I fly! – a dream day on the Belalp

“But not on skis!” I look at Raoul in amazement and go through all the emergency scenarios at the same time. What if I get tangled up or twist my legs when landing?! “That’s really easy,” he replies calmly. Okay, let’s trust the professional. Yes, first things first. Where are we anyway?

With the sun on our faces, the photogenic panorama in front of us, we are standing at the top of one of these irresistible south-facing slopes of the Belalp. It’s picture-perfect weather par excellence. High above the sea of fog, the sun shines from the sky and lets the mountains shine in all shades of blue. The post bus from Brig to Blatten was well filled, but it seems that the winter sports enthusiasts seem to be well spread out up here. We have the slopes to ourselves and can whizz up and down unhindered. A day made for flights of fancy.

We made an appointment with Raoul from Airvolution at the Hexenbar at 2,680 m above sea level. True to the Belab motto “a little closer to heaven”, I want to take a bird’s eye view of the ski area. Although I’m usually a huge shithead, I remain surprisingly calm considering the fact that I’m about to take off. Only the thing with the skis, that bothers me a bit. In winter, Raoul offers tandem flights from Hohstock down to Bitsch. 2,400 metres of altitude difference in just over 30 minutes. We don’t fly that far down today, otherwise we would have to go through the fog soup. A flight from the Hohstock at 3,100 m above sea level to the Chiematte, one of the two mountain stations that can be reached by cable car directly from Blatten, is planned.

Put on the clothes, control the paraglider, unknot all the ropes and we are ready to fly. “Just drive straight ahead, don’t brake and don’t sit down until I say so,” Raoul says and adds “if something is wrong, we’ll make a sharp right turn”. “Uiuiui, what have I gotten myself into,” shoots through my head and we drive towards the abyss. But oh, after just a few meters we take off gently and before I realize it, we are already high in the air. Whew. In fact. Easy.

We glide gently through the air high above the Belalp. From below, the skiers wave at us and at the top, Raoul says “where do you want to fly?”. So, at my request, we make a detour over to the Aletsch Glacier, where I am allowed to take over the sceptre and bring the paraglider back on course towards Chiematte. Shortly before landing, I am offered some action. It’s impressive how easily such a paraglider reacts and how quickly you can accelerate it. To my surprise, the landing is as unspectacular as the take-off. Whoops and we’re down. No twisted legs, no lost skis. I am excited! The price for the approximately 15 minutes flight time is 125 CHF. If you want to give your loved ones a very special day of skiing, then I can warmly recommend such a flight. I’m probably going to bother some people with my crushes for the next few months.

But you don’t really need a paraglider to take off in the Belalp. That’s just the supplément, so to speak. The dream descent down from the Hohstock automatically elicits a loud cheer. Behind the Hohstock tunnel, the view opens up to the magnificent panorama of the Valais Alps, including the Matterhorn. In front of us is a virgin slope with a slope of up to 60%. If there is enough snow, the legendary witches’ descent leads down to Blatten over a length of 12 kilometres. We suffice ourselves with a ride to Chiematte. And yes, such a fast-paced ride also needs some stamina. At least for me, the thighs at the bottom of the chairlift speak up and are happy for a breather.

Equally beautiful is the route from the Sparrhorn ridge over to the Aletsch Glacier viewpoint and from there down to Bruchegg with a view of the neat chalets, which are lined up in a row in a prime location. Such a chalet up here, that would be it…

Our day is rounded off with a delicious Valais platter in the Belalp buffet right next to the mountain station of the gondola. After so many meters of altitude we have driven and flown, we have well deserved the refreshment.

If you forget your time on the mountain because of all the mountain cheese and dried meat, there is one thing you should keep in mind. The cable car from Chiematte down to Blatten is shut down at the end of the slopes. To get back to Blatten, you should ideally head for the Blatten-Belalp gondola lift, which is in operation for a longer period of time. In the worst case, you may otherwise be able to carry your skis from the Chiematte back to the gondola station. Not necessarily capable. I speak from experience.

Information and tips about the Belalp

• Day ticket adults 56 CHF
• Après-ski including a view is available at the Hexenbar
• From the Belalp mountain station you can also toboggan down to Blatten
• We spent the night at the Hotel Massa. Very nice hosts!

Last but not least, the following tip: if you regularly want to sit at your office desk in the middle of the week and be plagued with the most magnificent pictures of the Belalp slopes, you should immediately follow the dear Mr. Natischer.

Note: This trip was supported by Blatten Belalp Tourism – thank you very much for this. As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm here.