Christmas Day Sledding

On Christmas Day Andrea and I went sledding at Grindelwald. It is supposed to have the longest sled run in Europe but we could only go halfway because conditions were still poor.

However, despite the shorter runs (they still took us at last half an hour to sled down) the day was fantastic! We had generally crappy weather but when it cleared! The views! This is unlike any sledding I ever did in Canada. We shared the mountain with the ski run and while our path generally followed a road, we still got up some decent scary speed. And the sleds took a bit of skill and effort to steer. On one of the first slope-y sections I couldn't steer well enough and crashed into the barrier. I slightly sprained my ankle but otherwise it was fine. I worked on improving my steering after that!

Halfway down the slope we hit a clear patch and had views of the mountains across the valley.

I never really got pictures of us sledding, we were often going too fast, or it was a bit too scary, and the entire time it was pretty cold. I wore my fleece pants and down coat and managed to be warm most of the time. Gaters were definitely necessary, and since we braked with our feet (and I did a lot of braking) I wore through the string for the bottom of the gaters.

The trails we were rode on were groomed, and if you went off trail you quickly broke through the crust. Which was a good thing, many times we were coasting along the edges of some drops and despite my efforts to steer I went over the edge a few times. Then it was bail from the sled as fast as possible and break through the crust. You didn't go very far, and the sled was leashed around your leg so it couldn't run off down the mountain without you.

On our last run we had clear views! Talk about amazing mountains! It was so amazing to be sledding past these peaks looming right over us. Andrea was cold and had to run around doing a crazy dance at the peak of the mountain.

In Luzern I saw kids playing in a band. Ah, I remember the days, only check out the cool cloud they get to play in.

Later in the week I went for my first snowshoe trip. We took this little train up a steep run and ended up in the snow. There wasn't very much snow however, but it was nice to get out.

The train needs to run on cogs in the middle of the track because it is so steep!

I took off my ugly blue hat that I wear for all my ski trips for this photo midway through the hike. The hat is so ugly, but works the best. I've bought many others since, but nothing else compares. Anyway, I put it in my pocket and when I looked for it further down the trail I couldn't find it! I had to run back to find my ugly hat. I couldn't just leave it there stranded after all these years!

Sheep!

Here is a photo of me and the sheep outside my building at EPFL. Sheep! Instead of lawnmowers!

Zermatt

On the weekend I went with some friends to ski below the Matterhorn at Zermatt. This is a resort that is higher than Whistler and has as many runs. As for my personal comparison:

1) Yup, it's higher, the scenery is more dramatic, you have views of glaciers and crevasses and the peaks soar above you. Plus we had all weekend views of the Matterhorn. Whistler is a butt ugly mountain, no question.

2) There might have been as many runs as Whistler (when you combined the Swiss and Italian sides - an extra cost we didn't bother with), but it seemed more spread out. Because of the dangerous terrain, you had to stick to the runs, unlike Whistler where you had the run of the place. So my first impression of Zermatt is it consists of widely spread out lifts (and huge Grouse mountain sized gondolas) with limited runs coming down from each lift.

So, to have a good day of skiing, I prefer Whistler, but Zermatt is definitely prettier.

I took the train to Zermatt and met up with my friends. We spent the evening in the steam room and wandering around the town including a cheese fondue dinner. Yum, cheese, the *real* reason I moved to Switzerland. We had  great view of the Matterhorn from our hotel room.

The next day was a semi-late start and we headed up to ski on the train (another cool feature lacking on Whistler). Every turn the train took revealed an even better view of the Matterhorn.

The skiing was so-so, and pretty icy towards the bottom. It seems that Zermatt has more clear days than Whistler, but that lowers you chances to ski on fresh powder.

We had our photo taken in front of the Matterhorn and while we were stopped I took a group photo of about 15 Britons. They vacation at Zermatt every year. I took a photo, then told them to do something silly. So they tried all lost their balance and toppled into a large pile of skis and people! I kept takings photos of course.

We had a crappy, expensive lunch with million-dollar views and continued skiing. We went up to the highest point you could reach, 12,700 ft. At that height I wasn't feeling too good. I've been around that height before on Mount Baker (with considerably more effort) and didn't feel the effects at all, and I was coming up from living at sea level. Maybe it was the massive cheese/wine/poor sleep the previous evening.

At the top, the conditions for skiing were much better, but damn was it cold!! Really damn cold. We headed down the mountain (you can definitely ski later here compared to Whister) and by the time we got near the bottom it was well into dusk. That doesn't happen at Whistler (no night skiing at either Zermatt or Whistler). Then it was time to catch the train and a 3 hour trip back to Lausanne.

Markets and Mountains

Montreux and Grindlewald

I went with my housemate to a Christmas market in Montreux. Holy crap was this place packed. I had some roasted chestnuts, yum!

