Tag Åre
I should have written about this earlier but I kept forgetting, so a little late, here goes:
As Chinese New Year drew closer, we finished up the work in Switzerland and planned to go back home. I however, did not go back to Taiwan. Instead I took a short flight north to Sweden were I met up with Yini at the airport. A few hours later, my parents came to pick us up and we drove north. Since we started fairly late, we slept one night in Gävle about two hours north of Stockholm. The next day we continued up … Read the rest
The lateness of the winter sunrise means that even I am able to witness its glory. Where the valley opens up in the east, the dawn has broken through the ash grey clouds overhead with gusto and vibrance. Left is only pale blue sky tinted yellow at the edges of the mountains and a few torn cloud rags, lit from below in a vibrant orange. All this against a backdrop of old, forrest clad mountains sprinkled in snow. Once again i find myself, phone in hand, my fingers tapping out a description, for no other reason then my mind putting … Read the rest
The orange globe of the sun hangs low in the december sky, barely reaching above the mountain range in the east. It spreads its amber rays over the white snow causing everything to sparkle with joy. The air feels crisp and cool against my skin as I speed down the slope in long, sweeping turns, cutting a smooth, clear path through the corduroy surface. This is one of those moments when everything just comes together and it is, in a word, perfect. I live for moments like this!… Read the rest
There is a piercing pain below my knee and a numbing pain in my elbow every time I move my right arm. The weather is generally overcast and a bit windy and it’s hard to see clearly. All of that is of no consequence: it is my first day in the snow since april and it feels good to be back.… Read the rest
I’m right smack dab in the middle of the biggest lift queue I have ever seen. There are people all around me jostling for space; a massive onslaught of snowboards, ski poles, boots and helmets. The late april sun blazes overhead, slowly boiling the people in the queue. I’m hot, there is no space for my right foot and I’m being pushed and shoved from all sides. It is uncomfortable in oh so many ways, and yet I bear with it for on the other side awaits one of life’s most worthwhile indulgences.… Read the rest
Beautiful but deadly is a phrase that is all too common when describing snow-clad mountains but it feels appropriate here. On this lightly sloping plain the wind has pushed the snow into drifts and ridges and the sun shines out of a cloudy sky on the frozen landscape. Fine snow flows like smoke over the hard surface and glitters in the sun rays. The scene has that kind of barren beauty of an arctic landscape and it has the same kind of deadliness. For although civilization is nearby, the cold is substantial. The wind tears at any exposed skin with … Read the rest
The world is without sound. The soft, fluffy snow beneath my board dampens out all but the wind. It is hard to describe this feeling, the snow is so soft it feels like floating on clouds, yet I cut through it like a knife through sun warm butter. At the same it is harsh, brown reeds and scraping sounds remind me of bumps and ridges and the wind bites in to the skin on my face. There is a kind of flow to it, the softness, the cold and the speed merging to create that special fluid feeling that is … Read the rest