The problem with women is they don't go down like the whiskey.....
("sleeping outside" Chauncey Crandall)
The woman above is my mountain guide Lisi. She grew up in the Tyrol part of Austria (which is sort of Italy and sort of Austria), with views of looming, steep mountains from her crib. She is the youngest in her family with four older brothers; and a typical Sunday outing for them was climbing a 300 foot cliff without ropes. Lisi says it wasn't a difficult climb, but if you fell, you died.
But they didn't die; they had a little picnic instead.
Lisi is a mountain guide, which is a level higher than Harumi; she can therefore take a person into the back country of Lech, and up Mount Everest. She is best known as world class rock climber, and only the 8th or 9th woman ever to pass the arduous tests to become an International Mountain guide in Austria. This makes her an expert in avalanches, snow caves, igloos, ice climbing and skiing. I asked her about the examination. On the first day you have to ski for the instructors, and after just that short exercise, 50% are sent home. On her run she sort of went for it and was the fastest in horrible snow. She crashed in spectacular fashion, but only once she was behind the finish line. On another exam they had to build a cave in the snow and then sleep in it all night. And this is why I love Lisi: nowhere in the rule book did it say that cave had to be far from the bar. So they built the cave next to the hotel and went for many beers, then returned to sleep (sit up more like it) in the snow. In addition to her many fearsome skills, is her ability to drink me under the table, whether that be beer or coffee.
There is no decaf in this girl.
I can read the bubbles over your heads now: "why is a person like this taking Ellie skiing?" Good question. First, ski touring is the way mountain guides pay for their trips to Patagonia; but also they just love the mountains, and this is their way of proselytizing. If they like you, they want you to make peace with the fear, so you can be the best Ellie you can be. On this trip, Lisi would listen to my meek little opinions on why we should really re think the plan for the day (didn't Thomas say that last part was a nightmare??) and she would calmly say: "You must get out of your comfort zone....." and "not just for today; you must live there, Ellie, outside the zone." Then she would simultaneously check my pieps so she could find me should I get buried alive, and order us both a coffee.
To ski with Lisi is to ski with a sort of God, and this is of course a bad thing (who wants to disappoint God?) I was horribly jet lagged for the first week and being in the snow first thing in the morning seemed like such a bad idea. But worship leads to trust, and trust leads to love, and love can finally silence the wimpy little voice in your head. Somewhere between skiing down the frozen waterfall and the taxi ride back to civilization, you come close to euphoria. You believe you will survive, and you are almost overcome with gratitude and joy and awe. You want to whoop and hug the sky, but you hug Lisi instead. And under the benevolent, ancient eyes of the mountain, you both laugh.
Lisi told us that when she was very small she wept at fireworks because she thought they were blowing up the stars. And that's exactly who she is- a bad ass with a soft spot for stars.
So in 2018 let's let WWLD? be our motto. Let's look out for stars. Let's be excellent and tell the truth and do what we say we will. Let's turn towards the discomfort- any kind, even if it's scary.
Then, let's rejoice in the warmth of our beds and the steam from our cup.
love you guys.
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| point of no return |
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| this is it's own entry- by this point in the day i wasn't even scared, more rolling my eyes at her.....shows what three double expressi will do. |
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| one day when Thomas came along for a hike through the snowy woods |
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| she looks happier than I do.... |
