Just arrived in Switzerland, which is exciting on the one hand and more than a bit frightening on the other.

Besides my previous apprehensions about the scale of the journey I'm launching on--I worry about whether my body is up to the punishment to come--there's the weather: rain! Not a mountain is visible, and I'm told that snow is falling down to a mere 2,000 meters. On Wednesday I'll be hiking higher than that, and for the new three or four weeks I'll be almost continuously above 3,000m, with regular forays to 4,000m and even 4,600m. I was hoping for summertime, not a freakish version of winter in June! So I'm excited, but plenty nervous, too. (June 19, 2010)