Posts from Base Camp

Missed Opportunities?

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

From time to time, travel plans get disrupted. Today’s post is about plans that just didn’t work out!

“The Bean” in winter, downtown Chicago (an unplanned stand-in for Memphis, Tennessee)

In a February 2023 post about “Travel Regrets”, I mentioned a couple of plans that were thwarted. These included never making it to Memphis, Tennessee in March 2014, and the July 2016 visa issue that delayed our crossing from Chile to Argentina at a remote outpost in the Andes. Today’s post covers a few more examples.

North shore of Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

Weather has played a role in many of my missed opportunities. In August 2014, I had arranged to go on an extended wadlopen (a hike across the muddy sea floor during low tide) from the Dutch mainland to one of the Frisian islands. This day-long activity requires a guide…and also decent weather. Learning of the expected high winds and thunderstorms, the guide decided to pull the plug. While it was disappointing, I still managed to make it out the Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog by boat. And I went for a nice walk around the dunes.

Inside the “Los 36 Billares” billiards cafe (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Poor weather also prevented me from setting foot in Uruguay. During our stay in Buenos Aires, we had hoped to take a boat across the Rio de la Plata to the historic city of Colonia del Sacramento. But nasty weather forced us to back down from that plan and spend another day in Buenos Aires instead. Among other things, we ended up having enjoyable refreshments in a billiards cafe!

Specialty shop in Westport, Ireland. I went in for the vinyl but came out with a book!

Dismal weather also torpedoed my planned ascent of Croagh Patrick, a (relatively) large mountain just outside the quaint western Ireland town of Westport. Rain, wind, and clouds conspired to make that extended trek unpleasant and possibly dangerous. Instead, I explored some local Westport institutions, such as a quaint bookstore and the local “chippy”. It wasn’t the plan, but I still have the book I bought!

The Grand Canyon, on the “Day After”

Another more dramatic weather incident happened in 2019, when I was supposed to descend the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. Not only did we not go on that much-anticipated hike, we couldn’t even leave our hotel. And the hotel was without power for 24 hours as the state was battered by a fierce blizzard. Unlike the other “missed opportunities”, there was nothing to take the place of the canyon descent. We were cold, unable to travel, and could do little more than ensure we had enough to eat. While we managed a brief visit to the Grand Canyon the next morning, there wasn’t enough time to try even a short descent.

Overlooking the Tara River Canyon – northern Montenegro

While weather jettisoned all of the above plans, nature wasn’t always to blame. During my May 2014 stay in Kotor, Montenegro, I signed up for a guided tour to Albania. I thought it would an interesting trip, as Albania had been so isolated before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Alas, I was the only person who was interested and the excursion was cancelled. A small group was interested in heading up to Durmitor National Park in northern Montenegro, and it seemed to be a reasonable alternative, so I decided to take that trip instead. While the tour guide’s driving was terrifying, I did end up seeing some little-known but spectacular scenery.

Looking straight down at the Tara River (northern Montenegro)

Even if things don’t work out as planned, they (usually) still work out in a different way…the great Grand Canyon Blizzard of 2019 being a notable exception! Sometimes the unplanned alternative even surpasses the original intention. But no matter the outcome, these missed opportunities give me a great reason to go back to some of my favourite destinations.

Posts from Base Camp

Switzerland 2024: The debrief

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

After any significant sports competition, I prepare a “debrief” that captures my impressions and learnings from that event. I decided to do the same for this trip…my first significant international trip in four years.

Photo time on the Maulerhubel (above Winteregg, Switzerland)

Firstly – and I don’t think I can overstate this – I am so lucky to have a connection to Switzerland. And it doesn’t get old. I know I’ve taken hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures in Wengen, Grindelwald, and Mürren over the years, but I never tire of taking even more photos in this truly beautiful setting.

