It was a few degrees below zero (centigrade), but I figured not to overdo the layers as running though the snow should warm me up. I wore a hat of course, beanie variety, not trilby. Stepping outside was refreshing. It was overcast and I was standing at the bottom of a steep sided valley, and my GPS struggled, but eventually got a fix.

I set off at a very steady pace toward the head of the valley along the recently cleared road. In no time, I was feeling the altitude. My heart was working about 10-15% harder than back home and I'd barely started to climb. Approaching the village at the head of the valley, I darted across to the other side of the road when I realised that an old chap had decided it was an opportune moment to dislodge 2 metre icicles from his hotel roof and that I was heading straight into the strike zone. Reaching a point where the road went no further, I turned onto a snowy path heading up.
5 minutes into the climb, I was peaking at 85% of max heart rate, without really trying. This was hard, but I trudged on. The snow had been trodden into a path, but was still deep enough to cover my shoes, and it felt that for every two steps forward, you're losing half a step in slippage.
A few minutes further along a reach a recently groomed piste. No tracks, no-one around, a blank canvas. I pointed myself uphill and began to scale the piste. It was a red run and significantly steeper than the footpath, as anyone who's been skiing would understand. I wouldn't be able to maintain this for long, so I decided to give it everything for about a hundred yards and then enjoy the descent. The heart rose to 90%+ of max on the climb and I took a deserved 30 second break at the top.
While running up mountains has its place, running back down a freshly groomed piste was one of the best running experiences I've had. I took my first few paces steadily, but gradually allowed my legs to turn over progressively quicker, the freshly compressed snow propelling me even faster. Nearing the bottom, I was at full pelt and precariously just on balance.
It was only a 25 minute run in all, but it's a whole new ball game up in those mountains.
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