Probably whole generations have grown up with this image in their heads when the term “snowy mountain village” is mentioned: a small village embedded in a thick white blanket of snow in the middle of the mountains, brown wooden houses contrasting with the white of the snow. Everything radiates a homey and cozy warmth and somehow the whole setting has something picture-perfect, almost romantic.
Anyone who as a child had the opportunity to spend a few vacation days in the mountains with their family in the winter probably has something like this image of a snow-covered mountain village in their head, and I probably felt exactly the same way when the opportunity for this photo presented itself on a freezing cold winter day in December.
The small village of Stoos in the canton of Schwyz lies deep in snow in the middle of the Central Swiss Alps. It is the starting point for the ski area of the same name around the almost 2000 m high Fronalpstock and the Chlingenstock. Lake Lucerne adjoins the mountain massif to the west, while the striking Rigi and Grosser Mythen mountains draw the eye to the north.
The evening sky adds a certain drama to the shot and is due to the weather conditions on this evening. In the village, the lights are already shining in the residential buildings, restaurants and hotels and also create a cozy lighting atmosphere in the lower part of the motif. As cold as it is outside, it seems to be warm inside the buildings, where people are probably already looking forward to Christmas and perhaps enjoying the Swiss national dish with melting cheese in the form of fondue or raclette.
