October 14th
We woke up to find it had snowed during the night: 10 – 12 cm at the Stelvio col (and on the car), more higher up, and the whole countryside plastered with fresh snow down to about 1800 m. I had planned the high level walk from the Stelvio col to Piz Chavalatsch, the easternmost point in Switzerland, then down to Müstair. Although the weather forecasts more or less agreed on a calmer, even slightly sunny period until the late afternoon, the walk could not be tackled safely with 15 – 20 cm of fresh snow. Thursday 15th and Friday 16th would bring even more bad weather. So once again we drove home, over Pass Umbrail, Ofenpass and Flüelapass, hoping for a stable period of good weather later in the year, with the risk that winter will set in properly and the mountains will only be accessible on skis. Fortunately, we had winter tyres on the car and snow chains with us (not needed today since the snow ploughs were most efficient in both Italy and Switzerland).
Photos:
Pass Umbrail, yesterday and today
Rupert,
Your trek seems to be turning into almost a daily commute between home & last point reached! That can’t be much fun, never mind the fuel bills!
Best,
David
David, you are absolutely right! Commutes of 5 to 6 hours each way from the other end of Switzerland. But the fuel is cheaper than board and lodging even in small hotels and B&B’s, even in Italy!