Wild & the Pacific Crest Trail

Reading is very important to me, books are álmost as necessary as the air I breath. Sometimes I read a lot (and quick!), sometimes one book take me weeks, but nevertheless I couldn't do without my most beloved escape. Maybe I'll write a blogpost about it another day... I know there are plenty of book-lovers out there who will get this anyway, and the need for the written word is familiar to many in some form. Often a book triggers new interests that I like to explore further. I love going through reviews before ánd after reading a book, and I'd like to add my own humble opinions to the ever growing digital source of information about old and new books.

Little side note: I've been thinking about my blog a lot lately. I have some changes in mind (or, hopefully, improvements :)). One of them is adding a 'Reading & Watching' section, where I want to review the books I read and movies/series I've watched (or at least the ones worth mentioning, the ones I think éveryone should read/see!). Please bear with me though, I'm not an expert on literature or whatsoever, and my reviews might lack in-depth criticism or professional argumentation regarding my opinion. But, maybe in actually writing down these reviews (instead of only forming them in my head) I can grow a bit in forming better analyses of books in all their aspects. I guess that would result in an even greater appreciation of the written word in it's finest forms!

So...here we go, the first book review on Lovalizious (I guess a drumroll is out of place for such an uneventful thing as a review?)... Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. 

Wild is a memoir, written by someone who had quite a messy childhood. Throughout the book are flashbacks, revealing bits of Cheryl's youth. This results in slowly understanding better why she came to the point (at the age of 26) where she decided to walk the Pacific Crest Trail (or at least 1700 kilometers of it), a long distance hikimg trail on the east of the United States.

Especially Cheryl's loss of her mom to cancer played a big role. Even though her childhood was difficult and somewhat unusual, her mother's love was one thing she could always count on. After losing her, Cheryl ended up in a downward spiral of divorce, heroin abuse and a dangerous love life. Being headed to nowhere she bumped into a guidebook of the PCT by accidence, and decided she had nothing to loose. So...she sold all she had, scraped what she earned with it together to buy a backpack (affectionately called 'Monster' throughout the book) and some other supplies, and used the rest to make little provisional packages that she'd sent to post-offices along the way ahead of her.Starting her journey still quite unprepared (with a wáy too heavy backpack and not really a clue on how to survive in wilderniss), she slowly adapts to a new rhythm: one of walking endless miles on her own, not seeing a soul for days, preparing her own food and water, sleeping in a little tent at night...only to wake up (with even more muscle soreness) to do the exact same thing over again. In the beginning surviving and walking the necessary miles each day takes all she's got. But after some weeks she starts to get used fo her new, temporary way of life. At this point her mom 'shows up' again. Not literally, of course...but Cheryl still has a lot of processing to do on all that's happened to her in her childhood as well as being a young adult. Things she couldn't deal with before, tried to ignore or buried away deeply by pursuing a lifestyle that brought short term relief, but only more emptiness on the long run.Now don't think think this book is all about emo-babble and psychological stuff. Cheryl is a tough girl and definitely had got balls. She might have been the most unprepared girl in the world who ever walked the PCT, but she did it anyway. She goes on after frightening encounters with bears and snakes, struggles through ice cold snowfields followed by burning hot deserts with Monster on her back and picks herself up again after lonely nights in her small tent. She slowly learns more about surviving in the wilderniss and lives a couple of months with extremely little money. She meets new people when passing resupply points, with whom she spends a shorter or longer time, exchanging experiences and simply enjoying the pleasure of company, finally again. A lot of those people have an impact on Cheryl, who's often touched by their kindness. But nevertheless she always says goodbye, to take on on her own again, adding a new layer of corn to her shoulders, hips and feet. No, she's not the whiney-kind of girl.I looked Cheryl up on google and was directed to her facebook-page. She's a pretty, professional and healthy looking woman now. She got married, got kids and wrote even more books. Honestly, I was happy to find out. She looks happy on the pics and seems to have found more meaning and fullfillment in her life. That's what I hoped for when I finished the book. I also found some pictures on Cheryl's facebook page of her 26-year old self on the PCT. I lóve these! And man, just look at Monster...

