skiing – trippingdifferently

March 29, 2023

Chasing the Snow…

Yep, that’s what we did for the February sports holidays here in Switzerland. We went searching for snow. Why? Because global warming/climate change has meant that this alpine nation, once known for great skiing didn’t get enough snow for the season!

So we went up to a mountain we had never been to before, having heard that they might have more snow than others – we went to Crans Montana. Not somewhere we would usually go because it’s a bit further away and has been known to be expensive.

While there was little snow in the village, just a short up the way you could see the white stuff so it was not too bad. We had an okay time. The husband and son said the snow was not good by the afternoon, so they returned early and decided not to ski the next day. Lexi and I had a wonderful walk across the mountain; the views were amazing. But I took a tumble on an icy patch near the end of our walk; that sort of put a damper on things.

The hotel we stayed at was nice, the staff lovely and the food pretty good. So no complaints there. We left early on the 3rd day and made a pit stop at Fribourg, the university city in the French part of Switzerland. It was nice to see this city again after many years.

Here are some photos of our trip:

SYC

February 27, 2019

Throwback to Winter…

It has been warm, warm, warm… all last week and this week too… such unseasonal weather. So i thought i do a throwback to our ski holiday up in Flims, Switzerland. We were there about 3.5 weeks ago. It was our second time away from home with our Schnauzer, Lexi and the first proper ski holiday for her.

We had a lovely time. We took Tobias’ best friend with us and the boys had fun. The hotel was great, and right by the tal-station, which is fab. We enjoyed lovely, sunny, cold, wintery days on the slopes. The husband and boys ski while i walked with Lexi.

Here are some lovely wintery pictures to remind you that, actually, it is still supposed to be winter (according to the calendar, that is). Enjoy!

syc

February 26, 2016

Winter… Where Are You?…

That has been the question we have been asking for the last 3 months.

This winter, snow has been little and it doesn’t stick around for more than a day at our level (about 500m above sea level). And even in the ski resorts, snow seems to have become a bit of a rare sight.

Check out the photo below of the slopes in Engelberg just before the new year. The slopes, which were snow-covered, were icy and one of them was littered with pebbles, which all made the skiing no fun at all. We gave up after lunch and decided a walk in the little town was better and was rewarded with lovely local produce from the Kloster and that pretty view of the Kloster framed by the mountain behind it.

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We waited a number of weeks and tried again in February, during the recent school Sports-holiday. We went to Lenk. We were worried on the way up to the ski place as it did look so green. That first day, we skied through wet, heavy snow, (which turned to rain towards the end of the day) but it was still better than it was in December.

Then overnight the snow arrived, in force! See that lovely snowy view which greeted us just outside our hotel room. It continued snowing through the day quite heavily, which made visibility quite poor, but it also meant skiing on fresh snow, which was quite good.

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However, the poor visibility also meant we came across at least 3 accidents on the slopes, which required medical aid, including a heli-lift. i hope those injured are on their way to full recovery.

Then, of course, on the day we leave, we were greeted with perfect ski weather; blue skies, sunshine and slopes covered with freshly fallen snow overnight. Sigh!

But check out the difference between the snow cover in the resort area and the non-existent snow along the highway, on the way home.

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Well, we hope that there is more snow now on the slopes, especially since the school is going for ski camp in 2 days!

syc