Evacuating the Mountain

If yesterday was dramatic, then Day 5 at Furtschellas was drama of a different kind!  We had very early starts and took the 7.15am shuttle bus from St Moritz to Furtschella bergbahn where we boarded the cable car with 120 odd other orienteers up to the top station at 3303m.   It was then a 55 minute walk higher up the mountain to the start with spectacular views of the mountains across the valley disappearing into the distance both east and west.  The terrain was much more akin to high Lakeland fell with areas of rock and tarns, and much more fun than yesterday!  I made one daft error which cost me several minutes but otherwise enjoyed my outing.

Back at the cable car station/event arena, we slowly sorted ourselves out whilst chatting with Sue and family when an announcement came over the PA that thunderstorms were expected within the hour and that the event was abandoned and we were asked to check out and leave the mountain without delay.  Immediately the queue for the cable car tripled in size so Tony and I took the decision to walk down, good decision.  The weather arrived earlier than expected and as we reached half way down the trail, the cable car was shut down which would have meant several hundred folks left at the top with the choice of sitting it out or walking down in the awful weather!

At the bottom, Tony and I were lucky that the shuttle bus was still there and so were able to get out of the wind and rain and arrive safely back in St Moritz.  We are now having a leisurely afternoon!  The storm appears to have gone through so hopefully those folks who were up at the top will be on their way home too.

My blip was taken just as we made the decision to walk down and you can see the weather boiling up from the west.