The warning signs from the clouds that began appearing yesterday afternoon as the foretelling of a change in the weather were true to form and things have been a bit different of the slopes today.
Starting out under overcast skies, the clouds gradually lowered during the morning and by midday, conditions were considerable under par for skiing. Sleet and snow flurries combined with low light, gave rise to some cautious descents as we traversed the Swiss border, linking up the numerous ski lifts along the way. The low light meant that we skied a little slower than the last few days, where I'd clocked speeds in excess of 50km/h!
It was a hoods up and goggles down kind of an afternoon as we wove our way under the cliffs of the Dent du Midi and surrounding areas. There was no afternoon sunbathing in deckchairs today - instead we retreated inside to the picnic area to dry out. Despite the conditions, we still clocked up over 8000m of skiing descent on our journey, so it's no surprise that I was feeling a little tired by mid afternoon.
The journey back was completed with much better visibility and excellent snow conditions, but the skies remained very dark. There was barely anyone else on the slopes in the afternoon as presumably, not everyone fancied the mixed conditions (clearly they've never skied in Scotland before). We descended several long pistes without encountering another skier. Fabulous!
After Christmas Eve drinks and a candle lit dinner, we took a walk into the town square to listen to the Church bells and see the lights.
Even though tonight is the 'main event' as far as Christmas is concerned here, we've kept our pressies for tomorrow in UK style! It looks like it'll be our first white Christmas in 18 years....
Ski Stats:
75km Distance Travelled
8007m descent on skis
45km/h top speed
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