TL;DR
My first day skiing in Switzerland started with missing luggage and ended with one of the better days on snow I've had in a while. Grindelwald is a big resort with serious terrain, iconic views of the Eiger North Face, and enough variety to keep you busy for several days. Here's how day one played out.
Grindelwald Ski Resort: Eiger Express, First Flyer, and Skiing With Someone Else's Gear
My luggage was in Frankfurt. I was in Switzerland. This is how my first day of Swiss skiing began.
After a sunrise coffee that went some way towards softening the blow, I drove down to Grindelwald to sort myself out. The team at Buri Sport had me fully kitted out within the hour — jacket, pants, boots, skis, poles, goggles, helmet, the lot. Rental gear is never ideal, but it was either that or watch other people ski from a café, and I wasn't prepared to do that.
Grindelwald First — Morning Session
The plan was to start at Grindelwald First, which is the more mellow, family-oriented side of the resort, and then cross over to the main area in the afternoon. A gondola gets you up from the village, and from there you're looking at three chairlifts spread across terrain that suits beginners through to comfortable intermediates.
The pistes up here are well-groomed and the views are immediately ridiculous. The Eiger sits right there in front of you from the moment you step off the lift, and it doesn't really let up all day. It's distracting in the best possible way.
One thing worth knowing about Grindelwald First is that your ski pass includes access to the First Flyer — a zip line that sends you face-first down the mountain at a reasonable rate of knots. It's not going to replace skiing, but it's genuinely fun and the fact that it's included in the pass rather than an expensive add-on is a nice touch. There's also a seated version if the face-first option doesn't appeal. Both are worth doing if you're up there.
