Mountain... unlimited source of inspiration. Unlimited source of beauty. Unlimited surprise...
I've been in mountains for almost all my life. Seen so many beautiful places, washed face in so many alpine lakes, touched so many trees, climbed so many rocks. It is my love, my passion, my life. Mountains already craved my mind and my thoughts in best possible way. And then, from time to time, Nature decide that I am ready for new class. Ready for new Lesson about beauty of life...
This is the story about one of those moments...
The day began as the days begin when you have a lot of desires and so little time to fulfill them: it started with complete disaster.
We were unpacking our bicycles from van, getting ready for another day in mountains. Our plan was to ride some 40 miles, to climb some high passes, and to enjoy amazing "Apfelküchlein" (traditional Swiss apple pie) and couple Weisse Beers on our way. Morning was beautiful and full of promises as only morning in mountain can be. If I was more in Disney mood I would probably singing some 'Life is Beautiful' song, but being grumpy old biker I am, I was more than satisfied with mumbling 'Wherever I May Roam' by Metallica. Everything was perfect except Ivan was constantly swearing and cursing. We are not that easily offended, and we can stand some bad language, but it was just not place and time. So we all came to see what's bothering him. Seconds later we were all swearing - he broke rear derailleur into pieces. He didn't pay attention where chain is when he started to pedal after mounting rear wheel, and good old Murphy put his chain in worst possible place - stuck between cogs. As he is very gentle man, his rear shifter decided to Rest in Pieces... many pieces...
That breakdown is easily fixable when you are: a) in civilization, b) have tools, c) have spear parts. Luckily, we were 50 miles from nowhere with just few basic tools and spare tires was only 'spare' we had. After some time spent in arguing because he insist that we go to ride, and he will... do... something (probably find friendly marmot with tools and spare bicycle parts) we packed our bikes and went back to civilization. Hey, how hard it can be to find another 9 speed rear derailleur compatible with Sram direct shifters? It will take us only half hour to get back to Livigno, which is known cyclist paradise, buy new part, mount it ... and we are back in saddles in hour or two. Simple isn't. Nope... completely not!
Ivan like his bike. It is masterpiece to be honest. He bought and put together every single part on that bike. It is a full carbon Specialized, one of kind, hand made by him and maintained by him. But, most of components on that bike are now very old. Let me tell you this way: how many top mountain bicycles have 9 speed cassette today? I may tell you exactly how many - none! Not a single bicycle manufacturer building 9 speed configuration any more. That's why from one shop to another we found only surprised look and nothing more. There was no spare part that we could use.
It was almost at 12 o'clock when we finally found somebody who was not surprised. It was a local cop, in serious uniform, with some nasty tattoos on his hands and big gun on his belt. With something like smile (Italian cops do not smile, it must be forbidden by some low or whatever) he told us that he is also bike repairman, and that he can fix our bicycle in his shop, but after he finish his daily 'cop' job. In morning cop, on evening biker... well, modern Dr. Jekyll.
So we went to local open bar, ordered some drinks and spent rest of our new friend's 'cop time' discussing why Italian girls look so darn beautiful in everyday clothes. Finally, some beers later, our friend went out of his 'cop phase' and started to repair Ivan's bike. It took him only 20 minutes or so, but when he was over, my clock was showing 4 PM and our 40 miles track could only be forgotten. But, Marko had surprise in his sleeves. With smile in his eyes, he asked me - How would you like to see one glacier? Glacier?!?? C'mon man, I am really not into climbing over ice now, and my doctor was really serious when he said 'no climbing', and we do not have proper boots , my ice-pick is some 2000 miles away, and I hate ice... I could go for days like that, but he just waved and said - Climb the damn bike, we go this minute!
