17March, Day 66, Snowboarding Under the Matterhorn

I went to an Erasmus party with Ricardo and 2 of his roommates in a club called My Bali. I was pleased by the venue, but as the night went on the crowd seemed to get less and less friendly. I tried meeting a few new people, but didn’t really get far. It seems like a lot of the local Italian guys like to frequent these events to try to pick up chicks. Too much male presence can spoil just about any party, and this was no exception. I’d seen enough by 2, but had to wait about ninety minutes before we could convince one of the other guys that it was time to go. I woke up three hours later to inhale breakfast and then wait an hour for Mateo to pick us up to go to the mountains.

I dozed for a while in the car and woke to find us driving through a classic alpine valley dotted with quaint villages. The jagged peaks of the Alps reached skyward in the distance. We reached Cervinia and suited up in our snow gear although it was a sunny 65 degrees at the base. We took the first lift up 1000 or more meters to the base of the skiing area from which we could see small waterfalls of snowmelt pouring over the rocks below. Another lift brought us to some icy trails where the slush from yesterday afternoon had frozen into a slab during the night. Another lift, and then tow rope, and then cable car brought us to the peak of the Italian alps. From here we could look across the cirque to view at the Matterhorn, half hidden by a cloud. Patches of blue ice left from the glaciers of the last ice age remained tucked in some corners where they were protected from sunlight. And we could look down the other side of the mountain to Switzerland and Zermatt --only a few minutes away.

Before long it was time to head back to the bottom and drive home. I had a great time snowboarding, despite a slow start and little sleep the night before. I’m finally starting to get the feel of it. I’m really hoping we get some snow this week because the forecast says it will cool off and I’m hoping to go again next weekend. If not, I’m thinking about going to Norway for Easter weekend to get a few more days riding the snow.

I’ve gotta get to be because I’m still coughing since the day I returned from Tuscany. Tomorrow I’m joining the US Ambassador for dinner, so I’d like to be sharp!