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Posted by Grant on 9. February 2010 20:19
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It's that time of year again, where I venture out into the snowy mountains to nail down the course details for Untamed Switzerland. Untamed Switzerland is a 3 stage race, spread over 3 days, where racers sleep and recover each night in a cozy hotel. This year the race will be in the extreme southeastern corner of Switzerland, near the Swiss border shared with Italy and Austria. It's a spectacular area known for big snow and regular sunshine -- and the Alps through here have a different feel than the rest of Switzerland . . . it's hard to put in to words.
The locals often shake their heads when they see me heading off into the snowfields with snowshoes and maps. In my limited German (and even more limited Romansch, which is the official language of the region), I can't communicate that I'm identifying routes and orienteering fun for a bunch of endurance athletes a couple months from now. There is a very strong orienteering culture in Switzerland, but it's very controlled and formal (the way most everything is in Switzerland), so this departure from the normal way things are done causes confusion.
This misunderstanding can also cause laughter, like when I reach the top of a mountain on snowshoes while everyone else takes the cable car to the top. They laugh at me because they don't understand my motivation; I laugh at them because they missed out on the fun getting to the top!