Christmas in Anzère

For the first time since we moved to Switzerland we had no visitors over Christmas! So we headed for the mountains of the Valais, in the French part of Switzerland. Our destination was Anzère, a small purpose-built resort town above Sion, and we arrived there, with our friends Ruth and Roger, as the sun set on Christmas Day. We unpacked, took a little walk around the village, prettily and pristinely dressed in a 10cm thick coat of fresh snow, and settled into the serious business of Christmas cheer. The hotel's dinner wasn't quite as good as our Christmas dinners past - but not having to cook or clean up was a gift!

Then followed two glorious days of snowshoeing the many high trails above the village. The days were clear, crisp and beautiful, the snow thick and powdery and the further up and away we walked, the less populated the trails. On our second day out we walked towards Crans Montana, a 16km round trek climbing over 500m (some of it seemingly vertical!) across valleys and up into magical mountain passes. We got lost a couple of times, as happens on our mountain walks, when suddenly the markers end or the trail diverges without warning. But getting lost on a Swiss mountain is never particularly terrifying - there's usually a trail somewhere nearby. This time, we found a solitary skier's trail and followed it down until we spotted the marked hiking trail again.

On Monday we left again, fitter if not fatter than when we arrived, mentally refreshed and physically exhausted - though more from the disco that kept us awake every night than from the snowshoeing! Why do these resort towns have discos in their centres? We love the Valais - but we won't be returning to Anzère - or to any other town that features a disco...