Day three started similarly to day two, with the bleating of goats outside our window. This time we could actually hear them clop-clopping across the wood deck outside, so Laura got up and had a look. Yep, they were walking around the deck.
After some more fitful sleep I got up for strong coffee & prepared for a final day of hiking from the Durrand Durrand Glacier Chalet. As it was Monday morning, the owner's wife and kids headed out in the helicopter to go to school early in the AM. That must be some way to get to the schoolyard (yes, they drop them off next door). Little did we know how things would change this day because of the lack of female supervision for the owner...
Anyway, we were off again. THis time it was me, my wife, the guide and a couple from the Netherlands on the hike. I was much faster than the rest of the clients, so off to the top of the (large) hill I went in search of photo ops. Given the distinct lack of flowers during all our prior trips that was most of my focus, but I did take a few other holiday snaps (yes, they could be taken on holiday...nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
Slowly the rest of the group made its way up the slopes of Goat Peak. I again headed off ahead of the group, rewarded with some time to sit and let the local fauna get comfortable with my presence. I enjoy photographing the "big four" of the mountains (Goats, Sheep, Elk & Bear), but also have fun with the smaller creatures. One that is especially challenging and fun for me is the diminutive Pika. They're in the rabbit family, extremely skittish and very fast. It takes a keen eye, lots of patience and good luck to get a photo. I don't usually have 30 minutes to sit around waiting, but once in a while I get the chance to get something like this:
After the group caught up we had some lunch (calling all chipmunks...crumb alert!) and headed for the toe of the Durrand Glacier. On our way we got the first warning that things at the lodge had changed. Ruedi, the owner, called up on the radio to let us know that he would be shutting down the showers at 5:00 PM that afternoon. Ok, that should be enough time, but we are paying guests. Whose schedule is more important here?
Several hundred meters of descent brought us to the toe of the glacier. While we didn't go under it (too dangerous, even for me to want to try it) it was still exciting to be so close. The ambient temperature was a full 10 degrees Celcius colder at the glacier than just 100 meters away. The truly amazing thing, and a real highlight for me, was the intensity of the blue color to the ice underneath the toe of the glacier.
The rest of the day was mostly uneventful (if vertiginous), and capped off by a flank steak dinner with which I opened:
2002 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
Deep red with shades of black, this was richer than most Mondavi wines I have ever tasted, but not over the top. Blackberry fruit and not too much wood on the nose and palate with pretty smooth tannin. I liked it. It's reasonably priced as well.
Then things got interesting. Ruedi let us all know that he would be shutting off the water at 5:30 AM the next day (again, aren't we the paying guests?), and that we would have to really shake a leg getting out of there, as he had "another guiding job" lined up for the next morning. Now helicopter exits are almost always around 9 AM or so, but we paid for a lodge that advertised hot showers and running water (even an inside toilet...a luxury we paid for), and were being denied them so Ruedi could shut the lodge down quickly and go guiding for more money. Needless to say all the guests were pretty steamed by some of this, especially shutting off the water ahead of anyone getting a chance to even brush their teeth in the AM.
But the real kernel of the story came during the (mostly) excellent helicopter flight out. Ruedi was in the same flight as the Dutch couple and me (which turned out to be extended, as Ruedi needed to fly over to his other lodge in the area to check the door), and over the open channel in the copter he told the pilot the places he would be going with his "good guests." So apparently we get rated on something other than paying our money! It's pretty clear why he barely said two words (none of them civil) to any of us while we were there. We didn't rate as good enough to interest him. Needless to say I consider his behavior and management of our last day at the lodge to be completely unacceptable, and while I loved the area I wouldn't give the guy another red cent. How about having the staff (three people) stay a few extra hours to do the close down Ruedi. How about not rushing paying clients out the door for your own convenience. As we got out of the helicopter I thanked the pilot for a great flight , and Ruedi said "Don't thank him, I paid for it." No Ruedi, you included it in our price, so I paid for it.
This all sounds horrible, but as I was driving the Dutch couple back to their car (parked away from the heliport) we did laugh about it. Ruedi was ultimately a source of amusement for the rest of the trip. And heck, since he forgot to lock the door of his other lodge we got an extra long helcopter ride, and I got this photo:
