The Most Extreme Routes of the World

n mountain skiing, as well as in life, the moment comes at times when foolhardily it is desirable to be beyond the ordinary frames of routine. And then the skier or snowboarder approaches the beginning of one of “black” descends, and reckless trembling of heart paints the grey monotony of everyday life in all paints of a rainbow. What are the most abrupt descents of the world and where to find them? The answer can be found on this page.

1. La Chavanette, Avoriaz, France

The Swiss wall – It’s a name that does not say anything to the usual skier. However everybody who ever stood on the very brink of this steep descent of 200 meters, gets shivers merely from the hissing sounds of this name. «Only for professionals» – says the tablet at the beginning of the descent. The beginners, who are not frightened of the warning signs, will be stopped by the steep abyss, so abrupt that the skier who is standing on it is not able to see that there are only continuous potholes passed on a virgin soil and deep snow waiting for him ahead. And if the slope is smoothed out to an ice condition, it is impossible to survive on it.

2. Delirium Dive, Sunshine Village, Canada

Delirium Dive is the most abrupt descent of the Goat Eye Mountain. This is the favorite place of the reckless American skiers, whose adrenaline is warmed up not only by steepness, but also by a high danger of avalanches. The avalanche patrol insists on providing the skiers with avalanche beacons and on giving them shovel and a tester before the skiers leave on a route. Without them it is impossible to get on the elevator. Besides that, there is no possibility to rent equipment on the base of the resort; skilled skiers come here with their own equipment.

3. Grand Couloir, Courchevel, France

The well-known resort of Courchevel already became the talk of the town on news sites about the whims of the Russian oligarchs. And nevertheless the aim of going there is not only to get a cigarette lighted from 500 euro denominations and to squander brilliants. From the elevator station La Saulire starts the most difficult part of descent in the Big Couloir. If it hasn’t snowed for a week or two, the several first turns can be considered as a survival test, but further the route extends and the second half of the descent does not require any extreme skills.

4. Corbet’s Couloir, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA

Corbet’s Couloir is the descent, which skilled skiers and snowboarders should overcome at least once a life. The new elevator on the mountain Rendezvous will get any beginner here. Many go for a ride here – to the top point and downwards – on the elevator for several times, before they dare to undertake a reckless descent. However, the slope itself, the angle of which does not exceed 40 degrees at 15-metre width, is not too terrifying. The main thing is to overcome yourself and jump at the very beginning of descent. There are two ways either to jump at the left, then having flown by 3-4 meters to displace weight forward and to join the sharp turn, passing by the big rock, or to make a six-meter jump over the rocks.

5. Backside of the Valluga, St. Anton, Austria

To appear top of the most extreme ski zone of Austria is possible, only having passed the qualification test. The slope has a small angle of inclination and is usually covered with a fine snow, however the comfort of descent is deceptive – after all it ends with an abyss. It is enough to miss the left turn because of fear or inexperience and the adventure will end on the rocks – with 700 meters lower the slope.

6. Tortin, Verbier, Switzerland

The sensory acuity here depends on the condition of a route and the height of a snow cover. When there is much snow, the extremeness of descent may not be noticed. However when the slope is smoothed out, the farther skier flies, the higher are the hillocks and more terrifying is the descent. If the route is smoothed out to an ice condition, its passing turns to a deadly attraction.

First Impressions of Florence

Dome of the Florence Cathedral

Rome’s heyday was back in the days of emperors and gladiators. While many of the current structures in Rome were constructed around the time of the Renaissance, most of that talent and money to create those structures came not from Rome but from the north of Italy, in particular Florence. While Florence’s history does trace back to the Romans, it earned its place on the map as the center of the Renaissance. This is the city of Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, Machiavelli, the Medici Family, and hundreds of other artists. Compared to Rome, Florence is a relatively modern city.

The moment I got off the train I was able to sense a difference between Florence and Rome. Florence is much smaller. The pace here seems slower. The people and the stores seem a bit more…..classy. There isn’t as much graffitti. While it clearly makes a living off of tourism, it doesn’t seem nearly as overrun with tourists as Rome.

