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Are we there yet?

Nope. Still on the road. Today we covered 825km and eventually landed somewhere with hot water. I know, call me bourgeois.

Tomorrow we’ll aim towards Lausanne, with a forecast of good weather for the French part and the skies getting more and more overcast as we approach Switzlerland. Another day covering asphalt. Really looking forward to it. Or not.20160107_173847

The Perfect Winter… just not yet

You noticed it, and so did I: where’s winter?

Despite big expectations in the summer that something big would happen this season, due to the infamous El Niño (the strongest ever recorded), and a decent snowfall all around the Alps in November, this winter has come into a halt. Hardly any snow, mild temperatures and no forecast to make us smile in a reasonable future. And anyone in his right mind would not believe a forecast of more than 5 or 6 days – more than that is like looking into a crystal ball, you choose what you want to believe.

Speaking frankly, there is no real pattern on the el Niño activity and intensity throughout the summer and snowfall during winter in Europe. However – as always – every snow addict hopes were up, as it usually happens after those warmer months. Yes, summer is nice, but as soon as the first long sleeve comes on, all we think about is heading up and taste some pow pow.

So, when November brought the white stuff everyone was waxing the boards and booking early trips. But then… nothing. Sierra Nevada started only on artificial snow. The pyrenees looked promising but everything melted or is maintained by hard work and technology only. Claims of temperatures of 15ºC above 1500m for the next days seem not to be doomsday prophecies. Where the… hell… is winter?

Quoting Meteomorris from Wepowder:

‘The jetstream is moving around the Alps with a big bow.  This article was written a couple of weeks ago, but it’s still standing strong. The result is that the storm depressions don’t reach the Alps, but reach western Norway or that a northern current is taking the storms to Russia, the Black Sea and Turkey and Georgia. Snow that would came down in the Alps in a ‘normal’ situation. The weather in the Alps is on lockdown. But… hang in there. Winter will come eventually.’

(You can read more about what is causing this  phenomenon here. At least it will distract you while the cold days linger on.)

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