OUTDOOR - Mountaineering School Grindelwald
OUTDOOR - Mountaineering School Grindelwald
OUTDOOR - Mountaineering School Grindelwald
4.2
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
About
The OUTDOOR Mountaineering School exists to connect people to nature. We love and respect the environment we are lucky enough to call home and strive to share the wonders of the mountains with others in a way that honours nature and the standards and traditions of mountaineering. We aim to make the world of mountaineering accessible to anyone who has the heart and the passion to explore, whether it’s the very first peak, a bucket list ski tour, or one of the hardest summits in the Swiss Alps. Our deepest commitment is to safety, and this is reflected in our training, certifications, equipment standards, and small group sizes. Swiss Ski School Grindelwald has been teaching skiing on the slopes of the Jungfrau Ski Region since 1937 and is the only official Swiss Ski School of Grindelwald. We pay extra attention on providing high quality lessons through regular instructor training and certification, and look forward to welcoming you or your children in our lessons.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.2
24 reviews
Excellent
18
Very good
1
Average
0
Poor
1
Terrible
4
TravelingGraces1
52 contributions
Jan 2020
My husband, myself, and our two kids (ages 6 and 7) recently used Grindelwald Sports for rentals and ski school during our trip to Switzerland and had an amazing experience with them! We got checked in very quickly and were even able to buy our ski passes from their front desk! We were fitted with our ski equipment in no time and all ready to go before 9 AM.
We met our kid's ski school instructor, Klara, for a private half-day lesson at the shop, and she could not have been kinder! We loved chatting with her about her own travels, and our kids immediately felt comfortable with her. We walked over to the bus station that took us to the Bodmi beginners area. My husband and I watched them for a bit then headed up the mountain for a date morning on the slopes (what a luxury while traveling internationally with kids and not something we get to do often).
We chose to do the lesson on our arrival day since kids ski free in this region on Saturdays. However, since our kids were going on about 4 hours of sleep, this probably wasn't the best choice in retrospect! Klara, however, was so patient with them. We've realized with ski lessons that sometimes it clicks with kids after the fact. The instructors put in the hard work of building the foundation and may not see a ton of improvement, but once the foundation is built, they improve so quickly! I wish she could have seen our kids a day or two later skiing down the whole mountain SAFELY and with confidence!
This company offers so many more activities that we wished we had more time to explore. However, from start to finish, everyone there was so sweet with our kids and helped make our first day in Switzerland so wonderful!
We met our kid's ski school instructor, Klara, for a private half-day lesson at the shop, and she could not have been kinder! We loved chatting with her about her own travels, and our kids immediately felt comfortable with her. We walked over to the bus station that took us to the Bodmi beginners area. My husband and I watched them for a bit then headed up the mountain for a date morning on the slopes (what a luxury while traveling internationally with kids and not something we get to do often).
We chose to do the lesson on our arrival day since kids ski free in this region on Saturdays. However, since our kids were going on about 4 hours of sleep, this probably wasn't the best choice in retrospect! Klara, however, was so patient with them. We've realized with ski lessons that sometimes it clicks with kids after the fact. The instructors put in the hard work of building the foundation and may not see a ton of improvement, but once the foundation is built, they improve so quickly! I wish she could have seen our kids a day or two later skiing down the whole mountain SAFELY and with confidence!
This company offers so many more activities that we wished we had more time to explore. However, from start to finish, everyone there was so sweet with our kids and helped make our first day in Switzerland so wonderful!
Written January 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
:) Thanks so much for the amazing review!
Written May 22, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Liam D
2 contributions
Aug 2022 • Friends
Been canyoning today with Alan and rayno. Unreal experience! I had the 48th Kensington scout group with me and both of the instructors where very helpful and professional. This is our 4th time using his company and will definitely be returning. Thanks for an awesome day !
Written August 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Awesome, thanks for getting involved and taking the time to write us a review! 🤩
Looking forward to the next adventure!
Written August 24, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Steven W
Sacramento, CA1,346 contributions
Sep 2024 • Family
We did this via ferrata with a guide through Outdoor. Our guide, Danny was excellent. This is the 4th via ferrata I've done and was the most physically challenging and had the best views. The valley below is incredible. The course is well laid out, with plenty of challenging traverses, a cable crossing over a waterfall, zipline and bridge crossing. It took about 3 1/2 hours for our group to complete. We all had a blast Absolutely incredible. Having done multiple via ferratas, I can highly recommending going with a guide if it's your first time. The risk is very high if you are not familiar with proper equipment use and techniques. This one is highly recommended.
