One of the reasons I had decided not to write any of my many stories is because the stories contain elements that might challenge what’s considered ‘safe’ or ‘sane.’ Justifying those choices would be a whole other adventure. Now that I have lived longer than most people and survived doing those things, I have declared “Another Beginning!” The current AI era demands innovative solutions. By merging my technical and practical knowledge, I aim to demonstrate the power of developed capabilities for navigating these turbulent times.
The Matterhorn Mountain is one of my favorite places on the planet. When Walt Disney first saw the mountain, he wrote a message back to his corporate staff with the simple message” Build this.” That is how the Matterhorn ride in Disneyland was born. It is such a peaceful joy and pleasure to be in the car-free village of Zermatt at the base of the ski runs. I have visited it alone and accompanied by my wife. At the hotel where we stayed when you left the hotel you simply put your key on the wall with all the other room keys and left. I have never experienced that anywhere. At the end of your ski day, you left your ski equipment unlocked in a basement room with everyone else’s gear. A sense of trust permeated the village – shops displayed their wares, even valuable jewelry, with no apparent security. I became addicted to the Crepes that were prepared in a tiny restaurant with incredibly friendly people.
Once, after embarking on a ski trip to the Matterhorn, I got snowed in for two days at Visp, a village with a direct train connection to Zermatt, due to bad weather. My hotel room was small. It was good news when the train began running again. The entire train ride through Switzerland’s landscape and arrival at the base of the mountain is beautiful. On my previous trips, I had taken ski classes and qualified for level 7 out of 8 levels of proficiency, so I felt very comfortable with my knowledge and skiing skill level.
The photo I currently use as my avatar was taken on a previous trip. I had planned to ski the Swiss side of the mountain for two days and, for a change, I planned to ski the other side of the mountain that leads into Italy, since I had never done it before. The next morning after my arrival, since I had lost 2 days due to the snowstorm after I got off the lift at the top, I headed immediately into Italy. I did not notice and did not care that no one else followed me. One other time at another Switzerland ski resort I went off the normal ski run through trees and had one of the most beautiful ski experiences of my life.
I made up the expression then that came to my mind “When the only tracks in the snow are yours, that’s where you want to be.”
Throughout my life, I have had some of my best travel experiences traveling alone in countries I stayed in people’s homes and partied with them without being labeled as a “tourist,” but simply as a visitor appreciating them.
I intended to be cautious, but I was not concerned about my safety because if the conditions were extremely hazardous a ski run was normally closed off. What I was ignorant of and did not consider is that it is not another country’s responsibility to protect your entrance into it. I had also been trained in winter survival in the Arctic while in the US Air Force. We were taught the techniques to best survive an avalanche, so I felt comfortable. All those comfortable feelings vanished I had not gone very far down the mountain and heard a low rumbling sound. It was an avalanche that began, possibly because I had skied over a loose part of a snow mass. Thankfully, the snow mas was not huge but enough to force me off the trail and through the trees. When I stopped, I was at a lower level but could not be certain where I could get back onto the trail. I tried many things, but it was impossible to go back up and I was not certain whether to go down to my right or left to get back on the ski run. What went through my mind then was “They won’t find the body until Summer!” I had made up my mind to go left since it was going to be possible to get moving and intercept the trail at a lower point. Just before I took off to go in that direction, I saw a guy to my right in the distance and slightly above me waving one of his ski poles and pointing it to the right. I headed that way, and we were able to join a bit further down the mountain. We then took turns enjoying watching each other ski fast and smoothly through the new light, powdery, snow.
It was the best skiing experience I’ve ever had and cannot be duplicated on established ski runs. I saw the Italian ski facility come into view, the guy waved his ski pole one more time and disappeared off the trail to the right. I went to the left into the Italian lift facility to get back to the top of the mountain to ski back into Switzerland. The Italian side of the mountain was a different security experience, and I was shocked by the difference. On the ski lift ride back to the top I estimated my position when I was trying to make my decision on which direction to go before the guy arrived. What I saw made me shudder. One part of the mountain was hollowed out and I estimated about a 300-foot drop to rocks and possibly a frozen stream. If I had proceeded, I would have traveled a relatively short distance before I would have gone over that cliff. I believe that my assessment of when they would have found my body was probably correct!
I skied slowly down the Swiss side of the mountain, enjoyed two of my favorite Crepes, and went to bed early happy to be alive, full, and warm.
The greatest joy in doing edgy things is the remarkable feeling you have when you survive and are granted the opportunity to experience and fully enjoy all the remarkable feelings of just being alive!
Many religions espouse their feelings about who they view as the Supreme Being. I use my Matterhorn picture as my Avatar and view it daily as my visual reminder that mine exists. In my “Living the Split-Second” lifestyle, I have been saved more than once.
