(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!

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 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.

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.

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.

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!

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 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!

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!

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