Written September 30, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the great review! 😊 We're so glad you enjoyed the via ferrata and the incredible views. Danny will be happy to hear your kind words! Hope to see you on your next adventure! 🌄💪
Written November 11, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Francisco N
1 contribution
Sep 2021 • Solo
Safety was deficient. No helmet or other necessary equipment for glaciar walk was provided (i know it because already did in iceland). For anaerobic exercise (>180bpm) at 3500m you must perform 10 days acclimatization according to WHO, here for a sea level person (even fit individuals: i run triathlons) can experience life-threatening heights sickness, which was not advised on safety information (unfortunately researched a posteriori). A guide should not tell literally when severe problems arise: “it’s nor my problem”, he was selfish. I asked for returning because I was accepted with wrong boots and my feet were wet and freezing just after 10min activity which could have led to finger loss and i was told that only can go out in helicopter or nothing. This activity difficulty is totally underrated, mountain experience is required, climbing without safety equipment on icy rocks at 150m heights is required which was not specified. I was accepted to perform the activity without the right equipment (whether or not was specified on equipment list). Safety measures were only in swiss german explained which I couldn’t understand, i only understand hoch german and not proficiently, it should have offered in english. Seriously life-threatening experience.
Written September 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hey Francisco, as we have already discussed this over on Facebook reviews, this is simply here for future readers. We would like to ensure our guests are aware that we uphold the strict safety measures put in place by the organisation “Safety in Adventures”, of which we are certified. Even so, we appreciate you sharing your experience with us. It helps ensure we manage guests expectations accordingly and continue to improve our service.
Written October 1, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Heloisa L
Portao, RS47 contributions
Dec 2020
Would not recommend at all. All the guy wanted was to sell stuff.
He told us I would be able to practice in the baby slopes and then practice in the blues, which weren't open (he could have called the team up in the mountains to give us the right information. If we knew only baby and red slopes were open we would have preferred to book only 1h lesson, he insisted 2.5h would be better in order to have the experience of going to blues with instructor.
He never told us the pass included the train and so we had to spend more on train tickets, we are tourists so we didn't know how the system works, would be longer than 2 minutes to explain it to us.
We are very frustrated with the poor service offered to us and also the lack of care from the shop assistant.
He told us I would be able to practice in the baby slopes and then practice in the blues, which weren't open (he could have called the team up in the mountains to give us the right information. If we knew only baby and red slopes were open we would have preferred to book only 1h lesson, he insisted 2.5h would be better in order to have the experience of going to blues with instructor.
He never told us the pass included the train and so we had to spend more on train tickets, we are tourists so we didn't know how the system works, would be longer than 2 minutes to explain it to us.
We are very frustrated with the poor service offered to us and also the lack of care from the shop assistant.
Written December 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hey Heloisa,
Please accept our apologies for a delayed response to your concerns. We take feedback like this seriously and it helps us improve our service going forward.
Conditions on the mountain change at the last minute, but as you said, it sounds like your instructor could have called ahead for some updated information :(
I don’t think he was only trying to sell you things. From talking with many guests, we often hear that one hour “just wasn’t enough”, so we often recommend spending some more time on the skis/board to get the most out of your experience.
We set out to give our guests an amazing experience, and from what you describe, we failed to do this with you. Please know, we’ve heard you and will keep pushing to do better next time!
Thanks again Heloisa
Written March 8, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jamie C
Dublin, Ireland6 contributions
Dec 2020 • Couples
Avoid this place! The management here is more keen for your money than for taking interest in providing honest service. The management reassured us of ski conditions for beginners as part of a package that included half day lessons, rentals and passes.... Conditions did not allow for ski which we only learned of after going up to ski station. Even after discussions, management took no responsibility and didn't seem to care. Beware, management focus to take your money more than providing an honest and good service to its customers. I give 1 star because the gent Ian at rentals was very honest and he was helpful. That's less than I can say for management. It really felt we were robbed... Of money but Most importantly of our time.
Written January 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hey Jamie, we're sorry to hear you had a negative experience with the management team. This is not how we like to present ourselves, so we appreciate you coming forward and giving honest feedback.
Of course, conditions in the mountains change rapidly and sometimes we have to make a difficult decision at the last minute to not take guests into that environment. However, there are no excuses for not caring!
We will investigate further into how your situation was handled and find ways to improve it.
Thanks again Jamie, and we hope you may be able to put your trust in us again in the future.
Written February 12, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ST-E
Berlin, Germany112 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
Mixed bag of experiences overall trending towards questionable leadership and complicated logistics.
We have done more than 3 weeks of ski schools, 5 sessions of free ride and skitour excursions and additionally 2 weeks of skischool experiences from our friends with GrindelwaldSports.
All in all the quality of the instructors has been ok to very good.
However, the set up of the school combined with the quality of the back office and the culture installed by management has repeatedly caused unpleasant experiences with the services we booked.
