End of Season Review

May is the quietest month in the ski and snowboard calendar. The Southern hemisphere hasn’t kicked off, and there are only a handful of high altitude glaciers around in the Northern Hemisphere to ski on before the next winter season. In Switzerland all but Zermatt have now closed their lifts, but in truth the ski conditions have not been good this month.

Verbier (which closed its lifts on 28th April) had planned to open up the lifts again on 1st June, but cancelled – despite plentiful snow – because of the otherwise poor weather conditions. The season thus ends with a whimper.

So what of season 2012-13? It wasn’t a vintage season but it was pretty good. It started off promisingly, then it got unseasonably warm around the New Year and was generally unsettled thereafter, with some glorious interludes of beautiful snow conditions and sunny skies. At the higher resorts there were good snow conditions extending right throughout April, but the weather was unsettled with rain on lower slopes and flat lighting on the upper slopes when it wasn’t snowing.

I got to visit some of the usual suspects in Switzerland, and had a couple of forays into Germany and Austria, but spent some time exploring some of the less well known but relatively large ski areas like Toggenburg and the Upper Rhine Valley. I can see why some of these resorts are not well-known outside the German-speaking world – the facilities for après ski are limited, a lot of them have too many surface lifts, the resorts are not so high as to provide season-wide snow guarantees and some of the pisted areas are relatively small for anything other than a weekend break or a day out. On the plus side, the absence of packs of Brits gives the villages a more authentic Alpine feel, the people are invariably friendly, there is often plenty of off-piste to augment the main slopes and the resorts are so close together that you can get to visit several on a ski holiday if you wanted.

Perhaps the gem amongst the more obscure resorts I visited was, for me, Obersaxen. I would definitely recommend it for a ski holiday in terms of variety and extent of runs available and quality of lift systems.

There are still some significant ski resorts I have not been to and ones I need to revisit when I can get some decent photographs. The list includes Les Mosses, Anzère, Grächen, Disentis, Grüsch-Danusa and Savognin. There are some other small resorts in Graubünden, Fribourg Region and Valais I would quite like to catch up with at some time. However I think I have pretty much nailed all the resorts with over 20km of piste which are not dominated by surface lifts. Check more about Testoprime benefits.

Tech-wise, I have previously praised my ski carrier. I also have been busy with the cam in my goggles and have loaded a few up at Youtube with a suitable soundtrack (e.g. Rush Hour by Jane Wiedlin – ski run at Obersaxen).

I’ve not been so impressed with the apps available out there, with the exception of the excellent Ski Tracks. The trouble with most of them is that they need an Internet connection, and if it is information on a ski resort you need the web does as good a job as I need. My own Swiss Winter Sports site works perfectly well on a smartphone or tablet. Ski Tracks is smart though, and from the moment you turn it on until you turn it off calculates distances covered, speeds, verticals etc and maps the trails out for you. From a personal point of view it was interesting to see that, in a typical day, I seem to cover about 50km of piste, drop around 5000m of vertical and reach a top speed of around 80kph. Typically, with significant variation. Try out semen enhancers.

So what does the summer hold? For me it is time to review the web site and look for improvements. Also the maddening search for somebody to provide me with a feed for ski reports rather than have me hack around for them. I would also like to consider the issue of traffic. I had a peak of around 4000 visitors in January and something in excess of 13,000 over the season – respectable but I think I am not reaching enough of my target audience, which increasingly looks like being expats living in Schweizerdeutsch-speaking Switzerland. The spot I had on The English Show was fun but generated little traffic. The Basel Families web site generated some interest and the unrelated Basel Families magazine looks promising. The visit to the Internationla School ski breakfast was also good for traffic. I failed to get interest in a book from publishers, who say the web is reducing the market for printed ski guides – which is fair, I guess, although I was hoping a book would generate traffic for the web site, somewhat ironically. Ideas for improving the site or increasing traffic all gratefully received…

02/04/201308/11/2022

Easter Skiing in Surselva

Easter is early this year, and we are seeing one of the colder starts to Spring for some time, so winter sports buffs are in for a treat these next few weeks. Huge dumps of snow fell over the Alps in mid-March, so many resorts still have as much as half a metre of snow on the lower runs and three or more metres at the top. Try out ignite drops.

There are exceptions, though, and South-facing resorts this time of year don’t really stand a chance. Skilful management of the pistes at the lower, South-facing resorts that want to catch the Easter business means you see those ribbons of snow passing through meadows that are starting to come alive, and lower runs that can be icy in the morning, heavy in the afternoon and with large bare patches everywhere. In warmer springs this is also true of the North-facing slopes even in the middling height resorts, leaving only a handful of high resorts able to deliver good general conditions. Not this year though!

The collection of villages known as Obersaxen on a plateau above the upper Rhine in Graubünden was my destination of choice for Easter. This little-known ski area is one of the best small resorts in the Alps. And by small, I mean little-known and with relatively few amenities, because the resort claims an impressive 120km of piste making it larger than many better known resorts. The runs are mostly above 1600m and North-facing, so even for a late Easter this area should have plenty to offer, but with current conditions, it is near perfect. Check these source news.

