At the beginning of each winter season, I promise myself that I will not write about the weather very much. Come to think of it, I make the same promise in the summer. It is an impossible promise to keep. I have written before that life in Wengen, winter and summer, is geared to the outdoors. It is impossible to avoid the weather, as a subject of this blog and more immediately, how each day will turn out, be it skiing, mountain walking or just calling into the shops.
The weather has had its ups and downs this winter. A good start to the season, some time before we made it out to the Bernese Oberland, became very warm just when it should have been the opposite. Now we have cold days and good snow, thanks to the assistance of machines. Natural snowfall has been intermittent. It is forecast for tomorrow, which might keep the Saturday hordes at bay, so a win-win situation, as they say.
Touching briefly on today’s weather, it was cold again, but without the wind of the last couple of days it seemed almost warm. For the first half an hour or so this morning it looked like the pistes would be very busy. The early crowd then dwindled and it was another perfect skiing day. The slopes were all in good condition, though Schwarzen had a bit of bite near the tunnel to Fallboden. It can be the most innocuous of black runs or really unpleasant. Sometimes it manages to combine the two.
Another very good skiing day brought 10,266 vertical metres in 20 lift rides and 54 kilometres travelled. According to MeteoSwiss, it should be snowing in a couple of hours or so.
Idle thoughts from a mountain 