Putting the 'art' back into street art

After finding a place to stay, as is my normal routine when I arrive in a new city, I set off with my pocket camera to get a feel for the place. While I was able to walk to most of the attractions in Rome, it would often take a while and at the end of the day my feet would be killing me. Walking around Florence is easy. You can get to all the major attractions in just a few minutes time. While there is car traffic, you get a feel that the city hasn’t changed all that much in the last several hundred years.

The biggest feature of the city is the Florence Cathedral. Its reddish/orange dome dominates the city skyline. It is said to be the 3rd largest church in the world after St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London. It is however much older than either of those churches with construction having begun in the 13th century, as opposed to the 16th and 17th century for St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s. The interior is downright bland compared to any of the major basilicas in Rome. Given how many artists came out of Florence, I expected it to be filled with art. The most notable artwork in the building is the painting on the dome which shows a scene from the last judgment.

Rub the snout for luck

From there it was a quick walk to the Piazza della Signoria where you really get the feel of being in a Renaissance city. The clock tower, the coats of arms and the sculptures, including a replica of David, thrust you back into the 16th century. Even though I’m a big fan of ancient Roman history, I got a bigger thrill being here than I did anywhere in Rome.

A few blocks further and I was at the New Market where they have the famous bronze statue of the pig. You can rub his snout for good luck, which given how shiny it is compared the rest of the body, it gets rubbed quite a bit.

There are two food items I was told to try while I was in Florence: Florentine steak and gelato. I’d had plenty of gelato in Rome and elsewhere, so I didn’t think it could be all that different in Florence, and it isn’t. The only thing I noticed is that the gelaterias have giant mounds of the stuff which look like something Richard Dreyfuss would have built in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I did order and eat a Florentine steak, which I learned is just another word for “porterhouse”. Nonetheless, it was one of the better steaks I’ve ever had and it was HUGE. I’m now sort of curious to find out how a steak became associated with the city.

Tomorrow I’ll be seeing the sites properly with more time and taking photos. The next few days I plan on taking day trips to Pisa and Sienna. From there I’ll figure out how to get to San Marino and then Venice. My first impression of Florence are very positive. I can see why so many people have fallen in love with the city and have been so vocal about it on Twitter.

The Big Mac(Donald’s) Update

McDonald’s in Okinawa

Since I last did a McDonald’s update, I’ve gained a lot of readers. For those who are new, I try to eat at a McDonald’s restaurant in every country I visit. McDonald’s in every country are just a little bit different as they adjust the menu to fit local tastes. Eating at McDonald’s is an attempt to try and see how each country is different through the lens of something which is very familiar. I do not usually go out of my way to eat fast food, but I do eat at least this one meal at each place.

My last update was in Taiwan, so I have Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong/Macau to fill everyone in on . Brunei didn’t have a McDonald’s that I could see (but they did have Pizza Hut and Jollibee’s) and I’ll wait till I pass through KL to talk about Malaysia.

Japan

You think Japan you think seafood. It should come as no surprise that Japan’s contribution to the global McDonald’s menu should come from the sea. They have given us the Fliet-o-Ebi, or the shrimp sandwich. What was interesting was that the Japanese McDonald’s all had cheaper seafood sandwiches than beef sandwiches. This is opposite (outside of Lent) as it is almost anywhere else. The filet-o-fish was the cheapest thing on the menu and the Quarter Pounder was the most expensive.

McD’s in Geyongju, South Korea

I had a helluva time finding Diet Coke in Japan and South Korea. I guess they aren’t that fat so don’t feel the need to drink diet coke that often. I’d usually get a Grape Fanta when I ate in Japan.

In the Asian McDonald’s I’ve visited (except for Hong Kong) they had a very clever system for getting rid of your garbage. Each garbage bin had a drain attached for dumping your ice and extra beverages. You were then expected to stack your cups. Also, hard plastic like forks, drink tops and straws were usually put in a separate bin. It was very efficient. Very Japanese. The drain on the garbage is one of those simple ideas that really should be adapted everywhere. It reduces the weight and potential mess of the garbage by removing the liquids from the bag. It also reduces the volume by stacking the cups. It would be very simple to implement and I think everyone would use it immediately.

South Korea

South Korea has one of the more boring menus I’ve seen so far. The only really unique thing I saw was the pumpkin pie, which sounds like something that is probably on the menu in North America in the fall, but I don’t recall ever actually seeing it.