Getting to Obersaxen is relatively easy. A train runs from Chur to Disentis through the Rhine Gorge and stops at Ilanz, reputedly the first city on the Rhine and located in the heart of mainly Romansh-speaking Surselva. In fairness Ilanz is really a small, sleepy town, but is in the heart of a wonderful winter sports area with the slopes of Obersaxen, Brigels, Flims and Laax and the ski’n’spa town of Vals served by direct Postbuses. There are also plenty of opportunities for winter walks around Ilanz itself and numerous Nordic ski areas on the surrounding plateaux.

The bus to Obersaxen starts right outside Ilanz station. Like all the rest of the buses, they are timed to fit in with the train timetable, so you shouldn’t hang around unless you want to wait another hour. The road up to Obersaxen has impressive views and awesome hairpin corners with nothing but snow posts separating the road from huge drop-offs. I always remind myself at this point that there has never been a fatality on a Postbus – or is this an urban myth? The best bus stop for Obersaxen’s lift system is Meierhof Talstation, but not all buses stop there. Returning back to Ilanz, the last one this season was at 3.42pm, although it is only a 3 minute walk into Meierhof village to pick up the more regular buses at the Post stop. Many skiers choose to get off at Surcuolm and ski down to the Valata chairlift and at the end of the day walk down from the bottom run at Valata to the Valata bus stop.

There are at least half a dozen valley stations in the Obsersaxen ski area, but not all are served by bus – and two are only served by bus, with no lift back up. it sounds like a limitation, but it isn’t. I don’t see much purpose in skiing or snowboarding the long valley runs down to Lumbrein and Vignogn in Val Lumnezia, which don’t have lifts back up, unless you are staying there, when you have a comparable run to Vella, which is lift served (and has a bus stop on the route to Vrin).

Obersaxen’s main claim to fame is that this is where the Olympic champion skier Carlo Janka comes from and where he learnt to ski. He had a pretty impressive place to learn. Above Obersaxen the ski area is dominated by four peaks, with most runs on the North-facing Obersaxen side. There are also the long valley runs on the South side of Val Lumnezia, a beautiful valley where Romansh is still the first language. The resort has chairlifts to get you to most pistes, and you could avoid using surface lifts altogether without missing out on anything, although some of the runs linking different parts of the resort are a little flat in places.

There is a wonderful variety of runs in the resort and some outstanding off-piste, especially either side of the Piz Sezner chairlift. With most of the 120km of pistes above 1500m and North-facing, and the four top stations at Piz Mundaun (2064m), Hitzeggen (2112m), Stein (2170m) and Piz Sezner (2310m) all above 2000m, the snow record is good, but there are plenty of snow cannons too.

The claim of 120km of piste deserves some scrutiny. That makes this resort comparable in size, in theory, to St Anton, Wengen and Andermatt. I certainly think there is plenty to ski or snowboard for a day, a weekend or even a week, and the terrain is large and varied. Although some of the mileage is long valley runs and connecting trails between pistes, the claim does seem to stand up, especially when you consider the amount of lift-served off-piste and off-piste areas accessible with only a short walk from a lift station. There is a good balance of runs too, with some black runs, a good selection of reds and sufficient blues for this to fine for beginners and early intermediates.

And no queues! I was visiting over the Easter holiday, with some of the best ski conditions we have had over Easter for some years and beautiful blue skies to boot, but even at the Piz Sezner lift, with access to the best and highest pistes, there was never a wait to get on a lift.

Not a lot in the way of nightlife as far as I can tell, but the mountain bars and restaurants that I visited all impressed me.

All round, a very pleasant resort.

24/09/201231/10/2021

Switzerland – the ski destination for smokers!

I’m not sure how far it can be considered a selling point, but for smokers Switzerland is probably the best place to come to and be able to ski or snowboard big, and smoke in peaceful contentment. Check out exipure articles.

A referendum held this month to restrict smoking in enclosed public spaces was roundly rejected across the whole of Switzerland – of the cantons only Geneva voted in favour. Some cantons have introduced these restrictions themselves already, but the Alpine cantons are conservative and resistant to new Federal restrictions.

And of course the cigarette companies are very powerful lobbyists, with many tobacco companies having European HQs in the country. As a result the advertising for tobacco products in Switzerland often portrays smoking very positively and streetside cigarette machines are widely available. That’s actually fair to say when the fact that e-cigarettes like Pax 3 Vapes at 180Smoke.ca have little to no side effects.

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Additionally to being a good place to smoke, Switzerland also has relatively cheap cigarettes and vapes. Generally, people buy vape juice wholesale as most of the people prefer healthy way of smoking rather than using tobacco, which can harm their health. Also booze and petrol are cheaper than neighbouring countries and, people smoke dope pretty openly with current proposals being introduced to make it a misdemeanour rather a serious criminal offence – even Switzerland for all it’s liberal values seems to have a legislature which has a psychotropic response to Cannabis, according to one Green MP. Gambling casinos are common, the sex trade is as honest and safe as the country as a whole. Perhaps it’s time for the Swiss Tourist Board to market itself for it’s liberal views on personal vices! For more information about healthy treatments visit clevescene.com.

