 Home: Columns: Travel: Exploring Davos (with Jim Jack): February 26, 2000 |
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Jim Jack's Living History, Switzerland: February 26, 2000 Home In Alta! jimjack@gravityfed.com 
 Hello!! Well, I was unable to get to the computer in my last days in Davos. So I am
now here in Alta, putting in my last little peice of info.
Our last two days produced more snow and then one glorious day of blue sky and cold
temps. We were psyched by the return of Will Burks, who had come back from Solden after competing in
the Freeskiing event there. He brought with him Alta local and tour points leader Linda Peterson.
Linda had won the Solden event for the women and was packing a pocket full of schillings (16,000).
We weren't quite sure but we think that is about 1400 US $. Will finished 4th and he too was toting
a pocket full of change.
On Monday morning we awoke to a stellar day of deep powder and blue sky. Caruso, Pepi
and Micha took us to Rhinorhorn, another mountain just down valley. There we skied more long powder runs
which eventually took us to the valley floor where we would then ski down the one lane road back to the
bus stop. Besides the occasional horse drawn sley and people dragging small children on sleds, we had the
road to ourselves.
The avalanche hazard was pretty high on this day and we skied runs accordingly in order
to keep ourselves out of trouble. But others in the nearby areas did not heed the same awareness. At Parseen
that afternoon a group of skiers were skiing with their mountain instructor and were following them out into
an open bowl. Basically not practicing anything that resembled safe and aware off piste procedure. To make
a long story longer, all were swept away and three became statistics of the day. After a 6 day storm and
over 2 new meters of snow, venturing off piste without taking the avalanche hazards to heart was suicide.
We finished our day with big smiles and lots of laughs. For me the end of that day did not only signify the
end to the perfect Davos adventure but an adventure that also ended safely.
From the the first day we arrived we saw the hazards that the mountains in this area contain.
Numerous natural slides and snowpack that made your spine shiver. We watched a close call with a slide the
first day out with our friends Dany Kistler and Micha, and that put us on our toes. Three days later we watched
Withey take a ride that could have brought a quick end to a beautiful day. During the next week and a half we
found more confidence and became more comfortable with our surroundings due to the presence of our good friend
Dan Caruso. His knowledge of the area and experience with avalanche and snow safety was irreplacable. We
learned alot and found an appreciation for the conditions that exist in the Swiss Alps.
But we learned more than just snow lessons on this trip. We also learned how easy it was
to spend 100 FR. That when you only had a pocket full of coins you still had lots of money. I don't know how
many times I would watch Withey spend all his cash and think he was low on funds. Only to pull out a handfull
of coins that totalled 25fr. We also learned that people in Europe like to smoke. All the time. Between soup
and the main course. We found that ear plugs are a must in any travel bag and sedating yourself with beer and
dumb drums can aid in your nights rest as well.
But I think what we found ourselves commenting on the most on our trip was the spirit of the
people. We were fortunate to have found a group of people at The Bolgenschanze who share in the same passion
we do. The passion for Life. Everyone that worked at the hotel were working because they love to ride.
Spending their winter working nights in the best bar in town and riding the slopes of Jakobshorn and the
surrounding areas during the day. People that we met were always interested in why we were there and what we
were doing and what it was like back home. We were greeted everyday with smiles and handshakes. Their energy
was continually feeding ours and you don't always find that. But I have always believed that good people migrate
to other good people. In our case this was true.
Speaking for Dan and Adam and the rest of the Alta crew that experienced the goodness of The
Bolgenschanze, we thank all of you for a great experience. We hope to return to similar conditions and many of
the same faces. Thanks for the deep memories, the T-Shirts and for making us feel at home. You are the best!
For everyone that followed our journey I hope you enjoyed it. We will be posting photos
from the trip on March 1. When Gravity fed releases yet another issue of its cyber mag. Stay connected to
us at the site and look for us on other adventures through out the year and into next season.
Until then, So long and happy tracks! And by the way, it's dumping in Alta!! I haven't
skied anything but powder for the whole month of February! I left 6 feet of new snow in Davos and returned
home to a meter and a half right here at Alta. So Micha, Dany, Dazu, Karen, Fabien, and all the rest, come
visit and we will show you the goods. We'll miss you all.
Ski ya soon, Jim Jack |
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