Moments
I’ve been coming to Arosa for over a decade now, and rarely have I seen so much snow. The curve between the road and the Obersee (upper lake) where there is often a snow sculpture was covered by a child’s mountain of plowed-away snow.
Small Boy climbed it again and again, each time barreling back down hill on his sit-sled. I’ve seen hints of it before, but this trip confirmed it: the boy is a speed demon, fearless on sled or Bob or, it would appear, skis.
* * *
A man stands on a hotel roof shovelling great mounds of snow down onto the sidewalk below; it lands with a muffled thud that recalls the sound of avalanche cannons going off in the distance. Snow sprays in every direction when the larger blocks crash into the sidewalk. In all my years of coming to Arosa, I have never seen this.
* * *
Our first days are grey, clouded over. The mountains come and go like ghost ships.
* * *
I drink deep draughts of mountain air. My cheeks tingle. It is good to be here.
Filed under Arosa, Switzerland, The love of place | Comments (4)4 Responses to “Moments”
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God, it looks so beautiful. When does spring start in Switzerland? There’s so much snow!!
Kristen – down in the flatlands where we live and where most of the major cities (Bern, Zurich, Geneva) are the snow is gone though it’s still cold. In the mountains ski season generally goes through Easter weekend. (The village of Arosa is apx 1800 meters and the skiing goes up to 2600.) Down here in Bern I’ve seen crocuses and schneeglocken already.
Drink some deep mountain air for me.. cough cough
[...] the fog, the grey skies, the dirty melted snow, the brown fields. We’re off to the mountains for a week to recharge. Hopefully I’ll come back with stories, and the energy to tell them. [...]