No need for many words today, miles and miles of skiing in perfect conditions, interrupted only by a very quick lunch in the teepee. Enjoy the pictures.
Crazy snow
Swiss weather forecast for today: Snow in the morning, then brightening up and a sunny afternoon.
Sure enough it was snowing heavily when we got up. Scheidegg was deserted.
And it did brighten up at lunchtime.
We had a good ski around the Lauberhorn. Then just after lunch it got a lot colder and the snow started again.
It got heavier and heavier.
Deep snow on the home run.
We stopped for hot chocolate at Almend just above the village. The downpour slowed a little, meaning we could enjoy the new snow all the way back to Wengen.
Victory
King prawns were half price in the Co-op yesterday, so I made a paella with them. Yum yum.
Monday night is quiz night in Rocks. Our mate Ozzy is here for a few weeks so we entered. I always feel sorry for the Swissies on quiz night – when you get a round of questions based on British TV they’ve got no chance really, but they enter just the same. Anyhow, we won last night, and got a bottle of Prosecco for our efforts.
It’s a grey sort of day today, so we went to Interlaken and replenished our food supplies. Mussels were half price today, so we have another fishy dinner to look forward to.
Good day
Bit chilly this morning.
We put on all the clothes we posess and head out. The snow is wonderful. We had a coffee at Männlichen and skied until we couldn’t ski another yard.
Now that the race is over we can ski on the course down to Innerwengen.
It was far too cold to stop for a cafe fertig at the Figeller bar, but we did anyway, just because we could.
Slalom
It’s Sunday, and the last day of the races. The slalom is won by another Norwegian, Henrik Kristoffersen. A clean sweep of all 3 races for Norway.
There was a British lad in the race called Dave Ryding. He did very well, finishing 15th. Not bad for a boy from Manchester.
Spectators and competitors walking back to the village.
Lauberhorn downhill
Today’s the day. After yesterday’s combination race, today we have the blue ribbon event – the downhill race on the Lauberhorn.
We start with another airshow.
The Airbus A321 at the head of the formation was named ‘Wengen’ in a ceremony this morning.
Here’s the stadium. It’s at a hamlet called Innerwengen which is a little lower than Wengen. Most of what you can see will be removed after the races.
Wengen looking lovely in the morning sun.
And it doesn’t really matter whether you care about the skiing; you’ll never have a nicer walk to a major sporting event.
And we have a winner. Axel Svindal from Norway. His team-mate won the combination yesterday, so I expect there’s going to be a big party in the Caprice tonight.

So. Having skied from the Lauberhorn to Innerwengen in less than 2 minutes, how do our superstars get back to Wengen? Well, if you finish in the top 3, a helicopter will give you a lift. The rest have to walk back along with everyone else.

Race day
It snowed a lot last night, but this morning was clear so the race is on. People come from all over Europe for this event, but for us it’s just a 15 minute walk. We get a good spot just above the grandstand.
This morning’s race is a downhill. The results will be combined with the times from a slalom race this afternoon to determine the winner. You don’t see much skiing when you watch a downhill – the skiers hurtle down to the finish line and skid to a halt in a cloud of snow.
But you can watch the whole run on a big screen.
Enthusiastic French contingent.
After the downhill we are in the fortunate position of being able to walk home for lunch, which is nice as it’s minus 5 and we’re freezing.
Here is the top 10 from the downhill.
So you can see that Mr Goldberg from the USA needs to be at least 1.82 seconds faster than Svindal if he is to win the combination.
The Swiss Air Force put on an airshow at lunchtime, accompanied by a Swiss Airlines Airbus.
We walk back with the local kids who all have the afternoon off school. Back at the stadium the grandstand is packed for the slalom.
Slalom is popular because it moves along quickly. The course is short but technically very difficult.
In the end the Norwegians finished 1st and 2nd, with a Frenchman in 3rd. After the race everyone walks back to the village past our house.

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