'Wild' was an incredible book to read, but also made me notice the existense of the PCT for the very first time. Being curious and also a bit adventurous myself, I did some research on this hike. The full route is 4286 kilometers ling and goes all the way from the border with Mexico in the south up to the border with Canada in the north (or the other way around of course). It passes through 25 national forests and 7 national parks, and goes through the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains (among some other mountain ranges), resulting in a total height difference of 4000 meter. The resupply points often exist out of nothing more than a couple of houses and a central building which serves as a bar, laundry service, hotel and post office. Now I understand that sounds like a nightmare to a lot of people (or at least many would wonder why in the world you'd voluntary undertake such a thing)...but to me, it sounds like an addition to my bucket list. And I' m pretty serious about that! Luckily the boyfriend turned out to be just as enthusiastic (after a while...not having read the book yet he thought the PCT was - just as another simple hike - something for retired people), so now we have a new shared dream.
One last thing to add: I just found out this week that this book is gonna be turned into a movie! Reese Witherspoon is casted as Cheryl, I'm curious to see how she will do (especially since she often plays such neat, girly characters...which Cheryl is obviously nót). At least I hope they won't undo the story from it's rough edges and turn it into a typical polished Hollywood production...but I definitely will give it a chance. Can't wait!I hope you liked my first book review..next will be the Hunger Games-series, only one more half book to finish. I'll be back to talk about Katniss' adventures!

About climbing & falling

So, as you might have read here earlier, I like to climb. My boyfriend and I started this new hobby around October last year, and now it's slowly growing into a passion for the both of us.
Our first, clumsy indoor ascents took place at an introduction lesson in a climbing hall from Mountain Network, a Dutch organization with around 6 halls around the Netherlands and an outdoor centre in the Ardennes. We had a lot of fun and it seemed like we both had a bit of the 'ape-factor', going faster than the other course attendees. No discussion was necessary, we wanted to get our indoor toproping certificate.

With this toproping certificate you're allowed to climb indoor on your own (without guidance from an instructor or whatsoever). The rope already hangs down for you, all you need to do is bind it to your harness, bind the other end to your belaying partner, and start climbing. There are different routes to climb, starting with 3's and 4's, 4+ and then proceeding to 5a, 5b, 5c, 6a, 6b, etc...until about 9b (I believe! New routes are explored and climbed, when they are harder than any other that's done before, they will get an even higher grade). Mark and I followed our 4-lessons indoor toproping course in another Mountain Network hall. This organization is truly awesome, every hall seems to have great, enthusiastic and responsible personnel, eager to learn you everything about their passion and spread the love for climbing. The halls are modern and synoptic, with clear routes built by good route builders. And they have very good after-climbing beers :)

After receiving our indoor toprope certificate in November 2012, we tried to climb as much as possible, at least once or twice a week. We proceeded slowly from 5a's to 5c's and even 6a's. We discovered bouldering, a different branch in the climbing world in which you try to climb short routes. These routes are not higher than about 3 or 4 meters and have a crash pad beneath them, so belaying is not necessary. Bút, the routes are often quite intense. Whereas a toprope route might contain a few difficult passes among a lot of more doable steps (the difficulty here is found in the length of the routes, which requires a certain endurance), these passes are all collected together in one short boulder. So boulders can actually be seen as a shortened, intensified form of climbing. A lot of climbing halls have a small bouldering room, but Mark and I also discovered two great specialized bouldering halls in the Netherlands with an awesome circuit of boulders varying in difficulty. We discovered that bouldering goes together with a lot of muscle aching, but also with quick progression in the strength, coordination and balance required for our normal climbing!

