So it’s more than halfway through January, and I’ve already been out in shorts during the day.
That was Monday, when it nearly hit 70 degrees here in DC.
But it has cooled down quite a bit today, which is encouraging. It’ll allow the local areas to fire up their snow guns and try to get some terrain open for the weekend. Yes, most of ’em missed out on the lucrative MLK Day business, but right now anything is better than nothing.
And I’m still concerned about snow levels in the Alps. I’m heading to Austria in four weeks and change, and the skiing conditions there have been anything but great. Most resorts under 1,500 meters in elevation have been warm and dry, which doesn’t bode well. But a lot can happen in a month’s time, so we’ll see. The normal climate patterns for the Alps have more snow falling in February and March than in any other winter months, so I should be fine. But I’m also planning on contingencies: driving to a higher-elevation resort that has glacier access, hiking, etc.
But I’m committed to the trip. My mom is traveling with me (it’s the only way I could convince her to visit her friends in Austria and Germany). I’ll spend a few days in Sankt Johann im Pongau, where mom has close friends and where the ski lifts come all the way into town (and connect to many other towns on one ticket – very cool). We’ll then spend a few days in Munich, where we’ll see more family friends and I’ll be able to hit the town.
The last bit of travel commitment came today, when I bought my air ticket from Munich to London, which is the “gateway city” for our trip.
Wish me luck with the weather – think cold, snowy thoughts.
jank
17 January 2007 — 09:39
Enjoy the trip! I’m anxiously waiting for snow up here. Kind of upset that I haven’t been able to break out the XC gear this year.
Jenn
17 January 2007 — 09:56
LONDON!!
I hope the weather turns more wintry for your trip!
Grand Poobah
17 January 2007 — 10:23
Alas, my time in London will be very, very short. I have a decent-sized layover on the way there, but it’s at Gatwick Airport, which is quite a distance south of the city. If I can find a place to stash the luggage, it might be worth a hop on the train into central London, but we might just hit a town close to the airport to go to Marks & Spencer or Tesco.
And on the way back, it’ll be a bit more complicated: we fly from Munich to London Heathrow (west of the city), then hop a train to central London. We then need to make our way from Paddington Station to Victoria Station to catch the train to London Gatwick. There’s not a lot of time in between, due to things like customs and check-in, so we’ll see. I might be able to swing by a market to pick up tea and sweets to bring home (or to M&S to pick up some underwear and shirts).
But I have a feeling that I’ll do more shopping in Munich than anywhere else, which is also cool.