Another day in Andermatt

PICT0018, originally uploaded by Michael A. Lowry.

We had another full day of skiing on Gemsstock today (the name Gemsstock means mountain goat peak in German). It was cloudy and snowing all day, so we had to take it a bit easy. At times, it was so cloudy and snowy that we couldn't see each other even though we were just twenty meters apart. The poor visibility and the soft powder snow combined to give a surreal sensation. Several times I was skiing but couldn't really tell how fast I was going. Other times I thought I was moving, but I had stopped in the thick snow.

Today was not nearly as lovely as yesterday. In fact, the only photos I took today were at lunch and once we had finished skiing for the day. It just didn't make sense to get my camera out while skiing. The visibility was simply too poor.

So rather than post a photo from today, here's another lovely one from yesterday. The gondola in the photo goes from the mid-station up to the top of Gemsstock. From there, today as yesterday, we skied the off-piste area to the left of the tall ridge running along the right side of this photo. It was a lot more fun yesterday when we could see where we were going!

Tonight we at dinner at a lovely and tiny restaurant attached to Di Alt Apothek bar we've been visiting each evening after skiing. The restaurant and bar are situated under The River House hotel/bed & breakfast. All three establishments appear to share the same owner, management and staff. Both the bar and restaurant disallow smoking, and they offer free wi-fi and have good beer; so the bar has been a frequent after-ski hangout for us and for many of the other Swedes vacationing here this week. The food was so good at the restaurant that we booked a table for Friday night too. They have only eight or so tables, so it's pretty much necessary to book in advance.

I have created a new photo set for the Andermatt, March 2008 trip. Take a look!