Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Twenty-four-year-old Dominique Gisin took full advantage of the changing wind conditions to win the Super-G on the National run above Crans-Montana. It was the third World Cup victory for the skier from Engelberg in canton Obwald: the others were in downhill. Lindsey Vonn was next, 0.15 seconds behind, while fellow American Julia Mancuso, who won two silver medals at the Vancouver Olympics, was third.
Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Lindsey Vonn, fresh from winning the Olympic downhill gold medal at Whistler, notched up her sixth downhill victory out of seven starts, Saturday 6 March. This assured her the crystal globe for the season’s champion in the specialty. She is almost certain to also take the overall title. The National course at Crans-Montana, scene of Swiss skiing’s finest hour at the 1987 World Championships, was difficult because of restricted visibility and strong winds at the top.
Snowbikes, World Cup races, good snow in the Jura
Crans-Montana, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The season is winding down, but there is still plenty of good snow around. And with the Geneva Motor Show pulling in thousands of visitors, the slopes might be less crowded. The big news this weekend is World Cup Skiing, with the women competing in Crans-Montana.
Weather forecast and snow conditions
Bundle up and don’t fall into the trap of thinking that longer days means warmer weather: not in March in the Alps!
Title: Ski world cup Crans-Montana
Location: Crans-Montana
Link out: Click here
Description: Women’s world cup in trendy Crans-Montana.
Start Date: 2010-03-05
End Date: 2010-03-07
Traffic and weather forecasts, history of skiing show, horses on ice, motorcycle fair and other good train deals, horses on snow, giant greeting card
Plenty of snow in the Jura! February 2010 (photo: Shirley Curran)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – This weekend it is Geneva residents who head for the ski slopes en masse, with school holidays the week of 22 February. Expect crowds in all Swiss and nearby French resorts.
History of skiing and extraordinary collection of old skis – don’t miss it!
Conthey history of ski exhibit, Coop centre
Ski collection of Laurent Donze, more than 2,000 skis showing centuries of history
The newly redone large Coop in Conthey, two minutes off the autoroute in the heart of a large shopping complex, is home to an extraordinary collection of skis until 28 February. This is a must-see exhibit which recounts the history of skiing from ancient times, put together by Laurent Donzé, who has been president of the Swiss Cross Country Ski Federation. He told GenevaLunch he began collecting skis more than 30 years ago and he now has over 2,000 skis in his collection.
If you think downhill skiing began with the arrival in Switzerland of the British, you might find history shows it is a bit more complicated than that. The exhibit is well documented and illustrated, but the skis themselves offer a reminder of how the need for skis and their designs have changed.
Weather forecast
Rain mixed with snow Friday afternoon on the plain. Snow down to 700 metres in Alpine and Jura areas. Saturday: gradually clearing on the plain, with highs of 4-5C,. Snow Saturday in the Alps, with highs of 9C in the Alps due to warming foehn winds. Winds moderate on western edge of the Alps.
Traffic forecast
Geneva begins its vacation, but so do 10 other cantons Friday 19 February, so TCS warns that traffic will build during the afternoon. The area around Lausanne and heading towards Valais, around the Glion tunnel, are expected to be the worst-hit areas. List of expected heavy traffic areas and time, TCS. For current traffic advisories: TCS in French and the federal truck site in English. Reminder for drivers leaving Geneva: expect delays around Nyon and Gland due to roadworks that continue until 25 February.
Alpine resorts
Vaud ski vacation week starts, heavy snow expected, Jura primed for the crowds
Hot news from cool resorts: Crans-Montana, Verbier, Villar
Crozets, France 20 January 2010 (photo: Shirley Curran)
Update 17:25 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The snow is pouring down, even at the lakefront, and the mountains are promised buckets of it for the weekend, so pull out warm clothes that will keep you dry, whether you are going to the corner store or heading for the hills.
This is the start of the Vaud school vacation week, and nine other cantons plus some German regions start their holidays, so expect crowds on the road Friday night and Saturday morning.
The first carnivals are beginning in some German-speaking areas: this is celebrated over a period of weeks, with dates staggered from one area to another in Switzerland. Also note that Ticino received heavy snow on Friday and although the weather is expected to quickly warm up, some roads will be difficult.
Peak traffic hours are expected to be from 16:00-20:00 Friday and 08:00-15:00 Saturday, heading in the direction of Bern and Valais, according to the Swiss federal Highway Office. Good sources of information about the current traffic situation are Touring Club Suisse (TCS) and the federal road alerts for truck drivers. TSR, French language TV, also has a good map with accident and heavy traffic alerts. TCS also had a predicted traffic map showing heavy traffic areas for the weekend.
