Surprise!

I bet when you arrived at this page you were expecting to find nothing new.  Although there's not much new in my life I thought that I'd post a few pics and provide a brief update.

I committed to staying here for at least another year.  I'm ready to leave my current school, but not ready to leave the Alps.  I've had a lot of fun here in the mountains, but there is so much more to be had, and in order to do so I have to continue working here.  My job/school is un-inspiring, but my surroundings keep me going.  We've had a phenomenal ski season, and just when we thought it was Spring, daily snow showers are here.  Although it's too warm in town (1450 meters) the snow up high ( > 2500 meters) continues to accumulate.  My skis were nearly put away, but they're being put to full use again.

A group of us were hoping to tour up Mont Blanc (Europe's highest peak) next weekend, but with all the new snow that we keep getting, the snow conditions there aren't safe.  Kinda glad the weather is not in our favor because I'm definitely not fit enough to make it up on skis.  Some of us are considering trying to go up in June right after the school year finishes.  The weather and snow conditions will be much more stable then.

My friend (co-worker) and I have been brewing our own beer.  So far we've made four batches (two IPAs, a porter and an English ale).  We've given some to friends and people we know at the local bar and ski shop...positive reviews, so we'll keep the brewing going.  It tastes better than anything we can buy here, plus it's cheaper.

Summer plans are in the works.  Since I haven't traveled much during this school year I'm hoping to get to some new places over the summer.  I'll most likely be traveling to Scotland, Croatia, Greece, and Romania.  There will be some brief trips to France and Italy as well.  Other than seeing new places over the summer, my goals are: ride some of the major climbs featured in the Tour de France, climb the Matterhorn, the Eiger, and Mont Blanc (the classic climbs of the Alps), relax, and have fun.

Here are a few pics...

Monaco (going there again in 3 weeks)

 Leysin during a ski day

 A very tasty restaurant in Munich

 Picture taken during the one ride I've managed to go on

 Skiing through a glacier in Zermatt

 The bottom of a glacial descent in Zermatt

 Several of my ski buddies

More skiing

Ski Season

Ski season is well underway. Prior to returning to Kansas City for Christmas and New Years, Leysin and the surrounding ski resorts got dumped on with about 2.5 feet of snow. Before even leaving for break I got eight days on the slopes. The best thing about my school/job is that we have ski term. For two months (mid-Jan to mid-March) every Tuesday and Thursday school ends at noon and everyone has to go ski. Yes, that's right, I'm required to ski twice a week for two months. Ski term is great! I even purchased another pair of skis for when we get fresh powder.

Here's a quick video from before break. My friend (coworker) Ethan provided the silly commentary.

Second semester flies by here. Before I know it I'll be back in Kansas City for a week (end of March) for my buddy's wedding and in early May I'll again be taking a group of students surfing in Portugal. These are the things that I have to look forward too this semester :)

As mentioned above, I went home for Christmas break. This was my first Christmas home in four years, and I think it had been nearly eight years since my whole family was together for Christmas. Coming home for the holidays was much different than coming home for summer. It made me miss home a lot more! Being back home was refreshing. Spending time with my family and friends was good for my mind and soul.