jamesdeluxe
Administrator
For my first trip across the pond in almost two years, I was a bit nervous going to the airport Friday afternoon that I'd screwed up the pandemic protocol for international travel. Luckily, I got it right:
a) uploaded my vaccine card to Docket, got a QR code, and presented it ✔
b) got a rapid COVID test the morning of my departure and presented it ✔
c) brought my European Passenger Locator Form (because I was landing in Italy) and presented it ✔
d) brought my Swiss COVID vaccine certificate/entry form (but didn't need to present it until my hotel in Switzerland) ✔
The airline agent who looked at my documents told me how many dozens of people he'd personally had to turn away; most frequently because their rapid test was beyond the 24-hour window (sometimes by as little as 15 minutes). Once I was done with check-in, nothing for the rest of the flight was any different than before. In Milan, we walked past a large dedicated area where they'd been giving incoming passengers rapid antigen tests; however, that's apparently in the past. I showed my passport, walked into the baggage-claim area, and that was that.
After driving a bit less than two hours up and over Simplon Pass -- easy with dry roads and sunshine but very steep and twisty in several parts/I wouldn't want to do it during a snowstorm -- I arrived at stop #1 around 11:15 am: Rothwald (Red Forest with the old German spelling of "red"). You can see the tiny base lodge; it's right along the road to the pass:
I parked my car literally across the street:
-- and walked a few steps up this tiny slope to the ticket booth ($30 on a Saturday). No schlepping hundreds of yards in your boots, no shuttle bus, and no crowds (literally no one there).
You can't really see from the bottom but this was probably the steepest t-bar I've ever ridden (including the summit platter at Lake Louise):
1,200 verts, I really had to use my upper body in parts to hang on:
Finally a flat stretch and then steep again at the top:
From the top of the upper t-bar, you can see Simplon Pass in the distance (upper left):
Conditions were edgeable hardpack (no new snow in a while) with a few scratchy sections; however, the sun and views made up for it.
Rothwald seemed to be popular with tourers. I saw several groups making their way up.
No surprise that you run across this sign a few times showing that various snow sport enthusiasts (downhill, uphill, sledders, hikers, snowshoers) were sharing a stretch of a trail.
Gliding into the Wasenalp section:
Time for a quick drink on the terrace:
Since I had no one to use as a subject, there was no way around the tired "beer with a view" photo:
After booting up again, there were some nice turns through a tract of mountain homes (from the looks of them, used mostly during warmer weather):
Very pleasant to start my trip with a type of ski area that's increasingly rare in North America -- small (comparatively), non-industrial, low-cost, and inviting to anyone who wants to get out on the snow.
a) uploaded my vaccine card to Docket, got a QR code, and presented it ✔
b) got a rapid COVID test the morning of my departure and presented it ✔
c) brought my European Passenger Locator Form (because I was landing in Italy) and presented it ✔
d) brought my Swiss COVID vaccine certificate/entry form (but didn't need to present it until my hotel in Switzerland) ✔
The airline agent who looked at my documents told me how many dozens of people he'd personally had to turn away; most frequently because their rapid test was beyond the 24-hour window (sometimes by as little as 15 minutes). Once I was done with check-in, nothing for the rest of the flight was any different than before. In Milan, we walked past a large dedicated area where they'd been giving incoming passengers rapid antigen tests; however, that's apparently in the past. I showed my passport, walked into the baggage-claim area, and that was that.
After driving a bit less than two hours up and over Simplon Pass -- easy with dry roads and sunshine but very steep and twisty in several parts/I wouldn't want to do it during a snowstorm -- I arrived at stop #1 around 11:15 am: Rothwald (Red Forest with the old German spelling of "red"). You can see the tiny base lodge; it's right along the road to the pass:
I parked my car literally across the street:
-- and walked a few steps up this tiny slope to the ticket booth ($30 on a Saturday). No schlepping hundreds of yards in your boots, no shuttle bus, and no crowds (literally no one there).
You can't really see from the bottom but this was probably the steepest t-bar I've ever ridden (including the summit platter at Lake Louise):
1,200 verts, I really had to use my upper body in parts to hang on:
Finally a flat stretch and then steep again at the top:
From the top of the upper t-bar, you can see Simplon Pass in the distance (upper left):
Conditions were edgeable hardpack (no new snow in a while) with a few scratchy sections; however, the sun and views made up for it.
Rothwald seemed to be popular with tourers. I saw several groups making their way up.
No surprise that you run across this sign a few times showing that various snow sport enthusiasts (downhill, uphill, sledders, hikers, snowshoers) were sharing a stretch of a trail.
Gliding into the Wasenalp section:
Time for a quick drink on the terrace:
Since I had no one to use as a subject, there was no way around the tired "beer with a view" photo:
After booting up again, there were some nice turns through a tract of mountain homes (from the looks of them, used mostly during warmer weather):
Very pleasant to start my trip with a type of ski area that's increasingly rare in North America -- small (comparatively), non-industrial, low-cost, and inviting to anyone who wants to get out on the snow.
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Thus, I had to go to an urgent care place in New Jersey the morning of my departure (free) and a testing joint near the airport in Milan ($50) before my flight home.