If you’re planning future road trips, you might want to check the new TCS web page that lists all the public holidays in Swiss cantons.
TCS offers an excellent course in winter driving, especially focusing on how to behave in snowy and icy conditions. Details
Weather forecast
Top of Saleve peaking out above Geneva's fog, 23 January 2010 (Photo: Obwoodman on flickr)
Highs of 4C Friday and Saturday falling to 3C Sunday, with snow falling to 500-1,000 metres Friday, 600-800m Saturday, with heavy clouds over much of the plains.
Moon rising above Leukerbad, Switzerland: after the rain, before the new snow, 30 December 2009 (click on image to view larger)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Precipitation is not in short supply in Switzerland at the moment, but the picture from the mountain-tops has been mixed: heavy rain in most areas all day Wednesday 30 December, and into the night, washed away much of the snow below 2,000 metres in the Alps. The Jura was short on snow to begin with and the rain did not improve things.
But temperatures have been dropping and as of 10:00 Thursday morning snow is back in the Alps, down to 800 metres: it is snowing heavily in the Sion-Brig resorts area (Anzeres, Crans-Montana, Saas-Fee, Zermatt).
Jura report, from Shirley Curran
The Jura resorts are all poised ready for the big snow which is taking its time to appear this year. Harsh weather conditions mean that you are probably better off by a log fire with a good book this weekend.
Alpine resorts report
When the snow and snowplows look like this at 1,000 metres, you know the skiing is getting better up above!
Snowing hard at 1,000m near Crans-Montana, Switzerland, 10:00 Thursday 31 December
All regions: use care if you’re considering going off-piste: High temperatures plus fresh snow = increased avalanche danger, with the SLT (federal avalanche institute) bulletin indicating “considerable avalanche danger widespread” (level 3), throughout canton Valais and the northern flanks of the Alps, which includes the higher resorts in canton Bern.
Crans-Montana Friday night skiing, from 19:00-22:00, should be good New Year’s day, but check after Thursday evening. Cost: CHF15.
Garden, fresh snow, Saturday 12 December, Valais (1,100 m)
Aminona, near Crans-Montana, canton Valais, Switzerland, 4 December 2009
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Last weekend there was snow: it wasn’t always pretty and it was wet, but it was the white stuff. It’s mostly gone now, except above 2,000 metres, but crowds nevertheless packed the autoroute from Geneva and canton Vaud to the resorts in Valais Friday evening. Saturday morning: it’s snowing again at 1,100 metres, so the buildup on the slopes is starting!
Here is your first taste of GenevaLunch’s popular winter weekend reports, a regular feature, now in its third season.
Alps, season gradually opening
Resorts news:
- Crans-Montana’s ski web site, mycma.ch, has a new look and offers more functions, but it’s slow. This weekend the resort offers low season rates, CHF57 for the day. You pay high season rates, CHF63 for the day, starting 19 December so get out there this weekend! (Ed. note: the Telegraph, UK, just ran a big feature on the resort but missed the boat when they got it wrong when they said it doesn’t strike them as a family resort)
- Gstaad, join the papparazzi, all sitting around outside Roman Polanski’s chalet, where he has been confined by a Swiss judge. Gstaad, for all its glamour, is not one of the high resorts, so not much is open in or near the town, but you can always head for the Glacier 3,000 area nearby.
- Verbier has been open since 20 November and will have five lifts open 12-13 December. CHF23-45 for day passes right now. New feature this winter – video snow reports. Snow depth Thursday, last snowfall: 70cm at 2,200m and 95cm at 2,950m
- Zermatt has 60 km of decent skiing at the moment.
Jura: you might prefer hiking to skiing this weekend, but some good news for later
December 2008, Jura
(Ed. note: Shirley Curran is back with her weekly reports on the Jura slopes, where she has taught skiing for years)
Our Jura resorts are due to open on December 19th and, in view of the excellent seasons we have had recently, to remain open until April 5th. Unfortunately, the weather is glorious in the Jura mountains at the moment with cobalt blue skies and some green slopes. We are not too worried. A cold spell is expected next week and snow will fall. This will be the first time for many seasons that we have not had a substantial fall in November!
Good news is that our downhill resorts (La Faucille, Mijoux, Crozet and Lélex) are all now using only the magnetic ‘forfaits’ that you can recharge on-line or at the ticket offices. The bornes read them automatically, so there will be no more fumbling with the ticket strung round your neck. The card is valid for three years and now costs only 1€.
