Engelberg Magazin Nr. 25

Im neuen Restaurant können Gesellschaften von bis zu 250 Personen bewirtet werden. The new restaurant can host parties with up to 250 guests.

In der Küche wird auf regiona- le Spezialitäten gesetzt – das passt zur Klimaneutralität des Bergbahnunternehmens. The kitchen uses many re- gional ingredients – fitting in with the cableway com- pany’s ecological principles.

When Engelberg is in shadow, the sun still shines down on the Brunni area. In a place this sunny, it makes good sense to use the solar power that is just lying around on the slopes. In May 2018, Brunni-Bahnen Engelberg became the first, and to date only, climate-neutral cable car company in Switzerland. In 2019, non-profit organisation myclimate distinguished Brunni- Bahnen with the myclimate Award as an eco- tourism pioneer. And last spring, the Ristis restaurant was renovated at a cost of CHF 3.2 million. The Ristis mountain 20 years ago, but that doesn’ t accord with today’s tastes,” says Thomas Küng, Manag- ing Direc tor of Brunni-Bahnen Engelberg. The newly designed restaurant is light and air y, with lots of wood and natura l stone. The self- ser v ice and table-ser v ice areas can be div ided up f lex ibly, according to requirements. There is space for par ties with up to 250 guests. The kitchen uses regiona l produc ts where possible, and the menu features loca l specia lities like dried carpaccio f rom Spisboden organic farm and traditiona l pasta dish Ä lplermagronen. With its adventure playground and Yeti ski park, the Brunni was a lready a great place for families. The renovated restaurant a lso has a kids’ corner with a wooden Brio trainset. And the former kiosk is now a proper sma ll shop. There was a time window of just three months for the renovations. Ever y- thing was going according to plan – until the snowiest May in 80 years threw a span- ner in the works. When the time came to restaurant was f irst built in 1960. Severa l ex tensions were added over the years, creat- ing a patchwork building of various styles. “Low ceilings exuded a cosy, intimate feel

renovate the roof, it was promptly covered in ha lf a metre of snow. It had barely been shovelled f ree when a f resh dumping ar- rived. For a while, it seemed it wou ld never get done – but it a ll worked out in the end. Renewable energy is nothing new on the Brunni. For the past f ive years the cable cars and chairlif ts have run on hydropower. In 2016 a solar facility was insta lled atop the old mountain station. The renovated Ristis restaurant ’s heating runs on wooden pellets rather than oil, and its new roof has state-of- the-ar t solar panels. Together, share of the energy mi x,” says Thomas. How- ever, there are still 347 tonnes of CO2 to of fset. “For example, there aren’ t any carbon neutra l snow groomers on the market yet,” Thomas says. “If we didn’ t use conventiona l ones, we cou ldn’ t groom the slopes. And what wou ld winter be without skiing, sleds and hikes?” Ten years ago, Thomas co-authored a study into energy management at cableway operators. His specia list knowledge has been instrumenta l in the Brunni ’s pioneering work. “Climate impac t is impor tant, but our ef for ts can’ t just be a labour of love,” he stresses. Our upgrades have to pay for themselves. What good is a clear conscience if the company is doing bad ly?” Thomas tries to keep his own ecologica l footprint as sma ll as possible. Af ter his day is done, he returns to Wolfenschies- sen by hang-glider in good weather, and when he had to go to Berlin recently he took the train. “A lthough that wasn’ t necessarily the most convenient way to travel,” he grins. the solar facilities produce around 130,000 kilowat ts per year –15% of Brunni- Bahnen’s annua l consump- tion. “It may not sound like much, but it ’s a considerable

The newly renovated restaurant primarily serves local specialities.

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g astronomie | food+drink

gastronomie | food+drink