Engelberg Magazin No. 24

Thomy Vetterli engagiert sich im Gemeinderat von Wolfen- schiessen. Zu seinen Aufga- ben gehört der Tourismus. Thomy Vetterli is a member of Wolfenschiessen Council. Tour- ism falls within his remit.

Thomy Vetterli setzt sich stark dafür ein, dass sich das Engel- bergertal als Mountainbike- Destination etablieren kann. Thomy Vetterli is working hard to make the Engelberg valley an established destina- tion for mountain bikers.

Anyone entering Engelberg must first pass through the Nidwalden community of Wolfen- schiessen. Many people do not realise that when hiking, biking or skiing on the Stand, by the Joch Pass, or in Trübsee, they are usually on Wolfenschiessen territory. In 2012, the two municipalities clubbed together in the “Engel- berg Valley” cooperative to promote tourism together. The driving force behind it is Wolfen- schiessen’s municipal vice president Thomy Vetterli, otherwise known as “Sämf”. Thomy Vet terli, a.k.a. “Sämf ”, is a man of ac tion: “When I think something is missing, I don’ t team’s jerseys. At the age of 13, he successf u lly negotiated with the municipa l government to secure 1,000 Swiss f rancs for the youth club in Büren. It still receives that sum to this day. And at the age of just si x, af ter seeing Star Wars for the f irst time, wee Thomy showed up to Fasnacht celebrations in a home-made Chewbacca costume. The outf it was amazing, but the jur y didn’ t know what to make of it. Instead of get ting the main prize he deser ved, he received on ly a slightly squashed Mars bar. Sämf has a lways been ahead of his time. When he had to choose a career, teenage Thomy said he wanted to be a computer program- mer. That ’s per fec tly norma l now, but back in 1988 it was an unusua l ambition. “That ’s not a rea l job,” the career’s adv isor asser ted, and ca lled in his parents to change his mind about this ar ty-far ty pipe dream. So instead, Sämf qua lif ied as an elec trician, which gave him a solid foundation and opened up other doors – par ticu larly in music, which has a lways been complain about it – I make it myself.” As a child, Sämf built BMX trails and ski slopes and sought out spon- sors for his school footba ll

one of his passions. As a youngster he used to organise discos in his at tic, play ing tapes of songs he had recorded of f the radio. Later, he rocked the dancef loor as a DJ at the Yucatan in Engelberg. He a lso launched the Muisiglan- zgmeind, the biggest open-air music event in the Engelberg va lley. It was staged four times in the years up to 2009, with the help of more than 400 volunteers. “We were cu lt,” says Sämf. “Famous bands wanted to come but then the event wou ld have got out of hand. We cou ld have gone professiona l but that wasn’ t what it was meant to be about.” During that time, Sämf depar tment, but instead of simply adminis- tering his duties, he clubbed together with Engelberg Tourismus to come up with excit- ing new ideas. The rustic Buiräbähn li Safari is now world famous – SWISS Magazine and even CNN repor ted on the old-school cable car route. The new Joch Pass Bike Trail was an- other joint Engelberg-Wolfenschiessen projec t that was quick ly rea lised. It ’s a remarkable achievement; cross-canton cooperation isn’ t a lways this straightforward in Switzerland. Sämf is now investing his energy and experience into an NRP (new regiona l poli- tics) projec t ca lled “Mountainbike Centra l Switzerland ”. As projec t coordinator, Sämf is passionately pursuing his v ision of making our region the most diverse and at trac tive place for mountain biking in the whole of Switzerland. “There are still a few older people in Wolfens- schiessen who are astonished I managed to make something of myself,” grins Sämf. But they probably don’ t mind being proved wrong. was elec ted to the municipa l council – Wolfenschiessen was ready for some young blood. Responsibility for tourism fell within Sämf ’s

Thomy Vetterli is a man of action who is passionate about improving his home region.

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