Blue skies

A fine day’s skiing. We took a gondala to Schwarzee and found a new lift had been installed, and we sat still, marvelled at the views and travelled on to Trockner Steg. The sun shone and the Matterhorn stood clear and sharp against a blue sky, but it was extremely cold. So cold that once we started skiing, the cold air struck the forehead and really hurt. Undaunted, we skied 100 yards and took the chair lift to Kleine Matterhorn which is about as high as we can go – it’s also where people pop over the ridge into into Italy – but today the wind must have been too strong for no one was crossing to Cervinia.

We completed one run, and as we rode the chair lift again, we noticed the sky behind the Matterhorn had turned grey. Cloud seeping in again, but we did another two runs and then took the longer route to Furggi. We managed the long, looping run down and the steep section leading into the lift without tumbling head over skis. The only time I’ve fallen was when I was standing still, talking, and turned too swiftly. A lovely hot chocolate and then up to the Gornergrat and another couple of runs before the light started to deteriorate. Then it’s hard to read the snow and bumps and hollows merge into the general flat whiteness and the surface drops away under your skis. Time to quit then.