After the crowds leave: when you can be alone in the Alps

Previous Next

The Gemsstock ski area above the village of Andermatt, which in recent years has been transformed into an international resort. Simon Walther

Snowmaking infrastructure in Savognin. A large Swiss ski resort spends on average more than CHF200,000 a day to operate its lifts, prepare its slopes and make snow. (Source: Seilbahnen Schweiz) Simon Walther

Soglio, southern Swiss Alps. © Www.2plus.ch

A snowmaking pipe stands idle with the iconic Matterhorn in the background. Simon Walther

St Moritz's Olympia bobsleigh run slowly melts away, ending another season, while a marker near the Albula Pass appears that will soon help summer walkers find their way. Simon Walther

Looking down on the Eggishorn, the highest station of the Fiescheralp ski area. © Www.2plus.ch

Camping is forbidden on the Albula Pass - and a bit icy, while a hotel in the southern Maggia valley awaits its summer guests. Simon Walther

Chairlift gates in Toggenburg, eastern Switzerland. Swiss mountain resorts generate nearly three-quarters of their turnover in the short ski season. However, summer is becoming more appealing: in 2008 it accounted for only 13% of turnover, now it’s 28%. Simon Walther

A abandoned snowmobile beside portable toilets in Rosenlaui in the Bernese Alps. © Www.2plus.ch

The snow has gone at the small ski resort of Hemberg in eastern Switzerland, while it's still present at higher altitudes, like at this campsite in St Moritz. Simon Walther

The protective netting will have to be erected again next year to catch falling skiers in the ski area of Silvaplana-Surlej. © Www.2plus.ch

The person who placed this small figure on a balcony in the village of Guarda in eastern Switzerland can't wait for summer's arrival. © Www.2plus.ch

• Picture 1
• Picture 2
• Picture 3
• Picture 4
• Picture 5
• Picture 6
• Picture 7
• Picture 8
• Picture 9
• Picture 10
• Picture 11
• Picture 12

What’s it like to be in the mountains when the last skiers have gone home and summer hikers have yet to arrive? Photographer Simon Walther travelled through the Alps between the main holiday seasons to find out.

Each winter, millions of holidaymakers from across Europe flock to the Swiss, French, Austrian or Italian Alps for a week of skiing.

But by Easter, the last have gone, and with them the thousands upon thousands of employees who operate the ski lifts and wait the tables, abandoning the slopes, hotels, restaurants and mountain roads. The snow begins to melt away exposing grass and rock, and the power for the ski infrastructure, from chairlifts to snowmaking guns, is turned off.

It’s into this deserted landscape that photographer Simon Walther ventured. He journeyed across the Swiss Alps between March and June over a three-year period. In his book, ZwischenSaisonExternal link (between seasons), he reveals a side of the Alps seldom seen by tourists.

It’s Walther’s second photo book of alpine landscapes. His first was a collectionExternal link of mirror images, depicting mountains and their reflections in lakes.