If there is one thing I can say for the Swiss it is that they make the mountains accessible for everyone. Our friend Liv visited us recently and we wanted to show her the beauty of Switzerland in the winter. She doesn't ski so we decided to do some walking and sledding. On one of the days we took her to Grindelwald to experience sledding Swiss-style. Many ski resorts here are multi-sport resorts that include winter walking/snowshoeing and sledding trails. The sled trails are groomed just like the ski trails and sledders can use cable cars, trains etc. to get to the top just like the skiers. We took a gondola to First, the same place we lauched from when we went
paragliding. We rented sleds at the First gondola station and then began our approach hike. Most people here use the traditional looking runner sleds, which were heavy to drag but were fast and raise you above the snow surface. We hiked for over an hour (unusual since in most places you can get transportation that will deposite you right near the top of the trail. Remember though that this is EXTREME sledding.) following a groomed hiking trail and ascending toward the Faulhorn at over 2600m.
(On the map the Faulhorn is the peak on the far left and the sled trail is the purple trail on the far left) The weather was a bit unsettled with light snow flurries and blowing winds. Our trail intersected the sledding trail at a saddle below the summit of the Faulhorn. We were anxious to get sledding and out of the winds that were blasting over the saddle so we didn't actually go all the way to the summit. We turned our sleds downhill into the blasting wind and started down the 15km track. Yes, that's right 15 km with about a 1600m drop that takes you all the way back to Grindelwald. It is claimed to be the longest sledding run in the world or at least in Europe depending on the source you consult. The first section dropped steeply, with poor visibility. When Liv, S and Raven disappeared out of sight, I followed. In a matter of seconds I was hurtling down, barely able to make out the trail in front of me and hoping I could negotiate any upcoming corners because 1) I couldn't see very far ahead and 2) it was likely I wouldn't be able to stop and 3) I wasn't really sure the best way to turn one of these things. I skidded wildly around the first few corners and headed down another straight part. Suddenly it dropped off steeply again and I caught air. As I continued through the runout I cruised past the girls who had stopped to adjust their clothing. I navigated another set of sharp corners and dragged my feet to a stop. My heart was racing. I started laughing. As a kid growing up in the NE US I had done my share of sledding but never anything as epic as this. When the girls caught up we continued down the first half of the run to Bussalp where there is a restaurant. Just before the restaurant I hit a big drop and caught some air again and landed on some uneven terrain and too far back on the sled. My coccyx made solid contact with the back of the seat frame before I fell off the back. Fortunately the sled went off into some soft snow and stopped rather than hurtling down to take out an unsuspecting sledder just off the bus at the restaurant. It is difficult to go anywhere in the mountains in Switzerland without encountering a mountain restaurant. Good if you are hungry, bad if you want to get away from such things. We stopped for some hot chocolate and fries. While we were warming up, S was clearing the snow out of her hair, clothes and every possible place that could collect snow. She said she had been having a hard time seeing and had to clean out her nostrils along the way because they were getting packed with snow. Her unique style of foot-dragging resulted in a constant snowblasting of the face. See for yourself.
The second half of the run had many more sledders (we had had the upper part virtually to ourselves) and was more family friendly, sort of. The pitch wasn't as steep but you could still get up some good speed. I saw several people who went off the edge on corners. The trail followed a road during this part and I felt like I was on a big Go-cart track. The next day my body was sore and my tailbone still hurts sometimes, nearly 2 weeks after the fact. I highly recommend it, just make sure your health insurance is up to date and covers sledding. Good thing I have the extreme sports rider on my insurance. A friend who had previously sledded the route commented (paraphrased) "I think it is the most dangerous thing I have done in Switzerland, more dangerous than any climbing, skiing..."
Today I am doing laundry and reflecting on my time in Switzerland. I have often blogged on laundry days because it is something I can do in the short time blocks between loads. Today is not really my official laundry day, but don't tell anyone else that. I am just exploiting a loophole in the system. See, this is the way the system works... Most people in Switzerland live in apartments. Some units have their own laundry but many have shared facilities. Like everything else in Switzerland, there are specific rules and schedules governing how and when you must do your laundry. In my building the main rules to follow are: 1) You may only do your laundry between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm. and 2) You have one assigned laundry day per week. There are 6 units in my building and 7 days of the week, so there must be an extra day in there, you say. No, because you are not allowed to work on Sundays here and laundry would most certainly be considered work. I'm quite certain all of our neighbors knew we were not Swiss right from the beginning since we moved in to our apartment on a Sunday, while everyone else was observing their day of rest. While one laundry day a week may seem a bit limiting, I have heard that in some larger buildings you may only have a small block of time per week. The Swiss seem to be fine with it and we have adapted just fine too. The only problem is when you are not at home on your designated day. Our day is Wednesday. Every Wednesday I look forward to my morning ritual of doing the laundry. There is some very reassuring about strict schedules and routines. I guess that means I am assimilating. Except for the fact that today is Friday and I am poaching time in the laundry room. Through a glitch in the system, there is one guy who doesn't do laundry here and hence has not signed up for a laundry day. His day would be Friday, so I occasionally use it as a backup day. That's my loophole. 
The other thing to know about the system is that each unit is issued a keycard that lets you activate the laundry facilities. A clever way to properly bill you for your energy use and to ensure that no one sneaks in and does any illicit laundering (I don't think that is a problem here). There is of course a whole list of other rules about what to do with your detergent bottles and boxes, how to clean the room after each use and other minutiae that I need not bore you with. Gotta go put in the next load...
