jnelly
Member
Another perfect day was on tap as I drove the ~25 minutes to Stechelberg, home to the Schilthornbahn; the steepest cable car in the world. The stats are impressive as was the entire unit:
Gradient: 159.4% / 58° angle
Vertical Rise: 775 meters/2,542 feet
Travel Time: ~4 minutes to Mürren station.
Took the incredible ride to Birg and started. Temps, as was the day before, was a repeat of Grindelwald. Mid 30’s degree and high ceiling, no wind. Started Riggli sector of the mountain for some warm up runs on long and wide #11. Crowds were minimal along here even with it being the main artery. After a few laps, went to Piz Gloria to take in the panorama, spy museum and complex in general, which is really nice & modern. It was worth the stop & look. Although as a Bond fan, I was kinda meh about the museum only from a priority standpoint. The walk thru was plenty.
Snow from Piz Gloria down toward Muttleren lift was packed powder, empty and nice to ski on. From top of Muttleren down was still hard refreeze most of the area so I went back down to the Schiltgrat lift to catch some soft snow before it got too warm and let the top soften up more.. Took about 3-4 runs throughout the middle 1/3 directly above Murren. (The entire mountain south of the Schlitgrat lift toward Gimmelwald was closed.) Runs here were super soft, nearing mashed potatoes and frankly not the most interesting skiing so went back up for a break.
After a stop, I covered the terrain around Kandahar /Riggli lift which by this time were excellent surfaces; between corn and slightly colder. By this time I pretty much had the entire place to myself …
Finished the day by working down via long black 17>16 to Winteregg sector; which by this time ~3p was a combination of conditions but free of hard pack. Views from this sector were as impressive as any due to being really square onto that imposing massif itself.
Back down EOD, success!
Gradient: 159.4% / 58° angle
Vertical Rise: 775 meters/2,542 feet
Travel Time: ~4 minutes to Mürren station.
Took the incredible ride to Birg and started. Temps, as was the day before, was a repeat of Grindelwald. Mid 30’s degree and high ceiling, no wind. Started Riggli sector of the mountain for some warm up runs on long and wide #11. Crowds were minimal along here even with it being the main artery. After a few laps, went to Piz Gloria to take in the panorama, spy museum and complex in general, which is really nice & modern. It was worth the stop & look. Although as a Bond fan, I was kinda meh about the museum only from a priority standpoint. The walk thru was plenty.
Snow from Piz Gloria down toward Muttleren lift was packed powder, empty and nice to ski on. From top of Muttleren down was still hard refreeze most of the area so I went back down to the Schiltgrat lift to catch some soft snow before it got too warm and let the top soften up more.. Took about 3-4 runs throughout the middle 1/3 directly above Murren. (The entire mountain south of the Schlitgrat lift toward Gimmelwald was closed.) Runs here were super soft, nearing mashed potatoes and frankly not the most interesting skiing so went back up for a break.
After a stop, I covered the terrain around Kandahar /Riggli lift which by this time were excellent surfaces; between corn and slightly colder. By this time I pretty much had the entire place to myself …
Finished the day by working down via long black 17>16 to Winteregg sector; which by this time ~3p was a combination of conditions but free of hard pack. Views from this sector were as impressive as any due to being really square onto that imposing massif itself.
Back down EOD, success!
