In early January the Alps were suffering from a very low snowpack, and Switzerland was no exception. This posed a dilemma to figure out where would be the best place to try to ski powder during this big snowstorm: anywhere above treeline (which most ski areas are around here) would be whiteout conditions and likely closed anyways, while anyplace too low below treeline would be bare dirt under the new snow.

After much research I figured that Ovronnaz might be a good place to be during the snowstorm, since it is known for its relatively high elevation larch forests. We enjoyed a couple days here, skiing/riding powder amongst the larch trees which provided much needed visibility during the blizzard.

The storm dumped nearly a meter of new snow (~2-3 feet), and for Saturday the weather forecasted clearing skies which meant that it would be THE powder day when the upper lifts and best terrain would finally open. We headed to Lauchernalp, which is further up the valley in the German speaking part of Valais (being so close to the border of France, most of Valais is French speaking). Lauchernalp is a small ski area but the terrain and location is awesome, and I was hoping to avoid the intense powder panic of the larger, more popular ski resorts. We got there super early and managed to get on one of the first chairlifts. I was nearly drooling with anticipation looking at the view below the chairlift!

A few minutes later I was arching carves through the fresh powder down the 2,000 vertical feet of this terrain. With huge peaks towering above and the golden morning sun glowing through ice crystals in the air, it felt like I was experiencing a real-life version of a snowboarding dream, as if the boundaries between reality and fantasy had dissolved.

I spent the morning lapping fresh tracks and by lunchtime it was easily one of my all-time best powder days. One day like this makes an entire ski trip worthwhile!

Next we moved on to Veysonnaz, one of the villages adjoining the massive 4 Vallées ski area (Verbier being the most famous of all). Although I knew that the powder wouldn't last long on a weekend around here, I was still impressed to see that every square foot of powder had been tracked up the previous day from end to end throughout this vast ski area!

The highlight of my day here was the awesome view from Mont Fort, the highest point in the ski area. Riding down the 1,600 vertical meter (5,250 foot) descent through icy moguls from Mont Fort to Siviez was a bit tedious, but it also gave me a sense of the immense scale of the mountains here. And it's always fun to spend a day roaming around such vast amount of acreage on my snowboard.

Our next stop was Crans-Montana, which pleasantly surprised us with its wide, mellow, perfectly groomed pistes (perhaps a reason why Vail bought it?). We had a very nice day here cruising and carving our way around the endless groomers.

For the final stop during our time in Switzerland, we drove way up towards the end of the valley of Valais, took our bags up a gondola, and spent an evening at Fiescheralp, a high elevation ski village at the foot of the Aletsch Arena ski area. The main reason I wanted to go here was to see the viewpoints overlooking the Aletsch Glacier, the longest glacier in the Alps. I did a ski tour over the Aletsch Glacier back in April 2011, so it was cool to see an overview of the length of the glacier. The vistas here certainly did not disappoint, though I must say it's a pretty wonky ski area with lots of flat spots and odd connecting routes.

There are a LOT more ski areas I would have loved to visit in Valais, but towards the end of our week there the weather forecasts were calling for another big snowstorm but this time it was aimed at the Piemonte region in the far southern Alps of Italy! The chase was on again!!!