Scenes from the Road: Davos, Switzerland Edition

Sometimes the sun out, your friends are with you, and the scene is just right. Sometimes you can have one of those days while skiing the Dischma Valley in Davos, Switzerland. Today was one of those days. Here Mauro and Bettina Gruber strike a pose where the nordic grooming ends and the off-piste skiing begins. The snow isn't quite right for crust-cruising yet, but when it is, going for a little langlaufing up-and-down the Dischma is out of this world.

Bettina getting her flowing classic stride on the bootpacked track. After yesterday's challenging double-pole only intensity session with another Swiss World Cup skier, relaxing on skis and moving with the least amount of effort as possible was the goal of the morning ski.

I think a shot like this could almost be an advertisement for Rossignol skis. A river ran through it. And I skied it. A lot. Both with rollerskiing and on-snow, I have spent more than a couple hours training up this valley this year.

Four foxes, hanging out in the sun. I think they've seen better days, though. One satiating thing about spending time in Europe is how certain means of production are still carried the old school way in the Old World.

Dry cured meat like these hunks of speck are another area where time combined with the touch of tradition produce some culinary delights.

Next stop - Lahti, Finland! I'm sure there will be a story or two to tell from the land of saunas, lakes and  ski jumps and ski trails.

And you know Pearli will be on tour with me there as well - as he comes along everywhere. Here he takes in the first light of the day in the Trentino region of Italy. While here, Pearli got to check out his orchard fruit competition from Europe. This arena of Europe is home to the most renowned apples and pears and some of the finest wines of Europe. Pearli thinks, though, that the trees back in Peshastin, and areas like that back home still are the best in the world.