Shangri-La

Lost Horizon is the 1933 book by the novelist James Hilton. The story tells of the remote mountain paradise of Shangri-La, somewhere in Tibet, found by westerners following a ‘plane crash. The book wasn’t a great success immediately, but was still made into a film four years later by the great Frank Capra.

Here in Wengen, we are far from remote, but today, above the clouds in the warm sun, it seemed a mountain paradise all the same.

The day had not started that well as it happens.  The Idle Skiers had been early to bed following an excellent dinner with friends.  One new year is pretty much the same as any other (ask them in Sydney, where last night, the message on the Harbour Bridge welcomed in 2018), so there seemed no reason to wait up for midnight.

However, our plans for a restful night were undone by the neighbours, whose hour and a half firework display around the turn of the year owed much to the U.S. military doctrine of “shock and awe”.

So the Idle Skiers were fairly weary skiers on the cable car this morning.   It was all worthwhile though. A day above the clouds brought 9,865 vertical metres in 21 lift rides and 49 kilometres travelled.