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Some years ago we rented rooms in a farmhouse about 20 minutes walk from Wengen. Our taxi could only get to within a few hundred yards of the farm, and we were met by the farmer and his wife who dragged our luggage up the hill on a huge sled. Nowadays they’ve largely been superseded by 4x4s and tracked vehicles, but people decided it would be good fun to race them, so they’re still made today.

The race begins at a place called Alpiglen, which is one stop down from Scheidegg on the other side of the mountain. When we arrive there’s a big party going on.

We walk down to the start. It’s all taken seriously with electronic timing just like we use for ski racing. Sorry about the quality of the pictures it’s been snowing all day.

The sleds fly along.

These guys have built an enormous sled. It will carry 12 of them down the course, and it’s fitted with air horns that play Dixie!

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Yesterday’s snowfall lasted most of the night. Plough working outside our house just before dark.

This morning we headed up the hill. Great snow and very few people about.

Even the restaurants were empty. There would normally be masses of skis on this rack.

We enjoyed some brightness early on,  but it didn’t last and we soon descended into the shelter of the valley runs above Grindelwald.

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Yesterday’s rain turned to snow at about 4pm. It was so heavy the snow plough had to clear the ice rink before the kids could have their skating session.

By morning the snow had stopped, but no sooner had we got off the train at Scheidegg than it started again. Windy too.

We were soon back in Wengen. Val’s turn to clear the steps.

It’s still snowing now, and it looks like my turn for snow shovelling will come round sooner than expected.

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It’s wet and miserable today, but it doesn’t matter as we’re off to see another apartment. This one is in the centre of the village behind the Co-op, and you can ski all the way back to the door down the nursery slope.

It looks brand new inside and out, but the building is actually 100 years old.

Soggy skiers coming home in the rain (view from bedroom).

View to the church.

The first floor is being converted from a huge 5 bedroom apartment into 2 smaller properties. This bedroom becomes a lounge.

Nice balcony.

The conversion will be finished by late spring or early summer. The price is right and the location is fantastic. I think we’ve found the one for us.

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I had to shovel the snow off our steps last night when we got home from the quiz (we were 4th, thanks for asking). This morning it was still snowing. After breakfast a few shafts of sunlight began to peep through the clouds.

It looks like the weather is improving so up the hill we go. At Scheidegg there are not many people about, and there’s no scenery at all.

We start by skiing down the hill – maybe we can get under the cloud. This works, but it’s pretty dark!

We did get a few tantalising bright spots.

Ok so we’ll go high and perhaps we can get above the cloud. Up the Lauberhorn we go,  and yay!

The problem is that, as you can see from the photo, we are only a hundred metres above the cloud. We are about eleven hundred metres above the village. We stand at the top for a few minutes enjoying the sunshine, before Val sets off into the gloom.

The clouds came and went on the way down and we actually had a pretty good descent. Tonight we’re going to Andrew and Hayley’s for dinner, which will be lovely.

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Foggy when we woke up this morning, and as regular readers will know, we don’t ski in fog. It started snowing at lunchtime – we spent most of the day doing laundry.

Popped up to the village for some shopping after lunch, and I can barely remember a more gloomy day all winter.

Val’s just off to her Pilates class, I’ll make a start on dinner, and later we’ll be off to Rocks for quiz night. Never a dull moment here.

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It’s a damp, cold day here, it must be awful down in the valley with the cloud over Stechelberg.

We met Beanie & Sandro and the kids in the village. Lots of fun.

Aliena is fascinated by the phone, and she quickly learned to take selfies. Here’s a selection.

Fun and games on the way home.