More photos…this time at the top of the Gimmeln lift (above Gimmelwald, Switzerland)

And while the slopes in the Zweisimmen area may lack the sheer size that you see at Wengen, it is still special to be there too. Knowing that my ancestors lived on (and worked) these mountains creates a special bond that I don’t feel anywhere else. It is only enhanced by knowing that I am related, however distantly, to many of the area residents!

The fearsome Birg lift station (top left), high above Mürren, Switzerland

But the mountains are only part of it. Beyond the natural beauty is something that doesn’t depend on where you are. Ironically, because holidays tend to be rushed, that something is…time.

View from our lunch spot at the Schilthornhütte, high above Mürren, Switzerland

In the inevitable extended periods of travel, whether by plane or by train, there is time to just…think. I used to think that “dead” time like that was just a necessary evil. But now I think it’s a blessing in disguise because, in our (hectic) daily lives, how often do we get a chance to just think deeply? This trip was great for that.

The ski posse having lunch at the Schilthornhütte…I took the previous picture from where my orange jacket is visible

The “deep thinking” isn’t just about the spectacular Swiss setting. It can be about almost anything. Part of the “deep think” is appreciating all of the great things about home.

Looking from the Schilthornhütte towards the Schilthorn summit (which we would soon visit)

Another part of the “deep think” is prioritizing the opportunities that lie ahead. Prioritizing is something that’s hard to do when you’re running from one thing to the next. But things can become much clearer when you have no cell phone, no internet connection, and no daily living concerns. This is when you discover your true passions and what is truly important to you.

Every direction you look, there’s a spectacular view (Mürren, Switzerland)

So, while I was naturally sad that my time in the mountains had come to an end, I felt energized by (and truly focused on) what was still to come. And isn’t that a perfect way to end a holiday?

Skiing down from the upper Mürren slopes to the lower Mürren slopes requires going through this narrow chasm. It is notorious for difficult conditions. But it is also a thrill to navigate!.

Stay tuned – this is going to be a great year, and it’s only just getting started!

Posts from the road

The hardest part of a vacation

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(Winterthur, Switzerland)

I’ve always found the last 24 hours of a vacation to be the most challenging. Especially after skiing in the spectacular Berner Oberland, it is very difficult for the last (urban) stop to compare favourably.

Hotel Wartmann in Winterthur, where I stayed on my last night in Switzerland

I’ve written about this before, in a 2018 post about visiting Zürich on the last day before flying home. This time, although my flight home once again left from Zürich, I decided to mix things up and stay somewhere else for the last night of my trip.

Ventilator Records in Winterthur, where I did some browsing before turning my mind to dinner

I settled on Winterthur, a city of about 110,000 people that is just about as close to Zürich’s airport as Zürich itself. I had never been to Winterthur before, and hoped that seeing something new might change the last day dynamic somewhat. I found a convenient hotel with good weekend rates…and a good breakfast!

The pedestrian-only Marktgasse in Winterthur, Switzerland

I really can’t complain about Winterthur. It seemed quietly prosperous, in an understated Swiss way, and at times resembled a scaled-down version of some of Zürich’s nicer parts. I felt completely safe walking around after dark and near the train station, which can’t be said for every city in the world.

The Stadtkirche in Winterthur, Switzerland

Exploring a new place did help a little bit. But, in the end, I just didn’t have enough time to get to know Winterthur and develop a rapport with it. Many of the shops had closed relatively early on Saturday and wouldn’t reopen until at least Monday. It seemed like the picturesque old town was relatively empty…and, to be fair, there was a (sold out) professional soccer match in Winterthur that afternoon.

Obere Kirchgasse in Winterthur, Switzerland

But, as you can see from the photos in this post, the overcast skies didn’t help. The light was flat, and reminded me of the not-so-scenic days of low visibility on the slopes. I imagined that the many cafés and restaurants would create a dynamic street scene in more favourable weather. While a few diehards were out on patios, it still seemed kind of forced.

