A week in the snow

We woke on Tuesday morning and the first thing I did was look out of the window to see what the weather was like. I couldn’t believe it, there were no mountains to be seen!! It was just low cloud everywhere. We stayed positive and had breakfast before getting ready to head up the mountain. Suddenly the sun was shining on the top of the mountain. It was shining above the clouds.

The reports were saying the slopes were closed until 10am, there were still worries of avalanches in the area. By 11am everywhere was given the all clear and away we went. It was great and what sights there were to be had.

The village has a special week called “Belle Epoque” where locals dress in costumes from the 1800’s. There was a group on the mountain in skiwear from that era plus skis and toboggans. Andy was happy snapping away with his camera.

We skied to the lake (Oeschinensee) and stopped at the restaurant for a beer. It was amazing how quiet the mountain was. As we came back down on the gondola we passed through the low cloud base and into the village.

Wednesday brought another sunny morning, not a cloud in sight. So breakfast eaten, picnic lunch packed and flasks filled, coffee, water and of course a little amaretto 😀
All geared up and off to the gondola. Once on the mountain it was a lovely sunny and very quiet morning. It was like having a private ski slope most of the time.

We spent the morning on the blue run enjoying the space and for me lots of practice. Then lunch sat in the sun with that wonderful view.

After lunch Andy says “I’m going this way but you don’t have to” It was down the slope where I injured my knee so badly!! I was very anxious but “No, I’m coming too!” Am I crazy? At times I wonder 😂 I managed in a very cautious way. Then off to the red run! Yes now I know I’m crazy.

A couple of runs then we headed back to the centre and some chill time. What a wonderful day we have had. We are so lucky 😍😍

Thursday and we were up that mountain again. Lots more practice on the blue run and we met a couple of the Pinkies from the centre. (Aleksandra from Poland and Tuni from Argentina) They were making the most of their day off and learning to ski 👏👏

They really did well as the day went on. Back at the centre and I had a little video call with Archie and Aiva who were excited to hear that we would send some money to Daddy so they could buy a toy as they were in Tesco Extra at the time. Pikachu for Archie and My Little Ponies for Aiva. Pikachu even got a bedtime story 😍😍

That evening we decided to eat out at Des Alpes. Their pizzas are lovely so we shared a Piccante and a Thonno, they were so filling. A couple of beers to wash them down and we needed the walk home after all that 😀🍕🍺🍕🍺😀

The weekend was quite busy for the village and the Scout Centre. It was the last weekend of the Belle Epoque week and then there were ski teams from all over the world arriving to compete in the “SKIWM18” This was a FIS Nordic Junior, U20 Ski Jumping and U23 Langlauf competition that was being held in the New Nordic Arena in Kandersteg from 27th January to 4th February.

Friday afternoon we took a walk into the village and browsed around the shops then took the path along the back of the village by the river back to the centre.

That evening at KISC brought a group of American Cub Scouts. They arrived in convoy from Stuttgart, Germany. All families from an American military base there.
The Cubs were so excited to be on camp.

The following morning I woke early as I could hear the Cubs. It was good to hear them knowing I could still lie in bed. Such a strange feeling after all those years of making sure I was first up on camp 😂😂

It’s no wonder we love this place so much. The view from the gondola station was amazing, with bright blue skies above and the low cloud base below.

We had a good session skiing with Andy teaching me loads. Then visibility got very bad and we stopped for lunch. The view had gone, we couldn’t see the mountains at all. As we arrived back at the centre we couldn’t believe it the skies cleared again.
The centre was buzzing with Cubs everywhere 😀😀

Sunday morning and we are laid in bed listening to the Cubs again, this time they are packing up. Another gorgeous day on the mountain, practicing hard at the basics and Andy doing his carved turns.

When we returned to the Scout Centre the Italian Ski Jump team were having a training session in the car park. They have amazing agility and it was so interesting to watch.

Monday morning, the sun was shining and it was going to be gorgeous on the ski slopes. It was a little busier than last week as there are some school holidays but it was fine. We spent the morning on the blue run and then had lunch sat in the sun. There were people parascending from the mountain. They have amazing skills. There was an eagle gliding around in the same thermals. It was so graceful.

We saw a few avalanches but not affecting our ski area. We skied to the lake and had beers at the restaurant there, this time sitting outside with beautiful views.

As we got back to the blue run the slope was fenced off as there had been an accident (well 2 actually) We had to ski around the back of the T bar and as we did the helicopter arrived. I do hope they were okay.