When your friend is a mountain guide and needs a guinea pig for his first tour on one of backcountry skiing's all-time classic routes, the Haute Route, you just say yes. Especially when said friend is experienced alpinist and Tacoma, WA climbing gym owner Tod Bloxham.
As details emerged it quickly became clear the trip was to be a rare one indeed—we were to trek from Chamonix to Zermatt, taking us through beautiful and treacherous terrain in the high peaks of the French, Swiss, and even for a few minutes on the final day, the Italian Alps. So, I kissed goodbye to my mileage account and booked a series of cheap red-eye flights that eventually brought me to Zurich, Switzerland to begin our journey.
I could have been in better shape, sure, but nevertheless I was ready to face my fears and earn those final beers in Zermatt under the towering Matterhorn.