Tough ski conditions in Adelboden
Adelboden was in the news recently with the undiplomatic outburst from the US Ambassador to Switzerland, but last weekend the town got a different reception when over 30,000 raucous Swiss watched the FIS Slalom on the Chuenisbärgli.
This is one of the toughest races on the circuit at the best of times, with a steep bottom section that catches out even the best racers. Conditions were particularly challenging however with temperatures as high as 15 degrees, the rain falling and thick cloud enveloping the course. This didn’t prevent Austrian Marcel Hirscher extending his lead in the Slalom standings; the guy really is at the top of his game. Frenchman Alex Pinturault (with “Je Suis Charlie” on his helmet) came second, and Henrik Kristoffersen from Norway came third.
For skiers in the Alps, things are looking up as we head into next weekend with temperatures dropping and the precipitation falling as snow over the next few days. However lower runs are still pitifully light on snow with lots of icy patches and off-piste is tough. The SLF reports that considerable avalanche danger will be encountered in some regions and snow drifts require caution. At the weekend, Sunday looks the more promising day to see some sunshine, particularly in the more Southern resorts.
New Swiss Winter Sports facebook page
Adding to everyone’s favourite (well, my favourite) winter sports blog, www.alpinewinterblog.com aka www.oatridge.co.uk/nic/, comes a facebook page and, hopefully, via RSSGraffiti, also comes regular updates from the blog on facebook.
The blog is now in its sixth year and contains dozens of snippets about winter sports, mostly focusing on Switzerland. I have been a keen skier for many years, and when I moved to Switzerland it seemed a dream come true to have all these resorts on my doorstep. There was a little matter of Mrs Oatridge being pregnant, a couple of teenagers to help assimilate and a toddler to look after, so it took a while before I got to go to the slopes. But one fine day I got in the car and headed off in the direction of the distant peaks with a vague notion I would hit a place called Engelberg. Anyway, I took a wrong turn and after driving aimlessly in our car which we got at these used cars ottawa and we ended up at a resort called Meiringen.
I have been to both many times since (and rarely by car), but the ins and outs of where to go, how to get there and where to stay – either with the family, alone of with friends – led me to start recording what I had learnt, and then came the blog, and then the web sites. Currently there are two related web sites in addition to this blog: www.swisswintersports.co.uk and www.snowandrail.com. There is also a Dutch language version of the principal web site at www.swisswintersports.nl and what I hope to make into a multi-language portal at www.swisswintersports.com.
I don’t have a goal in mind other than to maintain the currency of the current sites and continue to make them the best sites of their type on the Internet, but I also hope to expand the scope, redesign to make them as mobile-friendly as possible and even make some income… oh, yes, and do plenty of research!
Lift Operators experience dismal early season
The Swiss Cableways Association recorded a dismal start to the 2014/15 season with a decrease of 28.2% in lift use and a decline of 12.9% in revenue in the period to 31st December. The season started brightly in November but the warm conditions in much of December meant many lower slopes were not even able to use their snow cannon and some lower resorts delayed the traditional opening in time for Christmas, reports Andreas Keller, the Assocaition’s Head of Communication Division. Not surpisingly, higher resorts in the Engadine and Valais fared best. However Keller is upbeat about the prospects for the rest of the season, with improved conditions leading into the New Year.
By region this was the picture for the early season compared with the same period last season in percentage terms:
| Area | Volume | Revenue |
| Graubuenden | -19.9 | -11.8 |
| Central Switzerland | -25.8 | -12.4 |
| Eastern Switzerland | -53.4 | -44.8 |
| Bernese Oberland | -38.1 | -17.9 |
| Vaud & Fribourg | -17.2 | -7.3 |
| Valais | -28.6 | -6.5 |
| Ticino | 124.8 | 27.3 |
| Total | -28.2 | -12.9 |
The resorts of Eastern Switzerland did the worst, probably from a combination of a lot of low runs in these resorts and the allure for many Zurchers of seasonal shopping as an alternative to being in the mountains. Ticino’s unexpectedly upbeat position is simply a reflection on how dismal thigs were last year when many lifts were closed early in the season and avalaanche risk was high.