jamesdeluxe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
Since it was a weekend, I decided to continue with another local's ski area in the Rhône Valley, north-facing Bürchen, instead of the big resort of this region, the Aletsch Arena. Driving up on a typical switchbacked road, it was a bit overcast; however, once at the ski area, the sun was blazing and it stayed that way the rest of the day.
There are two ski areas here: Bürchen is on the right side and Törbel is on the left. To cross over, you have to sidestep up a small embankment. The big disappointment was that the t-bar on the far left side -- all 2,200 verts of it! -- was not operating. It appears that pandemic staffing issues aren't limited to the U.S.
Conditions on-piste were nice but off-piste was a bit stiff (we need the refresher snow that's coming over the next three days). Instead of pulling out the camera a lot, I was getting back into the Euro-skier zone with numerous leisurely breaks for beer, a long lunch, coffee/dessert, and just sitting in the sun.
Here's a sequence where I was skiing toward an impressive cloud bank down below in the valley:
This hotel/restaurant had impressive wood carvings outside its entrance and terrace.
While sitting in the requisite lounge chairs, I ran into the hotel cat, who has an enviable gig. He looked pretty similar to the one I saw at a restaurant in Hochkönig, Austria three years earlier.
I'm staying in the old part of Brig with its narrow cobblestone streets. Here's my lodging on the left, part of a former cloister:
The view from my balcony overlooking the Stockalper Castle, which took 20 years to complete, in 1678:
The good news is: we're expecting about two feet of snow over the next few days. The not so good news is that it'll be accompanied by poor visibility and severe wind so Monday may be a short outing.
There are two ski areas here: Bürchen is on the right side and Törbel is on the left. To cross over, you have to sidestep up a small embankment. The big disappointment was that the t-bar on the far left side -- all 2,200 verts of it! -- was not operating. It appears that pandemic staffing issues aren't limited to the U.S.
Conditions on-piste were nice but off-piste was a bit stiff (we need the refresher snow that's coming over the next three days). Instead of pulling out the camera a lot, I was getting back into the Euro-skier zone with numerous leisurely breaks for beer, a long lunch, coffee/dessert, and just sitting in the sun.
Here's a sequence where I was skiing toward an impressive cloud bank down below in the valley:
This hotel/restaurant had impressive wood carvings outside its entrance and terrace.
While sitting in the requisite lounge chairs, I ran into the hotel cat, who has an enviable gig. He looked pretty similar to the one I saw at a restaurant in Hochkönig, Austria three years earlier.
I'm staying in the old part of Brig with its narrow cobblestone streets. Here's my lodging on the left, part of a former cloister:
The view from my balcony overlooking the Stockalper Castle, which took 20 years to complete, in 1678:
The good news is: we're expecting about two feet of snow over the next few days. The not so good news is that it'll be accompanied by poor visibility and severe wind so Monday may be a short outing.
