Full moon fever - Krystyna Chauncey
Thursday January 22, 2009 - Email this article to a friend

In most resorts après ski involves anything from a quiet gluhwein to an excess of alcohol and dancing on tables.  In the Swiss resort of Leukerbad it is quite the opposite and it comes highly recommended.

For the après ski in Leukerbad the pace slows down, not quickens up.

The resort sits up in the mountain high above the Rhone Valley near to Crans-Montana and is pretty much unheard of by most British.

Full moon in LeukerbadIt’s claim to fame is the natural hot springs that gurgle up from beneath the ground and people have been coming here since Roman times to relax and benefit from the minerals.

I was in Leukerbad last weekend when there was a full moon so it seemed an opportunity not to be missed.

We went down to one of the public thermal baths, the Lindner Alpentherme and sampled the deliciously warm water at 51 degrees Celsius, alternating between a gentle indoor swim and bathing outdoors beneath the glinting stars against the backdrop of snowcapped mountains illuminated by the moon. 

Powerful jets of hot water pummelled our shoulders, strong Jacuzzi currents massaged tired muscles - it was blissful and very relaxing.

The baths of LeukerbadIt was such an unusual experience to be bathing outdoors at the beginning of January. Time slipped away, the minerals did their trick and it was lovely.

We felt truly invigorated and I have never felt so alive as the aches and pains of a day's skiing eased away.

The skiing is not extensive in Leukerbad, just 50km of mainly black and red marked trails, but as we were skiing so early on in January the slopes were completely deserted and we zoomed around with the mountains almost entirely to ourselves.

So, so relaxingWe had enough skiing to give me a few aches and the thermal bath certainly sorted out any pains.

Afterwards there seemed only one thing to do – a few glasses of wine and a bit of old fashioned après ski.

Oh dear, much of the good work done in the Lindner Alpentherme was wasted as the wine flowed but it had been superb.

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