From its perch above the spectacular Lauterbrunnen Valley, the ski resort of Schilthorn commands an awe-inspiring view of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch. It’s also home to one of the best snowparks in the central Alps. We stopped by in late February to check the scene and film an episode of Core Shots.
A flatspin with a view: Thierry enjoys the Schilthorn jump line.
Ethan Stone
Stories
HighlightBrunch with James Bond
Spot Check: Schilthorn Skyline Park
With adventurous terrain and an unforgettable view, Schilthorn is in a class of its own.
Stone
The Schilthorn is a 2,970-meter peak in the Bernese Alps that lends its name to the ski resort on its slopes. The peak is also known as Piz Gloria, a name taken directly from the 1969 James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” In the film, the mountain station on the summit serves as the secret lair of the Bond villain Blofeld. The resort still leans into that heritage today, with a James Bond museum inside the station as well as a delicious James Bond Brunch in the rotating restaurant. It’s here that we started our day.
Thrill walks and spinning restaurants
We spent the night in the sleepy village of Mürren, which looks like what AI would generate if you asked it to produce an image of a stereotypical Swiss mountain village. There we linked up with our skiers for the Core Shots episode, the talented Swiss Freeski riders Thierry Wili and Adrien Vaudaux, and hopped onto the gondola heading up to the station at Birg (2,677 meters). Before continuing up to the Schilthorn, we stopped to check out the Thrill Walk, an audacious walkway bolted into the cliff underneath the Birg station. If you’re not going to get your thrills in the snowpark, this is an excellent alternative!
After the thrill walk, we jumped onto the gondola to head up to the Schilthorn, where we’d booked the James Bond Brunch at the famous revolving restaurant. If you’re looking for an unforgettable experience on your tourist trip to central Switzerland, look no further! Here you can chow down on smoked salmon and sip champagne while enjoying a 360-degree view of the Bernese Alps as your table slowly rotates around the circular station. I’ve mentioned it already, but I’ll mention it again: The view from the Schilthorn is absolutely world-class.
At A Glance:
Schilthorn Skyline Park
Location
Schilthorn, Switzerland
Region
Bernese Alps
Top elevation
2970 meters
Bottom elevation
1578 meters
Season
November to May
Features
30–40 (beginner, intermediate & advanced)
Day pass
75 CHF (adult), 45 CHF (16–19), 38 CHF (>15)
More information
schilthorn.ch
@skylinesnowpark (Instagram)
The Skyline Snowpark
Like some other snowparks in the Alps, Schilthorn’s Skyline Park migrates up and down the mountain with the snow level. It opens in early November with a pre-season park off the Riggli chairlift, then moves down to the lower mountain as soon as conditions allow, before moving back up the mountain for the spring season. This gives the Schilthorn park one of the longest seasons in the Alps, with a public park open every day from November until May.
We visited in late February, so the main park was in full swing down on the Maulerhubel and Winteregg lifts. This meant we could enjoy a leg-burning thousand-meter descent down from the Schilthorn to start off our day, a great warmup before hitting the park.
A jump line with a view.
Stone
The Jump Line
Coming from Mürren, your first glimpse of the snowpark is the jump line on the Maulerhubel double chair. The slope faces almost due south, meaning firm takeoffs and slushy landings, not to mention a jaw-dropping view of the massive wall made by the Eiger, Jungrau and Mönch. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more impressive backdrop to a jump line.
The jump line itself is a bit more modest than its background: a mellow double line of beginner-to-intermediate jumps, flanked by a larger intermediate-to-advanced booter with two rails underneath it, including an awesomely long down rail that must be around 20 meters long—perfect for dialing in your multiple-swap rail tricks.
The Main Park
The main bulk of the winter snowpark is over on the Winteregg chairlift, a quad-seater on the northern edge of the ski area. Instead of one dedicated spot for the snowpark, the features run down the entire length of the chairlift. This makes for a very entertaining park run that’s broken up into several different unique sections, basically mini-parks unto themselves, that line the slope for over a kilometer.
The setup offers a unique mix of features from intermediate to advanced, from rainbow rails and wallrides to classic tubes and downrails. There’s also a small beginner’s park with some small boxes.
Maybe the coolest thing about this park is its flowiness. Somewhat reminiscent of the P60 park at Laax, the Skyline park winds its way casually down the slope for over a kilometer, with new features popping up around every corner.
I’d call most of the features here intermediate, but there are definitely advanced options too. Everything is well-shaped to a professional standard. I counted at least 25 features in the snow during our visit, with most of them—definitely over 20—rideable in one run.
After the Thrill Walk and brunch, we got to the park a bit late, around noon. That left us a solid three hours of lapping before it was time to enjoy the long cat track back to Mürren. Thierry and Adrien wasted no time stacking some bangers for their Core Shots episode, which will be dropping soon. These guys have been on fire this season, with both winning Euro Cups, so this episode will be one not to miss!
An unforgettable view, a long season and a great snowpark: These are all factors that put the Schilthorn Skyline Park solidly on the map as a destination that should be on your radar, whether you’re a local rider or visiting from further away.
Thanks to Schilthorn for having us—we’ll definitely be back!
