Yesterday we arrived in what is known as THE cross-country paradise called Cogne in Valle d'Aosta. Except, it was everything BUT a paradise. There was (and still is) an arctic storm out there... The wind reached 99 km per hour today, (for the aviators amongst us, that was 35kts, gusted 51kts cross-wind).
That on its own is great if you get a tailwind, which of course we didn't... The slopes became terribly icy and everything that could fall from a tree, fell on the slopes, making the slopes a total no go zone. In fact, the only two idiots skiing in the whole valley, were the two of us. They even stopped the ski lift for the down-hill skiers due to the storm, but we had to complete a minimum number of kilometers and so we went.
A view of some pictures to understand the snow conditions say more than a 1000 words:
At km 28, I got undercooled (the temperature was not even dramatically low, but it felt as if it was -20 degrees) and it simply became too dangerous to continue, also due to the iced-up slopes. So around 1600 hours, we had to break off the rest of the skiing for today and we will start again tomorrow. we reached 299 km in total (and raised nearly 3300 Euro) ... so tomorrow morning it is time for my third video announcement.
Apart from frozen and exhausted bodies, it was not all disastrous today; nature here is indescribably stunning and since we were the only two lunatics exploring the mountains, we managed to spot 2 roedeers and 2 camosci (Chamois), which was wonderful to see. They were not even scared of us. Apparently, a black squirrel followed me on the slope and was skiing right behind me for a while. Too bad, Eleonora decided to tell me only after the squirrel was gone.... so she might have been hallucinating.
Around 1600 hours I knew I had to get out of the cold and we arrived at Hotel Gran Paradiso. The owner Filippo Gerard decided to support our initiative and invited us to stay two nights in this super cosy, elegant and romantic hotel. When he saw the state we were in when we arrived, he organised a sports massage for both of us, which was incredibly sweet. The kindness of people we meet along the way is just incredible. Today someone heard us on the radio and sent us a message after the radio programme, offering us to stay at his hotel because he is horrified about how human beings treat animals and decided to support this initiative!
Today we also received photos from two Italian children who were skiing wearing a pig (not a real one) in a rucksack in order to support our cause!
Even though I am hating every meter of the actual skiing (mainly due to the terrible conditions of the slopes), it is heartwarming to receive all this support and it is amazing to see how also the press is giving attention to the horrific situations in which millions of pigs live. At the moment we have over 40 publications in various newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, and we are conducting interviews nearly on a daily basis.
Last but not least, we developed a new technique for descending from clear ice on a steep slope with a canyon next to it. It is called 'The Ass Technique' and has proven to be quite effective. We included a demo especially for you in the video below :- )
A last message for Dutch readers:
Aangezien de maatregelen van Minister Schouten m.b.t. het schandaal in slachthuis Westfort wegblijven, zijn collega's van AnimalsToday een petitie gestart om het slachthuis te schorsen tot nader onderzoek. je kunt de petitie hier ondertekenen.
Wil jij de varkens ook een warm hart toedragen? We hopen voor elke kilometer 10 euro in te zamelen voor een documentaire die House of Animals gaat maken over varkens. Alle kosten voor deze tocht zijn door onszelf gefinancierd en in sommige gevallen gesponsord door bedrijven en hotels. Mocht je ons ook willen steunen, weet dan dat 100% van jouw donatie naar House of Animals gaat.
Je kunt ons steunen via Tikkie o.v.v. skieën voor varkens, of via ideal/paypal/creditcard
#SkieënVoorVarkens #LanglaufenVoorVarkens
#Skiingforpigs #varkens #dierenwelzijn #veehouderij
#Skiingforpigs #varkens #dierenwelzijn #veehouderij
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