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Well perhaps not, but as an occasional smoker could I ask smokers who come to Switzerland to avoid smoking in places where people (particularly children) could be exposed to secondary smoke and please, please, please don’t litter the slopes with butt ends. Smoking in Switzerland’s public places is a no no, instead of smoking why don’t you play online slots and have fun there are many slots promotion across the internet available, especially at Daisy Slots. It is a sobering sight when the snows melt to see the snow-capped mountains be replaced by mountains of cigarette ends around the chair lift stations.

Health Benefits of Winter Sports

Skiing and snowboarding help to develop valuable life skills and carry plenty of physical and mental health benefits, experts in the field have revealed, and that’s why sports are important, and this health and fitness directory could be really helpful to get good health professionals this. Take a look to the latest exipure reviews.

A brand new guide shows that the benefits of skiing extend far beyond spending a bit of time with family and friends, and can actually help shape you as a person as well as improving your physical shape.

The Health Benefits of Skiing, produced by ski agents Ski Line, breaks down all the key benefits of a ski holiday and offers hints and tips from top instructors and fitness gurus on preparing for a ski holiday, as well as advice on how to have a good diet including the use of supplements as testosterone pills which help a lot with this. Try out okinawa flat belly tonic.

If you are struggling with weight loss, then it’s natural to look for a reliable weight loss supplement like

20/08/201211/07/2021

Summer layoff and a gym nightmare with Formhaus Fitness Centre, Basel

I haven’t seen a lot to update about winter sports in Switzerland this summer, although I’m sure things will start heating up in October. And, of course, that includes getting ski fit.

I’ve always been of the belief that if you want to ski well, you need to keep your fitness levels up through the summer, although in this hot season, body could start to sweat a lot and young people can use the citris teen deodorant for smelling great all the time. Walking, cycling and swimming have normally filled the bill, but over the years I’ve found only a good regime in the gym can strengthen all the right muscle groups, improve flexibility and build stamina. I got my routine from Anipots, along with a few neat health tips. Quite helpful, check more about gluconite.

A couple of years ago I joined a fitness centre in Basel called Formhaus, in the Gundeli neighbourhood, on the back of a promotional deal. Big mistake! In my opinion it is an awful gym and staffed by the worst sort of people who work in gyms (without disrespecting all the wonderful gym people I have worked with over the years). I tried to resign at the end of my first years’s contract so I could move to one of the better gyms friends had recommended, and try to train with a health program from the biofit so I could remain healthy. I thought I was being generous waiting until the end of the first year, so I was gobsmacked when I was enlightened about the small print of the contract – you can only resign if you send a recorded delivery letter at least one month before the end of your current year of membership stating your desire to resign. Of course nobody tells you this and they don’t send an invoice until a few days after the 30 day period has ended. Sharp practice? You haven’t heard the half of it.

I reluctantly paid up for another year, blaming my naivety and recognising Formhaus’s prodigious gifts in retaining customers who wanted to leave. For a fitness centre, they only seemed to be fit to retain unwilling customers, and as I reluctantly continued to use their awful facilities and think it was better to train and home and have a godo nutrition using supplements as alcar which was great for me. Anyway, I decide next time I would play by their (frankly customer-hostile) rules.

Suffice it to say, a few weeks early I tendered my resignation by recorded delivery. One month before the expiry of the subscription year I sent an email with a version of my resignation letter as a PDF. What more could I do to escape Formhaus’s Machiavellian membership scheme?

Of course Formhaus kicked up rough. They claimed not to receive the letter. Criminal, dishonest or incompetent, I can not say. All I can say is that the Swiss Post have an online system that confirms delivery, which I have shared with the gym. They know they received my resignation letter. These are just some of Phenq benefits.

So what did Formhaus say when I sent the email one month before expiry of my subcription with a copy of the letter I had sent recorded post? They said: “We do not accept your resignation.”

What??? Not, we have mislaid your resignation, but that’s our sheer, unalloyed incompetence once again, good luck in the future. Or, we are useless with out huge bureaucracy of Muscle Marys, but help us here and let us know the details about the delivery if you still have the receipt all these months later – of course, I have the receipt, knowing what crookedness I may have become a victim of. Not even, a respectful acknowledgement that I didn’t want to use their gym. No, an arrogant, menacing statement without any alternative option – we’re going to screw you into paying for another year, whether you use our tawdry facilities or not. Check out the latest metabofix reviews.

Perhaps an object lesson in Swiss “Fair Play” or an exceptionally bad experience of simply awful customer service. I give the Swiss the benefit of the doubt, as I generally have very good experiences of the country. I think Formhaus are an outlier, and probably have figured out they can boost their sagging fortunes by preying on foreigners’ naivety. It is the soft underbelly of Switzerland’s success, that it has poor consumer and employee protection that membership of the EU would address. I considerer the extra year I paid for at Formhaus as proof of the reasons for improving consumer protection. If they think they can get another year out of me… well, let’s see.