General: January 2006 Archives

Going up Mt. Pilatus, Luzern was unreal.  7,000+ FT in total altitude above sea level.  Its a medium sized mountain by Swiss standards, but it was the first time I have been above the clouds and not in an airplane.  The lifts alone took three (3) to get to the summit, each about 15-25 minutes apiece.  Of course, I couldn't see jack on the ride up - most of it was in the "soup" and if that were not the case my breath fogged up the windows.

But at the top, holy crap!  What the heck was I doing at 7,000+ FT?  Getting blinded by the sunlight, is what.  I need sunglasses in FL most of the time as my eyes are used to living behind shades in the bright light.  Now, I know that you need them at altitude too.

Anyway, it was possibly the most beautiful sight I've ever experienced.  The Swiss don't know what they have.  And unless you have experienced the western peaks of the US, you're missing an amazing experience.

I was ABOVE the clouds!  And I didn't want to go down.  Seriously!  That fucking ride up should have caused a heart attack to anyone under the age of 25 - the last leg being at a 50+ degree incline and at several thousand feet.  I had to pay for it, but I wonder if the lift operators get hazard pay.  I have to admit that among the beauty of being ABOVE the clouds I was never truly able to relax as I had to remember that eventually, I had to go back down, or learn to eat snow.  I can't wait to do it again!  What a rush!

In the spirit of Europe, the culture, the experiences and such, while writing and remembering this, I listened to: Dieser Weg (Radio Edit) from the album "Dieser Weg - EP" by Xavier Naidoo.  He's cool to my American ear.  Probably a hack to the Euro crew, but this song talks about "This Way" being a rough road - the one less traveled by, and how it makes all the difference.

Happy New Year!

Still in Zurich.  This is my view today - one of the few clear days in a couple of weeks.  Even last night with the fireworks celebrating the turn of the calendar, the "soup"/fog rolled in about 11:30PM, just in time to completely block my view of the festivities.  And then, in perfect timing, the fog evaporated around 12:45AM, giving me a great view of what was probably the coolest fireworks show I never saw.  But, it sounded great.

While looking at this I played: Fingerprints from the album "Fingerprints" by Larry Carlton.