New year's eve, chalet-style

It's surprisingly common for Swiss families to own a chalet in the hills. They tend to be small timber buildings with basic facilities - just your standard fondue set, a wood-burning stove, and somewhere to store a bottle or two of red. Tanya and I were treated to a stay in a friend's chalet for new year's eve this year, and it was fantastic!

The chalet was in Villars, surrounded by cool mountains. Nearby was the enormous rock wall of the Miroir d'Argentine, which while snow-covered now is looking mighty good for a climb come summer. Over the back of the Miroir lurked the giant Grand Muveran, and its little brother (the Petit Muveran) was sitting meekly around the corner. And over the other side of the valley were the Dents du Midi that Tanya and I climbed just before winter set in.

We took snowshoes and walked from Villars up the valley to the little village of Anzeinde. It was a good chance to test out my new GoPro camera on the most extreme of all sports -- snowshoeing! The photos in this post are GoPro pictures, hence their wide angle and extreme nature.

By mid afternoon for us it was already the new year in Australia and New Zealand, so it was fun to see the messages from far away come flowing in as the fireworks went off in Sydney and we fired up the fondue set. As the night fell on 2013, we settled in for a fondue chinoise. In this version of fondue the melted cheese is replaced with boiling broth in which you cook the rest of your meal. We watched the sun set over the mountains and reflected on the year that was and the year that is to come. To everyone reading - I hope you have a very happy new year.

Anzeinde.