Something a little different on Neustadtgasse in Winterthur, Switzerland

I still enjoyed the afternoon. I found an interesting record shop in an “up-and-coming” part of the city that probably used to be quite industrial. At a grocery store, I bought some Swiss items that I wouldn’t be able to find in Canada. I gathered some snacks for the upcoming long trip home. I scoped out some restaurants, with the intention of having one final truly Swiss meal that evening.

A couple of nice-looking restaurants in the “Graben” (Winterthur, Switzerland)

I found a restaurant (Restaurant zur Sonne) that seemed to be sufficiently Swiss. I even reprised a meal from earlier in this trip: Älplermagronen und Suure Moscht. This is essentially super-deluxe macaroni and cheese, served with a cold apple cider. It was solid and undoubtedly Swiss. But it couldn’t stop the inexorable progress of time. As I finished the last few bites, I knew that the trip was now over. It was now just about going home.

Everything seems “just so” in Winterthur!

Afterward, I took a photo of the restaurant from the street. However, it was already dark and the resulting picture will never make any Top Ten list. I’ve included it anyway, as it turned out to be the last photo of my trip.

Restaurant zur Sonne – I had my final Swiss dinner here, in the second floor restaurant (Winterthur, Switzerland)

I managed to get a good night’s sleep and a satisfying breakfast at the hotel. It’s funny how the trip home seems to take so long…and how much more noticeable the various delays seem to be. Even the usually efficient Zürich airport seemed to be struggling. But finally, after a long flight (no business class upgrade this time), and what seemed like an even longer wait for my luggage, I walked out the front door of Toronto’s Pearson Airport. I was now back home. My 2024 Swiss adventure was over.

But wait! There’s more! I’ve saved some Swiss mountain photos and some closing thoughts for another post…coming soon!

Posts from the road

The costs of Switzerland

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(Wengen, Switzerland)

It’s not an outdated stereotype. Switzerland *is* expensive. But not necessarily in the ways you’d expect, and there are ways to mitigate it somewhat.

The mighty Eiger looms high above the Gummi lift

First of all, lift tickets in Switzerland are still cheaper than lift tickets in the big North American resorts. This is because skiing is not just a sport for the wealthy in Switzerland. It has traditionally been thought of as a middle-class family activity. This “accessibility” has its limits, though…Zermatt, for example, is now creeping up to North American price levels.

A very bright moment between Männlichen and Kleine Scheidegg

If you can, bring your own ski equipment. Many airlines will take a ski bag at no extra cost. Swiss ski rental costs have skyrocketed in the last few years. I always bring my ski boots from home, but renting skis is no longer the relative bargain it used to be. This partly results from high Swiss wages. There is labour involved in preparing rental skis, and that cost is partly borne by the renter.

Hut at the base of the Tschuggen T-bar

Similarly, restaurant prices can give you a serious case of sticker shock. Even though taxes and tip are included in the price, it still is quite an adjustment (despite the post-COVID price bump we saw in Canada). Unlike much of Canada, Swiss restaurant employees are paid a living wage. This is great but, as with ski rentals, it is reflected in the price to the consumer.

Looking out over the Lauterbrunnen valley, from the Black Rock piste

One option is getting a half-board hotel room. This means that both breakfast and dinner are included in your room rate. You may not have much choice on the menu, but it is usually much more economical than eating a la carte at restaurants outside your hotel. When you have half-board, you only pay extra for the beverages you consume at dinner. At the Hotel Bellevue in Wengen, we had great five-course meals every night at 7:00 p.m. It was no problem to get cleaned up in time for dinner after a long day of skiing. Eating in your hotel also saves you the time involved in deciding on and getting to/from a restaurant.

This was our table for the week at the Hotel Bellevue in Wengen. What a great view to have every morning!

Also, with buffet breakfasts, you can eat quite well and not need an expensive lunch. Lunch on the slopes can easily be just a bowl of soup (generally served with bread), which is much cheaper and quicker than having a heavy entree. Fortunately, Swiss mountain restaurants are not exorbitantly priced. They are private undertakings that must also be sustainable with a non-skiing clientele during the rest of the year.

