Men's Journal

All rooms at Hotel Riffelalp offer Matterhorn views. Photo credit: Courtesy Riffelalp Resort 2222M

Mountaintop hotels in the Alps offer cozy rooms, well-stocked bars, and gourmet menus. That means you no longer have to rough it to make first tracks on remote slopes.

by Jack Shaw

It’s hard to improve on the primal comfort of a warm backcountry lodge half-buried in soft mountain powder. Europeans of course perfected the art long ago, establishing hundreds of hüttes, rifugios, and hotels throughout the high peaks of the Alps, many within reach of the expansive resort lift systems and running the spectrum from simple randonnée cabanes to deluxe slopeside spas. Take your pick from this list of the best for an incredible meal, a great wine list, and a comfortable night’s sleep in a real bed.

The Classic Alpine Hut, Cabane Mont Fort, Verbier, Switzerland (8,353 feet)

Located beneath Le Jumbo, one of Europe’s largest trams in the posh mega-resort of Verbier, the Cabane Mont Fort is busiest during the long, relaxed lunches that define European skiing. After the lifts close, only 60 skiers get to bunk for the night after enjoying a cheese fondue and a bottle of crisp Fendant white wine. In the morning you’re already halfway up the mountain, so you’ll score first tracks on the backside of Mont Fort. After a full day of climbing and skiing 4,000-foot-high glacier runs followed by a night in a classic hut, you’ll be very tempted to cancel that plane ticket home (from $35; cabanemontfort.ch).

The Dolce Vita, Rifugio Guglielmina, Alagna, Italy (9,450 feet)

Perched atop the Col d’Olen, which separates the resorts of Alagna and Gressoney, Italy, the Guglielmina looks at first glance like a remnant of prewar prosperity. But the well-weathered hotel has a fresh coat of Tuscan yellow paint, and inside you’ll catch wafts of the best slopeside meal you may ever eat. For more than 100 years the hotel has delivered unparalleled views of the Monte Rosa massif, with 50 warm beds, an incredible high-mountain kitchen, and a killer wine cellar. After a plate of locally cured meats and cheeses, a zuppa Val d’Aostana, and a wild boar ragu pasta chased down with a Gaja, you’ll wonder why you ever skied anywhere other than Italy. Come morning, a helicopter will land outside, and the folks from Guide Monterosa will take you over the glacial terrain of Lyskamm (14,852 feet) and through Alagna’s other epic off-piste canales and bowls ($73, includes breakfast; alagna.it).

The Gold Standard, Hotel Riffelalp, Zermatt, Switzerland (7,290 feet)

This ambitious station stop on a cog-wheel train along the Gornergrat Mountain railway is perched above the postcard-perfect Swiss village of Zermatt. The Riffelalp, with Europe’s highest outdoor pool, is over-the-top extravagance: fur coats, a spa, and champagne lunches all the way. But when you’re basking in après-ski alpenglow with the Matterhorn in your face (most rooms even have balconies so you can fully soak in the view), the decadence fits. The steep powder runs off the Gornergrat Face, an international schuss to Cervinia, Italy, or a guided heli drop for a life-changing 7,000-foot run negotiating crevasses and seracs on Monte Rosa will affirm there’s no substitute for skiing in the Alps ($200–$1,150; zermatt.ch/riffelalp).

The Hospice, The St. Bernard Monastery, Swiss–Italian Border (8,100 feet)

A major trade route for more than 2,000 years, the Grand St. Bernard Pass has seen its share of armies — from the Romans who built the current road (and Hannibal’s elephants who promptly used it for invasion) to Napoleon’s wine-swilling soldiers, who notoriously ran up a 21,724-bottle tab. The monastery, founded in 1045, served as a hospice for travelers and protected them from the barbarian bandits who plagued the pass in the Middle Ages. Today’s guests find their powder on the mom-and-pop slopes below Super St. Bernard’s gondola as well as ski-touring from the hospice. You’ll still find the namesake dogs, and the monks serve family-style meals, put you up in converted monastic cells with comfy featherbeds, and lead backcountry skiers on their favorite descents. Try one of the steep chutes off the back of the ominous Mont Mort down into Italy for a lazy lunch, then ski back through the tunnel to the Swiss side (from $45; gsbernard.ch).

The Belle Epoque, Hotel Bellevue, Wengen, Switzerland (6,791 feet)

Built by the famous Seiler family of hoteliers during the golden age of the grand tour of Europe, the Hotel Bellevue offers a reassuringly sophisticated look back at the 1800s, when the cream of society first took to the Alps in search of health and adventure. Claw-foot tubs, plush featherbeds, and a stylish leather-clad lounge complete the flashback — as does the fact that the train from Wengen or Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg remains the only way to get there. Today the Bellevue offers early-bird access to the mellow, rolling slopes of Männlichen, not to mention a ringside seat to the Lauberhorn, the longest downhill on the World Cup circuit, in early January. When you’re through skiing, take the train through a tunnel in the Eiger all the way up to the Jungfraujoch, Europe’s highest and most absurd train station, at 11,332 feet (from $200; scheidegg-hotels.ch).

A FEW TO TRY IN NORTH AMERICA

Although the U.S. still lags behind Europe in alpine history and tradition, both ski touring and backcountry lodging have gained popularity stateside in recent years. These great North American options offer accommodations ranging from one-star rustic to five-star outrageous.

Wyoming
Located on the west slope of the Teton Range, Rendezvous Backcountry Tours’ three yurts each provide room for eight, self-catered cooking, and BYO–sleeping bag bunks. The Baldy Knoll Yurt (at 8,880 feet) sits on the Jedediah Smith Wilderness boundary, meaning you won’t see any snowmobilers tracking up your powder. Book a guide to help schlep that extra bottle of whiskey up the 5.5-mile approach (from $300 for eight people; skithetetons.com).

British Columbia
The Lizard Range of interior British Columbia forms a portion of the famous “Powder Highway” encompassing the Fernie, Whitewater, and Red Mountain ski resorts. Beyond Fernie sits snowcat skiing mecca Island Lake Lodge (at 4,600 feet). This massive four–log cabin hotel in the mountains is an affordable alternative to heli-skiing, and it ups the ante with haute cuisine, après-ski massages, and the legendary Steep and Deep (from $695, includes meals and catskiing; islandlakeresorts.com).

Colorado
For everyone who has wanted his own Dr. Evil–style mountain lair, the Tempter House (12,200 feet) in Telluride fits the bill. After a big day on the slopes, followed by dinner at Allred’s at the top of the gondola, the ski patrol will snowmobile you to your private pad. Renowned architect Annie Eckley designed this five-story masterpiece, perched just above the Tempter Chute — which you can drop into on your way to the lift ($5,000; tellurideplatinumproperties.com).

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