Bouldering hall 'Delfts Bleau' (not my pic)

During spring this year, we decided it was time for lead climbing. Lead climbing differs from toproping and is also a bit more scary/risky. Instead of climbing on a rope that already hangs down the wall, you take the rope up with you, clipping it to metal rings in the wall via so-called quick-draws. This means that you will fall a longer distance (for example: when you fall just below the next metal ring, you will fall twice the distance to the former ring). The belayer has to gíve you rope instead of taking it in as he or she has to do with toproping. Your belaying partner also has to stay super alert with falls, trying to make the climber's fall not too static, but neither letting the climber hit the ground!
Lead climbing  is actually a necessary step when you want to climb outside. Ropes don't grow on rocks, you know :P We followed this 4 lessons course at Mountain Network Amsterdam, the hall that has the best lead climbing wall in the Netherlands (in our honest opinions at least...it's also often used for championships!).

The next video shows the differences between a toproping fall and a lead climbing fall (you can start at 30 seconds).

Now if you'd like to see how this can escalate in real hard rock climbing, click here... Don't worry, these are quite extreme examples (but still, dad: please don't watch this). You can also see the impact of a big fall on the belayer, who is being pulled upwards (or actually towards the first quickdraw).

Again a lot of practice followed after gaining our indoor lead climbing certificates. Toproping, lead climbing and bouldering as much as we could, I started to try 6b's and Mark even did some 6c's. The progression made us grow even fonder of our new found passion, maybe we actually got a bit addicted! We bought gear, starting with our own harnesses and shoes, belaying devices, carabiners, etc.  (And let's not forget the super fashionable climbing leggings I bought at ebay...) During the last months we also got our own 70 meter rope, quickdraws, lifelines, slings, prusik cords and helmets. I even sew my own chalk bag (holding magnesium chalk to powder your fingers during the climb). These were the necessary items for our ultimate goal: climbing outside!

Yup, our most recent course took place at the Mountain Network outdoor centre in the Ardennes! Two weekends were spent in the Dinant region, resulting in our outdoor lead climbing certificate. We had the most awesome days under the guidance of some great instructors who know an awful lot about climbing. The weather couldn't be better, neither could be the Belgian beers at the end of the intense days. We slept in tents at the campsite next to the Mountain Network office and bar, located in an old farm/castle building. We learnt how to climb multipitch at Freyr (see the pic), which means you climb several lengths of your rope (so you can climb a lot higher!). We did some abseiling and were taught several knots and other rope techniques. It was quite a lot to take in, I still have to let it al sink in and probably read it over in the little information booklet we got. The best we can do now again is practice, practice and practice even more. And now we got all the gear ánd licenses to climb outdoors independent, there's nothing that can stop us!

We climbed on that rock on the right...looking out over the
river (the 'Maas' and the castle on the other side!)

So...that's my small climbing history so far. The birth of a passion that has brought me much joy already in such a short time. It lets me discover my physical and mental abilities and boundaries, making me push my limits and always (literally) reach for that next hold. The climbing community is kind and social, not too big or pretentious. I climbed next to the Dutch lead climbing champion one sunday afternoon...she was just practicing, as were we! My experience with outdoor climbing so far is small, but holds a lot of promises. Being in nature while climbing, touching the rock to find a good hold, feeling the sun and the wind on your back and admiring the view once you're above the trees...I can't wait to go again. I'd love to share more of my climbing adventures here on my blog, as a little climbing diary. Don't know if anyone's interested in these stories...but hopefully this post cleared things up a bit about what I have been doing on the walls the last months.

Ps. If you're interested in climbing and you're a girl, you might like www.cruxcrush.com... an awesome climbing blog by and for girls!

Yours truly, Miss Monkey :)

Middie Parson Grace

Yesterday I finished my third custom Middie! I thought it was time to share something of these little cuties on my blog. This time it was a Middie 'Parson Grace', sent to me by the lovely Jen. She gave me enough freedom and time to enjoy working on her beloved doll (thank you Jen!) without pressure.

Parson Grace has a beautiful hair color (salmon/blond/pinkish), I tried to match the face up as well as I could to make these pretty hairs show off even better. Working on a Middie means 'tiny work'...the lips and nose are much smaller than those of normal Blythes. I secretly love working on a Blythe after carving a Middie, just because of that feeling that the Blythe is so much 'bigger and easier' (which I never feel when I normally start working on a Blythe :P)...heheh! 