The logistics of meeting locations combined with an uninformed back office seems to cause repeated hick ups.
Examples over the last 18 month:
We had booked a skiing class for a beginner (the skill level beginner was well communicated and confirmed by the office)- nevertheless the class was scheduled not at Bodmi but at First. (Optimizing instructor time on the cost of a student?)
Oberjoch was too difficult and it took the instructor 2 hours to get the pupil down the slope . There was no learning experience - the only lesson learned was fear of skiing. No refund was offered.
We had booked a Red Star skiing class (finalizing one legged turning to get into black prince). At the sign in day none of the skiing instructors was looking at the skiing skill of the pupil (they all had the back to the student while he was skiing down). The student endet up in a class that was still practicing parallel turns. It took a whole day of skiing to correct the wrong assignment as the other classes had already left when the mistake was discovered)
20% of the 5 day ski classes lost - no refund offered)
At another occasion, we were told we could go into a black Prince lesson rather than stay a red king class which was a bit too slow for the student. When we arrived at the arranged Meeting point the class had already left. We had to take a half day class instead of the full day class. We still had to pay the full price for the 5 day full day classes even though we only were able to consume 2 day half classes as we were given wrong meetings point information.
When we brought this up at the back office . It was contested that we had been given the wrong meeting point information and she tried to suggest that it had been our fault that we were not at the correct meeting point.
In the end we could proof that we indeed had received the wrong information- they still refused to give us a refund for the half day lessons we were not able to use. We paid for skiing lessons we were not able to take.
Another family experienced something very similar. They arrived at the arranged meeting point and the class had met at the train station instead, they had to find a special arrangement to get the student to meet the class. Stressful for both student and parent. I do not know if they received any compensation for lost Time.
All in all, We got the feeling that the employees were not truthful with the back office and that the back office way not incentivized to improve the logistics and communication between skiing instructors and clients.
The set up between the 4 different locations bodmi, first, männlichen and kleine Scheidegg is quite complicated.
Confounded by a perceived lack of trust between management, back office and skiing instructors there are too many breaking points for a smooth operation.
Feeling ripped off at numerous accounts described it best.
Our friends had excellent!! Experience with the ski school in Wengen and the private lessons in kleine Scheidegg.
We have done more than 3 weeks of ski schools, 5 sessions of free ride and skitour excursions and additionally 2 weeks of skischool experiences from our friends with GrindelwaldSports.
All in all the quality of the instructors has been ok to very good.
However, the set up of the school combined with the quality of the back office and the culture installed by management has repeatedly caused unpleasant experiences with the services we booked.
The logistics of meeting locations combined with an uninformed back office seems to cause repeated hick ups.
Examples over the last 18 month:
We had booked a skiing class for a beginner (the skill level beginner was well communicated and confirmed by the office)- nevertheless the class was scheduled not at Bodmi but at First. (Optimizing instructor time on the cost of a student?)
Oberjoch was too difficult and it took the instructor 2 hours to get the pupil down the slope . There was no learning experience - the only lesson learned was fear of skiing. No refund was offered.
We had booked a Red Star skiing class (finalizing one legged turning to get into black prince). At the sign in day none of the skiing instructors was looking at the skiing skill of the pupil (they all had the back to the student while he was skiing down). The student endet up in a class that was still practicing parallel turns. It took a whole day of skiing to correct the wrong assignment as the other classes had already left when the mistake was discovered)
20% of the 5 day ski classes lost - no refund offered)
At another occasion, we were told we could go into a black Prince lesson rather than stay a red king class which was a bit too slow for the student. When we arrived at the arranged Meeting point the class had already left. We had to take a half day class instead of the full day class. We still had to pay the full price for the 5 day full day classes even though we only were able to consume 2 day half classes as we were given wrong meetings point information.
When we brought this up at the back office . It was contested that we had been given the wrong meeting point information and she tried to suggest that it had been our fault that we were not at the correct meeting point.
In the end we could proof that we indeed had received the wrong information- they still refused to give us a refund for the half day lessons we were not able to use. We paid for skiing lessons we were not able to take.
Another family experienced something very similar. They arrived at the arranged meeting point and the class had met at the train station instead, they had to find a special arrangement to get the student to meet the class. Stressful for both student and parent. I do not know if they received any compensation for lost Time.
All in all, We got the feeling that the employees were not truthful with the back office and that the back office way not incentivized to improve the logistics and communication between skiing instructors and clients.
The set up between the 4 different locations bodmi, first, männlichen and kleine Scheidegg is quite complicated.
Confounded by a perceived lack of trust between management, back office and skiing instructors there are too many breaking points for a smooth operation.
