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We had a good evening in the Caprice last night, and this morning Val was up early again to teach the kids. It’s another beautiful sunny day.

I had a ski at Scheidegg. It’s busy.

Once Val had finished her lessons we skied down to the Brunner snow bar where Beves and Ibe are playing. We had a lovely couple of hours sitting in the sunshine. Here are Val and Michael talking rubbish over a few beers.

Once the sun disappeared over the Bietenhorn we all skied (wobbled) back to the village. A lovely afternoon.

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The schools are on holiday in much of Europe, and the ski schools have lots of staff at the ready to teach the children. Unfortunately the kids haven’t arrived in quite the usual quantities, and we’ve heard more than one instructor grumbling about a lack of work. An exception is Val’s ski school, who have hit the jackpot with a group of 46 children from one of the international schools in Zurich. Val was therefore out very early for work this morning.

I went up somewhat later, had a ski at Männlichen and paused for coffee while Val finished her lesson. It’s sunny and very mild.

We skied around to Scheidegg just in case an afternoon lesson might materialise, but there’s nothing doing. No matter, it’s a beautiful afternoon and we soak up the sun before skiing back to the village for a late lunch.

It’s Wednesday, so that must mean Uptown Lights in the Caprice later.

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Val is working all afternoon, but it’s a beautiful sunny day, so we go up to Scheidegg and have a ski. It’s lovely to see the sun after all the wintry weather we’ve had lately.

The skiing’s pretty good too, soft snow with lots of humps and bumps.

I had a really nice run back to the village while Val began her lesson.

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After the föhn came to an end yesterday evening, the temperature began to fall and it started snowing. This morning we awoke to find a village inundated with snow. The plough has made a start on the main street.

Up at Scheidegg there’s even more.

Very difficult to walk down the path to our front door. It looks like I have some digging to do.

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We’ve been very lucky with the weather this season, with lots of snow and some lovely sunny days. Today however, we have a föhn storm. The föhn is a warm wind that blows over the mountains from the south. It’s strong enough to close the ski lifts and even stop the trains running.

The effects of the föhn don’t end there. It can give you a headache and it makes people grumpy. Worse still, it melts the snow. By around midday just about everyone was back in the village. These snowboarders were some of the last to get back.

Several of Val’s colleagues reported being stranded in various places, but everyone eventually got home safely. The nursery slopes were popular this afternoon.

The good news is that these storms usually blow themselves out after a few hours. Fingers crossed.

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It’s a little over 2 months since we arrived here, and our ski jackets urgently need a wash. It’s a good day to do them, as Val starts work tomorrow and she’ll be wearing her uniform, added to which the weather forecast is awful for the next few days so I probably won’t need mine either.

We popped out for a walk and some shopping. All the gardens are covered with a metre of snow.

Our nursery slope is in perfect condition.

It’s mild again today, but by this time tomorrow we expect to be back in the freezer.

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The snowfall that started yesterday afternoon turned into a real storm, but this morning it’s bright and clear. Val will be starting work this weekend, so we decided to go for a hike. We like to do this every so often, as skiing isn’t really proper exercise because gravity and ski lifts do all the work. Cows at Stechelberg watching the cross country skiers go by.

There’s lots of snow, even down here at the valley floor, but the path along the river is kept clear.

Every few minutes we hear a big bang as ice falls from the cliffs in the mild weather. The cross country ski track is very popular today. Unlike alpine skiing, cross country is definitely proper exercise. There are no lifts, and every time you enjoy a nice descent there will be a corresponding climb to come.