March 8 to 16, 2025

Our European trip afforded 29 adventurous OC members the opportunity to experience beautiful mountains, a modern European culture, interesting ski lifts, varied and delicious culinary experiences ,and an environmentally conscious lodging style. Laax is the unofficial snowboarding capital of Europe and has a distinctly youthful and funky vibe. There was a variety of terrain for skiing. At the top of the mountain, we encountered fluffy powder and packed powder conditions. From the midstation and lower, we had spring-like conditions with soft snow. All of the areas gave us a beautiful view. We giggled at the name of the midstation, “Crap Sogn Gion” (see photo below). Translated from Romansh, the least-spoken language of the four official languages of Switzerland (the others are German, French and Italian), it means St. John’s Stone (Peak). Laax is known for its snow parks and halfpipes which host several competitions. These areas could be seen from the chairlifts and midstation cafeteria. The abilities of the riders were very impressive. The “flytrap” effect of these areas meant that the other95% of the resort was left to the skiers. Everyone coexisted happily and peacefully at the resort. Our hotel boasted a vegetarian breakfast. Although many of us were wary of what we would be served, our fears were allayed. The buffet offerings were plentiful, interesting and delicious. Five of the 7 group dinners were in 4 different restaurants within walking distance. We enjoyed the esprit de corps of these 5 delicious dinners and shared our tales of each day’s adventures. Other adventures included fun lifts: the Lavadinas 6-pack lift designed by Porsche, the FlemExpress – the world’s only on-demand 10-person lift which takes you only to your destination, bypassing stops along the way – and the V-shaped Four cla lift which would transport you to a different mountain peak than you intended if you entered the gondola building on the wrong side. We also enjoyed the tree-top walk, the shopping, and the Cadillac photobooth, which peeled away several decades to reveal our younger, more attractive selves. Or at least, how we remember ourselves.Nine from our group returned to the USA and 20 of us continued to Zurich. We had a comprehensive city tour and boat ride across the lake. Many of us enjoyed spending additional time in the Lindt Museum of Chocolate. The samples were plentiful and delicious. As the Swiss trains were easy to navigate some folks ventured on to Basel, Munich and Luzern. If you had enough francs and luggage space, the shopping experience was wonderful. Overall, the trip was great not only for skiing but for the cultural experience.