Switzerland is known for its chocolate, cheese, and its well-developed tourism infrastructure. St. Moritz, located in the Engadine Valley in southeast Switzerland, has a long and rich tourism history. It was the perfect location for a study trip with work, to collect inspiration and knowledge to bring home to the Lysefjord.

The study trip lasted for just 4 days, so I decided to travel down a few days earlier and discover the area on my own. Flying to Zürich, I took the stunning UNESCO Rhaetian Railway over the Albula Pass to Celerina, my base for some of the wildest hikes I have ever done. Hiking in early October is a bit late in the Engadine Valley, where many summits are above 3,000 meters. Indeed, on my “expedition hikes” to Piz Languard (3,263m) and Piz Ot (3,246m) I struggled a fair bit with the amount of fresh snow near the tops.

To recover from these hikes, I took the second stretch of the UNESCO Rhaetian Railway, from St. Moritz to Tirano (Italy), over the Bernina Pass. All the viaducts, tunnels, and glaciers took my breath away.

After the arrival of my colleagues, I moved base to St. Moritz. We took gondolas and funiculars to Corvatsch (visiting Orma – the world’s highest whisky distillery), Piz Nair, and Muragl. Biking the stunning Roseg Valley gave us incredible views of Piz Bernina and the Tschierva Glacier.

All this made up just a little part of the great variety of outdoor opportunities in the area. Impressive!