No frost or snow, I've yet to go...

Quick update: Stephanie Rupp, my dedicated and generous host counselor in Geneva, has again found me a place to stay, and even if this one doesn't work out, she has assured me that she has two other options on standby, if need be: her friends are willing to put me up if I can not find a place otherwise. This is very comforting b/c I've worried about not having a place to stay so late in the game.

Next obstacle: the inertia of bureaucracy that has stalled my approval for a Swiss visa. I'm afraid another call to the consulate in Houston would cross that line from solicitous to annoying, so I'm trying to wait patiently for a promised email.

In the meantime, I am overjoyed at the prospect of flying out to SLC to see my sister and her soon-to-be husband, Matthew. I also get to see Uncle Bob and Aunt Maryann on my way to and back from the airport, which is an added bonus.

The weather in SLC currently looks like it will be perfect when I'm there, though I was actually hoping it would be a bit colder so I could begin to acclimate myself to what mercilessly and patiently lies in wait to strike me when I step off the plane in Geneva. Brrr. At least I can be sure my hands will be warm. I got some extreme ice climbing gloves in Utah this summer that are waterproof and good down to -15 degrees F. I'm sure they'll come in handy when I get to go glissading for the first time, or scale my first frozen waterfall with crampons and double ice-axes, just like in the National Geographic photos which have dumped a few liters of propane on the flames of my adventuresome spirit.