Altitude With Attitude

At 2336 meters, I sensed the miracle of life rush within me again. It was a few good days of walking on sunshine and feeling the music under our feet. The knee-high powder seduced us and we spent our days signing the glistening snow with our traces in the forest, hidden from the noisy crowds. We ventured ourselves to places unknown, where the snow was still untouched and pure - in that quiet wilderness, the sense of intimacy with the Creator was immeasurably grand.

In sum, we floated on the powder with delight, I hung on to branches for dear life - the dead ones didn't seem to care much about the critical state I was in and gave way, but I guess that in their old age they were wise enough to know what they were doing, as I'm still around. I uttered not very pretty words at the pain of having to ride in the same position, with all my weight put on the same leg while going over a flat bit that lasted way too long. I also had my times of getting stuck in the powder - I think I've definitely done my workout for the next three coming weeks. We rested in the sunshine while picnicking over viande sèche, jambon, pain de seigle and gruyère. We watched black squirrels leap from branch to branch, and big alpine birds fly around us. I, especially, stoked up on the cheese I am usually deprived of, we ate fondues. Eloi and I beat my dad at fussball though he refuses to admit it, we played cards by the fire at the chalet, I got myself a beautiful goggle tan which was swift to fade away. We laughed until we got cheek and stomach cramps. I caught myself singing a Shania Twain (!) song while snowboarding, it don't impress me much! I broke a guitar string in an overly unsmart way - i'll just leave it at that. And, of course, I took an excessive amount of pictures of which a carefully reduced selection follows...

my dad in all his splendor :)

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." John Ruskin

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir