It is low season now. It is easy to tell; when you recognise most of the people on the cable car and the gondola, it is safe to say that holiday makers are thin on the ground. For the last couple of mornings, the high street has been pretty much deserted at the beginning and end of the day and it has not been that much different on the mountain.
Yesterday and today were chalk and cheese, however. It is hard to believe they have been consecutive days. After yesterday’s near summer weather, it has been cold and has snowed hard for most of today. By mid afternoon, snow boarders were venturing off piste. Twenty four hours earlier and they would have been riding on grass and rock.
Late on the skies cleared a little. The sun shone through a sliver of blue sky, framed by still threatening dark clouds. On Wixi, there was a layer of fresh powder on the piste, more or less untracked, and not a soul in sight. From the top of the chair lift to the bridge over the railway was the run of the season. Lower down, the clouds crowded in again and the snow was softer and a bit sticky, but it didn’t matter at all.
An exceptional day’s skiing brought 10,524 vertical metres in 21 lift rides and 55 kilometres travelled.
Idle thoughts from a mountain 