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.

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.

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my ramblings. For ease and speed I’ve gone for the blog option, over a Website with a blog. I will be honest, this is an experiment. Can I regularly write? Can I keep you coming back for more? Can I be interesting? This remains to be seen.

In winter I wish to be informative of weather and snow conditions. Considering I am skiing all day everyday, it should be a true recording.

In summer, there will be reports on the development of spring and summer, the flowers, especially orchids, gentians and lilies.

Throughout, at any time, I will throw in herbal information, advice from how to improve your immune system to making and using ointments. Feel free to join me, make comments or ask connected questions.

The winter time is more likely to be my thoughts and encounters from the piste. Several rants come to mind immediately, cigarette butts in the snow, peeing on the side of a piste and the rules of the piste. On a lighter note, advice on taking kids skiing, what age is a good age to start teaching kids, clothing.

Does this entice you back to my blog? I hope so. Look forward to hearing from you. Kxxx