Back in Saint Véran We're back after a week above 2040 meters. I took some cross-country skiing lessons, thinking it would be easy for a gaillard like me. I managed not to break anything, but I wouldn't want it captured on film. Balthazar got his first star (the second ski school certificate). He can now use poles and do parallel turns at speed. Pmostly studied, but we did get in a couple of nice hikes up into the wilderness (photos below). It's funny, though. Even in its most remote, savage places, Europe seems intimate compared to the US. An overnight hike with snowshows from the place where the photos were made would have taken us into Italy. From there we could have walked down the hill into Turin. It's good and not so good. One is never really afraid, but never really alone.
  ¶ 11:38 PM