switzerland 2020/21

A snowHead

Can anyone tell me how can they even open with the current rules? I am a wengen area skier but cannot do a 10 day lockin before starting to ski,
Plus the Insurance will not be valid.
Will they bother investing in making snow and opening?

A snowHead

Of course they'll try their best, within the restrictions handed down by the government and the canton. I've already bought my season pass Very Happy

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

But can they make the numbers work without tourists who come for the season?
no ordinary 7 and 14 day breaks will happen. Many bars cannot offer seated service. On the mountain its the same.
The numbers don't work

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@castleford tiger, welcome to snowHeads!

I'm a Wengen area skier too, but like you I will not be able to quarantine for 10 days on arrival in Switzerland. We must all hope that that requirement for UK based skiers will not last long.

As regards your second question, I very much expect that they will be snow making and opening as planned as they have their own Swiss skiers and visitors from non high risk countries. Also of course Wengen is hosting the World Cup Lauberhorn races on Jan 15th to 17th. Smile

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks Alastair are you a DHO member too!!
Looking in the web cam on Man the summer play stuff has still not been moved and by now the info structure for skiing is normally in place. The local market will not support the costs and help hotels etc. Large parts of France and now Germany have the same rules as us!

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Its great if you live here though ...

In all seriousness, I have no idea like everyone else how this will pan out. Thoe who I speak to on the phone say similar ..

Im sure many clowns will treat their holidays as 'business", others will treat the rules with disdain. Only thing questioning my slope side activity is the unknown. I suspect if we were Swiss we would treat is as a "Protected Activity" .. I really hope someone comes up with a path through 2021 winter season snowHead

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I guess the real answer is that we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. Covid could get worse, and maybe the area won't be allowed to open. On the other hand things might get better, in which case quarantine might be relaxed. One thing is for sure though - the Jungfraubahn will move heaven and earth to make the season a success.

Looking back at this summer, there were still quite a few tourists doing all the usual things, despite there being no guests from Asia. The Jungfraubahn improved their 'offer' in response to the lack of tourists. For example, they included the Jungfraujoch on our summer passes so we could go there as often as we wanted. They probably still didn’t make a profit, but that’s not always the point. I fully expect them to open unless the government forbids it.

After all it is free

Just a regular visitor with no special knowledge here - I was in Graübunden in summer and some businesses in resort were fully expecting a Swiss-only ski season and were beginning to gear up accordingly. Our hotel had just come out of their busiest ever summer and said they were even busier than much of the winter and felt it augured well for winter domestic business too. They may well continue to accept visitors from other low risk countries - it’s not hugely popular with British skiers but very popular with Germans for example. I can see them having a scaled back season little affected by the absence of British, French etc.

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@Skimum1, we had a lovely summer. With the guests from the Far East absent, we did a few city breaks (Luzern, Meiringen etc) and enjoyed the absence of mass tourism. Of course it’s not commercially sustainable in the long term, but it was quite pleasant being able to visit all the tourist hotspots without the crowds. I'm optimistic about the winter season. Sure, nobody’s going to make a fortune, but if the weather Gods play ball we might have a really good one.

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Alistiar I am sure we have skied together at some point.
I hope some of you guys are right but I am fed up with having things cancelled so next I remain pessimistic . It’s almost a double whammy as the Swiss F keeps falling against the £
The note from Rocks bar closing hammers home to issues these places are having to deal with. Rather a dampener after such a cold snowy month.

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As much as I want to visit and ski I am trying to be realistic. The situation is still getting worse in Europe and the U.K. and skiing could start in 3/4 weeks. The planning I know must go on but I cannot see the local ticket sales covering the costs of preparation and maintenance of the slopes. You know they closed early most years as tourist trade dropped off. Some difficult calls are going to have to be made and pretty soon I guess.

You know it makes sense.

Breaking - Swiss have dropped quarantine requirement for most European countries, including the U.K. The most notable exception is France.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Link with summary here for French speakers: https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/le-conseil-federal-etend-le-port-du-masque-a-lexterieur-402068870748

A snowHead

A snowHead

@BobinCH, enfoiré! Is this a reputable source Laughing

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

and before we get too excited.....

I read the below to mean that the incidence in UK per 100,000 must be within 60 of the incidence in Switzerland #notquiteoutoflessoibyet!

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And of course you have to quarantine on return..... but first positive news in a while Very Happy

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Would you still need a negative test ?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

See: www.eda.admin.ch/london

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It’s a great start . Great news.

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Verbier opens this Weekend. And at the moment, you can fly there without having to quarantine.

https://www.easyverbier.com/fr/debut-de-saison

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@LaForet, Lots of affordable accommodation, particularly in le chable - I would be there (in fact I would have been in Austria this week) but for one tiny problem.... the need to quarantine on return. I am not able to work from home but real opportunity for others!

You know it makes sense.

@FrediKanoute, not so! Battleface.com (other providers probably available) have quoted me £3.50 a day to cover me to travel against FCO advice.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Game changer yesterday we hope. Plenty can go wrong but hotels booked for March skiing in Zermatt,( with late free cancellation option of course).

A snowHead

So Switzerland have gone against WHO and are open.

Again looking at Wengen area will the mountain restaurants be allowed to open ?
I cannot see any bars opening except outdoor and a drink in the hotel?

come on help[ me out here ladies and Gents

A snowHead

The mountain restaurants are open today Allmend was open for walkers Figeller Bar is up and ready to go on the Nursery slopes

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Wengen will open next Saturday plus the opening of the Eiger Gletscher lift snow forecast this week with cold temperatures

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks
Snow coming this week Tuesday and weekend.

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Good to see Switzerland open.

Shredding the pow is more important than a bit of flu.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

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Just a quick report from Saas Fee from this weekend. Only the upper part of the mountain is open, which you can access via both the Alpine Express and Spielboden. There is virtually no snow outside the pistes below 2500m, but the canons on the homerun from Morenia were working on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon it looked almost complete with some people trying to ski/board down it even though it was closed. It was relatively busy over the weekend (busier than normal at this time of year according to the locals), but queues were not too bad since the Langfluh area is also open. The only major queue was at Morenia to go up the Alpine Express where you had to wait about 10-15 minutes. There was also a huge queue at the Langfluh tbar on Saturday when the Langfluh chair was closed for a while. Masks need to be worn on all lifts at all times and the restaurants and bars are all shut, including those on the mountain. However, there is no social distancing in queues and everyone is crammed into the tele cabins as per usual. In town, the shops are open and although there are no bars open there seemed to be a few places selling gluhwein outside with people crowding around. There is also a little kiosk operating outside at the top of the Metro alpin where you can get drinks when you are skiing. Morenia was completely closed, including the toilets as far as I could see (toilets at the cablecar stations and metro alpine were open). There has been no notable snow since October but pistes are holding up well with some good skiing, especially on the upper area. More snow forecast to arrive this week.

Help!!

switzerland 2020/21

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