"To be more human"

I'm back from skiing in Zermatt. I love mountains and have traveled through many North American ranges. I've been in the Canadian Rockies, the American Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the Appalachians, the Alleghenies, and even the Ozarks. The Rockies are magnificent. When I drive into one of the National Parks in Alberta (Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise, Waterton or Yoho), I am transported from my everyday life into a more meaningful connection to nature. I feel close to the heavens in these mountains. There is a spirit and strength in the mountains which inspires me. I was curious to see how I felt in the Swiss Alps.

My first impression of the Matterhorn and the narrow valley in which Zermatt nestles was conditioned by childhood reading and Disney. The Matterhorn is iconic. Anyone who has visited Disneyworld or Disneyland knows what it looks like, and the Alps were as I envisaged as a child. My first impression was shattered once I rode the tram and gondolas to the top of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. At 3883 meters, I was the highest I've ever been on earth. To my right, were some climbers roped together walking over the glacier. As a skier, I walked through a tunnel, put on my boots and skis, and emerged onto a glacier populated by many nations. We were Swiss, French, Canadian, Russian, Moldavian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch all united in a passion for skiing. At the end of the first day, I took an elevator through the mountain to a lookout and climbed steps to go even higher.

I felt like I was above the heavens. I was definitely above the cloud cover and as I looked around, I felt infinitesmal. I was just a speck in vast and complicated mountainscape. There was a crucifix on the lookout with words in French, German and English. The translations were not identical but the English words were " To be more human". If being more human means feeling vulnerable while striving forward, feeling small while appreciating nature and God's grandeur, feeling grateful to be alive then I took a small step that day to being more human. But, I may not have understood at all what it means to be more human. All I know is that this was the first of many times during my two weeks in Zermatt, when tears came to my eyes, words failed me, and I felt overwhelmed by the beauty of life, the power of the mountains, and the courage of those who live and die in them.

Peace,
Ginny