The jagged peaks of the Dolomites, too sheer to hold snow, look golden in the sun. In many a mountain pass, above the tree line, you know that on the next switchback, cars may be parked along the road and their owners out in the sun, moving through rolling snowfields. It is a common scene on a Sunday afternoon. The Italian town of Bormio dates back to Roman times. But bacchanals back then couldn't have been as much fun as the race, done mostly on Nordic equipment, that runs through the town each winter.
Snow is plopped from rooftops or hauled in to create a path through narrow streets.
Family focus Another photo somewhere in my milk crate files illustrates that cross country is an all-age sport. Mom and her grade school daughter smile as they glide along in seven or eight inches of new snow covering the lake at Silvaplana, near St. Moritz. In the background is Corvatsch, the region's hairiest peak. On the other hand, I remember the time at a French resort, where I kibitzed a race, in which female teenagers skated around a five kilometer course. Parents near the finish line exhorted their kids to push, push for the final few yards.