A wide range of options: Peak experiences along the Alps

Here in the Northwest, we are lucky to have the Cascades and the Olympics so close. Besides being destinations for skiing, hiking and scenic drives, the mountains are a constant presence — most days, anyway — visible from Interstate 5 or the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Europe, however, takes mountains to entirely new heights.

The Alps span six countries and soar dramatically, locking in small, picturesque valleys. Mount Rainier is stunning at 14,411 feet, but the Gornergrat railway out of Zermatt, Switzerland, takes skiers and sightseers to a point where they can see 29 peaks of similar height.

"Alpine" can refer to everything from chic French ski towns with gourmet restaurants, to the Matterhorn (the mountain, not the Disney ride), to a rural Swiss village where they really do make cheese and where one farm family opens its barn so tourists can "sleep in the straw."

In the spring, many slopes still have plenty of snow for skiers, while hikers are also arriving, hoping to beat the summertime crowds. A mid-April trip had days of brilliant sunshine and magnificent views, but also days when there was not a mountain in sight, but the falling snow created a different kind of Alpine magic.

The marvels of modern engineering make the Alps surprisingly accessible in many places. Trains, trams, funicular lifts, cable cars and gondolas make steep ascents to places where visitors may be surprised to find lodges, restaurants, shops and even entire villages.

A person could spend months in the Alps and still see just a fraction of the great range, which encompasses Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Germany and France.

A sampling of Europe's "peak experiences":

• Chamonix, France, hosted the first Winter Olympics and exudes ski-village charm with a French flavor. Hotels, restaurants and shops line the streets, and many people clomp-clomp along in ski boots.

A major attraction is the white-knuckle cable-car ride to Aiguille du Midi at an altitude of 12,405 feet, which affords great views of the famed Mont Blanc. From there, the cable car descends into Italy before the return journey to Chamonix.

It is said to be a spectacular experience, but 54 euros per person seemed a high price on a cloudy day.

A policewoman, when asked to locate Mont Blanc, pointed into oblivion and shrugged. "Peut-être demain," she said. Maybe tomorrow.

• Next stop: Verbier, Switzerland. Getting to this resort town is an adventure in itself. The road combines hairpin turns and drastic elevation gains. And it's narrow. The effort had the rental car making some odd noises and one passenger holding her breath.

After about 10 miles, a perfect Swiss ski village emerges. The ski lifts come right down to the snow-covered streets, and row upon row of chalets line the edge of town.

Snow is falling as the après-ski crowd heads for bars and restaurants. Dinner could be a beer and a brat, the ever-present pizza or maybe a splurge on fondue or another Swiss specialty: raclette, melted cheese over potatoes and pickles.

Those who stayed out late enough (and by the looks of it, many planned to) got a treat around midnight when the skies cleared and the mountains were bathed in the glow of the moon.

Bargains are few in Verbier: Most hotels were charging $200 or more for a tiny, European-style room, but the price typically includes a breakfast buffet adequate to fuel a morning on the slopes — everything from mueslix to fresh fruit to cold cuts.

• You can't ride bobsleds down the real Matterhorn, but the nearby Gornergrat Bahn offers its own thrills. The highest open-air railway in Europe, it seems to defy physics as it chugs up the mountain to an elevation of 10,135 feet, stopping occasionally to drop off skiers and snowboarders in pursuit of the perfect slope. The choices appear endless.

The jumping-off point is Zermatt, Switzerland, a car-free village full of restaurants, hotels and ski and souvenir shops. In addition to the Gornergrat Bahn, two other lift rides leave Zermatt, bound for other adventures and vantage points.

The Matterhorn itself is a jagged rock pointing dramatically skyward. It straddles Switzerland and Italy and reaches 14,692 feet. It is not a ski slope, and the only way to reach the top is to climb. It's a one-day, 1,000-Swiss-franc adventure. Requirements include crampons, harnesses, a guide and rescue insurance.

For most visitors, it's enough to enjoy the view from the train, and from Gornergrat summit. Especially on a sunny day, it's amazing. The lodge features a self-serve cafeteria and a sit-down restaurant, and a large outdoor dining area invites lingering over a bottle of sparkling wine and basking in the sun and the scenery.

• The Berner Oberland region of the Alps offers a different taste of Switzerland: cows, meadows, wildflowers.

There's also a feature reminiscent of Seattle: a rotating restaurant.

At 9,748 feet above sea level, Piz Gloria at the Schilthorn offers a different perspective than the 605-foot-tall Space Needle.

The Schilthorn was seen in the 1969 James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and opened to the public after that, reached by the longest aerial cableway in the Alps.

James Bond glamour notwithstanding, much of the area has a charming, rural feel. The town of Gimmelwald has a cheese shack, and several residents sell local products from their homes, putting out a money jar in their absence and trusting visitors to pay.

Esther's guesthouse offers traditional bed-and-breakfast accommodations but also opens its barn to visitors in the summer months when the cows have moved to higher pastures. The price, 24 Swiss francs, includes a wool blanket, a shower and a hearty breakfast.

Down in the valley, the town of Lauterbrunnen is a perfect base for exploring the region, including the Jungfraujoch, at 11,333 feet known as the "top of Europe." There are so many options that anyone staying less than a week is likely to feel conflicted over which direction to head — or whether to give in to the temptation to just stay put, enjoying the scenic valley and the sleepy town.

Trains, cable cars and a funicular lift crisscross the slopes and offer various ways to the top, including the option to mix and match modes of transportation, interspersing some walking — a good option because the air is fresh, the scenery is amazing and the various lifts can get expensive.

• Oberstdorf, in the Bavarian Alps of southwest Germany, promotes itself as an environmentally conscious cultural and outdoor destination.

It is a slight detour from a route designated the Alpine Road and in fact prides itself on being "off the beaten path." The heart of town is mostly car-free, with shuttles bringing visitors in from large parking lots on the outskirts to wander the maze of shops, restaurants and hotels.

Plenty of outdoor cafes sell German beers and wines, but a Greek restaurant and an Irish pub also draw crowds, and a walk-up gyro/pizza vendor sells cheap "snacks" that really could be meals.

Many people have caught a glimpse of Oberstdorf without realizing it. Vinko Bogataj's 1970 fall from the ski jump there was immortalized for years as "the agony of defeat" in the introduction to ABC's "Wide World of Sports."

Bogataj was fine. He suffered a mild concussion and later returned to jumping.

Like elsewhere in the Alps, going up the mountain is easy and fun, and the many lodges along the way offer everything one could need in the way of equipment or sustenance for the day's adventures.

Scott and Julie Hanson are Seattle Times desk editors