I just realized all the mess was for...21%?

https://www.thelocal.ch/20201222/swi...ish-flight-ban

Well, I read that some 19'000 brits landed in GVA in the last couple of weeks, 10'000 just last week-end (apparently).

Not exactly "peanuts" ...

It might be more interesting to see what the average spend is of that 21%. I’m guessing Brits that still made the trip to Verbier, Zermatt, etc. in the current climate aren’t all staying in the youth hostels eating a picnic at lunch 😬

Schwytz remains closed until 8th of January.

Hasliberg and Engelberg apparently open tomorrow but to what extent ? any ideas ?

Thanks!

We booked the last apartment in Walensee resort yesterday (probably some Brits have cancelled ) for the long weekend and today St. Gallen announced the opening of the ski resorts from tomorrow. Aren't we lucky?

Lots of snow in the last couple of days, so more lifts and pistes open here, including a couple (in the Mossettes area) that run into France, Links from Morgins to Champousin are now open and they're saying that tomorrow we'll be able to get all the way across to les Crozets, which will mean that the entire Region Dents du Midi ski area will be connected.

We sometimes forget, due to the overall size of the Portes du Soleil, just how much skiing there is on the Swiss side, but in fact it's a significant amount in its own right.

Oh, and day passes apparently need to be pre-ordered, currently a day in advance, so anyone planning to come up here be warned not to do so if you haven't already got one ordered.

Yes, we are lucky...

I just checked the situation in France and you can't even ski from Switzerland onto the French ski area, where the lifts are closed.

"Si nous ne pouvons pas utiliser les remontées mécaniques françaises, est-il néanmoins possible de redescendre malgré tout depuis la Suisse sur le secteur français ?
Le domaine skiable côté France sera fermé et ne sera pas accessible aux skieurs. Nous sommes en attente d'information pour une utilisation du domaine par les skieurs de randonnée."

Yes, but what I'm referring to are two drag lifts which both finish in the Swiss area, so although physically crossing the border into France are presumably not counted as French. They're marked as open, anyway, but as I said the links from Morgins weren't open today so I cannot confirm from actual observation.

Still totally unclear. Today the interactive piste map still shows one of the two open, as well as another lift and a ski piste open on the far side of Avoriaz, which latter I don't believe for a second. Links across from here to les Crozets are showing as open, so we'll get out there and see what we can see.

Nice empty pistes, no queues. FFP2 masks obligitory

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Where is that?

Are people actually wearing FFP2 masks, rather than just a buff or basic mask?

That's Austria, Tirol. Since the Bavarians have to quarantine for 2 weeks if they dare to come, there are no daytrippers. I was up on Sunday with most lifts being empty bar me - with streamlining at the barriers to ensure 50% capacity.

Almost everyone is wearing FFP2 masks and as you are checked on the gondolas going up, you 99.9% have to have one. No casual face coverings or basic masks permitted.

Rule is that they have to be worn in queues and on all lifts. This is being enforced reasonably well by the people working the lifts.

Booked Thyon 2000 for my big birthday end of Feb- restaurants will probably still be closed for the day- but opened for the rest of the week. Self catered apartment, so as long as we can enjoy the snow.

And just for a laugh, following from another thread- can any of you rmember 'On the Piste' a documentary about the very post Downhill Only Club in Wengen, and the new 'popular' side of British skiers in Söll in Austria in the 80s.

Still so hilarious after all these years:

https://youtu.be/i97boGmsrPQ

Not much has changed really

I'm slightly disappointed to see that a large number of people are apparently just wearing quite basic buffs across their faces, and nobody's checking whether they have a 'proper' mask underneath as well. There are extra staff checking that some sort of mask is being worn but not the level of scrutiny that some people are describing elsewhere.

Yep, I've been to quite a few places around Graubunden in the past few weeks for some late afternoon skiing to avoid the morning queues. Only a few people (less than 10%) are wearing proper masks, the rest are wearing Buffs and what seems to be very popular UYN community masks (LAAX seems to sell these as official masks). What I find worse is the lack of distancing in the queues. I don't get it. It's not like it is crowded - why do people have to stand so close to each other? And why do they have to take the chairlift seat next to mine when there is a lot of space available?

Fabulous conditions on the Jura, with all the resorts open - La Robella (train to Buttes from Neuchâtel), Bugnenets, and Les Rasses/St Croix- and Cross Country conditions just amazing- with the best views of the Alps. Going for a walk instead and leave the pistes for those who do not have the choice to use during the week.

No idea why that post suddenly turned up yesterday, I posted it a couple of weeks back. But it's still the same.

That's something we haven't found here. There were indeed some proper queues today, and I've never seen the village so busy, with people illegally parking all over the place, but the lift queues have remained civilsed and well spaced.

Just once today a third person pushed through to join the two of us on a four-man chair, which arguably leaves less than the 1.5m distance, but by and large we've been going up just 2 to a 4-man, sometimes 2x2 on a 6, with two empty spaces in the middle. And I had the eight-man all to myself at one point today.

Blue sky powder day here, some epic off-piste descents, even though I wasn't going far away from the pistes (cos my wife was on her slalom skis, and although I had my fat skis I didn't have my avalanche kit with me, so sticking to known safe areas).