Mar 07

Simple pleasures.

I’ve been feeling anxious to get on the trail. It happens to me every spring. I wake up, open the window, and feel something that I haven’t known for many months. A warm breeze ruffles the curtains. The slanted early morning light appears richer and warmer than before. My thoughts often turn to the words of author and naturalist, Sigurd Olson, who once shared his own musings about spring.

“The very thought of it is something to live for when the days are bitter and winter is stretching out a little longer than it should. When March comes in, no matter how cold and blustery it is, the time is ripe for signs. It makes no difference if the ice is still thick on the lakes and the drifts are as deep as ever. When that something is in the wind, the entire situation is changed.”

We still have another month of lift-served skiing and snowboarding here in Telluride, and many more months of sliding in the backcountry. Still, I can’t help but notice a faint softness in the air and a slight tempering of the cold.

This morning I dug through some personal photos from our Matterhorn Trek. May these photos remind you of simple pleasures and exciting days ahead.

Candlelight dinner in the Val D’Ayas.

A view of Mont Blanc looking back from the Col de Brison.


One of our simple dining rooms.

A classic view of the Matterhorn as we hike into Cervinia.

The best focaccia bread that you’ll ever taste in your life.

Simple pleasures.

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