When in Switzerland - One Must Ski the Swiss Alps

This post comes to you by Nate. Today was the first day of ski season...at least for me. Mandy is back in Raleigh and will not be able to conceive her first day on the Swiss slopes until sometime near the end of January when she returns.

I was invited to go skiing at the ELM Ski Resort by my manager, Hakan. This was a pretty big deal as the group that I was joining has had a "Annual First Ski Day" tradition for 9 years.

Elm is a quaint ski slope about an 1:15 hours from Zurich by car. The ski resort was perfect for working out the first day kinks and jitters.

The circle represents the ELM ski slope. For those Swiss that

might be searching for my loss wallet, I am fairly confident

that you can keep your search within this circle (see below for details).

The good thing about participating with these "First Ski Day" advanced skiers is that they love stopping for coffee, sandwiches, beer, soup, cheese plates and fondue (every 30 minutes).

L to R (Andreas, Carl, Hakan & Nathan)

Here is a quick shot of me cutting through the snow. I just noticed that this woman was admiring my form....or maybe...reflecting on how I almost ran over her.

Usually, bad things happen to me when Mandy is away. Well today, was no different. After the first coffee break (at 10:30 am) I lost my cell phone on the slopes (ok...I fall alot). At first, I was somewhat relieved as the phone is quite basic and only works about 60% of the time.

If you haven't read our blog in the past, let me educate you on Swiss people. The Swiss are the most honest people in the world. Within an hour of realizing that I lost my phone, Hakan got a call informing me that my phone was located. By the way, did I tell you that the Swiss are the most honest people in the world. Also, they are quite smart too. Who would of ever thought to call the last number dialed to help locate a cell phones rightful owner?

Ok...so life is good. Lets continue skiing. Actually, I should of quit after the last coffee break. Sometime between the last coffee break and our last ski run, I lost my wallet. WTF!!!! I am a train wreck today. Hopefully the honest & smart Swiss people come through for me, again.

As with all my blog postings, I try to share my experiences and the lessons that I have learned. Hopefully, you will be able to take something from these to apply to your daily life.

So, the lessens learned in today's experience are as follows:
1) If you have a pass code to unlock your cell phone, you might want to consider removing it. It is kind of hard for an "Honest" person to find the rightful owner of a cell phone if it is locked with a top-secret code.
2) If you find someones cell phone, be as honest as the Swiss and try to return it to its rightful owner. If you want to be "Smart" like the Swiss, try to call the last couple of numbers dialed to locate the rightful owner
3) Last but most importantly, always store important items (phones, wallets, ski pass, children, etc.) in safe places while skiing. With all the crap (gloves, goggles, hats, helmets, skis, poles, etc.), it is very easy to misplace important things.

You won't want to miss tomorrow's post, it should be exciting assume that I survive the adventures that have been planned. Mandy...I need you here. All I can say is "Never Underestimate the Stupidity of Men in Large Numbers".