jamesdeluxe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
Most winters, I start off my season by heading out to what most would consider a sure thing snow-wise, Solitude; however, as the comparative low-tide conditions in the Wasatch didn't seem to be rectifying sufficiently, I rebooked my flights in the opposite direction to a place that was having a banner opening, St. Moritz in the central Swiss Alps. I'd been there several years ago and found that you can pull off a visit to this ritzy location at a very reasonable price point through the town's discounted lift-tix deal ($47/day) while getting offpeak hotel rates.
When I arrived at my lodging, they were still clearing snow from the previous storm:
After checking in, I rented some skis/boots to go on a beautiful 90-minute cross-country "loipe" (nordic trail) through town with the famous Hotel Kempinski backed by the Corvatsch sector:
I really miss x-c skiing and wish that climate change hadn't rendered it more or less unfeasible where I live in NNJ. When I retire in a few years and hopefully live in a mountain setting during winter, I look forward to, ideally, doing a 50/50 split between x-c and downhill.
The next morning, it was snowing hard with heavy clouds down to the valley floor. With most of the Corviglia ski area above the tree line, visibility was challenging so I stuck to following the stakes lining the trails. I had plenty of knee-deep fun but also times when it was tough to see more than five feet ahead. I ground it out for four hours along with an equal number of short hut visits for F&B. The only pic I took all day was this one on the valley run back into town:
Props to this lady in full Euro upscale regalia who went skiing despite the tough conditions!
Thursday morning, I woke up to sun and was excited to head over to Corvatsch, where I had a memorable day in March 2019.
On the menu was bootcuff-deep new snow intermixed with velvety on-piste conditions:
Visibility was variable, especially with the direct north-facing terrain in shade up until early-afternoon:
The highlight of the day was skiing off the glacier at the top of the Murtel tram with gorgeous conditions:
Lake Silvaplana below is still unfrozen, but only for a couple more weeks:
I stopped here for a nice lunch:
I heard a lot of American accents in town and on the lifts -- likely fleeing sub-optimum conditions in many parts of the U.S. I texted my friend from Solitude a couple pix and he said that I made the right decision with the still below-average cover there.
When I arrived at my lodging, they were still clearing snow from the previous storm:
After checking in, I rented some skis/boots to go on a beautiful 90-minute cross-country "loipe" (nordic trail) through town with the famous Hotel Kempinski backed by the Corvatsch sector:
I really miss x-c skiing and wish that climate change hadn't rendered it more or less unfeasible where I live in NNJ. When I retire in a few years and hopefully live in a mountain setting during winter, I look forward to, ideally, doing a 50/50 split between x-c and downhill.
The next morning, it was snowing hard with heavy clouds down to the valley floor. With most of the Corviglia ski area above the tree line, visibility was challenging so I stuck to following the stakes lining the trails. I had plenty of knee-deep fun but also times when it was tough to see more than five feet ahead. I ground it out for four hours along with an equal number of short hut visits for F&B. The only pic I took all day was this one on the valley run back into town:
Props to this lady in full Euro upscale regalia who went skiing despite the tough conditions!
Thursday morning, I woke up to sun and was excited to head over to Corvatsch, where I had a memorable day in March 2019.
On the menu was bootcuff-deep new snow intermixed with velvety on-piste conditions:
Visibility was variable, especially with the direct north-facing terrain in shade up until early-afternoon:
The highlight of the day was skiing off the glacier at the top of the Murtel tram with gorgeous conditions:
Lake Silvaplana below is still unfrozen, but only for a couple more weeks:
I stopped here for a nice lunch:
I heard a lot of American accents in town and on the lifts -- likely fleeing sub-optimum conditions in many parts of the U.S. I texted my friend from Solitude a couple pix and he said that I made the right decision with the still below-average cover there.
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