It was much better weather when the Idle Skiers woke this morning. There was cloud in the valley, but it cleared quickly. Swiss half term holidays for some areas have begun already and the mountain was unexpectedly busy. We know the Jungfrau region will be packed beyond any tolerable level for the British and Dutch half terms, but the idea of a busy week now has caught us unawares. It may be quieter tomorrow as there were still weekend skiers on the pistes for most of the day.
Time flies. In December it was dusk by 3.15pm. Now the opening hours for most lifts have been extended to 4.30pm and the Innerwengen chair to 5.15pm. It seems to have happened in the blink of an eye.
The crowds brought lift queues. On Mannlichen, the best skiing was again to the mid station at Holenstein, which avoided the scrum at the four man chair. Honegg was quiet, with good skiing back towards Gummi. The lift station at Wixi resembled an anthill, with the ongoing schools races at the top of the downhill course adding to the numbers looking to use the chair.
It was quiet on the way home though and the run to Innerwengen was in great shape. A day of lift queues brought 8,781 vertical metres in 17 lift rides and 46 kilometres travelled.
Idle thoughts from a mountain 