GstaadLife

Swissinfo has one of those informative "I didn't know that..." articles about foreigners' rights to vote in Switzerland. This past Tuesday (January 23) Bern's cantonal parliament narrowly decided against a measure that would have allowed foreigners to vote in local elections and referenda. Political rights for foreigners, who make up a third of residents in the Gemeinde Saanen, vary from canton to canton, with some according full voting rights (eg Neuchâtel and Geneva), and others allowing local authorities to decide whether foreigners can participate (eg Graubünden [home to St Moritz], Basel City and Vaud). Given the high level of foreigners in our community who contribute as much as many citizens, local politics stood to benefit from hearing the voice of this large minority, but opponents of the measure argued that foreigners should first integrate and get Swiss citizenship before receiving the right to vote. That argument might fly in the big cities, but given that issues of significance that affect everyday life are often decided at the local level while a third of residents simply watch the process from the sidelines, the cantonal vote now means that the Gemeinde cannot determine for itself what makes the most sense for our community. Shame that. Full article is here.

This is a reminder that the Gemeinde is waiting to hear from you on security in Gstaad. Until March 1, interested parties can complete a questionnaire about security in Gstaad in the wake of the new security plan for our community that was provisionally approved last year. The plan centers around the improvement of community security through the creation of a new central alarm center, into which a network of alarm points and surveillance cameras would be connected. Cameras would be stationed at key areas around town, including parking lots, entrances to neighborhoods, and access points in and out of the valley, and you can even choose to connect your private cameras from your chalet grounds. The purpose of the questionnaire is to satisfy the proposal's requirement that the voice of the community be heard. So go ahead; given that foreigners don't have voting rights, it doesn't mean you can't effect change in the community process. Tell the Gemeinde whether you think the proposed cameras, SOS phones, and alarm buttons are a good idea. The explanatory document and questionnaire (which is even in English!) can be picked up at the Gemeinde building in Saanen or downloaded by clicking here. It should be returned by fax on +41 33 748 92 51 or by mail to Gemeindeverwaltung, CH-3792 Saanen by March 1.

Taki Theodoracopulos, better known as Taki, is a journalist and writer, living in Gstaad, London, and New York. His column ‘High Life’ has appeared in The Spectator for the past 25 years, and he has also written for National Review, the London Sunday Times, Esquire, Vanity Fair, the New York Press, and Quest Magazine, among others. In 2002 Taki founded The American Conservative magazine with Pat Buchanan and Scott McConnell. He is also publisher of the British magazine Right Now! and has been writing for GstaadLife since its first season in 2003/4.

The German Vanity Fair - a new publication affiliated with the American magazine of the same name - asked me to write a long piece on Gstaad for its first issue, which I duly did. Retracing back fifty some odd years and noting the changes, some good, some bad, was great fun. The editor who commissioned the piece told me he was surprised when he read about the writers, actors and musicians who used to live here and made up quite a unique artist colony. “Once upon a time it wasn't only the rich,” I told him.

A lot has been made over the past few months of the amount of money invested in the Glacier 3000 ski area near Gstaad (see links below for background). Well for the first time we can get a glimpse of the kind of construction prowess SFr 18 million will buy with this 14-minute film focusing on the construction of the snow-making facilities, including the pipeline built from Lake Sanetsch up to the Oldenalp run. It is a marvel in engineering, a testament to the inimitable creativity of Walter Egger, the chief engineer, and a mark of the seriousness with which Marcel Bach, Bernie Ecclestone and Jean-Claude Mimran take their pet glacier project. Click play below to watch the film.

Part One:

Part Two:

Previously:

• Disneyland at 3,000 meters
• Glacier plans challenged by environmental groups
• Weather challenging smooth opening of glacier facilities

As we get used to all things white again, we found this video on YouTube that we thought you might enjoy as you limber up for the Tiger Run again. It is quite simply one of the most terrifying descents of a mountain you will ever see. Click 'Play' below...

Some of you may be familiar with the book "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" by Patricia Schultz, which was on the New York Times bestseller list for some time now. Those of you who were not aware of it would therefore not know that Gstaad is one of those 1,000 places. We've only had a chance to flick through quickly, but Gstaad shares its berth on the list with the likes of Venice's Cipriani Hotel, California's Monterey Peninsula, the Lewis and Clark Trail in Oregon, the Great Wall of China, Robert Louis Stevenson's home in Western Samoa, and the Alhambra in Andalusia Spain. We knew we'd like it when we read this negative review on Amazon.com:

"Author consistently writes about: Hotel, hotel, and more hotels. Not just any hotel, but the most expensive accomodation in town....If you like hotels, this is a book for you, otherwise look elsewhere."

The rigours of Harvard Business School are well-known to all who have contemplated or attended an MBA program. So it was with some satisfaction that we noted a story this week on Harbus, the Harvard Business School online newspaper, about one student's New Year's decompression in Gstaad. Claiming that we live up to our "book reputation" and even using photos from the library of the company that owns this website, the Harbus writer extolled the virtues of everything from local cheese and wine, to chilling at the Rialto, to ribs at Saanen pub, to clubbing at the Chlösterli (ok, there are some things we can't expect non-residents to know). With all the moaning recently about the village being chock full of boring tax exiles, it's nice to see someone out there simply enjoying a good time in our village. The full account is here.

Photo credit: Harvard Business School www.hbs.edu

The Grand Hotel Park was the setting for the new Formula 1 team, Spyker, which formally introduced its new car to the media last week. Also presented to the media for the first time were the new team's drivers, 27 year-old Dutchman Christijan Albers (shown on the right below), and 24 year-old German Adrian Sutil. Both are excited about the prospects of their first Formula One season which begins in Melbourne Australia on March 18. Spyker itself is actually a Dutch sportscar line that has been around since 1876. Having been in hibernation for much of the past 80 years, the company is planning a big comeback that will see it mentioned in the same breath as Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Bentley. Formula One is just the first (albeit giant) step to get into the mindset of car lovers around the world. Given the number of car lovers around here, don't be surprised to see an unfamilar-looking Spyker parked outside Pernet soon enough.

The snow is finally falling in Gstaad! Everything is once again white and looking the way it should be. Some hills were still closed today to allow something of a base to develop and it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to support a couple weeks of skiing (but thankfully the forecast calls for frigid temperatures after the clouds move on and the sun comes out). Above are two reflective photographs (click to enlarge), the one with the heart shape showing the top station of Glacier 3000 in the background, the one with the porthole looking back down the valley from the glacier towards where the first shot was taken. Check the official ski conditions here.

Photos: Helmut Kohli

The January 19 GstaadLife print edition carried a suitably alarmist take from columnist Alexandra de Scheel on the environmental navel-gazing that has resulted from this year's lack of snow in Gstaad and other European ski resorts.

By Alexandra de Scheel

As skis and snowboards are tucked away, furs are hung back into storage, woolly sweaters retire, and bikinis, T-shirts and skirts return to the forefront of our closets, it is easy to forget the season and assume August 1st celebrations are just around the corner once again. One could certainly be forgiven for wondering if it really is January in Gstaad or if we have somehow fallen asleep in the Alps and woken up in the tropics. Now for people who return to Gstaad each winter for social reasons more than sporting ones (usually people like myself, who after having been forced to ski in Gstaad each day of each winter for over 15 years of schooling and are now happy to take a break from typical winter sports and enjoy the company of old friends) this may not be so disastrous.