103 m), they reached altitudes in excess of 4000m. The theory behind paragliding is that heat rising from the surface of the earth produces upward currents of air. As such, during the winter when Switzerland is covered in snow, there aren't as many air currents and flight altitudes tend to be a lot lower. As snow begins to melt during the spring and bare patches of earth are exposed, flights tend to be a lot more turbulent due to the mix of summer-like up-currents and the remains of the cold winter air. Whether you're an adrenaline junky or simply wan...

SWISS is about to commence the renewal of its Geneva-based aircraft allocation to an all-Bombardier C Series fleet. SWISS Geneva will receive its first such aircraft, a CS100, on 26 March. This will be followed by the delivery of SWISS’s first CS300 and its Geneva stationing in May; and by the end of 2018 (and completion of the 30-aircraft C Series delivery programme), SWISS Geneva will have an all-C Series fleet.       Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is about to start renewing its Geneva-based aircraft allocation to an all-Bombardier C Series fleet. The first such aircraft, a CS100, will commence operations from its new Geneva base with the start of the summer schedules on 26 March. The aircraft will be used on intra-European services to destinations such as London Heathrow, Dublin and Athens. With its state-of-the-art technology, the Bombardier C Series sets new industry benchmarks in comfort, operating economics and environmental terms.    ...

Andermatt is 1,437m above sea level and has a population of around 1,390 however it's not been a popular place for the British skiers since the eighties.  With it being a great place for off-piste & free-riding it's now getting popular again with the Brits, and with the brand new five-star Chedi Hotel it's only going to get busier! With billionaire developer Samih Sawiris planning to build six more hotels and 500 apartments.       This development has brought new lifts too with one six-seater chair opening up more black runs on Gemsstock below Gurschenalp, and a whole series of slopes linking Andermatt's smaller sector, Nätschen-Gütsch, to Sedrun, 15km away to the east, and previously linked by train. The final lift will be completed for the 2018/19 season.       And a two stop cable car takes you to the top of Gemsstock, at 2,963 it's a steep, north facing 3....

The sun is shining, the skies are blue and the Jungfrau region has been gifted with two weeks of solid snowfall just in time for the region's annual ski race; the Lauberhorn downhill world cup. The bars are beginning to get livelier. Skiers and snowboards alike are starting to practice their best moves on the slopes. Everyone knows; the Jungfrau region is about to host a legendary weekend event. What does the Lauberhorn downhill race entail, and why is it so special to Switzerland?: First and foremost, it is the longest downhill world cup circuit at 4.48km (2.78 miles). Racers will typically achieve speeds in excess of 90 mph, with Johan Clarey setting the record in 2013 at 100.6 mph. It was first held 87 years ago in 1930, so it is now ingrained in Swiss history. It starts on the Lauberhorn mountain located between the villages of Grindelwald and Wengen. Views from the top overlook Interlaken and the plains of Canton Bern. Over 30,000 spectators ...