After an almighty final battle between the cold air and warm air on Friday across Europe, the cold air won on points and now it seems any precipitation will fall as snow for the next few months. The storm blew down many large trees all over the forest, obstructing the paths and bridleways in may places.The restaurant at Gempen turm had taken a beating, many of its large roof tiles had slid off and the restaurant itself looked closed amidst the several cm of snow.
Once up high, I stayed in the whiteout for as long as possible, exploring new lanes south and getting completely lost. The snow was light and dry, no ice, so it was possible to ride at speed - though eventually my front derailleur had so much snow and ice it wouldn't shift down to the small ring.
Really felt strange descending back to the snow free St Jakobs park after being in the snow for several hours, just like being skiing all day then getting the train back to Tokyo in the evening. Not that getting back to Basel feels like getting back to Tokyo, thats a different matter.
