Author: Martin Wenzl
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Summer in SoCal
Against all odds and with lots of sweat, I made all connecting flights and touched down at Los Angeles International Airport on the evening of 16 August. My bag, on the other hand, had stayed in London. It would be hard to claim that I had not been warned about flights with layovers in the…
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Italy versus Austria: Alto Adige or Südtirol?
After a visit to Napoli earlier in 2022 (see here), another incursion into Italy would take me to a region that is, on nearly all levels, decidedly different from Campania. Months earlier, Mike had floated the idea of taking our mountain bikes to Südtirol, apparently after binge-watching bike channels on YouTube. It was a long…
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Napoli: a city of many layers
There are many layers that make the city of Napoli. Some are rather apparent and delineated, the presence and boudaries of others more subtle. It is not always entirely clear across which dimensions these layers cut but they certainly stratify time, architecture and culture, as well as probably a number of other dimensions, depening not…
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Grande Finale on the BC Powder Highway and the long way home
Photos by Peter Dorfinger and Martin Gears shifted in our last week in BC and the skiing would become excellent again. Not that this had much to do at all with our being in better physical shape after three weeks of driving, hotspringing and, yes, some ski touring. Luck played a role. But the main…
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Week 2 in BC: The Rain, Slush and Crust Highway turns to Powder again
Photos by Annikki Santala, Peter Dorfinger and Martin After stopping for dinner in Revelstoke on the way west from Rogers Pass, we spent Friday night in Sicamous. Accommodation in Revelstoke was fully booked. The goal was to pick up Annikki from Kelowna airport at 4pm on Saturday, which would leave time for a small ski…
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Week 1 on the BC Powder Highway: Winter is back with a vengeance
Photos by Peter Dorfinger and Martin The vastness of British Columbia did not make it any easier to choose where to go. As we drove north on Highway 93 through the rain, we decided that we might as well keep going until it got colder. We did take a break at Fairmont Hot Springs. After…
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Montana: Skiing starts in earnest
Photos by Peter Dorfinger and Martin An uncomfortable truth started becoming salient as we crossed Lost Trail pass from Montana to Idaho while an inconsequential layer of fresh snow started covering the road. Our VW Tiguan, albeit an all-wheel drive, was equipped with all-season tires. All Californian seasons, that is. The local Les Schwab branch…
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Idaho: A little more vertical, more hot springs
Photos by Peter Dorfinger and Martin After hitting Jackpot, we left Nevadan territory where gambling is legal, and crossed the border into Idaho. Quick stops at a ski shop and a burger joint in Twin Falls left us no wiser about where to go – backcountry literature was nowhere to be found. Hitting the Jackpot…
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California to Nevada: 600m of vertical and hot springs
Photos by Peter Dorfinger and Martin Leaving California Not that Peter needed much convincing, but were we to claim that it didn’t require a bit of effort to convince his Silicon Valley employer that it would be a great idea to take a month’s of unpaid leave to hit the road and ski, it would…
My Impressions 