I'm as fit as a pair of 70-year-olds

[UmbrellaFrog]

Said people being my dearly beloved parents, who have been passionate hikers since even before they first met on a mountain track over 30 years ago, and went on to climb the highest summits in the Alps together ^^ Now, in their retirement, they've slowed down a bit of course, but they still go on weekly hikes with their happy little pensioners' group, and today, for the first time, I went walking in snowshoes with them. My very first real snowshoe experience! Needless to say I spent a lot of time with my arse in the snow, but all in all a really great day:

 

-> beautiful weather, glorious landscapes, white jagged peaks all around me and snow more glittery than a Disney princess;

-> making the first tracks in a vast, smooth snowy field, and then picnicking on the roof of an almost completely buried chalet;

-> the difference in altitude between starting point and arrival was only 450 m, not much really, but I was really surprised with how easy and pleasant it all seemed. I have horrible memories of being dragged around mountain paths as a child, hating every neverending minute of it; then, as soon as I was old enough to be left alone at home, I never set foot on a mountain again (or did any other kind of exercise) for many years, and that's when I started to put on weight and became really unfit. It's only since the last couple of years that I've started walking again; slowly rediscovering the outside world, in a way. And I like it! I was even almost disappointed when we reached the end of the hike, and looking forward to the next occasion!

 

 

-> So, in case of tl;dr: Woot for completing a small snowshoe hike and, mostly, for enjoying it \o/

 

[wildross]

congrats!   I bet it made your parents happy as well.