Today was an away day, and most welcome. After yesterday’s crowds, clashing skis and scraping snowboards, the silence was tangible. You could touch it.
I reached the top of the Winteregg chair shortly after 10.00am and skied for an hour or so on sunny, empty pistes before venturing further into Murren.
For the moment it seemed like Wengen yesterday, with the crowd at the Schilthornbahn reaching beyond the doors. I had not any idea how long it might take to get to the front of the queue, but I didn’t intend to find out, so it was on to the Schiltgrat lift. This was as quiet as Winteregg.
The queue at the cable car had been mainly tourists, with perhaps one in five carrying skis; it doesn’t seem like Murren needs the skiers anymore, which today was good, but I wonder about the future. After all, how many people want to see the set of a Bond film?
Later on, I took another look at the queue for Birg, but it was just as long. I have skied twice in Murren this season, but not made it to the top of the mountain yet.
After Schiltgrat, it was back to Winteregg and then home on a train crowded beyond belief, with few skiers again though. Do you remember those competitions to see how many people could get into an old style Mini? It was like that on the train to Grutschalp, but with nobody there from the Guinness Book of Records.
A day on Murren’s lower slopes brought 7,083 vertical metres in 24 lift rides and 41 kilometres travelled.
Idle thoughts from a mountain 