On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:17:39 +0100, Ace wrote:

Probably anyone reading this is aware of the epic amounts of snow that
have been falling throughout the alps, particularly here in
Switzerland, but a chance remark just made me go and look at the
weather forecast (for Engelberg) for the coming weekend.

Overnight temperature on Friday/Saturday night, at 3000m, is forecast
to be -38C (-55C windchill). I don't think I've ever experienced quite
such low temperatures in Europe before. Canada, yes, but not over
here.

Even the daytime high for the village level is only expected to rise
to around -18C or so. And I'll be standing around teaching :-(

So I'd advise anyone travelling soon to pack every item of warm
clothing they've got!

This has been a Public Service Announcement.

How things change. The week before last, while snow cover was plentiful, was
blisteringly hot. Slush by midday and much of the entire easy-to-get-at parts
of the mountain were so skied-out that the snow differed little from on-piste.

Still had a good time; some foolery in the snow parks, though the small
half-pipe in the Platieres park had been allowed to go. This was a major
disappointment because it was one of the reasons I went to the 3V this year.
The big half-pipe in the same park was way beyond my abilities.

Some novice-friendly boxes were fun, but I still haven't got the knack of
riding edgeways - the snowboard just scoots away from me. I was given a hint
as to how to sort this, but after having fallen off a box earlier (I still
have the lump & huge graze), I was a bit too cautious to try it properly.

I also had a cross-country ski lesson: I'm glad now that I didn't book the
Norwegian tour holiday that I was planning. It's so different and much harder
than you'd think. To be fair, part of the problem was the fact that I'd hired
'classic' skis & boots, and the boots were so soft that it was hard to balance
and edge for skating.

I joined a group who'd been taking lessons all week, but generally managed to
keep up, though I fell over a few times. The instruction was very good, which
has somewhat restored my faith in the ESF. I've got a much better idea of the
steps, equipment and what's involved, now.
--

Pip