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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.

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Colin and Steve were supposed to be playing in Rocks on Tuesday, but they couldn’t as Colin was curling in the Dolly Cup tournament. They moved their gig to Wednesday, which of course is the day we go to the Caprice to see Beves and Ibe. Two gigs in one night therefore. We started with Duo Centrale.

And moved on up to the Caprice half way through.

A good night out.

This morning was overcast and eerily mild. We did go down to the valley for a walk but it was damp, gloomy and generally unpleasant, so we retreated back home. It started snowing about an hour later.

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It’s a beautiful morning, and lots of people have a day off, so half a dozen of us set off up the hill. Left to right we have Val, Nick, Clare, Ali and Colin.

Chairlift selfie.

Lunch in an old cowshed down towards Grindelwald.

Top of Lauberhorn (me).

In the world cup start hut (me again).

We had a really nice day out, and needless to say it ended with drinks at the Figeller bar.

Tonight we have Duo Centrale at Rocks, and Uptown Lights at the Caprice. We’ll manage to see them both somehow.

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Every morning we face a dilemma. What’s the weather going to do, and what, therefore, should we wear? Yesterday it was easy as it was very cold – just wear everything you have. Today it’s a few degrees warmer, so we wear rather less and hope not to get cold. 25 years ago these decisions were pure guesswork based on nothing more than a glance out of the window. Nowadays we have a computerised weather station on the balcony, and of course we have the internet. Strange then, that our success at predicting the weather doesn’t seem to have improved much over the years. We were way overdressed today.

Quite busy up the hill, but no queues.

Val cranks the skis over on the way down to Holenstein.

Off to the Caprice this afternoon to help them out with some IT stuff.

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The snow finally came to an end while we were in Rocks yesterday evening, and this morning it’s cold but sunny. Up we go. Half term holidays have begun in some parts of Switzerland so it’s quite busy, but the kids tend to ski in big groups so they’re easy to avoid.

There’s been no time to prepare the pistes after the snow, so they quickly get chopped up and bumpy. Fun to ski, but exhausting. Val kicking up some spray.

Duo Centrale tonight at the Sunstar.

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It started snowing while we were in the pub last night, and it hasn’t stopped since. Usually this would mean we get woken up by the snowplough at about 9am, but it’s Sunday, so no-one is scheduled to work. The plough eventually arrived at lunch time.

Very few people went up the hill, and most of those who did were soon driven back to the village by the weather. The main street is always the first to be cleared, but of course the snow continues to fall and it’s soon covered again.

Aneta is starting a new yoga class tonight, so Val will give it a try before we go to Rocks for the quiz.