Jan 27, Day 17, Attention x5 (continued)

This is my third night writing this entry. Just a side note: I’m drinking an Egyptian licorice tea that has a strange fragrance redolent of some whacked stuff that you can find in the mountains of South America. I’ll put on some Carlos Vives to complete the reverie.

So the way my luck was going today, I didn’t really take anything on my part before we were deep in a conversation as the funicolare crept up the mountain. (4) About half way up the mountain traces of show began to appear in the forest below while I could look across the lake for a spectacular view of the islands and snowy peaks vaulting skyward on the other side. I was reminded of skiing at Lake Tahoe, but the presence of this lake seems more intimate. I think it’s closer and smaller, or at least narrower. It’s unfortunate that the windows of the cable car make it hard to take a good picture and the frenchies hogging the best angle didn’t help the situation.

We clambered out at the top to find several inches of snow on the ground. With no sunglasses the light was dazzlingly bright, but I wasn’t going to let that deter me from exploring the peak. My new friend (Valentina) suggested I walk with her to the other side of the mountain for a different view where they have skiing. We chatted on the path, and I was impressed that she told me she does a lot of things on her own and is able to enjoy herself without the company of others. I could easily relate to this because sometimes my time here seems like an extended experiment in social isolation and I still find I struggle with it sometimes. I suspect some of the psychologists in my reader base might claim that this is part of human nature. --Maybe I can find a loophole to fee myself of Maslow’s postulation.

We crossed several trails that people were happily sliding down the fresh snow before reaching the lodge area and parking lot on the other side. The view of the craggy Swiss Alps a few dozen miles away couldn’t be anything less than awesome. Above and below a handful of cable ski lifts servicing a surprising number of runs. She asked for my number and suggested we might meet at one of the refugi around 2:30 for a lunch. I explained that I’d brought my lunch, but maybe I’d join her for a hot chocolate if I were still here at 2:30. (I did not plan to be.)

After marching around and gathering the details of the rates and rental availability I was ready for lunch. I purchased some locally made cheese for my sandwich and found a chair in the sun. Despite the wholesale distribution of snow, it wasn’t particularly cold in the sun. After eating I was ready to try to get to the summit of the mountain for a 360 degree panorama. The only problem was the lifts were the annoying kind of drag lines that would do me no good without skis (or a lift ticket). So I decided it was time for a hike. I began trudging though the nearly knee-deep snow trying to keep as much as possible out of my hiking boots. Despite the dampness, I was pleased by the effectiveness of my socks in keeping my feet warm. A couple hundred yards of ascent later, and I could see the village far below and the people exiting from the lift at the top. The view from here was everything I hoped for except for a radio tower detracting from the gestalt of the experience. But the wind whipped up from the lake, and having finished my climb I soon began to shiver and put my hat on. I snapped enough photos that I was comfortable that I’d have at least 1 good one, and climbed back down.

My phone rang as I was crossing the village.