The Lauberhorn is many things; a peak, a lift, a piste (not the racecourse, oddly) and a downhill race. In recent years it has also been an uphill race, the World Cup run in reverse. When it began, it seemed anything went; running shoes, snow shoes and touring skis all featured. Now it seems to have settled into a run, or a walk for those at the back of the field.
This morning dawned (or at least became less grey) with the snow still falling. I headed up to the village at about 9.00am to find a steady stream of runners heading towards the start line at Innerwengen. The queue at the tourist office for race registration was long. This race has become a fixture in the Wengen calendar.
It was busier on the mountain this morning than at any point yesterday. Visibility was better though. We had sunshine, almost, for a while. I reached Wixi in the afternoon. The last finishers for the run were approaching the finish point at what is the World Cup start hut. One was wearing an old fashioned wooden frame on his back, which held a milk churn. I can only hope it was not full, as it would have been back when mountain farming was even more labour intensive than it is today.
A varied day, with runners, skiers, cloud and more snow brought 8,170 vertical metres in 17 lift rides and 46 kilometres travelled.
Idle thoughts from a mountain 