9 December 2009, Jura - bit slushy yet!
Further good news is that Jean Charles and Pauline are back for another season running the refuge at Crozet. My top tip is a mid-morning hot wine next to their roaring fire or their home-cooked speciality of the day.
Weather forecast for the Swiss mountain regions
Snow in the Jura and the Alps, although some dry stretches in the Valais Alps. High of 3C, but -8C at 2,000m. Sunday 13 December colder, cloudy, highs of 0-2C. Snow intermittent throughout the mountain regions. MeteoSwiss
Swiss skiers off to a great start
Be sure to check our Monday morning weekend sports reports to follow Switzerland’s skiers, who are off to a great start this year.
Title: Cow fighting festival (combat des reines)
Location: Near Crans-Montana, Valais
Link out: Click here
Description: Find out how the Swiss cows come out fighting. An incredible tradition where the heftiest is not always queen.
Read our feature article.
Start Date: 18 Apr 2009
End Date: 19 Apr 2009
Lake Geneva, Alps, March winds
Changeable March, near Sierre, Valais
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Gray skies and relatively warm temperatures are the rule on the plain 28-29 March but on the peaks the snow is still good, with a solid base. Aminona, Valais, at 2,400 m, still has a base of 220m, for example, with powder. World Meteorological Day was this week, so we’ll turn the spotlight for a moment on those good people who’ve helped us plan our winter weekends during the ski season.
World Meteorological Organization in Geneva to host major conference
The impact of climate change remains a hot topic, but the relationship between climate and weather is not always well understood.
Title: Caprices music festival
Location: Crans-Montana, Valais
Link out: Click here
Description: Toots and the Maytals and Duffy are but two of the wide array of artists at this cool and groovy music fest in the Valais.
Date: 15 Apr 2009
View at dusk from Celigny, Vaud, 12 March 2009
Lake Geneva region (GenevaLunch) – Plenty of snow awaits those who look with longing up at the Alps and Jura, now that the sun has been shining and skies are clear enough to see the white peaks in all directions.
Image: click to view larger
Weekend weather from MeteoSwiss
Partly cloudy to sunny around Lake Geneva and sunny in Valais Friday, with lows of 0C and highs of 12C near Geneva and 13C in the Alps.
Jura: Faucille
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – It’s nearly St Valentine’s day and you couldn’t offer a better gift this weekend than some time in the snow in Switzerland: after a week of steady snow just about everywhere the snow depth is excellent and the quality of the powder in the resorts is perfect.
Calm before the storm: hard to believe 23 January, but Thursday 22 January the sky was blue in Geneva, and Mont Blanc and other peaks felt as if they were on the city's doorstep. Foreground: jet d'eau.
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Weather is on the mind this weekend, with heavy rain falling on the plain, snow in the mountains and a very large question mark about where the snow line will fall. Shirley Curran captured on camera the beauty of the Jura, just minutes from Geneva: see her photo collection from the past few days at the end of this report (click on images to view larger).
Read more…
First in a two-part series on the upswing in luxury hotels
Crans-Montana, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The global economy is in a morose state, with Switzerland predicted to join the recession in 2009. November figures for the hotel industry released 16 January show it may be starting to feel the impact: figures were down overall by 6.8% compared to 2007. The figures hide a number of discrepancies, though, one of which is that Valais was the only canton to show an increase, possibly thanks to good early snow. Geneva and Zurich showed the largest fall, but moderate-price hotels may have been hit harder than others.
The Swiss luxury hotel business is still counting on enough people having money to keep top hotels busy. Geneva’s palaces and niche luxury hotels have been busy investing in improvements, while in resorts, construction work continues unabated.
Clear and sunny and snow remains good
Fog around Lake Geneva and on the plain, as well as at the foot of the mountains in Valais, sends people up to the peaks for sunshine and warmer weather.
Weather forecast
Part of the Crans-Montana ski area Sunday, where skiers were tempted by good snow and sunshine
Sion, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Two accidents, Sunday and Monday, have caused serious injuries in Chandolin and Crans-Montana, Valais. Two 15-year-olds from Geneva were rescued after they set off an avalanche near Chandolin Sunday, where they were skiing off piste. On the slopes of the Crans-Montana area a man skied into a tree just off the groomed trail.
Crans-Montana, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch, by Nick Bates) - French golfer Jean-Francois Lucquin picked up four strokes on the final day to tie with 19-year-old Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland and then went on to win the play-off. Genevois Julien Clement was third, the best result for a Swiss golfer. Details: Swissinfo
