Today was straight from a nineteenth century penny dreadful. The fog was dense and at ground level; poorly defined figures flitted through the gloom; the problems of the world at large came to our doorstep finally.
It only takes one day for things to change dramatically, and today was one of those days. Life has been pretty near to normal here so far, but today the Swiss government acted. Schools have been closed and the size of social gatherings limited to fifty people, amongst other measures. Some ski resorts are closing: the Jungfrau Region remains open for the moment, but the season seems bound to end early, if not imminently.
A friend of the Idle Skiers is staying with us at the moment. Today was her first day skiing for a couple of years and it was not the best welcome back to the mountains. The day started with a heavy fog, which lifted for a while mid morning, but then found renewed energy. In the early afternoon, having left Mrs IS and our guest still on Mannlichen, I made my way to Scheidegg and was relieved to bump into the Arven lift. It had to be there somewhere, but just where exactly was pretty difficult to establish.
Late in the afternoon, the sun shone on Wixi. It was another strange day in our unusual winter. On the way home, I passed the site of yesterday’s party. It was foggy again by then and warm, but the snow bar was still standing.
A tricky day on the hill brought 8,497 vertical metres in 18 lift rides and 46 kilometres travelled.
Idle thoughts from a mountain 
Hi Mr IS just heard the news of the ski lifts closing. Take care over there both of you.
We’re in Alpe d’huez its the fourth change in a week…. skiing with the Crawley’s we are the last of the skiers for this year I think.
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