Appetizer on Day 7 at the Hotel Bellevue. Pastetli (vol-au-vent) filled with wild mushrooms, on top of a cheese fondue sauce

Consider going vegetarian in Switzerland. Main courses without meat, or with minimal meat, are significantly cheaper than those with meat. And if you must eat meat, avoid things like steak. They are obscenely expensive and, in my non-expert opinion, not all that Swiss. Eat local specialties… largely meat-free local options like Rösti and Älplermagronen are both tastier and easier on your wallet.

View from the Eigergletscher

As for hotels, go with family-run hotels that offer a solid breakfast (and no frills). Don’t be a star snob: even a one- or two-star Swiss hotel is going to be far cleaner and more comfortable than you would expect. The stars mostly refer to the frills, not the basic quality and comfort. And the food in a locally-run hotel is more likely to be affordable too. There’s no need to pay for a major chain’s advertising budget.

One of the restaurants (and a lot of crows) at Kleine Scheidegg. We didn’t eat here.

Finally, travel costs are heavily skewed in favour of locals. They can buy various passes that really drive down costs. Tourists who are only here for a week aren’t so lucky. Do your research…if you can stay for at least two weeks, you might be able to find a pass that cuts your ground transportation costs too. Or try to visit places that are close to an international airport. Geneva or Zurich are within Switzerland itself, but don’t forget about major international cities like Milan (Italy) or Lyon (France). Airfares to those places are often much cheaper than airfares to Swiss destinations. And if your ground transportation is mostly outside Switzerland, that saves money too.

Another view of the Eiger. It’s very easy to take pictures of it from the Männlichen area!

There is still more to come on Switzerland! (All of today’s pictures are ones I didn’t use in my previous post about skiing at Wengen.)

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Last day on the Wengen slopes: Feels like the first time

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(Wengen, Switzerland)

After the poor visibility that plagued our first three days of skiing in the Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen areas around Wengen, we were pleased to see the sun rise for our last day of skiing in Wengen. Maybe we would be able to properly see what we were skiing?

Getting ready for the descent from the top of the Honegg lift, just above Kleine Scheidegg

And just like the old Foreigner song…when we emerged from the cable car at Männlichen, it was like we were seeing and skiing these slopes for the very first time! We could indeed see everything, including the mighty Eiger!

Looking down from the top of the Black Rock piste, with the impending “cliff” straight ahead and the rock itself coming up on the right

The photos tell the story. But I’d like to comment on a couple of special elements of this special day. The first was being able to properly ski my favourite Wengen piste: the Black Rock (now known more generically as Piste #32). Part of this black-rated piste’s appeal is the steep slope that demands precision. But, most of all, it’s the natural beauty of the slope.

This is where the “cliff” (and the fun, and the Black Rock itself) begins!

The first part is not very challenging, although in the distance you can see that the piste appears to fall off a cliff. And then when you get to that cliff, you have to balance skiing smartly with enjoying the spectacular view of the Lauterbrunnen valley on one side and a massive nearly-black rock formation on the other.

Looking back from near the end of the Black Rock piste – it’s hard to describe just how massive that rock really is.

Once you get past the massive rock formation, the piste’s incline eases considerably and it’s a little safer to fully enjoy the beauty of your surroundings. On a sunny day like today, I find myself saying that there is no other place I’d rather be. And that’s about the time that “Right Here, Right Now” (the 1991 song by Jesus Jones) implants itself in my head.

Speaking of massive rocks: this is the Eiger. And the steep part straight ahead is an unbelievable 2 km tall (the entire Eiger itself tops out at nearly 4 km in elevation)

For our final run of the day (and week, and year), we decided to go out with a bang. We would ski the famous Lauberhornrennen, the oldest and longest World Cup downhill race in the world. Check out this video from about 10 years ago to see exactly why the Lauberhorn race is so difficult and so special.