Lots of McDonald’s in Hong Kong

The one thing which sets South Korean McDonald’s apart from Japan was something you could see all over the country: space. Most of the Japanese McDonald’s I saw were very crowded. Many had spaces for eating while standing up against the wall. There were very few booths or large tables. This is sort of a reflection of everything in Japan. Everything is tiny and crowded.

In South Korea, even though the country has a higher population density than Japan, you don’t see the same amount of crowding. I noticed this the moment I arrived in Busan. The apartments were bigger, almost American sized. Likewise, the McDonald’s were more roomy and less seafood oriented. Even though South Korea is heavily into pork, I didn’t see a lot of pork on the menu.

They also had corn soup on the menu, which is something I also saw in other Asian countries. I don’t get why corn is so popular. It certainly isn’t a traditional Asian food.

Hong Kong/Macau

There is a McDonald’s smack in the middle of the historic area of Macau.

I noticed that Hong Kong and Taipei had way more fast food restaurants than I saw anywhere in Japan and South Korea. You’d see them around in Seoul and Tokyo, but not in the same degree as in Taipei or Hong Kong. I have no clue if it is a Chinese thing.

That being said, the two places I’ve eaten the most fast food were in Taipei and Hong Kong. I think that is more a function of me staying there far longer than I had originally planned, having a screwed up sleep schedule, and McDonald’s being open 24/7. If you recall from my report on Taipei, they had great fried chicken. The Hong Kong chicken wings were also really good. Probably not very good for me, but they taste good. The only unique thing I saw was the Prosperity burger, which was available in beef and pork. I think it might have been a seasonal thing like the Shamrock Shake, but for Chinese New Year. I also saw the Prosperity Burger in Malaysian Borneo, which has a sizable Chinese population.

I plan on doing a special McDonald’s update from Bali. From what I’ve heard, the menu is very different there.

8 Things You Might Not Have Known About Quebec

I’m currently in Montreal after having spent the last several days visiting Toronto and Ottawa by train (The Canadian passenger rail company VIA Rail is instituting a new wifi service so I and several other bloggers were invited to try it out.) I’ll be heading to Quebec City later today and I figured it would be a good time to do another installment of “8 Things You Might Not Have Known..”

1. Quebec is Canada’s largest province by area. At over 1,500,000 sq/km it is almost 50% larger than Ontario and only slightly smaller than Alaska. It is not as large as the Canadian territory of Nunavut which is over 2,000,000 sq/km in size. Nunavut is not a province, however.
2. It has the oldest English language newspaper in North America. Despite being a French speaking province, Quebec City is home to the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, an English language newspaper. It was founded in 1764, making it the oldest surviving newspaper and English newspaper, in North America.
3. America once invaded Quebec. The Battle of Chateauguay took place on October 26, 1813 during the War of 1812. 4,000 Americans attempted to take Montreal but were repulsed by 1,630 French Canadians. If the Americans had been successful, all subsequent North American history would have been different and there might not even be a Canada today.
4. The Appalachian Mountains run through Quebec. The mountain range keeps going after it hits the border and extends through Quebec all the way up to Labrador. I don’t think the Quebecois have their own version of hillbillies, however.
5. Quebec was the scene of many terrorism acts in the 60′s and 70′s. The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) was a Quebec separtist organization which committed several political murders and bombings.
6. It took 30 years to finish the 1976 Olympics. The 1976 Olympics were held in Montreal and the city took on a huge debt to finance the games. The mayor of Montreal famously said “the Olympics can no more have a deficit than a man can have a baby”. Well, men started having babies when the bonds to pay for the Olympics weren’t finally paid off until 2006.
7. Olympic Stadium is largest inclined tower in the world. The stadium built fo the ’76 Olympics is unique in many ways. The tower, which supports the fabric dome roof of the stadium, is the largest inclined tower in the world (574 ft). The building wasn’t completed in time for the 1976 Olympics and ended up costing over $1.6b. Today the stadium has no permanent tenant since the Expos left for Washington. There have been calls to demolish the stadium because it has so many structural problems, but because it sits on top of a subway line, demolition would cost an additional $700m. This is why it is known as the “Big O” (as in owe).
8. The Montreal Canadiens are the most storied team in NHL history. The Canadiens were one of the original teams of the National Hockey Association in 1909. They have won the Stanley Cup 24 times and were the fist team in NHL history to win 3,000 games.