I am so sick of this insanely crappy weather. I do not understand Switzerland winter. I live at 1000m and it has snowed 5 times. Each friggen time it snows, it is nice for a DAY, then it warms up to 9 or 10 and rains until all the nice snow we got is gone. Is this the norm? I counted.....we have had exactly 7 days where there was snow on the ground for the whole day. Never more than 2 fulls days before it warms up, rains and washes away, leaving mud. How is it possible that the ground is completely thawed and even flowers bloom in the middle of January? I LOVE winter and snow and sledging, and this weather is total BS. Did I have a complete misconception of winter or is this a bit unusual? I hope this is just a fluke. I want snow and I want it to stay for more than a day!!

Move to above the treeline ca 2000mts then you will have snow..

1000mts is not really high in terms of snow and depending where your based the wind will soon blow it away.

Im in 50cms snow now...been here since Dec at 1400mts

So when are you off back home? You don't like the kids' parties, you don't like the shopping hours, the food is not good enough and now the weather is rubbish (almost all of which, you could have researched before arriving, by the way). Ok, it's a particularly weird winter, I'll give you that, but expecting a thick layer of snow at 1000m? Really? Sure, when I was a kid, the village (600m above sea level) close to me had a little skilift but it was torn down almost 20 years ago because it ended up being used maybe twice in one winter. And have you noticed how all the ski resorts (usually at 1300 m and above) have loads of snow cannons? They didn't used to have those - or need them.

If you want guaranteed snowy winters, you have to go up about 300 metres. And even those places are often green these days.

jerralie - totally agree, it is sooooo frustrating. Hopefully winter will properly set in soon. If I wanted this sort of c*****y weather, I would have stayed in the UK.

Generally the best skiing is always above 2000m, however this year skiing in the treeline has been great. Chamonix was closed today so I had fun in Verbier.

The green party had a huge objection to snow cannons 20 years ago, 'the mountains should not be turned into slaves' is what I was told in Verbier in one very bad season 20+ years ago, of course money in the end wins & Verbier is littered with snow cannons now. Of course there were huge queues 20+ years ago, all has been fixed now with super jumbo lifts.

I really don't know if it's good for CH or not, I like to ski !

I hate artificial snow, it's hard and sounds wrong. I also hate that the advent of carving skis meant that every Hans, Peter and Dragan thinks they can ski really well and the pistes are crowded. So I don't ski any more, despite having won a few gold medals in ski races as a kid.

I dunno, back in the midwestern US it would typically be about 10 degrees F right now and 2 feet of gray and dirty snow everywhere. even with the clouds, it dried up this afternoon and was right around 8 degrees C. at 8 degrees, I can pretty much run, bike, skate, do just about anything I would normally want to do outside. and anytime I want to see snow it's just about a 30 minute drive up into the mountains.

seems alright to me.

Avoid the pistes, off piste is the place to be, race technique will outperform any 'imitation skier' every day of the week, especially when the going gets steep & icy. Most of the Hans, Peter & Dragan can't cave but think they do!

Yeah, I got into a snow slab coming down the mountain when we decided to walk up to near the peak with ski school once. Not my thing.

You need to be careful, below 28 degrees slope you should be safe.

What you write became the norm in the 80ies. In the 50ies, 60ies and even the 70ies, what you describe was the norm at between 700 m and 800 m , while it above did usually not warm up in that way. THIS is the reason why many skiing resorts of the 1960ies and 70ies in the meantime have gone out of business. In the 1960ies, there on many Saturdays and Sundays were special charter coaches up to the ALBIS ! for skiers.

In Zürich, in the 1950ies and early 60ies, we had snow for many days or even weeks, while it now is between a few hours and maybe two days. Nobody here expects a freezing of the lake as in 1963 to get back again.

Snow cannons ? Flims for example in the early 60ies did NOT need them but now, being just 1081 müM totally depends on them. In about 1970, we in a group went "up" to Ebnat Kappel for skiing. Would anybody in proper sense now go there for skiing. The Obertoggenburg (Alt St. Johann and Wildhaus) being between 850 and 1100 müM apparently still is in business, but most likely only thanks to snow cannons. But Wildhaus in about 1961 and 62 had lots of snow still.

I still remember 2006. No snow at all until late March. And then between 23rd and 26th March record amounts of snow suddenly. To me, snow is something for areas above 850m, but not a real requirement elsewhere

Been there several times for Christmas parties, even had to put chains on my car once, but that was 20 years ago.

Tom

Well, considering I grew up skiing on ice (New England), any kind of snow they have here is a refreshing change!

Also, I too have carving skis (170cm), but I usually bring along my antique 200cm Rossignol Smash, or 190cm VR 27 to remind me why I don't use them anymore!

Tom

To everyone who thinks I hate it here, you have it all wrong. I LOVE it here. Part of being in a community is questioning why things are done. It's called inquiring. It is how we better ourselves. We ask why things are done and maybe they get improved. This post was simply to rant a bit. My daughter asks me everyday when we can go sledding and everyday I have to say "When it snows and stays honey" Part of this post was to simply find out if this type of winter is how it has always been. When I was little kid, it would snow most winters in early December and then the ground would be frozen and snow covered until April. Now, they are lucky to get snow before January and snow comes and goes. Seems like Switzerland is experiencing the same thing. Wonder if 20 years from now some guy will rant about why no snow falls at 2000 meters anymore.

Disclaimer:I am not saying the following in the IF-YOU-DON'T-LIKE-IT-LEAVE kind of way.

It sounds like you love a snowy winter, have you thought of living in Canada? It's beautiful - lots of big incredible outdoor spaces. And lots of winter. Sometimes too much, though I think you might appreciate it more than I did.

Alternatively, have you thought of taking a day trip with your wee one for some good snow? We have lots in the Jura...

To satisfy the dreams of your dauther, go up somewhere by 100m or 200m and you both will be in real snow, and your daughter can enjoy the snow.

I go skiing every weekend and every Friday as well (my school has ski Fridays). Just was hoping me snow would stay. Each snow event we had gave us a nice amount 10 cm or more, but it was ALWAYS followed by a day of super warm temperatures and pouring rain, and that is at 1083 m. My thermo says its 10 out. That is WARM for mid January at nearly 11 at night is it not?