Jen wanted her Middie to become a sweet and innocent girl, nothing too flashy or wild. I hope I succeeded in this job :)

For anyone who's curious...carving the lips, nose and nostrils probably take me about 4-8 hours (depending on how 'heavy' the customer wants the carving, and well...just on how things are going). The actual face up (using pastels, pencils and gloss) takes me another 2-4 hours (normal Blythes take me a little bit longer on this area). Then also count in the head opening and closing again, adding custom lashes and making some nice pictures of the 'new' girl...and that's what it takes me to customize a Middie! Of course this is just how it works for me... I've often been wondering how long it takes other customizers though (please leave a comment if you want to share!)!

If you're interested to see the other two Middies I've customized before this Parson Grace:
- here you can see Bellamy;
- and here you can see Lucy!

For now it will be the last commission I took regarding customizing...I'm just too busy at the moment. My colleague at work will be leaving for three months due to pregnancy, and I will take over a lot of her patients. Of course júst when I also have to do quite some internship hours for school...so busy times ahead! ;)

But..I dó have some girls at home which I'm slowly working on when I have the time, and that will be up for adoption as soon as I have them finished. So stay tuned!

Lovalizious on Facebook & some random things

Hi folks! It's been a while again...I've been busy with a lot of things lately. My graduation year (I work as a physiotherapist and study to become specialized in geriatrics) officially started, I have a lot of work (internship and essay) ahead of me. The weather finally became better over here (this week we had two days with +20 degrees Celsius!), so at least I could do my homework on my roof terrace, yay!

Meanwhile, I try to keep the Lovalizious business up and running. I decided it was time to make a Lovalizious-facebook page. It was a step I hesitated to take for a long time...it feels a bit pretentious somehow to start your own 'page'. It's not like I'm a big business or whatsoever, just a crafty girl who sells things sometimes and likes to share her passion online! But on the other hand, I can imagine that not all my facebook friends are interested in my crafty work, while not all people interested in Lovalizious might want to know about my personal life (as far as I share that online :P). So two different places for these things sounded like a good plan, and the Lovalizious-facebook page was finally born.

Hit 'like' if you want to stay updated, I'd be honored!

As I said, I tried to keep the crafty business up and running besides my work and studies. There were several new shop updates: some hoodies (Blythe and YOSD), knitted beanies (Blythe) and the PukiPuki set and lace doilies you can see below:

I'm working on two homemade custom girls (they might take a while) and accepted a commission for a custom Middie. Currently I'm sanding down their faces and carving the mouths and noses. I ordered some new eyelashes and eye chips. I really wish I had more time to customize, I like creating new little characters!

I made these ultra colorful pillowcases for my friend Bernadette. She bought the beautiful fabrics in Peru a while ago during a holiday, and still had not found a good purpose for them. Since her little garden corner is finished now, she thought they might make some nice cushion covers and assigned me to make them! Sewing with such joyful fabrics make me happy :)

I bought this cute camera strap on Ebay for only 4 dollars including shipment! Interested? Here's the link to the store!

As I mentioned before, I did some homework (and also some crafting) on my roof terrace. It was finally warm enough! It resulted in more work though...looking around and seeing dead plants, dust and dirt everywhere, I couldn't help myself ending up cleaning the whole place. 

In the weekends Mark and I have been climbing again. We visited a bouldering centre and got our lead climbing certificate. We're getting closer to our next goal: climbing outside!

Marks parents celebrated their 26 year anniversary and took us for diner at the beach. It was a beautiful evening with a stunning sunset.

I did a little bit of urbexing in my own hometown. A 10 minute bike ride from my home there are some old apartment buildings being taken down. The whole area is fenced off, but it was easy to get in and take some quick shots (I really shouldn't do this on my own though, I was SO nervous!).
A lot of decay and demolition was going on, while in the surrounding gardens some glorious trees showed full blossom...I loved that contradiction.

