(Les Diablerets, Switzerland)
After a very long journey, I have finally arrived in this winter’s first ski destination: Les Diablerets, Switzerland. It is by no means the largest Swiss resort, but it is relatively close to Morzine (France) and Les Portes du Soleil, where I will be skiing all of next week. As I only have time for a couple of days of Swiss skiing, it wasn’t necessary to ski in a huge resort.
Les Diablerets is located on the eastern fringe of French-speaking Switzerland, just a little bit west of my German-speaking “Heimatort” of Lenk. I went skiing at the nearby glacier in August (!) of 1987, so I wanted to get a better idea of the area (most of it) that is not actually open in the summer. In fact, with climate change and increased awareness of environmental impacts, I am not even sure that skiing is still offered here in the summer.
It has been a mild winter here: on the rail trip from Geneva to Aigle, there was no snow at all. From the rustic mountain train that travels between Aigle and Les Diablerets, snow only began to appear as I arrived in Les Diablerets. Not every piste is open right now.
As I write this, on the day before we first hit the slopes, the snow is finally starting to arrive. We received about 25 cm of snow today, with more expected in the days to come. In fact, I suspect we won’t see too much of the sun for the first part of this international ski odyssey. But that’s OK – it’s hard to enjoy the sunny slopes if there is no snow on the slopes!
The village reminds me of Lenk too, or perhaps Andermatt, before Andermatt underwent a massive expansion. There isn’t much of a corporate presence, and somehow (in a good way) it feels like the town is still in the past century. Somehow, it is a little strange to use my laptop.
I’ve been scanning menus and have come to the conclusion that you had better be a cheese lover here. Cheese is everywhere…and bread, potatoes and ham are ubiquitous too. Again, not too different from my observations in Lenk a couple of years ago. And from what I understand, I may see more of the same in Morzine next week. It may be in a different country, but the history here goes back much further than the relatively “new” borders between France and Switzerland.
I am staying in the Auberge de la Poste (see photo at the top of this post) – one of those rustic old chalets that passers-by like to photograph. It’s right in the middle of town, and I think it will suit our purposes perfectly.
Today’s photographs were all taken while walking from Les Diablerets to the nearby hamlet of Sur Le Buis. While there is no sun to speak of, and a few of the photos were taken in blizzard-like conditions, I think you can get an idea of this area is all about. By the time you read this, I will hopefully be on the slopes!