The wedding party (bride in white dress in the centre) at the top of the Lauberhorn piste

Before starting the Lauberhorn run, we saw a group of unusually dressed skiers (one in a white dress) near the starting gate. Yes, a skiing couple from Australia was actually getting married on the slopes! Instead of a “destination” wedding on a beach, they invited their skiing friends to celebrate with them in Switzerland.

I took this photo in the starting gate of the Lauberhorn run. What a way to end the week of skiing at Wengen!

The Lauberhorn run was a demanding but great way to end our week of skiing. But if you liked the spectacular photos from the last two posts, fear not! There is lots more to come from this amazing part of the world!

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Here Comes The Sun: A Glorious Day on the Schilthorn

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(Mürren, Switzerland)

OK, so the tough weather might have been getting to me a little bit. My last two posts were a little despondent. But the weather experts were right: they said Day 4 of our ski week in Wengen would be great for skiing. And it sure was!

This view, on a piste beside the Kandahar lift, is one of my favourites. Yes, we ski through that narrow chasm to get to Mürren! And those mountains in the background just happen to be the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks!

We decided to travel across the Lauterbrunnen valley to the slopes above Mürren. The views from the top of the Schilthorn promised to be stunning. But rather than race to the summit of the Schilthorn, at an elevation of nearly 3000 metres, we decided to enjoy the slopes along the way. And so we took our time exploring the pistes accessible by lifts such as Winteregg, Allmiboden, Schiltgrat, and Gimmeln.

The Schilthornhütte restaurant, with the Schilthorn looming in the back centre-right. We ate at one of these outdoor tables.

The conditions were sublime. Shimmering sunshine, with nary a cloud in the sky. The snow accumulations from the previous 48 hours meant that we weren’t skiing on an icy base. And we could see! With all of those favourable factors, it only made sense to have lunch outside at the rustic Schilthornhütte, within sight of the peak we would finally ascend that afternoon.

My lunch at the Schilthornhütte: Käsesuppe und Rauchwurst.

I had Käsesuppe (cheese soup) and Rauchwurst (smoked sausage) with some Swiss mustard (senf). It hit the spot perfectly. But even better was the view. Check out the picture at the very top of this post: this is where we ate! It was so nice on this sunny shelf that it wasn’t easy to move on. But we had a mission: to experience one of the most iconic views in the Alps.

Looking north from the top of the Schilthorn. The city of Thun is visible near the top centre of the photo.

I described my most recent visit to the Schilthorn in this post from 2018. All that still applies, although I’m pleased to report that some of the ickier aspects (most notably the “Bondgirls” sign at the women’s washroom) have been replaced. And as you can see from the photos here, the weather conditions were much better this time around. Waiting until the afternoon didn’t cause any problems at all – in fact, the Schilthorn was almost abandoned by that time of day.

Now, to ski down from the Schilthorn…we have to get from the building at right to the run-out slope you see at the lower centre-left of this photo!

After taking many, many pictures of the surrounding mountains, it was time to ski down from the top. But there’s only one way down. It’s a black-rated piste (the most difficult rating). Normally, this is not a problem. But the steepness of the slope, together with a lot of snowfall and a lot of morning traffic, left us with a particularly difficult descent. Large moguls alternated with pockets of deep snow and “scraped” icy patches. This would be a challenge!

OK, first let’s take a cheesy Swiss tourist photo at the Schilthorn!

But sensible challenges are one of the reasons we ski. And so, four of us decided to tackle the dreaded “Piste 10” leading down from the majestic Schilthorn. It certainly wasn’t my most elegant descent. Nonetheless, we still felt a sense of accomplishment when we made it down intact.

We’re at the very top of Piste 10, the only way down from the Schilthorn. After the first turn, it gets very steep!

We still had some enjoyable pistes that afternoon around the Kandahar and Muttleren lifts. But all too soon, we had to start making our way towards Winteregg so that we could get back to Wengen without a long uphill walk in ski boots. We caught the crucial last lift at Maulerhubel with precisely two minutes to spare!

Looking back at what we just did: that’s the Schilthorn in the background, with the rest of my posse enjoying an easy cruising slope after the challenge of Piste 10.

