When you think of Switzerland, you don’t usually think of “crazy”. “Meticulous,” “clean,” “reliable,” “courteous”—all these may come to mind. But crazy? Well, it’s easy to forget that the Swiss do have some of the most extreme mountains in the world and they’ve got enough loose marbles to rip it up on them no matter what the time of year.

Enter the Kulmhotel Gornergrat, which embodies all the qualities listed above. The “craziness” comes into play due to its location: 10,000 feet above sea level situated in the midst of the Swiss Alps with panoramic views covering twenty-nine 13,000-foot peaks, including the Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn. Located about 45 minutes from Zermatt, you reach the hotel via the Gornergrat rack railroad, Europe’s highest open-air cog railway. The train climbs nearly 5,000 feet from the Zermatt station over bridges, ravines, and more to drop you off right in Gornergrat. Note that this place is so high with skies so crystal-clear that they built two observatories on top of the hotel in 1996, one of which is still in use by the University of Cologne.

Once at the top, you’ve got all sorts of activities at your disposal. Skiers can enjoy 250 miles of prepared ski runs in the wintertime. There’s the Swiss Topwalk, which uses computer chips to measure the time it takes you to do various Nordic walks, submit them online, and compare them against the best male and female athletes in the world (just in case you want to have your sense of achievement crushed). You can visit the igloo village (and even do an overnight), go snow-shoe trekking, or take their toboggan which drops you nearly 1000 feet in about 10 seconds. In the summertime, there’s hiking, biking, the Swiss Topwalk once again, sunset dinner hikes, and the newest rage in the Alps, nude hiking. Any time of the year, if you call ahead, you can get a personal tour through the observatory and observe the starlight skies through the telescopes.

When you’ve had enough adventure, relax in the best the Kulmhotel has to offer. An early 1900‘s chateau provides an historic exterior but the interior is completely updated: Clean modern styling reins throughout, with lots of sleek light woods playing off of white walls and red accents. Enjoy cocktails in the high-ceilinged bar and traditional Swiss comfort food in their cozy restaurant. Then retire to your room where flat screen TVs, plush beds, and sweeping views await. Word is that the Monte Rosa suite is the way to go.

Any way you cut it, you won’t regret getting high, Swiss-style.

This post is tagged high altitude hotel, hiking hotel, in luxury living, matterhorn, nude hiking, ski hotel, swiss hotel