Yes, home to the dogs and the monks. This weekend was my second 'backcountry' ski trip here in Switzerland. This time was more pleasant than the first one, such obvious disappointment was quite the downer.
I was disappointed though, I've gotten out of shape over the summer and had terrible control and no strength whatsoever. However, I really do love being in the mountains, even though this particular trail was a highway.
We started with an early morning drive up to the pass. The road is closed during the winter so the rest of the trip was going up the road. Not too tough but as I said, I've gotten out of shape...
The weather was beautiful and sunny and as we approached the monastery we saw this picture of Saint Bernard leading the way. Further on it got a bit steeper and I practiced my kick turns, we had fun figuring out better techniques and praising our improvements.
There were many many people on the trail and when we got to the monastery it was a bit of a challenge to find a place to eat in the dining hall.
We bought soup and a giant chunk of cheese which tasted a lot like cheddar. In fact, it was the most cheddar tasting cheese I've had since I got there.
Many people who were there had skied up in the morning to go to mass and were eating in the dining hall. I even saw one of the monks in the dining hall. The soup was very fulfilling and after lunch we headed out through the pass to the Italian side. So yes, technically I visited Italy this weekend. Crossing boarders means a lot less here in Europe!
We skied into the sunshine on the other side and down a little ways along the road. At one point we skied in the car tunnel because all the snow had drifted in through the arches.
As we stood on the road we watched the clouds come rolling in over the pass. They rushed through the narrow gap in the mountains behind us and sank into the valley and we could see fingers of clouds creeping over the other peaks. It is amazing how fast the weather can change up here. We skied back and the wind was really strong and cold. I was covered in frost, my hair was white. However, the path was really well marked (as well as being a road) and we made it back without and troubles.
Then we skied down (worst tele turns ever!) and back to Lausanne. The hot shower was really nice, we thought about going to the thermal baths but I'm kinda glad we didn't go because I find them crowded and boring. I also have a Deuter backpack and I hate it. It's this weird shape inside so you can't really stuff anything large into it. I've yet to find the perfect backpack (well, my MEC one that I took around the summer backpacking in Europe is still fantastic but a bit too large for day trips).
In the end, skiing in Switzerland is more chilly than skiing in Vancouver. I'm looking forward to Christmas shopping at MEC!
