Day 143: Skiing Mutters
36yearsago.com
Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing &
friends.
Day
143 — Skiing Mutters
23-December-1971
(Thur.)
TRANSCRIPT
Innsbruck
Spent the day skiing at
Mutters. Conditions were not the best. The snow was
very hard and bare in some spots. However, I still
probably progressed a little, and I basically enjoyed
myself. Will be leaving tomorrow.
Said goodbye to Elisabeth. Hope to see her in Wien. I
really liked her a lot. The only problem was that she
had to leave early. We saw each other early in the
morning before she left. She even gave me a Christmas
present.
REFLECTIONS
Skiing
Mutters. Skiing at
Mutters. At least I got to see this mountain today.
When the snow is very hard, due to freezing
temperatures, and probably not being groomed, the
skiing can be more difficult. It’s never fun skiing
on very icy snow. For that, you need to have
super-good edge and weight control, something I have
never mastered. Still, I am certain that I enjoyed
the skiing. Opening photo shows the beauty of
Innsbruck's surrounding mountains, the valley, and
its skiing.
Snow
making? I don’t
exactly remember, but I am fairly certain that in
1971 these mountains had little if any snow making,
at least over most of the mountain terrain. Just like
in Utah, there may be snow-making on select slopes
but it is not feasible to have it cover the vast area
of these mountains. After all, it is the Alps. I
checked some ski sites for information and, in 2007,
there is snowmaking and even night skiing at some of
the Innsbruck ski resorts.
It doesn’t matter where you go skiing in the world,
the weather and snow conditions will greatly impact
your enjoyment of that trip. Being outdoors in the
fresh air and getting some exercise are always part
of your experience, whether it’s sunny, snowing, or
icy. That, in itself, is worth the trip.
Global
warming is real. Just a
side note here in 2007. Global warming is happening.
My good friend, Helmut, in Switzerland has told me
that in some recent years the winters in the Swiss
and Austrian Alps has been very mild with not much
snow. The glaciers are also retreating greatly. In my
second job, I met a man from Iceland. When I asked
him about the issue, he said that in Iceland there is
“almost no winter,” and that the Iceland glaciers
are melting
10 feet a year. They will
be gone sooner than most people think. That’s
extreme. It’s real. Let’s hope the world governments
quickly tackle this problem.
Goodbye
to Elisabeth. I say
goodbye to Elisabeth. She was a wonderful Austrian
friend and ski partner. I will miss her. I wonder if
she will ever get to Vienna.
Companionship and friendship is nice. Yes, I still
miss Anjali and I would have liked to gone skiing
with her, as well.
Olga and skiing. One day,
I’ll tell you the story of the first (and only) time
I took my wife Olga skiing. That day is today. After
spending $100 on a ski pass and rentals, she decided
that she didn’t like walking in her ski boots. After
25 feet of walking, she gave up and just sat on the
bench, and in the clubhouse, for the remainder of
that shortened day. Any ski partners out there?
John
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