Vocabulary for Snowy Days . . .
What could be more beautiful than waking up to a winter wonderland, when the ground is covered with snow?
Looking out of the window, a week last Friday, I couldn’t get over how wonderful and fresh everywhere looked – like the white icing on a Christmas cake. I couldn’t wait to be the first to tread in the smooth, deep snow and leave my footprints behind. I didn’t fancy going alone, so asked a few people to join me – to experience the first real snow of winter. Unfortunately, I was met with the same answer each time – it is "grauslich" – a word that really describes what some people think about the onset of winter. Then I had to ask myself, how can anything that looks so beautiful be described by such a word? The secret is to wrap up warm, choose some boots with a very deep tread and brave the elements .Inmy hurry to get out, I could only find one glove and the pom-pom hat that doesn’t really suit me, but as I was sure that I would hardly meet anyone in this "grauslich" weather, I didn’t really mind.
AsI expected, stomping through the virgin snow was just wonderful and really worth overcoming the need to stay in the warm apartment for the day. I only met one woman in a bright pink ski jacket and matching scarf. She was having a great time cross-country skiing across the white field with two small children in tow. There was another mother with three small children, who were shrieking with delight as they tobogganed down a small hill nearby.
It has now been snowing for over a week and, needless to say, so much snow doesn’t suit everyone and can be quite annoying .I felt sorry for the people stuck on the Tauern motorway, when it had to close down due to the mass of snow. Or those who have to dig out their cars in the morning, or shovel the snow away from their front door, before leaving home for work. For some people it can be a nightmare, but how often do we get so much snow in the city? Hardly ever! The snowploughs that start at around three o’clock in the morning can be very annoying, but then, the following day, we are so grateful to the person who got up so early to make sure that we can drive our cars. Then, there are the winter resorts that have been cut off from the rest of the world, due to too much snow, and the danger of avalanches is very high at the moment.
While I am stomping through the snowcovered field, it starts snowing again and the snowflakes feel like tiny needles on my skin. It reminds me of the time I was a ski guide and we had to ski with our groups, every day, whatever the weather. The most exciting thing that I have ever done in my life was heli-skiing, in Bormio, Italy. The helicopter would fly us to Bormio 3000mt and drop us off at the highest point. Then we would ski down, off-piste, on the rear side of the mountain. The snow was almost up to my waist and the helicopter had to circle above, in case of avalanches – but it was exhilarating. The things you do in your twenties! I used to love skiing alone, with my Sony Walkmann (now that shows my age) playing Jennifer Rush’s "The Power of Love" – or taking my groups on the torchlit toboggan runs in the night – followed by a delicious fondue.
My worst snow experience happened on New Year’s Eve, when I was bringing a group back to Bormio from the duty-free resort of Livigno. We were on a very narrow pass when, all of a sudden, there was an avalanche in front of our coach and we started to slide down the mountain. We had to spend the whole night on the pass, so we opened the duty-free drinks and made the most of it.
Snow can be beautiful and dangerous – it calls for our admiration and respect.