Disneyland @3,000m

On July 25, The Anzieger von Saanen carried a cover story (German only) about new plans for attractions on Glacier 3000. According to Marcel Bach, one of three principal shareholders in Gstaad 3000 AG (the company that took over operations for the glacier earlier this year), it is no longer enough to entice people up to glacier just for the view. So the new plans are focused on groups and attractions, and most notably feature what will be the world's highest altitude toboggan run, a 935 meter white-knuckle ride from the Botta restaurant down to the chairlift at Sex Rouge.

Other new features will include a giant flatscreen pumping out 1,700 channels of satellite programming for bad weather days (guess it's easier to pick up signals from 3,000m!), as well as a "Speed Gallery" featuring spectacular action from Formula 1 (Bernie Ecclestone is one of the other three shareholders). All is apparently in the capable hands of marketing specialist Bernhard Tschannen, who takes up his new position as events and marketing director for glacier operations on October 1 (which is a good job to have when there's SFr 17 million being invested).

In the article, Bach also comments on how happy Gstaad 3000 AG is with this year's summer attendance, which has been boosted by visitors seeking respite for the hot temperatures in the valley. We tend to forget how much cooler it is at higher altitude, but with temperatures often as much as 15 degrees lower, GstaadLife recommends heading up the glacier early and often to follow one of the many hiking trails back down towards Sanetsch or the Col du Pillon.