A shining metal track curves through green Alpine slopes, with mountains filling the view ahead. Brice Milleson's Switzerland Mountain Coaster video makes this short ride feel like a very good reason to look up from an itinerary.
The location is the Oeschinensee summer toboggan run above Kandersteg, in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland. In his original upload, Milleson says he filmed the ride during a 2013 trip. The video was published in February 2015, before it appeared in this site's archive.
Watch Brice Milleson's original Switzerland Mountain Coaster video.
A summer slide with an Alpine backdrop
The photograph captures the ride's main attraction beautifully. The track leads your eye around the hillside, while grass, trees and distant peaks provide layer after layer of scenery. The foreground feels fast; the mountains seem almost still.
This is a summer toboggan attraction. The snowy peaks in the background should not be mistaken for a promise that the ride operates through winter. If you are planning a visit around the video, search for Oeschinensee or Kandersteg: “a slide in the Swiss Alps” can lead to several entirely different attractions.
What to check before you ride
The operator's current ride information gives the practical details below. Check it again for your travel date, because opening arrangements and conditions can change.
- Location and length: the 750-metre run is beside the Oeschinensee gondola's upper station.
- Weather: it is a summer attraction and closes in wet conditions.
- Children: children aged three and older can ride with an adult; solo riding starts at eight, subject to the operator's supervision conditions.
- Tickets: ride tickets are sold at the machine on site. Check gondola arrangements separately.
- On the track: follow staff instructions, use the brake lever and keep both hands on the controls. The operator prohibits filming with phones or similar devices during the ride.
That last point is particularly relevant to a visit inspired by an old point-of-view film. Watching the clip is a lovely introduction; follow today's instructions when it is your turn.
Leave room for the landscape
Before setting off, decide what you want the day to include: the ride, time beside the lake, a meal or a longer walk. Those choices affect how much time to allow beyond the few minutes shown in a video. Check the return gondola time before committing to another activity, and choose walking routes from current local information.
Our Oeschinen Lake photo collection gives a wider impression of the setting; use the operator's current information for access and activities. Elsewhere in the Bernese Oberland, the Gimmelwald cat encounter offers a gentler mountain story with an unexpected walking companion.
For more ways of seeing the Alpine landscape, explore Martina Bisaz’s Switzerland photographs, with snowy lakes, reflections and ideas for your own compositions.
The bends turn the landscape into part of the ride
A fixed camera position makes the track the organising line of this film. As it curves, the background changes from open slope to a different stretch of mountain scenery. The result is more than a record of speed: the route continually reveals and conceals parts of the view. Watch the horizon as well as the track to see how the turns create that effect.
The rider’s viewpoint also leaves information outside the frame. It does not show the full operating procedure, the spacing of every other rider or the instructions given before departure. The short film should therefore be enjoyed as one recorded ride rather than used to infer current rules or a guaranteed operating speed.
Give the ride a defined place within the day before adding the lake or a longer walk. The few minutes in the video do not include the approach, waiting, other activities or the return journey. Check the operator's current arrangements for each part and decide which matters most if time or weather changes. A short ride followed by an unhurried view can be a complete outing. The mountains continue beyond the end of the track, and leaving room to enjoy them helps the visit feel like more than an attempt to repeat a popular clip.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- Brice Milleson
- Life Buzz
- A Luxurious Retreat in the Swiss Alps – the Cambrian Hotel, Switzerland
- White Winter Holiday in Bern, Switzerland
- Furka Pass – the Most Scenic Ride in the Swiss Alps, Switzerland
- The Top 15 Ski Resorts in Switzerland
- Amazing Landscapes and All Year Round Activities at Oeschinen Lake, Switzerland
- See That Tiny Place In The Mountains? It’s Awesome But You Probably Don’t Want To Go There.
- Amazing Drone Photo of Nine Mountain Climbers atop a Swiss Mountain Peak
- The World's Steepest Cogwheel Railway at Mount Pilatus
- Breathtaking Sphinx Observatory at Swiss Alps
- Breathtaking Photos of Matterhorn From All Hours of the Day
- Original image link
- operator's current ride information
- Oeschinen Lake photo collection
- Gimmelwald cat encounter
- Martina Bisaz’s Switzerland photographs
No comments