View towards Aeschi from Tschentenalp

This post is for Mike Figgy and everyone else with family in Aeschi, Switzerland. Thanks Mike for your comment on our Christmas greetings post. My wife told my about your comment on the T-bar ski lift at Tschentenalp this morning and when we reached the top, I decided to take a picture of Frutigtal and Aeschi to give you a (nearly) live image of your family's village. Aeschi is marked with a read dot. Niederhorn and Sichlä (u-shape mountain pass) in the background. ...and yep, we still need a little more snow to consider it a perfect winter :)

Tracks of Lammergeier (bearded vulture)?

We went on a snowshoe hike yesterday and came across these huge tracks of what seemed to belong to a bearded vulture or a golden eagle. The wing spread was 1.30 meters (4.27 feet), exactly the same length as my hiking pole. From the tracks it seemed that the bird landed uphill and it took him a few flaps to balance out his landing. The picture was taken on December 26, 2009 on the marked snowshow trail nbr. 120, near the Wenig-Dürrewald, Adelboden. If anyone can help identifying the tracks (eagle or vulture), please let us know!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Just finished my last day in the office this year, what a feeling. Looking forward to a few days of skiing now. A few weeks ago I bought my first season ski pass ever, so no excuses anymore, if the weather is not perfect, got to hit the slopes anyway :) I promise that I will post some impressions from time to time. Merry Christmas!

Best snow conditions in years!

Picture: View over Sillerenbühl Ski Station, Adelboden, Switzerland

Still looking for a short winter break in the next few weeks? Adelboden, Grindelwald, Gstaad or in fact any ski resort in Switzerland would make the perfect location these days. The Swiss alps have been blessed with two major snow falls since November. As far as I remember the snow conditions have never been better over Xmas and New Years (...and yes, that is the reason, why I was not too active writing posts, I spent all my seasonal holidays on the slopes of Adelboden.

Picture: Adelboden Ski Area Map

By the way, Adelboden will be the venue of the Men's FIS World Cup Giant Slalom on January 11, 2009. And guess what. I will be up there tomorrow again - weather forecast: blue sky, sunshine and great powder - happy days!