Clocks go forward - Clements fails to wake up..

We were due to go for a train ride and then a long walk today but events conspired to make it more of a short walk and wine and food etc...

Our good friends Clements and Petra had a little confusion with the clocks and the arrival of Summer time so we when we arrived at the station we got a call saying they had just woken up! Never mind plan B worked and we had a good walk, saw their annoyingly wonderful newly built house before they and other friends came over to ours for dinner (and more wine!) - not the worst Sunday ever..

Ikea all is forgiven!

Having spent over three hours trying to put together this mini greenhouse from Co-op Bau & Hobby I shall never hear a bad word about Ikea again! 40 missing nuts and bolts, a 40 minute discussion in the shop as to how the thing is put together and finally it's all built a bit ... erm.. crap really. Anyway it's up and ready to house our seeds, future vegetables and food for 2009!

Back to the Basel Rain

Well after the week in the sunny and snowy Zinal it was back to the normal grey and wet weather here in Basel. Actually that's unfair, it's not always miserable but it just seems that way when you've you had a week's perfect skiing weather. Mind you I did get to see two rainbows!

Last Day - Leaving Zinal (amongst other things) Behind!

So today we left the resort and as we departed, driving past the Cable Car entrance on the way, we saw the most amazing thing. This village that had been as quiet as any ski resort I had ever been too, was transformed by 100s of skiers all getting ready to go up the mountain for the Freeride event (see yesterday's blog). So we were leaving just as it was livening up!

On the way back we stopped off in Montreux, which was town with a view (over the lake) but seemed to be one of those places where people either had too much money or thought they had anyway! It was here that we realised that we had managed to leave a jacket (Claire's) and a pair of trousers (mine) back in the apartment...D'oh!

Last Day Skiing in Grimentz

We spent the last day of the holiday back in Grimentz as it had the largest ski area of the valley. It was a much colder day today but we just about had enough to keep us warm. Back in Zinal at the end of the day the town was just showing the first signs of the Freeride competition that's to take place over the weekend.

Day 6 in Zinal - en Raquettes!

We took a day off from skiing today and donned Snow Shoes (Racquettes) for a stroll in the snow. Unfortunately we looked at the three recommended routes and took the longest option! It turned out that snow shoe walking was a little harder than expected and by the time we reached our destination, the wonderful Cabane du Petit Mountet, we were a little tired (and still had the descent back!)

Day 5 in Zinal - It's My Birthday Ski..

A warm sunny day on my birthday, a perfect day for skiing in fact. With my new birthday present of a Mammut gillet being worn with pride we stayed in Zinal, where I decided to film Claire on a steep black run and I managed to take a big tumble! We also took the rather more difficult black piste that connects Zinal to both Grimentz and Mottec. Unlike the rather tame blacks in other parts of the resort this was a true black and I had to coax Claire down the run, which she managed rather well.

Day 4 in Zinal - Chandolin/St Luc

Taking the car for the first time since we've been in Switzerland for our skiing trip proved most useful in this particular resort as it's spread along the valley in four (or five?) stations which though reachable by bus, was easier by car. Today we drove to the highest point (possibly?) reachable ny car at Chandolin. There were 2 chair lifts accessible here, one direct to Chandolin and the other connecting to the other resort of St.Luc. Though a large ski domain it wasn't particularly interesting and St.Luc is all T-Bars and Button lifts!

Day 3 in Zinal – Off to Grimentz

After an emergency trip to fill up with petrol we headed off to the closest resort to Zinal, Grimentz. Probably the best of the resorts in the valley with more variety of pistes, a very good piste side restaurant and excellent run from top to bottom (see Piste Lona).

Day 2 in Zinal – First Skiing Impressions

I got up early so that I could nip down to the Cable Car Station and purchase the ski passes for the week. Arriving at 8.30am I found three cashiers and no other people. This didn’t alter much by the time we came down after breakfast to actually catch the cable car! This turned out to be the norm across the resort (there are three other stations within the Val D’Anniviers) as we came across empty piste after empty piste. Oh and the sun shone all day too.

Day 1 in Zinal - Arrival

After a longer than expected drive thanks to a rather too precise Sat Nav system which wanted to send us the shortest route despite it being along the narrowest and steepest roads in the region, we’re in Zinal and our little apartment (see right). Not quite sure what to expect but it certainly is “off the beaten track” and not one you would expect to see the major tourist groups go to, though German and Belgian cars seem to be prevalent here. However, on finding a great little restaurant it was no real surprise to discover that some English skiers had found this tiny little place in Switzerland.

It's looking good for next week...

After two or three days of heavy snow in the Alps it seems the spring sunshine has arrived here in Basel and is expected to be in Zinal next week! Perfect conditions here we come. Makes the lugging of boots and skis up from the basement seem all the more worthwhile! Here's today's webcam!

Fasnacht Ends

Well I went into town (despite a really annoying sore throat that has stopped me going to the gym) this afternoon and caught the end of the afternoon Fasnacht parade. The actual carnival only ends at 4.00am on Thursday morning but after staying up for Morgestraich (see above) I don't think we're going to be up for that! We did get to see our friend Maggie's apartment and we had a great meal even if I'm now really p###ed off that they have HD and we still can't get it out here in the sticks of Kaiseraugst, come on Swisscom pull your finger out!

So Very Tired but It was Worth It

The start of Basel Fasnacht commences at 4.00am on Monday morning with the switching off of all the lights and a wonderful lantern lit parade through the streets in an event called Morgestraich. Having landed at 9.45pm I met Claire and friends in one of the many small Kellars in Pratteln at 11.30. We stayed here drinking beer, schnapps and wine (as well as eating the odd Kasewaie - pronunciation impossible as it's Swiss German but it's a wonderful little cheese tart basically) before catching a specially laid on (and very busy) train at 3.00am into Basel. Here we waited for the hour to arrive and watched the mixture of lantern lit floats and costumed bands walk around the town. Something that has to be done and is well worth the effort of staying up!

Making Cakes...

After yet another 0-0 draw yesterday it was nice to spend the day (or much of it) with Ian & Stephanie's children and especially the process of making a chocolate cake. Can there be much more better in life than getting your hands covered in chocolate cake mix and licking it all off . I don't think so if you're an 8 year old! All I have to do now is get the flight home tonight and manage to stay up until 4am for Morgestraich in Basel!