Lauterbrunnen, Bernese Oberland - SWITZERLAND

MONDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 1999

This morning we awoke to a welcoming -15 degrees Celsius at the early hour of 7:30am. By the time we were all in our ski gear and had breakfast it was an hour later and the boys went into reception to find out a bit about the ski area. The receptionist thought that we were so crazy for staying out in last nights temperatures that she unplugged the office oil heater and told Dave and Peter to take it to the car. It did offer an exceptional quality of warmth but nearly took up the whole standing area.

At 8:50am the campsite bus was full of tour group skiers (staying in dormitory accommodation) and we hurtled into town to the train station. We settled for a three day all-area pass that included the trains up to a whopping 2000 metres (only in Switzerland) and the option to upgrade (for AUD$60 p/p) to a return ticket through tunnels underneath the Eiger and up to the top of the Jungfrau at nearly 4000 metres!!! The two carriage green and yellow cog trains reminiscent of the early railways took us up to Wengen in 20 minutes. Winding all the way up the cliff-face past forests covered in snow, iced-over mountain rivers, snowed-under chalets, small animal tracks and a general scenery to die for.

The trained pulled into Wengen next to three other lines and we all marvelled at the ingenuity of the Swiss. It took us nearly an hour to rent some gear (at only AUD$80 for skis and poles for 3 days), then fish-boned uphill on our skis past little wooden chalets, ice carvings, an ice rink filled with small children and a bustling mountain atmosphere towards the Mannlichen Lift. This cable car hurtled us up yet another cliff-face and out into the open bowls and groomed runs below the towering Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau Mountains, whose flanks were covered in jagged glaciers glistening blue. In the sunshine we enjoyed a day of powder on our parabolics, ever aware of the majestic monuments of time above us and enjoying the thrill that only hurtling down snow at 60km an hour on planks can provide. We found many powder chutes and ravines on the lower forests where the good Teutonics had not laid a carve, for the Germans and British keep to the groomed areas and marked paths. Boy if this was Australia or America not an inch of powder would be left after your second run down. At one point we followed a raving through the trees below the lift line, where the powder was up to our calves. Although after a stack it took nearly 15 minutes to dig the other person out and we realised that it was not a good idea skiing over a running river!!

We amused ourselves until the lifts closed and in the fading sunset followed a run out trail back down to Wengen taking in the glaciered mountains, over excellent mogul runs, down the worlds longest racecourse, over the train line, through pine forests laden with clumps of snow and into Wengen. We returned to the station by 6pm thoroughly knackered and hopped back on the train down to Lauterbrunnen savouring the evening mountain scenery, back-dropped by the glistening lights of town below. Who could have asked for a more perfect days skiing in beautiful Switzerland? It would have been a very different perspective in bad weather.

The boys went straight to soak in the warm showers whilst I tended to the chores like a good woman should - drying wet ski gear, stoking up the oil heater and beginning to prepare another gourmet feast. After showering I returned to the van, where the guys were as happy as larks reflecting on the days events. We cracked open a few Czechoslovakian beers and nibbled chips and nuts above the heater which was turning the room into a kind of sauna. I can't believe I'm living in a car at -10 and complaining that it's too hot! Tonight I cooked satay chicken followed by lots of chocolate and warm tea. One member of the team was even complaining that he didn't have a hot chocolate! Gosh anyone would think I was running the Savoy!! It's nice to think that we can make the camper so appealing by serving good food. Tea and hordes of chocolate provided all the energy needed to get the beds ready and again by midnight I fell asleep on the bench-top above the sink and sweating from the oil heaters temperature.