The Swiss Alpine Club, founded in 1863, teaches mountaineering courses to those who want to learn climbing, both beginning and advanced. The major mountain ranges include the Pennine Alps in the southcentral canton of Valais and the central range of the Bernese Oberland, the easterly ranges of the Engadine and Bergell that abuts the Italian border.
The Matterhorn shares with Mt. Fuji in Japan the accolade, The most photographed mountain in the world. Jungfrau, 13,640 feet, is one of the most beautiful mountains anywhere. Just below it is a restaurant and cafeteria above-the-clouds.
Anyone suffering from heart trouble, weak lungs, or high blood pressure should consult his doctor before taking any of the mountain trips.
Switzerland is home for the International Red Cross and is highly sophisticated in mountain rescue. Even so, helicopters have not completely replaced the Saint Bernard in mountain rescues.
Think of an in place to ski and Switzerland leaps to mind: mountain villages, lively inns and unexcelled ski facilities. Today the cognoscenti of skiing, that is the more affluent ones, choose the Swiss Alps not only for the skiing but the civilized pleasures that go with a Swiss vacation. Alpine grandeur is complemented by the Disneyland style of Swiss village life. Where else can downhill skiers experience runs up to fourteen miles long? Starting in Zermatt, for example, you can ski to Italy for lunch, then ski back to Zermatt in time for supper. St. Moritz and Gstad are internationally known ski centers. Celebrities also choose Gstad and several own chalets there. Elizabeth Taylor, for one, likes Gstad so much that she has brought all eight husbands there (one at a time).