Feeling ripped off at numerous accounts described it best.
Our friends had excellent!! Experience with the ski school in Wengen and the private lessons in kleine Scheidegg.
Written March 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hey @EEEE_SSSS, thank you for taking the time to share a detailed account of your experience with GrindelwaldSPORTS. We are always looking to improve our services and operations so this is the kind of feedback we need.
We take our role seriously and would like to discuss this further with you if you don't mind. Are you able to contact us via info@grindelwaldsports.ch so we can get some more information?
Looking forward to connecting with you.
Written March 23, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
becca r
Chicago100 contributions
Sep 2019
My involvement with this organization started on a positive foot. I first scheduled a guided tour of the Via Ferrata Murren and had to reschedule (in line with their cancellation policy) and it was not a problem. When I went on the rescheduled date, there were 5 people and one guide. I believe that I remember that the ratio should be 4:1 but that may be incorrect. Anyway, I got my gear and rented gloves (4 francs extra) and we started off. Within 3 minutes I decided I didn't feel comfortable with the number of people to guides (I was 20 feet behind the guide and if I'd need assistance there is no way he could have reached me) and felt very unsafe with the level of information we were given (a 2 minute safety talk). I decided instead of proceeding with a tour that I felt unsafe on, I would prefer to return to the starting point and let the group go on without me.
I reached out to Grindelwald tour and requested a partial refund. My thought process was that a) the tour was able to proceed without me and there was no extra cost accrued by the fact that I started to do 3 minutes of the tour and b) if someone feels unsafe on a tour you are leading, it would be appropriate to address the issue. I was told that nothing would be returned to me. I asked if even the glove rental would be returned considering they were back in the glove bin 8 minutes after they were taken out and nothing was even washed so there is 0 chance they lost out on money there and they refused to even return that paltry sum.
I did not expect a full refund but a partial one would have been an appropriate course of action.
I reached out to Grindelwald tour and requested a partial refund. My thought process was that a) the tour was able to proceed without me and there was no extra cost accrued by the fact that I started to do 3 minutes of the tour and b) if someone feels unsafe on a tour you are leading, it would be appropriate to address the issue. I was told that nothing would be returned to me. I asked if even the glove rental would be returned considering they were back in the glove bin 8 minutes after they were taken out and nothing was even washed so there is 0 chance they lost out on money there and they refused to even return that paltry sum.
I did not expect a full refund but a partial one would have been an appropriate course of action.
Written October 7, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi @becca r, please accept our apologies for the delayed response. We take this kind of feedback seriously and wanted to ensure we had spoken to all parties involved.
As you mentioned the 4:1 ratio might be incorrect, you’re right. The group size for the via Ferrata is a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8 people per guide. So to have 5 in a group is considered a small group and well within the safety limits per guide.
It seems there was a quite a lot of communications with you prior to the activity, bookings and cancellations and date shifts etc. but on the day you were punctual, ready to go and went through the entire briefing with the guide without raising concerns and then after 5 mins of the tour you decided you didn’t want to continue. The reason was unclear to the guide.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of these activities, we can’t allow guests to start an activity and then decide they don’t want to do it, then refund any amount of money.
Again, thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Hopefully, we can share another adventure in the future!
Written November 15, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Roxana F
3 contributions
Aug 2022 • Solo
Everything went smoothly from finding the meeting point to getting into the gear and using the gear. the trip is amazingly beautiful, happy I had the chabce to also take the zip line. I highly recommend the experience!
Written August 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Awesome, thanks for getting involved and taking the time to write us a review! 🙌
Written August 18, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
johnbeaste
Lithia, FL28 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
Amazing experience but not for those that don’t agree with heights. Our family of four took a 9:10am journey, our children being 12 and 15. The journey did take a full 3 1/2 hours plus. We arrive early and started getting gear on well ahead of our scheduled time. They do not provide gloves, but we bought them at the store for 30 francs a pair for my wife and daughter. The earlier stages are easy and help you get used to the process, which is a big help when you get to the sheet cliff drops later. Our guides (we had 2 for a group of 12) were encouraging when one of us was uncertain or needed help. Our kids were better than us, having no problems. While I have a small fear of heights, I found the final suspension bridge more freighting than the earlier parts. Bring water, a go pro and be patient. After the hike our guide sent us pictures he had taken which was great. If you haven’t done this type of thing before, I do recommend spending the money for the guide, it’s worth it.
Written July 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Awesome to read! Thanks for the kind words and sharing your experience!🧗♀️🤗
Looking forward to the next adventure!
Written July 12, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We will be in Grindelwald, arriving May15, and departing May 17, 2017. Is it possible to ski down the Eiger, from Jungfraukoch to Grindelwald??
Written February 25, 2017
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