At the Christmas market, they always have a celebrated country and this year it was Canada! They have a great love for Quebec here in the french side of Switzerland and there was maple candy for sale. There was also a fake Mountie. He had a pen in his gun holster. Everyone knows mounties carry tasers.

The next day (or was it a few days later) I headed on to Grindlewald. In the summer I had made it as far as Interlaken, but this time I went further up and further in. The scenery was fantastic but I didn't go all the way to the top. I want to try a ski trip for that (you pay extra to take the cog train up). However, I really do want to go there, it is one of the largest glaciers in the world and it has a medial moraine. Yes, I've always wanted to see a medial moraine in the flesh so to speak.

On the train ride up I had a great view of the fold mountains. I watched a show that said Africa collided with Europe and the top of the matterhorn is Africa, the middle part is the sea that was between the two (hence the folded sedimentary rock) and the bottom is Europe. However, between Africa and Europe is Italy so I'm not sure where it fits in in the squish sandwich. I also have realized how much I love the geological time scale. I'm not interested in say the reformation of Europe so much. Oh there goes Ikea. I'm writing this on the trainride to Geneve.

When I got to the village of Grindlewald, I didn't do much except wander around. It is going to cost a lot to get my boots fitted. It would probably be only a little bit more money to fly back to Canada and have them fitted for free at MEC.

I have also bought telemark skis, well, they are actually used regular skis and are completely chewed up. However, I'm sure they will work fine for me. If I knew my boots weren't going to cause problems and that I was going to be skiing my brains out this season I'd probably buy more specialized (light) telemark gear. However, I'm sure I'll survive doing this and hopefully I'll meet people and find places to ski backcountry.

Bern - this time with people

I visited Bern this summer, but today when I went it wasn't a Sunday and thus the stores were actually open. Actually, there were tons of people out because of the Christmas markets. Bern was colder than Lausanne, so that lake effect really has an uh... effect.


I wandered around town, checked out the awesome gothic cathedral and also Einstein's apartment (only the outside) where he lived with his wife while working as a patent clerk. His house was in a pretty sweet location, right downtown along one of the arcades. Bern is the place to go when it is raining as all the sidewalks downtown are covered.

Here are some photos from the train as I headed back to Lausanne.

The mountains look fantastic!


Time to buy some skis!

No shops are open in Switzerland on Sunday (unless they apply for a permit) which kinda sucks. I'll be working all week, the shops aren't open late during the week, so it will be a challenge to go grocery shopping. It looks like I'll have to carefully plan my meals for the week and do grocery shopping on a single day.

More Switzerland

Wow, if you thought Vancouver was a tough rental market, it has nothing on Lausanne. Holy crap, I'm going to take almost anything.

The city is beautiful, even in the winter it is pretty. The mountains can be seen in the distance and there is snow.

On one of my trips into town I wanted to buy a day pass. I ran to catch the bus but at the ticket machine I couldn't figure out how to buy a day pass. The bus driver opened the door (ticket machines are at the station, not on the bus) and invited me on. I told him I couldn't speak french and he gestured that I could just pay him. But I said I wanted a day ticket. So at the next bus stop he stopped the bus, got off and showed me what buttons to push to get a day ticket.

The people that I've met in Switzerland have been very helpful. When I went to the tea shop the man tried hard to help me get tea I wanted. He could have been snarky and annoyed that I was difficult, but instead he gave me a candy.

And finally, some guy tried to pick me up on the bus, at least, I think that's what it was. He came up to me, and I thought he was the conductor asking for the ticket, but when I paid attention, he was asking for something telephone, plus he wasn't dressed in a uniform. I have also learned that guys are pretty weird and desperate.

Now I have a rail pass so I intend to spend all of December travelling to every little corner of the country. Because I can.

Welcome to Switzerland

I wrote this while waiting on the airplane:

Kinda like snakes on a plane only not near as fun.

The flight to Montreal was fine but now we've been stuck on the
tarmac for one and a half hours. The pilot keeps coming over the
speaker system saying it's an electrical problem and while they don't
exactly know what's wrong, they are working on it. And Also that it's
necessary for the plane to fly. makes me wonder what was going on for
the trip to Montreal...

Anyway, my new start in Switzerland is off to a great beginning.

I'm reminded of those poor suckers in the states who were in that damn
plane on the tarmac overnight because security was gone for the day.
At that point, when they refuse to let you leave the plane, you're a
hostage. I mean, seriously, both limit your personal freedom for
financial reasons. Let's hope that the situation won't get to those
extremes.

My flight landed and I met up with the girl with whom I'm staying with for a few days until I can find a place of my own. That evening we went out to the Christmas market to hang out with other english ex-pats. Here's my first photo from living in Switzerland.

After that, it's been a crazy time, there's so much paperwork I need to get before I can rent an apartment. Including the paperwork that says I haven't accumulated any debt (in the few days I've been in the country).