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Published: April 5th 2006
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Duckie and Paddington Getting Blasted With Snow
Look closely... this was like 10 seconds of exposure for these guys... the wind was blowing the snow all over the place and it got a bunch in my backpack in a very short time. One very long, exciting day. Started with a great breakfast at the hostel... some cereal, bread, honey, butter, hot chocolate, and yogurt. Ready to go, I went to pick up my skis and took the lift up (which is actually three lifts to get to the very top... from about 3,000 feet in Engelberg to about 10,000 feet elevation at the top of Mount Titlis).
This morning it was snowing in the mountains and had already accumulated about 3 to 4 inches. This made for great skiing. Furthermore, it was a Monday and the ski season is at its low point, so there was plenty of room to ski around and I almost never had to wait more than a few seconds in line to take a lift up to a run.
For the first half of the day, there were a lot of visibility problems with the snow and clouds... yes, I was skiing in the clouds. 😊 It cleared up as the day went by... though, it picked up again shortly before I called it a day.
Near the top of the mountain, it was very cold and windy. Some of the most chilling weather I've
been in. And, actually, it was mainly my face that was cold as the rest of me was bundled up well. With that, my face was numb.
On one of the runs, it was very touch to see, and the snow was piled up about a foot... while the run was maybe 60 yards wide. I took my time going back in forth... zig-zagging down just enjoying it.
I did bring a lunch today (the hostel prepared it for 8 Francs, or a little over 6 USD) of a sandwich, a Snickers, a Sprite, and an apple. That probably would have cost me 20 Francs on the slopes. I've been trying to find ways to cut down on the expenses. I think everything costs more in Western Europe, and in Engelberg it was even worse.
Oh, also, at lunch, the Swiss like their beer (I guess, just like the Germans and Austrians). I think most of them had beer. And I even saw what looked like 12 year olds drinking beer, too. Doesn't seem to make sense skiing... not only does alchol affect coordination, but it is also a diuretic... but, they grow up drinking it, so
Taking a Break on My Way Down the Mountain
Pretty cool, to me anyway, when the road back to town is a ski run. maybe it doesn't affect them that much.
Near the end of the day, I went to near the top of the mountain and skied down. Probably three, maybe four miles to get to Engelberg... I don't know if there are runs that long in the U.S.... probably somewhere... but, in general, I think that European resorts are larger than the U.S. ones.
On the way down, I saw this woman going uphill in her skis... like nordic skiing. I had just hiked up about 200 meters with my skis on my shoulders after I had left my bag (and it was only 200 meters because I accidentally fell and then realized I didn't have my bag). She was from Zurich and said she didn't want to buy a lift pass that late in the day. I talked to her a bit... she, and I guess most Swiss, grow up with skiing a regular part of their life... and going uphill with skis (she did have special skis for walking, though) is no big deal. She then pointed to a mountain (not a ski resort) that she said she had climbed and then skied down the other side (she
Duckie and Paddington On the Mountain
Engelberg is in the green area in the background. said you always have to have someone with you in case of an avalanch... but also that if you know the routes it isn't that dangerous). I was beside myself. It was great, and interesting, talking to her.
From there I made my way back to Engelberg and then to Zurich, where I found out that strikers in France had caused my train not to have a sleeper car attached. This meant I couldn't sleep my way to France and could only make it as far as Basel (about four hours from Paris). So, I slept in the train station, on the French side, for the night and then caught the 6:08 train to Paris. During the night, the border patrol wasn't there (for both Switzerland and France), so I could walk between the French and Swiss sides freely... kind of interesting going back and forth between countries like that. I slept on a metal bench with some clothes as a pillow. There were also about 20 other people in the waiting room that were pretty much in the same situation. Kind of a stressful way to end the day... but I did find some humor in it and
Look Closely
This is what skiing looked like much of the morning. ;) it was an interesting experience, one I certainly won't soon forget.
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Rebecca
non-member comment
all i have to say is....
ooooooh......