Skiing in Paradise

We stepped out of the plane onto some great powder. I couldn't help but smile as I realized that there was no brush to fight. Just snow and more snow. I had dreamed about coming to this area for quite some time and it was quite a rush to have it come to pass.

Nate's skis stand up for just a moment as Paul prepares to take off.

Nate leads the way towards The Monk, the snow covered hill in the distance.

Making tracks.

Looking back at tracks made. The mountains in the distance are on the other side of the Chitna River.

Nathan and I led the trip to the top. Nate also led the way down. I skied down part of the way but had to stop to let my legs recover and catch my breath. One of the two Swiss guys (Reto Smith and Ruedi Homberger or "Hombi") Reto made his way down after me. I was instantly inspired by his flawless technique as he effortlessly breezed by me down to Nate. Hombi followed and then we all skied down to the valley bottom where we had a lunch time snack. After a cup of tea we put the skins back on the skies and started up several thousand thousand vertical feet for another run down. The more I climbed, the more I was impressed by the two Swiss gentlemen who I figured must be in their late 50's that were able to keep pace with us two young guys. Nate and Hombi started down as Reto and I packed up our climbing skins and prepared to go down the mountain. Before we started down, I complimented Reto on his smooth skiing and excellent technique. He replied with a thick Swiss accent, "Thank you, it is because of my experience, I have been skiing for 64 years. I started skiing when I was three years old." I couldn't believe that a guy almost 70 years old could be doing the things he did. It turns out that Hombi is another year older than he is, and that they have been friends since kindergarten. The following day on our trip to Hell's Kitchen I found out that Reto was a member of the Swiss World Cup Ski Team during his younger years. Experienced was certainly an understatement. During the trip we spent quite a bit of time with Hombi and Reto. It was a pleasure being around such wonderful people.