Trainspotting
The Zen of outdoor travel
Travel
Words by: Leslie Anthony
Photos by: Mattias Fredriksson
Convenience. Comfort. Calm. You’ll never find these things on a flight. Nor will you find them driving through a blizzard behind winding red brake lights. What if we told you there’s a better way to travel to go skiing? More stylish. More sustainable. More zen.
Relax, take the train.
There are a variety of options with staggeringly different experiences:
from the Via Rail Snow Train from Edmonton, Alberta, to Jasper National Park (catch the free shuttle to Marmot Basin ski resort) to riding Mother Russia’s 10,000-kilometre Trans-Siberian Railroad to, well… whichever passing range catches your fancy. Here are six accessible options to whet your rail appetite:
VATNAHALSEN TRAIN
Located at the top of the Flåm Valley, a few hours from Bergen on Norway’s west coast, Vatnahalsen Mountain Hotel dates back to 1896. It was initially built as a sanatorium but never used for its purpose. Instead, it gained popularity thanks to the railway. Famous as a ski destination in the 1930s and referred to as the “St. Moritz of the North,” the hotel is only accessible by train.
Myrdal, just one station past the lodge, is on the Bergen Line, meaning Vatnahaslen connects with trains running between the capital, Oslo, and Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city. Combined with world-class ski touring and freeriding, a trip to Vatnahalsen is a worthy experience. When conditions allow, ski to the bottom of the valley and take the world-famous Flåm Railway back to the lodge.
THE GLACIER EXPRESS
An über-rail when it comes to unpacking Switzerland’s breathtaking mountain scenery and fascinating alpine culture, the Glacier Express is in a class of its own. This storied train features luxurious viewing and dining cars—replete with specially designed wine glasses to compensate for the train’s tilt on curves.
The 7.5-hour route from Zermatt to St. Moritz includes 291 bridges, and 91 tunnels, and surmounts the 2,033-metre Oberalp Pass. Doing it in one shot, however, would be a great shame when you can stop to ski at storied resorts like Bettmeralp, Andermatt, and Disentis.
TOKYO SKI TRAINS
In Japan, trains from Tokyo take you north to ski country and from Sapporo to several resorts on Hokkaido. Popular day trips from Tokyo include the one-hour bullet train ride to Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Area (“KaruSki”) and the two-hour express train Azusa from Tokyo’s Shinjuku station to Fujimi Panorama Resort in Nagano.
You can also board regional trains from Nagano to access several resorts, such as Myoko and Arai.
SWEDISH NIGHT TRAINS
There’s no better way to comfortably travel Sweden’s vast distances than by night, and the Swedish rail company SJ offers one of the most modern night train services in Europe. SJ night trains travel directly to major cities like Gothenburg, Östersund, Luleå, Stockholm, and Malmö.
You can also reach the popular ski resort of Åre on a night train from Stockholm or do the long haul into the Arctic Circle through the iron-mining town of Kiruna to ski Abisko, Björkliden, Riksgränsen, and even Narvik, Norway. Make sure to book your own sleeping compartment and enjoy a hot dinner served in the restaurant car.
EUROSTAR SKI TRAIN
Since 1997, this iconic train has run twice weekly from London’s Waterloo Station in the United Kingdom to the Tarentaise region of the French Alps, dropping skiers at Moutiers, Aime-la-Plagne, and Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
From there, further access via bus, taxi, and (in some cases) aerial tram will deliver travelers to 16 major ski resorts, including Méribel, Courchevel, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Tignes, and Val d’Isère. With 750 passengers per train, Friday overnight and Saturday daytime services carry 24,000 skiers each winter.
COLORADO SKI TRAIN
In California, skiers can travel by train from Oakland to Truckee via Amtrak’s California Zephyr and catch a cab up to Palisades Tahoe, Northstar, or Alpine Meadows. To the East, there’s a ski train from Boston to Wachusett, though the last few miles are by van.
It’s slim pickings in the Lower 48, but that makes the ol’ D&RG Ski Train from Denver to Winter Park, now well into its seventies, unique in the United States as the only dedicated train route to deliver skiers directly to a ski hill. Denver’s municipal rail service even makes it possible to connect Union Station with Denver International Airport, so you never have to step foot in a car the entire trip.
LESLIE ANTHONY is a writer and editor who knows a thing or two about snow. Longtime Creative Director of SKIER, former Managing Editor of POWDER, and author of the book White Planet: A Mad Dash Through Modern Global Ski Culture, the resident of Whistler, British Columbia, continues to appear regularly on the masthead of the world’s top ski magazines. His favorite activity? Skiing powder, of course.
LESLIE ANTHONY is a writer and editor who knows a thing or two about snow. Longtime Creative Director of SKIER, former Managing Editor of POWDER, and author of the book White Planet: A Mad Dash Through Modern Global Ski Culture, the resident of Whistler, British Columbia, continues to appear regularly on the masthead of the world’s top ski magazines. His favorite activity? Skiing powder, of course.
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