I got some new snowboarding gear. Being on Roxy's mailinglist, I got an extra 50% off (on top of the 'end-of-season sale'!). Even though I still have to wait a year before I can use it, I'm so happy with my new and cheap scores!

And last but not least...my two ever loving assistants and companions. Even though they break down my house weekly, love each other so much they make me feel left out and act quite retarded in general, I wouldn't miss them!

Thanks for reading and watching again my lovelies...don't hesitate to leave a comment if you like! A lot of randomness this time, but I hope to share some tutorials and a new travel journal soon! 

Lay your head down and dream away...

Last year I visited a fabric fair with my bestie Eef, and came home with some wonderful world mapped linen. It has the most delicious soft colors and a bit of a vintage feel to it...making me dream about far away places! So what would be a better purpose for this fabric than some cute pillowcases, to lay your head on and daydream away?

I actually made four pillow cases. I kept one for myself, and one went to Eeffie (with the yellow-ish back). The remaining two are now available in my shop, since I finally uploaded them yesterday!

The two cases that went into the shop both have a green-ish backside. One is more greyish green, the other mossy green...both soft, ribbed fabric that match the world map perfectly well. The pillow cases close with a strip of velcro, neatly sewn into the upper flap.

I also added a little tag, saying 'handmade with love' (which they are!).

So...if you're interested, head over to my shop to get one, or maybe use this post as an inspiration to make your own! I'm pretty sure different kinds of world mapped fabric are available out there, so check your local market, fair or Etsy and get behind your sewing machine!

Sella Cabin Tours

As I already mentioned in an earlier blogpost (Wanderlust), I went to Italy for three weeks in February/March for the Sella cabin tours. My boyfriend's dad has been organizing these tours for about 6 years now, every year expanding a little bit (more tours, more customers). He has started this little business out of enthusiasm for the beautiful Dolomites (which probably are, I must confess, the most stunning mountains I've seen so far, so completely different from the Alps for example!), and the conviction he could organize a better and prettier tour than the already existing ones. The name 'Sella' comes from the Sella group, a plateau shaped massif in the Dolomites. It's quite a remarkable group of mountains! The route of the cabin tour makes a complete circle around this massif (which means that on a lot of spots in the tour you're able to see the Sella group).

The tour starts in Rifugio Fermeda, on about 2000 meters high. In Italy the cabins are called Rifugios (you can recognize a bit of the English word 'refuge' in it). The ones used in the cabin tour have room for about 20 to 70 guests (imagine bedrooms for 4 to 12 people). There's most often a bar (with lots of grappa, a kind of Italian liquor that is available in many flavours) and a dining room. Nothing very luxurious, but a lot of wood, checkered curtains, framed pictures, dead animal heads on the wall (which I secretly like a lot, shoot me for it!) and other curiosa. Shortly said: coziness at it's best :)

At night a three course meal is served in the rifugios, and you just can't imagine what delicious things people can cook in such remote cabins. You have to realize that most rifugios lie on or next to skiing slopes. After five in the afternoon those area's become quickly desolated, because the skilifts are turned off and most tourists return back to their homes and hotels in the valley. In winter, the only way to reach those rifugio's is by ski (downhill, of course), with the skilift or on the snowscooter. This makes the incredible taste of the served pizza's, pasta's and meat dishes extra amazing, doesn't it?

After some drinking, chatting and card game playing it's time for a good rest. This might recquire earplugs, especially when you sleep in a room with some big men. I've heard the most harmonious choires of snoring in those weeks, heheh (and believe me, women can snore tóó!)! You can imagine a lack of privacy in these weeks, but for most guests this isn't a problem, and it's only for a week of course (every tour lasts one week). I was a bit lucky though, in a lot of huts there's a smaller (2 person) room for the tour guides, and most times my boyfriend's dad let Mark and me have that room (thank you Gerrit!). I appreciated that a lot, it meant a bit more rest after all, and I had to keep u for more than 1 week!

