"Where are you going?" he called down from the balcony as I headed out into the falling snow. "Altkönig," I said as I stuck my ear buds into my ears.
"You're crazy," Mathias insisted.
"Stimmt." ("certainly") I said.
Today I hiked Altkönig in a snowstorm. Which was cool because hardly anyone was out - until I neared the trailhead upon return, I had only seen one person - on top. Where two days earlier were beautiful shades of green from the moss and the pines was now covered in a pristine layer of snow. On the way up I listened to Bach's "Mass in B Minor" (what's been called one of humanity's crowning artistic achievements - and part of my friend Roland's attempt to culture me). Hiking uphill in 3-7 inches of snow, it took a little longer to make it up (and was a great calf workout). It was great because some parts of the trail hadn't yet been walked through. Once on top, a low ceiling and near white-out conditions meant no view. But it was kinda cool.
By the time I got back to the bottom, the temp had climbed up above freezing, so the snow was dropping from the trees and had turned to slush on the trails - but it was still fun. Better than an afternoon indoors - well, depending on what you're doing, I guess.
Peace to you.
