Alpabzug Wengen

Today the cows left their summer abode.

 They walked down from Wengernalp, through the village and on to Lauterbrunnen and home.

Here they are at Almend

Passing Kneu, the upper end of Wengen

This year due to road works the usual trip round the town via the Schwimmbadkehr wasn't possible. This caused a bit of a stir as the cows know their route and were quite put out to be led elsewhere. 

A couple of photos from 2009.

Passing by the Berghaus Hotel.

Building Wixi 6 Man Skilift

Wixi and Fallboden Talstation July 2012

 Building the new Wixi Bridge that takes the skiers over the train line.

Looking back up the Wixi Piste.

Looking at the potential bridge from the blue ski track.

And two weeks later......

Introducing Arnica montana

Please remember Arnica is a protected plant for a very good reason, it is rare.

In the French Alps it is disappearing apparently because of the contamination from the flight paths above.                                                                               

Leopardsbane

Arnica montana

Autumn around Wengen

Just to get you folks excited, this is how it looked on Maennlichen last Sunday.
The trees are bursting with berries. The predictions therefore, are for a long, cold, snowy winter.

The "Start Hut" Bar on Lauberhorn has even organised a start of winter season party for
15th November!
The colour of the trees has developed tremendously since this was taken 5 days ago. However, locals have commented that because it has been so dry, the colours have moved through to brown very quickly.


From my balcony, about 9am.




And especially for my friends...

Me at the top of the Moench Tuesday 27th October 09.
An amazing, fabulous day.

Many thanks to my guide Oskar Gertsch for getting me there and back safely.

Schynige Platte

In September I am holding a residential herbal course here in Wengen. This years theme, Alpine Traditional Remedies. My guest speaker is Tina Stapely MCPP, Herbal Historian and Author. She has also, incidentally, appeared as a herbal expert on several television programmes the next appearance will be on Autumn Watch.

A trip to Schynige Platte is part of the course programme. So Yesterday, I hiked 1200m from Wilderswil to the top, a reconnaissance day to find my bearings in the Botanical Garden up there. We will be allowing the train to take the strain on the day.


A few pictures to whet your appetite.

For further information on the course contact me by e-mail karenwengen@netscape.net

It's raining, but not to worry!

It was raining on and off most of yesterday, and looks like its rained during the night too. The snow line I can see from the window must be about 1800m. There is no snow left on the trees at the height of Murren. My lounge looks out towards Grutschalp and Winterregg, and too the left through the trees down to Stechelberg.

The rain serves to settle the snow and helps to form a good base. So there is nothing to worry about. There is still a little snow on my balcony, and the sun is due to come out again tomorrow.

I go back to the UK tomorrow to spend Christmas with my family. On returning it will be full on with ski school. I hope to be able to find the time to keep you posted on the state of things here in Wengen.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas. I do believe it will be a white one here.

Love

Kxxx

The Foehn Hits Again

Yesterday the Foehn wind blew all day. It was a "lower" Foehn, one that can also be seen at the end of the valley. This is a bad sign for Wengen because then we feel it in the village too.....and did we!

Everything was closed, no trains, no cable car. A real Sunday day off for all the mountain workers, you might say. Well, not quite, because then they generally have to hang around in case the weather improves enough for them to get up there.

This morning I look out of my window, the snow has gone from the balcony, there is no dusting on the trees anywhere, and the fields look rather dirty with leaves and bits all lying on the snow.

I check the Meteomedia, Lauberhorn recorded 109km/hr gusts at 08.00, and the Mannlichen webcam says that all is closed up there. Doesn't bode well for my guest this morning. Still maybe by 11.00 things will have settled down some.

The Skiing is Fantastic

Yesterday there was some more fresh snow, with the sun coming out in the afternoon. The off piste was fantastic, powder up to my knees. The pistes were beautiful, and empty.

Today, however the Foehn wind is due to appear again. In the micro cosmos of the Jungfrau region the Foehn is a frequent visitor. This phenomenon occurs on the lee side of a mountain, which is us. The wind comes up against the mountains, from the south, as it ascends it cools producing precipitation and with it the common cloud formations. On it’s descent it speeds up and warms up. A temperature increase of as much as 30 °C has been recorded and can lead to an amazing disappearance of the snow. After a Foehn storm the Lauberhorn piste can be rather glassy and bare. Not a very nice surface to ski on.

These gusts of wind can reach high speeds. The chair lifts have to be slowed and usually stopped, otherwise the cable could be hooked off the rollers or a chair swung into the pylon. It has been known for a train to be derailed, especially when empty. Hence the trains stop running.

This wind comes from the south and sometimes it brings with it the Sahara sands. Everything then has a slight yellow tinge.

In the Pennine this wind is known as the Helm, in Ticino, Italy as Favonio, as the Terral in Malaga, as the Nor’wester in Hawkes Bay New Zealand and as the Chinook winds in the Rocky Mountains.

We're Skiing!

Last weekend the resort opened for winter! With Mannlichen to Holenstein, the "Carousel", Arven, Lauberhorn, Honegg and down to Almend all open and pisted. Well, Scheidegg was open to begin with, but the Foehn wind blew its best, and stopped play by midday on Sunday.

Of course once the Foehn "broke", a literal translation from the local vernacular, it snowed. All day Monday. So now I am off to Kleine Scheidegg for some fresh air and exercise.

Wish you all a great day.

Kxxx

Winter has begun

Winter appears to be starting rather nicely.



On Saturday a snow storm raged all day. Despite high winds (170km was recorded on the top of Europe) 20cm of snow deposited itself on my balcony!

Then Sunday dawned clear and bright. The sky was blue, the air was cold and the ground was crisp and white. I went walking in untouched snow which came nearly up to my knees (that’s not difficult really as I am rather vertically challenged). Others were more adventurous, taking out their snowshoes and going off road up the mountain.

The ice has been made on the ice-rink, and the kids are skating again. The nursery slope lifts are back in position and the snow cannons are hard at work on the race course.

So as you can see it’s all coming along rather well.