Every morning we habe breakfast at 8 o'clock. After some bread, eggs and strong Italian coffee it's time to say goodbye to the cabin staff, fasten the backpacks and hit the slopes, on to the next rifugio. If you're fast enough, you can be the first one on the slope, making a brand new track in the freshly prepared (or even better, freshly fallen!) snow...nothing can beat that feeling! Oh and about those backpacks: many customers worry a lot about them beforehand, but that's absolutely needless. You get used to skiing with one very quickly, and you surely won't need more in one week than what you can fit into it: underwear, pyjama's, toilet acessories and maybe a book (or balls of yarn to knit, like me :)). Only in the lifts they can be a bit impractical, but that doesnt't weigh down the feeling of adventure and self-sufficiency they will probide. And don't forget the freedom that living out a backpack will give you...at least that's how I experience it :)

On the way to the next rifugio we stop about 2 times: late in the morning for a fresh supply of coffee, and early afternoon for lunch (read: pasta!). During the years Gerrit figured out the best routes, where the lifts are the least crowded, the slopes are most challenging and the sceneries are most breathtaking. For example we go through Serai de Sottogudda, a beautiful fissure with many frozen waterfalls, where ice-climbers try to ascend. We ski down the Marmolada (3342 m), the so-called 'Queen of the Dolomites'. We go to Cortina d'Ampezzo, an area of decayed glory, where the Olympic Wintergames took place in 1956. A lot of facilities in this region still hail from that time! The last day we sleep on mount Lagazuoi, where soldiers have fought in World War I. There are still mines remaining from this time, which you can actually go in to. On this same day we take the so called horse-taxi: a sledge with two horses that can drag about 20 people, hanging on two long ropes behind the sledge. The path is too flat here to ski downhill, so the horses bring you to the next skilift!

So... I took the tour three times (while there were six in total this year, I participated in the last three ones). When I arrived in the Dolomites it was, of course, beyond delightful to finally see Mark and be together again, I díd miss him in the three weeks before (forgive me if I sound cheesy now ;)). I was a bit nervous though...last year I took the tour for the first time (actually, it's where Mark and I met :P), all alone. It was a wonderful, but also very intense week. Now I would be doing thréé weeks, also being a bit of a 'helping guide'. How would I keep up, physically, but also emotionally? Looking back now, I can say it went wonderfully well. I'm actually a little bit proud of myself! Physically it was no problem at all (also thanks to the good nights of rest), I noticed coming into the new 'flow' (snowboarding, eating, relaxing and sleeping) quite soon. Somehow your body adapts to the new situation, although you might suffer from the heights a bit in the beginning (less oxygen).

Emotionally it was different from last year as well... I did not try to get the most out of one week, regarding my involvement with the guests. I related on a certain level, having fun together and chitchat, but not going too deeply. Mark helps me with this (although he probably doesn't realize it), he's a good example in how to set boundaries. He has to, how else would you be able to survive six of such weeks?! Speaking for myself, I'm not that good with boundaries regarding relationships, often getting involved too much...resulting in exhaustion. So these three weeks were a good opportunity for me to practice! Some days went better than others, but overall I can say I might have grown a bit. I tried to take a bit of time for myself every now and then (I might be used to being alone a bit more than the average person), like reading (Game of Thrones book 1!) in my bedroom, proceeding on my knitted socks, playing with the rifugio pets, or just sitting alongside the others, enjoying my 'birra piccola' (small beer) and listening to their conversations. This way I was able the next day to hit the slopes like a crazy girl, play in the snow, have fun with the guests and help where I could, as the 'guide-in-training' :)

And oh my, did we have fun! The most special days for me were in the second week, when a lot of fresh snow fell. I've never snowboarded in such deep 'tiefschnee', it's a feeling that can't be compared with anything else! Almost like you're on a sailing boat, sailing over big waves with your board, while the soft, loose snow sprays high behind you. I fell often (and believe me, trying to get up with both feet attached in hip-high snow is nót easy, sometimes Mark literally had to drag me out :P), sometimes even somersaulting. I had snow éverywhere, even in my underpants. But I enjoyed it so freaking much...once you have experienced this kind of snowboarding, you don't want anything else anymore! I must learn how to do proper off-piste boarding (including the necessary safety rules and equipment of course, I know the mountains are dangerous, and real off-piste skiing/snowboarding is not the same as making fresh tracks beside or near the normal slopes), maybe take a course, some lessons or a good guide one day? It's added to the bucket list!

