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It’s time to get the race weekend underway. Val was out early for work, and I wasn’t far behind her as I need to get to the Co-op before the village is completely overwhelmed by spectators. Wengernalp is a popular spot for viewing the action, just look at the amount of skis stuck in the snow by the BKW advert.

More spectators at Allmend. Today’s course doesn’t come past here, but skiers can watch on the big screen.

Another day, another air show.

Back in Wengen, shopkeepers and hoteliers are hoping to have a good weekend feeding and watering the fans. Outdoor catering structures have sprung up selling all sorts of warm snacks and, of course, beer.

The Super-G race was won by Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Swiss racers came second and third, and altogether Switzerland had 5 racers in the top 10.

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Gloomy up at Scheidegg this morning. The new ‘Hütte’ is a good place to be.

In Wengen, the Worldcup Village is ready to go.

We always have an air show for the racing, and today the Patrouille Suisse were having a rehearsal in their F5 Tiger jets.

A quiet night in tonight, before the madness starts tomorrow.

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Yesterday evening we were invited to a dinner party at Anne-Marie and Paul’s place. Anne-Marie prepared a splendid lemon pepper chicken creation.

Dave and Lesley brought a selection of deserts from the bakery.

Overcast weather today, but the racers are having another training run on the race course. This time the TV towers are manned. Such is the interest in this race, even the training runs are televised.

Tonight we’re off to the Caprice for dinner, followed by music with Colin at the Alpine Hotel.

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It snowed a lot last night – right down to the valley floor.

The rules for the race at the weekend dictate that each competitor must have a training run – it’s a chance to get to know the course for the less experienced racers. The international superstars go up to Scheidegg on the train, just like everyone else.

The skiers are used to getting a lot of attention and are usually happy to pause for a photo. Here’s Italian racer Guglielmo Bosca.

It’s cold enough to run the snow cannons again. Although the race is the highest priority, it’s nice to see the public ski runs getting some attention.

Tonight we are looking forward to dinner at Paul and Anne-Marie’s.

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We had a good evening out at the Alpine Hotel with Beves and Ibe providing the entertainment last night, it was a pity that it was pouring with rain outside. By this morning the rain had turned to snow, which is very welcome. Val had a lesson this morning. Scheidegg was deserted, but there are 6 inches of fresh snow, which has improved things immensely.

There really are very few skiers in the village at the moment. Wixi is one of the most popular runs, and here it is with precisely zero skiers.

Typically for race week, the forecast is very changeable for the next few days. We might get lots of rain or lots of snow. Fingers crossed that the races can go ahead.

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We’re off to Mürren to take Christmas presents for the Zwicky kids. They, and their mum Beanie met us at the station and directed us up the hill to the sports centre for a ‘surprise’. The kids were clearly very excited, and we soon found out why.
A new attraction at the sports centre is virtual snowball fighting. You wear 3D goggles and enter a computer generated ‘world’. It looks like this.

In this environment we can have a snowball fight. Snowballs are thrown using hand controllers. It’s quite immersive, and you soon forget that none of it is real. Here’s what we look like to the outside world.

Great fun, and quite exhausting! Aliena and Val threw the most accurate snowballs and won the competition.

Next, we’re off to the Chinese restaurant. We had a lovely meal, but of course the girls were looking forward to their presents. Aliena.

And Larina.

A very good evening out. This morning the weather was absolutely glorious, as long as you live above about 1100 metres.

There’s a new restaurant in Wengen serving steaks and lots of other good stuff. We’ll give it a try later.

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The big race isn’t until next weekend, but this weekend there’s a warm-up event for the younger skiers. It’s easy to pick out a racer at the station – they have ridiculously long skis.

Val was teaching again this morning. Busy on the Lauberhorn, but it’s worth it for the view of the Eiger.

Here’s the lower part of the race course – it passes through a tunnel under the railway. It is said that if a train passes overhead as you go through the tunnel, you will win the race.

This evening we’re off to Mürren across the valley. They have a splendid Chinese restaurant.