GstaadLife

A delegation from the cantonal council recently engaged in talks with members of the hospital interest groups from the Simmental. The delegation is currently seeking talks with the responsible people in Saanenland as well. Maybe they can talk some sense into both groups so that finally the hospital location can be settled. Otherwise if things don't get sorted by the end of next year, the possibilities for government funding go away, they'll claim there are no funds to realize anything new or even maintain the existing facilities, and we'll all be off to Thun or Bulle for anything more than trip to the family doctor. Come on people, enough already.

Click here for the holiday opening hours for last minute food shoppers. 

The season has started - Saanenmöser-Saanerslochgrat-Hornberg and Schönried-Horneggli are already open and here are the opening times of the other ski areas in our region: Zweisimmen-Rinderberg, Gstaad-Wasserngrat, Château-d'Oex-La Braye will all open next weekend December 12. Gsteig will open on December 14, St Stephan-Parwengesattel, Gstaad-Eggli, Schönried-Rellerli, Gstaad-Höhi-Wispile and Rougemont-La Videmanette all open on December 18 and Lauenen is up on December 19. All of that said, it's all very weather dependent right now, and as we write rain is falling again. Check the map in the right column of this page for the latest. Enjoy!

Another possibility for the hospital location: East of the base station of Saanersloch.

In order to make sure that the igloo does not melt away, the company behind Gstaad's Igloo village has decided to move it 400 meters higher from Eggli to Saanerslochgrat. This also means that they will be able to keep it open for longer - from the season kick off on December 25 until after Easter. Prices and offers remain the same.

Gstaad Mountain Rides AG, the company that runs the operations of most of our region's cable cars, has decided to prolong the winter season in Sector 1 (Saanerslochgrat, Hornberg and Horneggli) by one week. The reason behind the extension is the already-strong level of advance bookings for the week after Easter 2010. So this coming ski season will kick off on December 5 2009 running all the way through April 11 2010.

Due to the 24th UBS Gstaad Pro-Am tournament taking place this weekend, the Gstaad-Saanenland Golf Club will be closed to the public (well, the public with a handicap and the right look, that is). You are, nevertheless very welcome to come and watch. How nice.

Did you know that there are 18 public places where you can barbecue in Gstaad-Saanenland? They are run by Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus, don't cost anything, and you do not have to sign up for them in advance. You just have to be the first there. So pack your Bratwurst and head out to one of these beautiful spots: GL.com recommends the ones around Arnensee and Lauenensee.

The extension of the snow making facilities in the eastern sector of the Gstaad Mountain Rides ski region has started. The goal of this next phase is to be able to have all main slopes snow-worthy within 60 hours from 2011 on. The slopes we are talking about are: Saanerslochgrat-Chübeli and Saanerslochgrat-Lochstafel, the new Horneggli-Direttissima and the section Rinderbergspitz-Büelti. The cost of the 2009 snow projects - SFr 18 million...

 

It's widely-considered around Gstaad that the season starts when the Gstaad Palace opens. Well, on June 12 it does. So does the Hotel Olden, with the Grand Hotel Park opening on June 19. Grand Chalet gets going on May 28. And others, such as the Grand Hotel Bellevue and the Bernerhof are already open. So all the hotel possibilities are or will be back online over the next couple of weeks, but we have to note that the summer cable car schedule seems, well, a little off the pace, with most not cranking up till mid or end-June (and some like the Eggli not opening at all). And if you haven't written them down yet, here are the dates for the headline events to put in your agenda:

1. 45th Annual Cantonal Yodeling Festival - June 12-14
2. SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Grand Slam - July 6-12
3. Davidoff Saveurs Gstaad - July 10-19
4. Menuhin Festival Gstaad - July 17 - September 5
5. Allianz Suisse Open - July 25 - August 2 (later than normal)
6. Hublot Polo Gold Cup - August 20-23
7. Gstaad Classic Oldtimer Rally - September 2-5 
8. Country Night Gstaad - September 11-13