Chasing peaks, courage and family lore in the Swiss Alps

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BEATENBERG, Switzerland — “Keep running, even when the hill gets steep,” Mario Jost says as he straps me into the harness. We’re high above the Swiss town of Interlaken, with the snow-capped peaks of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the distance, and I’m about to take a massive leap of faith.

“Don’t sit down, don’t jump, just run,” the paragliding pilot cautions warmly, with the air of someone who’s done it a thousand times before. “I can’t carry you, and it’s like a train, we need to speed up.” For a professional like Jost, this is just another day at the office. But my life back home in Toronto is considerably less action-packed.

A lump forms in my throat as I think of my husband and son still sleeping soundly in their beds down below. Heart pounding, I watch members of our group start taking off, two by two just ahead of us. There’s no turning back. Jost gives me the signal, and we start to run full tilt down the hill. I try to synchronize our steps while he focuses on pulling the glider up over our heads. Within seconds, my feet lift off the ground, and a euphoric sense of calm washes over me. So this is what flying feels like.

The view is breathtaking and surprisingly serene. The turquoise waters of Lakes Brienz and Thun glisten under the morning light, and all is quiet except for the gentle hum of the wind.

“You did great,” Jost assures me as I loosen my grip and relax into the hammock-like harness. Looking down at my feet, dangling over the treetops, I spy a few cars on the road — a sign the town is starting to wake up.

There’s a reason Interlaken is known as the adventure capital of Europe. People come from all over to see the jagged peaks and glacier-fed lakes that have made the Swiss Alps world famous, and activities like skydiving, canyoning and paragliding offer a unique vantage point.

I came to retrace the footsteps of my parents’ honeymoon more than 40 years ago. For decades, I’ve heard them reminisce about the mountain views, quaint alpine villages and “unbelievable” cheese made from the milk of cows that graze high in the Alps from spring through fall. As a child, I imagined what it would be like to walk among the wooden chalets and wildflowers with a chorus of cowbells echoing nearby. It’s something else to experience in person.

On a two-week trip in June, I set out with my family to explore the landlocked country I had heard so much about. Landing in Zurich after an eight-hour flight, we eventually made our way by train to Interlaken and Montreux — two very different resort towns in the German- and French-speaking regions of Switzerland that stole my mother’s heart — spending days at several planned stops along the way.

Serving as a gateway to the Jungfrau region in the Bernese Oberland, Interlaken boasts quick and easy access to scenic alpine villages like Lauterbrunnen, with its 72 waterfalls that cascade down onto the valley floor, and Mürren, a car-free community perched dramatically high on the mountainside. Beyond being extraordinarily beautiful, the two neighbours have had a lasting impact on pop culture, too. The former inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision of Rivendell in Lord of the Rings, while the latter’s towering Schilthorn peak served as the backdrop for the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

At the summit, 2,970 metres above sea level, we toured a museum dedicated to the film before enjoying a boozy brunch at Piz Gloria, a rotating restaurant with 360-degree views of more than 200 mountain peaks.

But it’s the Birg cable car station below that offers the best look at the region’s three most famous peaks: Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (the ogre, monk and virgin). While many have dared to climb Eiger’s treacherous north face — called Mordwand or “murderous wall” by locals — estimates suggest only several hundred or so have succeeded. In 2015, Ueli Steck, who earned the nickname the Swiss Machine for his quick ascent of the world’s tallest and most difficult peaks, managed to do it free solo in two hours and 22 minutes, setting a new world record. Standing on Birg’s thrill walk, a 200-metre-long stretch of steel and glass suspended over a vertical abyss, was enough of an adrenalin rush for me.

Of course, speed climbing is just one of many sports that draws travellers to the area. Widely credited as the birthplace of modern downhill and slalom skiing, Mürren has run the oldest, longest and largest amateur downhill ski race every January since 1928 (named the Inferno for its punishing and gruelling conditions).

The Swiss, famously adept at skiing and mountaineering, are also skilled engineers. We witnessed that ingenuity firsthand on the world’s steepest cable car, which climbs 775 metres in just four minutes at a gradient of 159.4 per cent, making the storied mountain town accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

My husband Mark was fascinated by the challenges Switzerland’s mountain terrain poses to infrastructure and the like. Questions about construction, transportation and plumbing came like clockwork with every new setting, and he approached each one like a riddle he could solve.

There were questions at Mount Titlis in Engelberg, where an industrial antenna tower standing more than 3,000 metres above sea level has been transformed into a tourist hub boasting the highest Rolex store in the world. Then again at Giessbach, a historic belle époque hotel in the shadow of a 14-tier waterfall on Lake Brienz, which is home to the country’s oldest funicular.

It wasn’t until we were en route to Montreux, watching a patchwork of alpine countryside transform into the palm-tree-lined streets of the Swiss Riviera, that the main topic of conversation shifted to: “I can’t believe this is still Switzerland.”

The velvet-lined Belle Époque train delivered us to the French-speaking town in early 1900s-style luxury. From there, we explored the terraced vineyards of the UNESCO region Lavaux, before boarding a steamboat to Château de Chillon — a medieval castle dating back to the 11th century that sits right on Lake Geneva (or rather, Lac Léman if you’re Swiss). We roamed its many halls, just as my parents had all those years ago, and once again I heard the familiar, “How do you think they built that?”

That’s the thing about Switzerland; there’s just something in the air that makes the impossible feel possible. Everywhere you look, there are mountains to climb, architectural feats that inspire and amaze, and untold numbers of people pushing themselves to reach new personal heights. And therein lies its charm.

As I touched down in a sprawling meadow in the heart of Interlaken just before 9 a.m., windswept and a little shaky in the knees, I couldn’t help but marvel at my own daring. Switzerland had worked its magic.

Walking across the road and into the Victoria-Jungfrau hotel, I smiled at the thought of my son waiting to hear all about my tandem flight over the Alps — a story he’ll no doubt live vicariously through for years to come.

One day, when he’s older, perhaps he’ll even return to Switzerland to experience it for himself, just like his mother before him.

La Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich is a chic, five-star hotel in the heart of Switzerland’s banking capital. With a Michelin-starred restaurant, yacht-club vibe and views of the lake, the reimagined century-old building is an ideal spot to shake off the lingering jet lag from your transatlantic flight. 

In the mountain town of Mürren, visitors can stay at the country’s oldest palace hotel, which dates back to 1874. The historic Hotel Mürren Palace has been restored to its former glory, with a modern six-storey addition offering dramatic views of the Lauterbrunnen Valley below.

The Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa in Interlaken is counted among Switzerland’s most impressive hotels (one peek at the indoor pool and lobby is enough to show you why). The 170-year-old sanctuary has three restaurants, two pools, a sauna, steam room and spa. Guests need only look outside to enjoy a view of the iconic Jungfrau mountain with a seemingly endless stream of paragliders soaring overhead.

Skywings Paragliding offers tandem flights over Interlaken, landing right next to the Victoria-Jungfrau hotel in Höhematte Park.

The writer was hosted by Switzerland Tourism, which did not preview this story before publication.