"Riederalp" Riederalp by martin_nl

Riederalp Travel Guide: 14 reviews and 42 photos

View from the balcony of the house - Riederalp

For weeks I had been looking forward to this vacation. Before I had never been on a skiing/ snowbaording trip. 7 days in the lovely snow surrounded by beautiful and even famous mountains, like the Matterhorn.

I went to Riederalp with two friends; Laurie and Martijn. Lucky as we were we could stay in the house owned by Laurie's parents!! Thanks again!!! Finally on January 11th we took the train to Switzerland for the adventure to begin.....

Aletsch Gebiet: UNESCO listed

Walk around in the Aletsch Gebiet

After a 10 hours trainride we arrived in the city of Brig, from where we had to take a bus to Mörel. Luckily this bus didn't take us a long time, so after 20 mintues we were there already. Mörel is a small town with nothing to do really, but it is here from where you have to take the cable-car up to the town of Riederalp.

Riederalp is a small town in the Aletsch Gebiet (area). Aletsch is a 23 km long glacier that is really beautiful. So beautiful even that in 2001 it received a place on the UNESCO world heritage list!! And for a good reason, since all you have to do is look around and see for yourself.

We arrived on Saturday evening and we just unpacked that evening, drank a glass of wine and went to bed, tired of the train-ride. The next day there were not too many things we had to do. The only things we had to do that day, were signing up for lessons at the wintersportschool, rent snowboarding shoes, buy a ski-pass and do grocerie shopping.

Other than these obligatories we had the day off, so we decided to walk to the town next to Riederalp, which is called Bettmeralp. Walking there in the snow takes about 45 minutes, but the views are really stunning!!

Weekly overview

Beautiful mountain view

Monday to Friday Martijn and I had skiing and snowboarding lessons from 10:00-13:00. Laurie didn't need these, because she is well trained already. Lucky Laurie, because she could sleep-in every morning + she had the fun of laughing at us every time we fell on our rears ;-)

Everyday after the lessons had ended we went home, which was only a five minutes walk from the trainers lift to have lunch. This lunch was usually a bowl of very nice soup and some bread. During the afternoon we went to the trainers lift to practice some more, or during the last days we went up the Moosfluh (name of the piste) to see if we could ski down by ourself.

After the end of the first day, the only thing you can think of is: "My God, do I have to do this for another four days!!" I felt really a zillion times on my bum and arms. Those four days that we still had, seemed like quite an awful long time on that first day. However the week passes by very quickly and before you know it on Friday you wish it was still Monday. But you know how these things go, don't you?

After every day it was time for a glühwein or something else that contained alcohol and then off to the house again to have dinner served with excellent wines!! Since Riederalp doesn't really have an après-ski happening we stayed home during the evening and played some games and drank tea with some more alcoholic drinks .......mmmmm....... are we alcoholics???

Saturday it was time again to take off and do the whole 10 hour something trainride back to the Netherlands again, only in different direction. Anyway the trip was an unforgettable experience and I can recommend everyone to go to Riederalp!!!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Fantastic snow, great weather, UNESCO listed area. What can you simply want more???
Cons:When the sun goes down it get's freezing ;-)
In a nutshell:Mother Nature in its purest most beautiful form.

Last visit to Riederalp: Jan 2003
Intro Updated Apr 2, 2003
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Reviews (13)

Fantastic view from our apartment - Riederalp

UNESCO skiing paradise Favorites (2)

Riederalp is a small town in the Aletsch Gebiet (area). Aletsch is a 23 km long glacier that is really beautiful. So... more travel advice

Shwowing off my 'gold' medal - Riederalp

Take a snowboarding or skiing class Favorites (2)

The thing that makes you go to Riederalp in wintertime is obviously to enjoy the snow. If you never went on wintersports... more travel advice

Relax, enjoy the sun, and have a drink! - Riederalp

Relax after doing something exciting Restaurants (3)

After having walked all the way to Bettmeralp, the only thing you can think of something liquid to drink. Besides that... more travel advice

Martijn sleeping in the train - Riederalp

Getting to Mörel Transportation (2)

Getting to Mörel is very easy, at least if you live in the Netherlands. From Amsterdam there is a daily train to Bern.... more travel advice

What to Pack (1)
Wintersport clothes
Things to Do (2)
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Comments (19)

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yumyum Aug 19, 2007 at 8:23 AM

Just been here in summer for hiking, which was fabulous!
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sandysmith Feb 16, 2007 at 3:30 PM

looks wonderful - would like to hike here in summmer - just reminding myself of the views we have booke dinto Fiesch for this year
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JetlagCity Dec 10, 2004 at 2:17 PM

Gorgeous pictures! I really miss the snow, living in Seattle!
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maple_air Sep 24, 2004 at 5:19 AM

Hey Martin great travel pages you've got here, very well written as well. I've always wanted to go on a skiing holiday and learn how to ski, your pictures just might give me the push to go ahead this time. Great job!
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iandsmith Jun 26, 2004 at 1:13 AM

Your pages have evoked a certain feeling in me. It's called "envy".
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tiganeasca Nov 6, 2003 at 5:11 AM

Such a stunning place! Thanks for sharing such great pics and tips--you make me want to drop everything and get on a plane!
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Bonobo2005 Jun 5, 2003 at 2:58 PM

He, Martin...geweldig dat je een nieuw talent ontdekt hebt :-). Wat een fantastisch landschap, vooral die gletsjer!! Erg mooie en leuke pagina.....
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Kate-Me May 29, 2003 at 2:30 AM

Great pics Martin. Sounds like a wonderful adventure!
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xaver Apr 20, 2003 at 10:52 AM

wonderful nature...sooner or later I'll give snow a chance
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keeweechic Mar 24, 2003 at 8:35 PM

Strong recommendations to visit. what a great protection set up. Thats some accommodation that you were lucky to have. Looks gorgeous and I would definitely need classes:-)