And ride was exactly what we needed. We started somewhere at Passo del Bernina on very Swiss border, running down across fields, scaring cows and birds on our way. Don't get confused here - we were on border between Italy and Switzerland, that's why repairing bike was happening in Italy and riding in Swiss mountains ;) Minute after minute, climbing across glacier looked like not so bad idea, or adrenaline simply said - relax and hold my beer. Some miles latter we entered forest beneath Diavolezza area. Forest was so beautiful and ride was so technical, that I completely forgot glacier story until we exit forest and stopped at parking near Morteratsch train station. Then Marko finally explained to me - we are not going across glacier, we are going to see foot of Morteratsch glacier, his very end. We are going into glacier bottom. Well... what we are waiting, let's go :)
Weather was pleasant and night was still far away. Uphill was so stubborn, that after few minutes we were all sweating and losing our breath. Starting altitude was somewhere around 1800 meters and my navigation showed that we are climbing constantly. Slowly, number on my GPS cross alt of 1900 meters and that's when I stopped to pay attention to altitude, as I had something else to think about. Area around us was changing... drastically.
We started our climb from rich green forest, beautiful and full of sounds of water springs and small waterfalls. As we followed river, forest become bushy terrain, and then bushes becomes grass and soon bare stones appeared. Around me, nature was changing at every meter. It was unreal. Swiss does not look like this - something was screaming in my head. It's green and beautiful and... bare stones at so low altitude... with all that water around... it cannot be... what the...
I felt like I am climbing into some other world. Scars of avalanches were on every step. Road was excellent, but around that obviously well maintained gravel road, area looked like scene from Moon, or Mars. Slowly, colors started to fade, everything become shades of gray, and only distant green peeks assured me that problem was not with my eyes... Nature has become gray. All colors become washed away, and only bare stones remained. We were on different planet.
Even though scenery was devastated, it was somehow beautiful in my eyes. Everything was so raw and basic. There was no trees, no bushes, no grass. Just stone, broken and with edges so sharp that sun rays were reflecting out of them. I realized that I am in one of those 'silent' moods, I didn't said anything for quite some time. As this is quite common for me, surprisingly, all others were silent to. No one felt like talking is option on such place.
Then we were at the very end of the road. Source of mighty glacier river was in front of us. River beginning was at the very end of mountain slope, gray and ugly, but again so beautiful that I didn't have words to describe it. There, in large cave, waters from Morteratsch glacier bounced on sunlight, born with sounds of thunder. Few hundreds meters above that beautifully ugly mountain slope, sparkling white glacier glittered on sun. We reached very end of Morteratsch glacier.
Scene was really from another planet. Only colors around were gray water, gray mountain and grey stones. Stones... from smallest rock to those size of houses, they were all sharp, raw, fresh... almost like somebody just broke them and time still didn't have time to touch their edges. In that Moon landscape, small, obviously temporarily bridge lead across glacier river. After that bridge, some rocky path, full of obstacles and broken stones lead to gray mountain slope and cave. I approached them...
I realized that I am shivering... completely. It was very cold, but that wasn't a reason. I was full of some strange adrenaline, but adrenaline was not the reason for my shivering. River sounded like thousands of thunders, but that wasn't reason neither. I was feeling small, very small, but that wasn't it... something was wrong, out of place... something was...
Then I realized. I was at only ten meters from that beautifully ugly mountain slope and cave when I realized that that's not mountain. That's not stone. That was glacier! That was ice! End of glacier was not few hundred meters above me. Glacier was there, at only few steps. I could reach it. could touch it. I was standing there trying to find reference, anything in my life I can compare with that moment... nothing... I've got nothing. I could not understand where I am, and what that represent for me. I was lost. To find myself, I had to move boundaries. I had to find new references. It was the only way...
With weak knees I was standing next to hundreds of years old ice. I reached with my hand and touched it. I do not know if it was my mind playing games or it was really really cold. Colder than you expect from melting ice... or any ice. Hundreds of years cold. Ancient cold. With my mind singing, I was touching end of glacier while just few steps further milky-white, ice-cold, thunder-storm, wild-and-young river was being born.
Deafening noise was around me, but I never been in more quiet and more peaceful place. Calmness was in my mind, complete and deep. I had no reason to cry, but my eyes had their reasons. Somewhere inside, I knew, I wished, I wanted to stay there forever, just to watch ice melting and listening songs of river. I wished to stay there, on the end of the road... End of the road old glacier and old me. On the beginning of the road... Beginning of the road for new river... and beginning of the road for new, changed, different, more completed, more alive... me...
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This blog entry is part of my Travel Blog series. I have much more travel stories in my bag, so stay tuned.
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