Clearing the roof, 30 December 2011, near Crans-Montana, Valais
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Too much of a good thing, with more and more snow falling, means that many lifts in the Swiss Alps are not open Friday: more than a foot fell overnight, more is expected Friday night and Meteoswiss is predicting strong northwest winds throughout the Alps Saturday.
Alps and avalanche reports
Check directly with resorts as the situation is rapidly changing for piste closings and openings, due to weather:
Anzere, Crans-Montana, Leysin-Aigle, Verbier, Villars-Gryon, Saas-Fee, Zermatt
The Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, WSL, bulletin concludes with: “On Saturday, continuous and intermittently intense snowfall is anticipated in all regions of the Swiss Alps except the furthermost south. The northwesterly wind will be blowing at strong velocity. The snowfall level is expected to ascend towards 1800 m over the course of the day. On Sunday, the precipitation will taper off in northern regions. In southern regions it will be sunny. The avalanche danger will escalate significantly on Saturday, presumably giving rise to increasingly frequent naturally triggered avalanches.”
Jura report
by Shirley Curran
With more snow falling, we look set for a good season. The cold weather and snow are expected to continue until Saturday when milder conditions are expected with some sunshine. The start of January promises to be warmer than recent days and our resorts will have a fine covering of snow, with the fresh that is falling now. Crowds will have diminished. Now is the time to enjoy ski-ing less than half an hour from the Swiss frontier!
Ed. note: at noon Friday the ski runs were open - check for updates
Great weather for snowshoes, ski touring, ice skating and sledding!
Snowshoes in canton Valais: perfect way to get around 30 December
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A Swiss and French white Christmas is guaranteed if you’re heading for the mountains.
Weather forecast
Valais Alps, 24 December 2011 snowfall
The weather in Switzerland Saturday 24 December is a mix of rain on the plain and temperatures of 2-5C, with fog, snow and some sunshine in the Alps, highs of 4C and lows of -2C. Christmas day: sunshine with high clouds. Next week, highs of 4C in the mountains, mixed cloudiness and sunshine with snow at higher altitudes by Thursday.
Jura
by Shirley Curran
We are hoping for slightly milder weather and have the best snow cover we have had for years at this state of the season, with most of our installations running in the Jura Mountains: 75cm on the lower slopes, 100cm Saturday at the top. Check the daily bulletin for details of all ski areas (infos neige). Have a wonderful ski week.
Alps
Snow on the peaks now has depths of at least 130cm everywhere, reaching 200-plus in Zermatt. In some cases the resort villages have more snow than the tops of the mountains: in Crans-Montana the village, at 1,800 m, has 180cm, while the glacier above has 130cm!
Several resorts have had to keep some of their runs closed, however, due to a mix of high winds and avalanche risks.
Crans-Montana 3 of 27 runs open Saturday, due to high winds. Some 40,000 guests expected this week, according to tourism office CEO Philippe Rubod.
Gstaad area (includes Glacier 3000) 43 of 57 runs open, snow 60-300cm
Saas-Fee several lifts closed Saturday due to high winds
Verbier runs mostly open, with lower winds than in central canton Valais; snow depth 50-170cm. Note: if you’re in the area be sure to take in the special Christmas concert put on by the Friends of Verbier Festival: Thursday 29 December 2011 at 18.30 in the Eglise de Verbier with Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji and French pianist Julien Quentin. Tickets are on sale from +41 848 771 882 or by e-mail caroline.bertee@verbierfestival.com, for CHF60 (CHF30, under 16s). Starting 26 December, tickets available at the Verbier tourist information center.
Villars-Gryon 11 of 15 lifts opened Saturday. Avalanche danger remains high. Sledge pistes open from 24 and 26 December in Frience and Cergnement.
Zermatt higher lifts mostly closed due to high winds Saturday, Sunnegga and Gornergrat have several lifts open.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – A six-year-old Spanish child who was with a ski instructor on the slopes in Saas Fee was buried for 45 minutes by an avalanche in Saas Fee Wednesday afternoon, and died Thursday during the night at the Chuv University Hospitals in Lausanne, say canton Valais police.
