SaasßFee to Milan

1/28/2010
Near Epic Travel
No matter how good the train system is in Europe, there’s always something that can go wrong. So I’m glad we missed the first bus out of Saas-Fee, Switzerland since that would have placed us on the first train out of Brig that derailed on its way to Milan. There also happened to be a good snow storm moving through the area with high winds. Who would have known the night before when we were at a great outdoor ski party at the base of the ski lift and where the ice skating arena is in Saas-Fee. There they had a the ski team descend the mountain with torches, a ski bunny named “Snowly,” some guy skiing with 10 foot skis, a guy skiing with a fan on his back blowing him uphill, a pyrotechnic expert with fireworks on his back, and some freeride skiers and snowboarders hitting a jump at the bottom. The show ended with a great fireworks display and a hot wine drink.
After that, a big party held at a local pub had a solo guitarist playing American classics. The crowd, most of whom could not speak English, was singing in perfect chorus the words to all the songs. How can that be? Justin and I played foosball with a family who had everyone from the daughter to the great grandparents in the bar singing, drinking “bier” and carrying on until about 23:00!
The good news in missing that train brings the bad news that the rail was then closed and we had to take a bus from Brig to Domodedossolo, Italy in order to get onto a train going to Milan. The silver lining here was that we got to go over a mountainous pass that had tons of great ice climbing in the area. In fact, there were ice climbers rappelling off the snow bridges to gain access to the climbing. There was everything from big and fat waterfall ice on low angle (easy) terrain, to the intimidating daggers that hung off the tops of caves, the kind I like to climb. This area is located right on the Swiss-Italian border. The border was easy cross since we were on the bus, but there we about 20 people standing in the cold. They had been off-loaded and were professional-looking people who were hitch hiking to Brig. With the snow storm moving in, the women with only tights on their legs looked like they were about to be in for a surprise. Cars zoomed past and only a few stopped to pick up the soon-to-be frozen white collar workers who had nothing but their briefcases.
We ate lunch before getting on the train. Inconveniently, Justin can’t eat the large array of Italian pastas, pizzas, and other gluten bearing foods, so finding a restaurant is sometimes a challenge. A gluten-free diet is a lot tastier however, and it’s good to find those places since I don’t like filling up on starch.
This part of Italy has more English-speaking people than Daone and there seems to be more money in this valley since there’s a train instead of a bus service. It’s a really nice train to boot. The bathroom looks like something off of the starship Enterprise and there’s loads of room for skis and snowboards. Justin and I were able to get in a few pull-ups, push-ups, and dips while traveling, but it’s hard to feel good when you spend all day traveling, and trying to stay hydrated and fed while making connections.
We got to a hotel and bartered with the English and Spanish-speaking man for a price. We immediately made our way into the town and found a nice pub where we got a good glass of local red wine. We ordered some meat, sausage, and I got some dumplings since it was a suggested “local favorite.” Too much starch however, and I felt bloated. Good thing I had to walk back to the flat.
The next morning we got up and went to the local open air market and bought a half a chicken each for breakfast. We are constantly faced with the anxiety and idea that because many of the competition climbers are driving to these events and staying in their vans that there are no provisions. We keep thinking that there will be no stores, no food, and possibly no water. So we bought some food for about 25-30Є and packed our stuff on the next bus to Moos, Italy.
This drive was much more exciting with the mountainous venue immediately out of Balzona. The winding road led up through northern Italian wine country on terraced terrain and scattered castles. The narrow road switched back and forth and passed through multiple snow sheds. We gazed out at the valley below and we approached snow line. The cliff bands became more prominent and the avalanche gullies were separated by housing developments and ranches. The ranches or farms that were established more than several hundred meters higher than the road had a cable guiding line going to it that provides a faster, more efficient way of transporting loads to and from the ranch house. Many of the cables were not marked and would be impossible to see from a helicopter. From my days working at Lifeguard (an air ambulance service) cables are extremely dangerous things for helicopters to fly into. So I suppose that the helo pilots know exactly what they’re doing here.
We drove into Moos and were dropped off by the bus. A man drove up who spoke no English, but called out “Marc, Justin.” We threw our stuff in his car and got his name, “Fritz.” We tried to figure out what his role in the scheme of this was and never really understood until he took us to his B&B up the valley in Rabenstein. He and his wife own and operate the B&B next to the church that overlooks the valley below. Anyone who wants to go to a really cool place to take a honeymoon vacation should go to Rabenstien, it’s quite the place.
On the way up to the B&B we stopped and took a gaping look at the massive ice tower erected between avalanche run-out zones. This tower is 25m high and is larger than the Val di Daonne structure. More technical terrain could be attached at will to in-situ anchor points.
A news crew was filming and interviewing the route setters and wanted a word with Justin and I. We obliged and so I guess we were on local Italian news as “the Americans who made it to Rabenstein!” I guess we are validating the competitions by just being here and adding credibility to the event. The newsgirl had red hair and a pierced nose and was very nice. We were a bit embarrassed to be giving a tv interview since we had not even climbed yet, and certainly weren’t the local heroes.
The Russian’s showed up in brute force and entered 13 unexpected competitors, along with 3 Ukranians. One of the Russian’s holds the world speed record. If you see these guys in action, it’s impressive. They are dead serious about speed climbing. They train for it and have specialized equipment and study the techniques. The funny thing about a speed competition is that it is something that has no practicality outside of the competition. I would never climb that fast on real ice because of the high risk of falling or getting injured. I must admit, it’s a fun competition. Where else can you use axes like a ninja and run up water that’s frozen vertically like Jackie Chan? Justin and I have a good time doing it.