Winter Wonderland
As I write, it is roughly 33 degrees outside my apartment and it has been lightly snowing all week. Earlier this week, it was really snowing. The only way I could describe it would be to say: it is like watching a Green Bay Packers game, except you got cold and wet, too. This isn't the first time it has snowed since I arrived here (it snowed on Dan, Chris and I a couple weekends ago), but it is significantly more intense this time. Of course, Lausanne is at fairly low elevation and is next to the largest lake in continental Europe, so the weather is almost certainly much more severe up in the mountains. Thus, the light snowfall we got a couple weeks ago corresponded to a huge amount of snow up in the Alps, which can mean only one thing: winter sports!
A couple weekends ago, Loren, Chris and I headed deep into the "Alpes Vaudoises" for some winter fun. Fortunately, there are plenty of mountain resorts in the French speaking portion of the country, so it was easy for me to call up a small B&B and reserve rooms for the three of us for a couple nights. The town that we stayed in, Leysin, is served by a dedicated small-gauge rail line that intersects with the main Swiss train system in Aigle, so it only takes about an hour to get to Leysin from Lausanne, all told.
The train from Aigle was packed, so we had to stand uncomfortably at the front of the car. Most of the seated passengers looked like Japanese high school kids (some in uniform), but as there was no obvious tour (or school) group, we had no idea what they were doing there. We didn't see them again that weekend, even though the town is pretty small. Standing nearby us, though, was a group of Swiss students speaking excitedly in French to each other. I wasn't really paying attention, so I wasn't really following their conversation, but totally out of the blue, one of the girls said (in English with a hilariously French accent), "Monster ... tentacle ... gangbang ... porn." It made me wish I had been paying attention to their conversation.
Before I left on this adventure, I got an email from my mother. She heard that I was planning on going "skiing" -- a dangerous sport surpassed only by bullfighting and russian roulette in her book -- and sent me a strongly worded message. I quote:
Like cross-country skiing but for uncoordinated people, snowshoeing is basically just hiking in the snow. The large plastic racket allows you to disperse your body weight over a large area, thus allowing you to cross deep snow without sinking in up to your knees. Although Loren and Moon (native Minnesotans, both) could have probably climbed a mountain in flip-flops, I found that the snowshoes really improved my grip on thin snow and ice, and thus were useful for the entire hike.
Fig. 1: Loren looking fierce. And stylish.
Fig. 2: Moon looking ... fierce.
A couple weekends ago, Loren, Chris and I headed deep into the "Alpes Vaudoises" for some winter fun. Fortunately, there are plenty of mountain resorts in the French speaking portion of the country, so it was easy for me to call up a small B&B and reserve rooms for the three of us for a couple nights. The town that we stayed in, Leysin, is served by a dedicated small-gauge rail line that intersects with the main Swiss train system in Aigle, so it only takes about an hour to get to Leysin from Lausanne, all told.
The train from Aigle was packed, so we had to stand uncomfortably at the front of the car. Most of the seated passengers looked like Japanese high school kids (some in uniform), but as there was no obvious tour (or school) group, we had no idea what they were doing there. We didn't see them again that weekend, even though the town is pretty small. Standing nearby us, though, was a group of Swiss students speaking excitedly in French to each other. I wasn't really paying attention, so I wasn't really following their conversation, but totally out of the blue, one of the girls said (in English with a hilariously French accent), "Monster ... tentacle ... gangbang ... porn." It made me wish I had been paying attention to their conversation.
Before I left on this adventure, I got an email from my mother. She heard that I was planning on going "skiing" -- a dangerous sport surpassed only by bullfighting and russian roulette in her book -- and sent me a strongly worded message. I quote:
FYI, here is a list of dangerous forbidden winter sports for you:Fortunately for everyone, we had no plans to ski, snowboard, or do anything else on the forbidden list. No, we had been drawn to the mountains by the allure of snowshoeing. We started off Saturday morning with a small map and a plan to hike as high as we could before we got tired or it got dark.
Skiing
Snowboarding
Bobsledding
Ice Hockey
Rock Climbing
Here is a list of preferred, safe winter sports:
Curling
Ice Fishing
Building Snowmen
Toasting Marshmallows
Keep warm, my little pork chop.
Like cross-country skiing but for uncoordinated people, snowshoeing is basically just hiking in the snow. The large plastic racket allows you to disperse your body weight over a large area, thus allowing you to cross deep snow without sinking in up to your knees. Although Loren and Moon (native Minnesotans, both) could have probably climbed a mountain in flip-flops, I found that the snowshoes really improved my grip on thin snow and ice, and thus were useful for the entire hike.
Fig. 1: Loren looking fierce. And stylish.
Fig. 2: Moon looking ... fierce.The views were just amazing. I could post about a hundred photos that we took from the mountainside, but one will be enough.
Fig. 3: Just one of the many scenic views.
Fig. 3: Just one of the many scenic views.When we finally figured that we'd had enough, we took a break at an unused ski lift for a snack. Loren was kind enough to photograph me mid-chew.
Fig. 4: A bottle of white wine improves by about $10 worth of taste for every 1000 feet of altitude. We were at 4500 feet, so this one was worth about $47.
Fig. 4: A bottle of white wine improves by about $10 worth of taste for every 1000 feet of altitude. We were at 4500 feet, so this one was worth about $47.In a really well-thought out move, earlier that week I picked up a few "sleds" for 5 CHF each, figuring that we might be able to get some use out of them. As you can see in the picture above, the sleds were compact (almost exactly the size of your butt) and unusually shaped (they bore a certain resemblance to a well-known novelty item). They didn't have much in the way of steering or control, but you could go pretty fast and there was plenty of snow to crash into if you lost control. Here's Loren demonstrating the proper technique:
Fig. 5: Loren holds on tight.
Fig. 5: Loren holds on tight.When we had had enough fun sledding and hiking, we finished our evening the only way we could: fondue. As one of our rooms had a nice little kitchenette and Loren was kind enough to buy his own caquelon (which he took home with him to France), we had everything we needed for a party. Remember: if you come to visit me, this could be you!
Fig. 6: If you drop your bread in the cheese, you have to kiss the person on your left. I think after the fifth or sixth time, Loren was just dropping his bread on purpose.
Beautiful weather, beautiful mountains, good friends, and delicious cheese: can life get any better than this?
Fig. 6: If you drop your bread in the cheese, you have to kiss the person on your left. I think after the fifth or sixth time, Loren was just dropping his bread on purpose.Beautiful weather, beautiful mountains, good friends, and delicious cheese: can life get any better than this?
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