The child’s teacher was only partially buried. She was found quickly and is in good condition.
The two were on a groomed slope at 2,900 metres, according to police.
Rescue workers were unable to use helicopters due to poor weather conditions. The avalanche, 100 metres wide and 300 metres long, appears to have occurred naturally, without anyone triggering it, and police are urging caution, with a poor snow base and winds creating hazardous conditions in some mountain areas.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - A 48-year-old German climber died after falling 20 metres into a crevasse while climbing the Allelinhorn near Saas Fee. He and his guide, also German, had left the Mittelallelin lift station and skied across the Feeglatscher.
At about 3,700 metres the climber lost a pole when they were on a very steep bit. The guide told him not to move while he fetched it, because just a few metres further there was a crevasse that runs the length of the glacier. He unroped himself and took off his skis and backpack. When he returned, his client, who had moved from the spot, had fallen into the glacier.
The rescue team that was called was too late and could only declare the man dead at the scene of the accident, say canton Valais police.
Valais climbing death: trainee guide falls to his death
SION, SWITZERLAND – A 17-year-old Valais youth died in hospital Friday 12 August, a week after being involved in an altercation with a 15-year-old in the village of Réchy. The young man was kicked in the chest and lost consciousness Saturday 1 August during a village festival. He was taken to Sion Hospital, where he had been in a coma since and where he died Friday morning.
The two were involved in an argument, according to police inquiries, early in the evening of Saturday 6 August, and the youth who died punched and broke the glasses of the 15-year-old. The two were separated by security services but later in the evening the younger man kicked the other one; the circumstances are not yet clear.
Both youths are Swiss and live in the region. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.
Guide was climbing Egginergrat alone
Valais police Friday 12 August also announced the death of a 28-year-old Jura man who had been training as a mountain guide. He had taken a group climbing Thursday, then left them at the Allalin restaurant in Saas Fee before heading out to climb the Egginergrat on his own.
When he didn’t return Thursday night a search mission was sent out and his body was found at the foot of the mountain, several hundred meters below where he had been climbing.
Sion, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) - A 20-year-old German who was hiking near Saas Fee Monday 26 July fell 100 metres to his death, say Valais police. He and a companion were walking on the Britannia-Plattjen path when, for reasons not yet clear, they left the path to climb higher and the youth slipped. He died at the scene. Police have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.
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.
Saas-Fee, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Another 150,000 m3 of glacier came crashing down near Saas-Fee Monday 21 September, six days after some 50,000 m3 of ice broke loose from the same glacier, the Feegletscher. The glacier is relatively close to hiking paths and two mountain restaurants, all of which were closed temporarily after last week’s slide. No one was injured by the latest slide, and the tourist areas were re-opened.
Saas Fee, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The bodies of two Italian climbers, ages 46 and 62, were found Thursday morning 27 August on the Lagginhorn (map), near Saas Fee. They went missing Monday after setting off from the Weissmies hut to climb the Lagginhorn, a 4,010 metre peak. At 3,300 metres, for unknown reasons, the two, who were roped together, fell some 200 metres to their death. Poor weather conditions made the search for them difficult. An Air Glacier helicopter and rescue search party from Saas Fee located and retrieved the bodies.
Verbier, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Televerbier, which operates the lift system in the commune of Bagnes, which includes the resort of Verbier, has bought out the 20 percent share of French company La Compagnie des Alpes for some CHF20 million.
Update 2, 21:10 Saas-Fee and Bourg-St-Pierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Four people have died in Valais in climbing accidents over the weekend of 11-12 July. A 47-year-old Italian climber fell more than 300 metres to his death from a cliff at about 3,300 metres altitude shortly after leaving the Mischabels hut near Saas-Fee early Sunday afternoon 12 July. He was part of a group of four Italian climbers.
Title: World Cup snowboard finals, women
Location: Saas Fee
Link out: Click here
Description: Half-pipe specialists on display in competition that is part of the international circuit
Date: 31 Oct 2008