I often nominate a particular piste as the week’s Traumpiste (“dream run”). But every once in a while, the entire day is wonderful. I’d have to say that was the case today. And we were all able to enjoy it together, after some tough conditions over the previous three days. So, let’s call it a Traumtag!

Looking from Maulerhubel towards Wengen (on the other side of the valley), as the sun begins to disappear behind the high peaks at 4:30 p.m. These were some of the only clouds we saw today.

After such a great day on the Schilthorn, could our last day on the Wengen slopes possibly compare? Stay tuned and see!

Posts from the road

Skiing in suboptimal conditions, Part 3: the snowy depths of despair

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(Wengen, Switzerland)

The forecast for Day 2 was 25 cm of new snow, and we received at least that much. But I think we received even more on Day 3. So, let’s say “a couple of feet” of new snow in little more than 24 hours. That would normally be awesome. But we also couldn’t see anything!

Being swallowed up by the snow, and also not knowing where it is, near the top of the Männlichen ski area above Grindelwald and Wengen, Switzerland

As you can see from some of the on-slope photos here, the light was so “flat” that we couldn’t see the slope even if we could see other objects (which we frequently couldn’t).

We had lunch here, at the Chalet Restaurant on Day 3 (Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland). You wouldn’t know that the massive Eiger was looming behind it!

I have to admit that 3 days in a row of poor visibility can be quite demoralizing, especially when the day before that was cancelled altogether because of stormy weather. We tried moving around from area to area, but any improvement was strictly temporary.

Lots of room on this usually heavily-used piste down to the Wixi lift (Wengen, Switzerland). This was probably the best visibility we had on Day 3, even though it was still hard to see changes in the slope.

I did my best to dwell on the positives, as outlined in this post and that post about suboptimal skiing conditions. But I also found that I was experiencing cumulative exhaustion. I’d be physically and mentally exhausted at the end of each day, and it was harder to recharge enough to face new (or even familiar) challenges by the next morning.

What once was green, is now white! This is just above Wengen (which is obscured by fog)

The only plus was that the slopes were virtually empty. And while I knew that the conditions would probably be amazing when the storm ended, it was becoming less and less clear when this might actually happen. What if the poor weather never left?

Some appealing chalets that we would ski by on our return to Wengen each day.

As for the pictures, I turned my attention to things I saw every day: chalets on the Talabfahrt (late afternoon valley run) and around our Hotel Bellevue home base (which you can now see with snow at the very top of this post). My ski posse referred often to a “winter wonderland”, so I tried to embrace that aspect of what I was seeing. And it was fascinating to see the transformation from green and brown to deep, deep white. Even the lowest pistes now had snow on the sides as well.

A quaint rustic chalet right beside our hotel in Wengen

Two of us decided to visit a different part of Wengen one day after skiing through the blinding snow. We stopped by the Chalet Alpenblick, which hosted the Auslandschweizer (Swiss Abroad) ski camps I attended for many years. I stayed in this house more than once, so it used to be quite familiar to me.

Nostalgic visit to the Chalet Alpenblick in Wengen

While we were looking at the Alpenblick, we were actually invited in to take a look around! This week’s occupants (a high school group from Biel, Switzerland) found our story fascinating. It was amazing how little had changed in 15-20 years. The same teapots, chairs, tables, Foosball game…it really could have been 2005 all over again.

This beautifully-situated Wengen church overlooks the Lauterbrunnen valley

With that unexpected nostalgia trip behind us, we were reassured by the ski rental shop that Day 4 would really be a great ski day. We really wanted to believe this. Was it true?

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Skiing in suboptimal conditions – Part 2

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(Wengen, Switzerland)

After skiing in suboptimal conditions for a day last week, and then having the resort shut down on my first scheduled day of skiing here, you’d think that all the iffy weather stuff would be behind me. But you would be wrong!

Restaurant Brandegg, near Grindelwald – we lunched here on day one and had the famous apple doughnuts for dessert

My first two “real” days of skiing here were plagued by poor visibility (fog), marginal snow conditions, and eventually precipitation that ranged from rain to sleet to heavy snow. We had to make do with minor victories, and keep looking ahead to the promised sunny skies on days four and five. Fortunately, the food at the Hotel Bellevue in Wengen (see photo at the top of this post) continued to impress. And there were no lift lines at all!

Great visibility, but poor snow conditions on day one at the (relatively) low altitude slopes leading to Wengen.

The poor visibility is particularly frustrating. It certainly interferes with skiing (making even seasoned skiers look like absolute beginners), but it is especially unfortunate in this part of Switzerland. One member of our ski group had never been to Wengen before and we had to assure her that the legendary and massive Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains were really looming far overhead.

The Eiger appears at the end of day one! With a weird horizontal cloud formation below the peak!

At 4:30 p.m. on the first day, Mother Nature teased us a little. All of a sudden, the clouds parted, the sun emerged, and the cloud level was actually below us. We had a brief but dramatic view of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau…with a strange horizontal cloud formation just below (see above photo). It was amazing! I think my camera was overwhelmed by the sunlight, though, as all of my frantically snapped photos came out rather blurry.

The iffy visibility here (at Grindelwald First) was standard over the first couple of days, although it was frequently much worse.

Alas, day two was just more of the same fog, with rain at the lower altitudes and increasing snow at the higher altitudes. Our lunches took on increased importance, as they offered a respite from the poor weather. But some restaurants were closed (including one in Grindelwald that was a real hit in 2018) because of the low numbers on the slopes…or because the pistes leading to them were not open.

This rustic house at the end of the Talabfahrt was quite visible near low-altitude Grindelwald on day two. However, it was also quite wet!

Looking on the bright side, suboptimal skiing weather does have some benefits. It makes skiing incredibly easy once the weather improves. It is a great workout, because “skiing blind” places heavy physical demands on you. And it develops concentration skills, as assessing the snow and piste conditions by feel demands nothing less than 100% focus. Your senses are certainly heightened: on the second day, we spotted a huge herd of roughly 50 chamois as we rode the Oberjoch chairlift high above Grindelwald.

Stay tuned for my report on the third day of skiing in the Wengen-Grindelwald area!

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What to do when the ski resort shuts down?

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(Wengen, Switzerland)

I’m now staying in Wengen, a beautiful mountain village perched on a cliff overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley.  You’ve probably seen this valley in many photos before (see above photo), even if the name doesn’t sound familiar. It’s one of the most photographed valleys in the world. But I’m here to ski, not just to marvel at the stunning valley landscape.

View from my hotel, over the Lauterbrunnen valley

Alas, at breakfast on what was supposed to be my first day (of six) of skiing here, we learned that the entire lift system was shut down due to high winds. Parts of the railway system were shut down too. We had to find another way to spend the day.

View of another hotel, also overlooking the Lauterbrunnen valley

I’d like to say that this was unprecedented. But it isn’t: in 2017, at Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), we were unable to ski because the entire lift system was shut down…also due to high winds.

Having a chat with some Irish hikers we met on the way down to Lauterbrunnen

Anyway, we decided to start with a hike down from cliff-top Wengen to the village of Lauterbrunnen on the valley floor.  The vertical drop is about 500 metres, but it took less than an hour because it is almost straight down. It turned out to be an excellent warm-up for our remaining days of skiing.

Two goats in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

From Lauterbrunnen, I suggested hiking to the small village of Stechelberg, located at the end of the valley. I figured we could have lunch at the Hotel/Restaurant Stechelberg, an old-fashioned establishment I visited about 15 years ago. This was ambitious, given the distance…and the fact that this was the only restaurant in Stechelberg. It could have ended in heartbreak. But we went ahead anyway.

One of many waterfalls in the Lauterbrunnen valley, as seen from downtown Lauterbrunnen

Just like the descent from Wengen, the walk to Stechelberg was beautiful. The alleged high winds were barely noticeable this far down from the mountains. We encountered the usual assortment of cows, goats, and donkeys. We even passed a cheese vending machine, like the one I saw in Lenk in 2018.

A fun vending machine featuring…cheese. It’s between Stechelberg and Lauterbrunnen.

We had the foresight to reserve a table at the Stechelberg restaurant, so we were able to walk right into a rustic lunch.  Nothing appeared to have changed in the last 15 years. In fact, it looked like the local Swiss restaurants I saw as a child in the late 1970s.

More goats, and other creatures in the background, this time in Stechelberg, Switzerland

Most of us walked back to Lauterbrunnen after lunch, making it a total of around 20 km of walking if you include the walking we also did in Wengen itself.

View from Stechelberg – looking towards Wengen, which you can see in the distance on a ledge high above the valley floor.

OK, so we didn’t come to Wengen to hike in March. But we still had a nice day outside and gained a new perspective on the amazing natural setting of Wengen and the valley far below.

Posts from the road

Skiing in suboptimal conditions

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(Zweisimmen, Switzerland)

After a stellar “biathlon” the previous day (see above for a photo from the previous day!), it wasn’t fair to expect another wholly amazing day in Zweisimmen. And while it had some fun parts, it’s not going on my all-time Traumtag list.

Complete strangers overlooking Hornfluh (the day before)

In the valley, it rained all day. It changed to snow once I got above 1300 m elevation, but most of it was very wet and heavy snow. And visibility was quite poor for most of the day. With wet goggles, seeing properly was even harder.

More strangers at the Gstaad ski area (the day before, mind you)

With that dim introduction, you might think it was a terrible day. But there were still some highlights. People weren’t skiing on the Rinderberg in the morning for some reason, so I was basically able to make first tracks in the fresh foot of snow that had fallen since the day before. And I kept doing that for at least 5 more “laps” of the upper Rinderberg pistes. The visibility wasn’t great, but it was good enough that I could focus on skiing through the fresh stuff.

Looking out from Parwengesattel towards St. Stephan (the previous day)

Eventually, however, the ski schools arrived en masse and I no longer had the mountain to myself. I figured I would return to the St. Stephan slopes where I had so much fun the day before. Alas, the conditions were terrible. The top half was OK, but there is only one lift…so you must ski the bottom half too. The bottom half featured muddy snow that felt like sand…and stopped your skis dead in their tracks. It was grim. I only did the one run there – life is too short for skiing in mud. I couldn’t return to the Rinderberg without doing multiple lifts and low-elevation pistes, so I moved on to the Saanenmöser slopes.

Parking lot for skis at the mountaintop Hotel Restaurant Hornfluh

Saanenmöser was better than St. Stephan, but even there I had to adapt. While there wasn’t any muddy snow, the warm temperatures meant that skiing anywhere “fresh and untouched” in the middle and lower sections would also bring your skis to a sudden stop. So I could only ski where other people had skied before. This goes against my skiing instincts, but the alternative was worse. And even then there were some invisible slow spots.

My lunch at the Hotel Restaurant Hornfluh: Älplermagronen with a Suure Moscht

Lunch was a much-needed escape from all the rain and snow. I ate at the Hotel Restaurant Hornfluh. I ordered Älplermagronen und Suure Moscht: this is Swiss-German for macaroni and cheese (deluxe, with ham, two cheeses, and fried onions) and an apple cider. Once again, lots of carbs to get me through the demanding ski conditions!

More of the ski rack at Hornfluh, along with an alarming cow

By the end of the day, I was exhausted and soaked. Plus, my water bottle leaked in my backpack. As a result, my dry extra clothes were even wetter than the damp ones I was wearing. It wasn’t a very glamorous way to end the day. Nonetheless, I decided to focus on a sense of accomplishment for adapting to the many challenges I faced throughout the day. And nothing can take away those dreamy first runs in the morning when I had the slopes to myself!

Next: my return to Wengen!

The Odyssey Continues…