Dukey

Has anyone done this? The views alone look to be spectacular and worth the trip.

We will be staying in Lausanne next month and are <B>thinking</B> of renting a car for the day to drive up to Col du Pillon for the cable car, etc. (as opposed to taking the train up to Gstaad and the PostBus onward which probably would be cheaper but takes more time).

We would almost undoubtedly do the "alpine coaster" as well..."touristy" or not.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

kappa1

I went up to the top of the Diablerets a few years ago in November. That was the opening day of the year for skiing. Alpine Coaster was only being installed then and not working yet. Instead we took the snow bus close to the foot of a huge round stone called "la Quille du Diable" or something like that and hiked a little around there. We also did a husky dog sled run. That was a very refreshing and comforting experience, having contact with those dogs. Fortunately the wheather was perfect and we really enjoyed it. One of us even did a tandem paragliding getting down to le Col du Pillon. We all had a great time. Also ate at Botta restaurant. I don't remember the food but guess it was fine.

Don't be ashamed of being a tourist. You will be ;-) Just enjoy !

Dukey

Thanks, Kappa1, for your reply and information.

<B>Believe</B> me, being a "tourist" has never been an issue for me and I suspect a lot of the people here who are constantly taking about, and spending time and energy on, "not looking like a tourist" are the very ones who not only look like one, but act even worse!!!!

kappa1

Coming from Geneva, we approach le Col naturally via Aigle/les Diablerets. It may be shorter than via Gstaad unless you want to visit Gstaad too. How long does it take via Gstaad? Lausanne - Aigle - Les Diablerets is about 1h30 (with a change of train) + Les Diablerets - Le Col by postbus, perhaps altogether 2 hours or so.

kappa1

> Believe me, being a "tourist" has never been an ....

I thought so. That's my sentiments too.

kappa1

When are you doing that? I did day trips to Bettermeralp / Aletsch Glacier area via Brig in last months for 3 times starting early morning from Geneva and it was so worth it. I did it each time for 3 - 7 hour hiking. My Swiss colleague told me it was the best place in Switzeland he had been to (and being an experienced skier, he's been to lots of places)and I can almost agree (only am not sure because I don't know the country much as he does) but if I comapre Glacier 3000 and Aletsch area for hiking, that's th latter for me. I'm sure I will return soon to try another hiking road. Take a look at my profile pic. Your itinerary may be fixed already but just in case. Hiking along the Aletsch is not that hard and there are roads of different levels.

Dukey

We will be in Lausanne the weekend of 5-6 September and I know the coaster and cable car are still running that weekend.

We've done the Rochers de Naye trip in the past although when we got UP there it was totally socked in so we ended up eating fondue in a (literally except for us) totally deserted cafeteria waiting for the next train navk down to Montreux.

It was us, those various animal heads and bodies mounted on the wall and staring DOWN at our fondue, and the cafeteria waorkers..but THAT is what malkes it all so memorable.

We would do that agin but now that I've discovered this Glacier 3000 thing we want to do it instead.

The trip from Lausanne via Montreux takes about 2.5 hours by train and that is figuring the very short layover time in Montreux (typically SBB...six minutes!!!!!!!) as well as ythe walk to the PostBus stop in Gstaad and the trip to Col du Pillon. In the end we'll probably opt for the train even though by road the distance from lausanne to Col du Pillon is only 70 some odd Km.

Actually, just being over there is almost good enough and we are simply is Switzerland for that weekend this time around.

Thanks again for your replies and help...they are much appreciated.

Zeus

I love this thread. Nice to know I'm not the only tourist on the board! What's the point of travelling if you have to hide?

I never heard of this ride but now I gotta go.

http://tinyurl.com/kj5ero

It looks incredible. Makes the Rodelbahn at Mt. Pilatus look tame.

kappa1

> I never heard of this ride

That's what I meant, it's new (only a couple of years). You have to take a cable car up there to do this ride. That's for kids (and for those with kid's heart you might say). Enjoy.

Dukey

We're definitely going to do it so when we get back I'll let you know how it all came out

deladeb

What did you think Dukey and others? How does this area compare with Berner Oberland region and Mont Blanc region?

deladeb

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/alpine-coaster.html

kappa1

Shortly after my posts above in 2009, I did return to les Diablerets / Glacier 3000 with my 3 friend visitors from Norway. And I did that "kid's" thing, the coaster ride as they insisted. It was fun of course, we were all big kids over 50's. (Dukey did you make it to the top and to the ride?) The immediate area of the Col (pass) de Pillon at the foot of Les Diablerets, there is not much else than that aerial cable car. Jungfrau regions and or Chamonix ( Mont Blanc) have more to do and see and that's what I tend to recommend to you if you come here for the first time.

deladeb

Thanks Kappa. I love the Jungfrau region and went up the Auguille Du Midi near Chamonix and was curious about the Diablerets region after finding a glossy brochure at a thrift store this weekend.