At one moment the snowfall became so heavy, it was impossible to reach the next hut. So the cabin-owner had to pick us up with his snow-mobile, only able to transport half of the group. The other half of the group (where I was in as well) went down the abandoned slopes under the supervision of the 'Polizia', to a small bar lower on the mountain, for some hot jagertee. Later we were picked up as well by the snow-mobile (suitable for 6 persons at the most, but 11 people fit as well :P). The 2 Polizia guys, still on their ski's, hang onto the vehicle to be taxied up the slope for a couple of hundred meters. Even though nobody could see more than five meters ahead, we all had so much fun, it was crazy! Though I must say...those Italian jagertees are a bit dangerous...

When the weather was a bit better, Mark and I decided to go down the Sass Pordoi. This is a mountaintop in the Sella group that can be reached by by a skilift, but where no slopes go down (the lift is mostly meant for tourists who want to go up the Sella group and enjoy the view). There are some possible routes down though, and since we heard it was do-able, we wanted to give it a shot. 4 More men (including Mark's dad, bravo!) decided to come with us. Stepping out of the lift cabin, there were some doubts...but finally we took off. In the beginning there were some super high bumps and cliffs that scared me a bit, further down things became better. What an amazing descent! I actually found an online video clip that was taken during an almost similar descent (only the last part of the route seems different): http://vimeo.com/11655843. It was a shame that there was no fresh snow that week, resulting in hard, bumpy and crumbling snow. I'd love to do this route again in tiefschnee! (But, like I already mentioned...I'd do any route in fresh tiefschnee if I had the chance ;)).

Every week there were about 20 participants. Sometimes people come alone, often there are some couples or family-members. Groups of friends are also possible, and in the last week we even had a group of 9 sisters (partly in law)! Man, those ladies were something. You cannot believe what kept coming out of their small backpacks: candles, cheese, wigs(!), bottles of Amaretto...seriously! They stood on the table already their first evening (leaving the other guests a bit flabbergasted). I love how all customers are so completely differently, yet come with one goal: to have a week of great fun. We had an architect, a police officer, a brewer, a lawyer, nurses, a music therapist, construction workers, etc. All with a shared love for the mountains and skiing! By the way, when talking about nice and friendly people...I should not forget the cabin crews. All the rifugio employees are incredibly kind and welcoming, I was recognized (and remembered by name) after just one week! Of course, it's business for them...but still they go that extra mile for you, to make your stay as pleasant as possible. They deserve big hugs!

Well... here's some information for who's interested (Dutch and Belgian people): www.huttentocht.com, and on Facebook.
The rest of the photoseries used in this post can be found on my own Facebook.

You can already sign up for next year, if you like! I think a cabin tour is a good way to see more of the area, instead of staying at one place for the whole week. The Dolomites are definitely worth visiting, it has countless breathtaking views to offer, and well...the mountains are always a good idea :) I hope to go there in summer one day, I'm curious to find out how different the surroundings will look without snow! Did you know that the Dolomites are called after the rock they consist of? Yup, 'dolomite', a name that is on it's turn derived from Déodat de Dolomieu (a French geologist), who described the Dolomite rocks. A phenomenon for which the Dolomites are known worldwide is the alpine glow, also called 'enrosadira'. This glow begins at dusk, when the red gleams of the setting sun are reflected. During dusk and dawn, the colors of the mountains change literally from minute to minute, it's almost too much beauty to take in at once! I feel small, humble and só blessed during these sunsets....