‘Go for it. You’ve got to seize the moment. Life is too short for regrets, and I promise you if you don’t go up there and see the view, you’ll never know what you missed. Want some company? It’s an easy route across to the cable station.’
‘Sure.’ Unable to help herself, she smiled back at him, knowing that she was unaccountably sparkly-eyed. It was as if, when he was around, her face took on a life of its own, reflecting the fizzy, washing machine feelings inside, even though she knew he was not the sort of man for her.
‘Great.’ He threw down his board and scooted it with one foot towards the slope. ‘Ladies first.’
Feeling a little high inside, she pushed off and allowed the delicious sense of freedom and speed to overtake her, letting her body relax into the work. Already she was much more confident with her skis and felt that she was in control, but not so much that she felt able to look over her shoulder. Luke was somewhere behind her. Almost before she knew it, she’d skied underneath the twin sets of cables and she could see the big square gondola dangling further below in the valley them looking decidedly precarious.
Luke caught up with her when she slid to a halt near the cable station.
‘That was easier than I expected,’ she said, pulling off her helmet and goggles as they joined the queue to go up.
‘It was a blue run. And you look pretty…’ He paused deliberately, his eyes twinkling at her, before he finally added, ‘Competent to me.’
She couldn’t help roll her eyes at his terrible corny line. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’
‘Not all,’ he said, tilting his head as if he were giving the matter serious consideration.
‘I meant easier than I expected, in that following the map was simpler than I thought it would be. The markers are easy to spot. I was worried about getting lost.’
‘I always figure as long as there are other people about you won’t lose your way. Not in these conditions anyway. And if you do, head downhill.’
‘Difficult to believe on a day like this that it’s ever anything but sunny.’
‘Where do you think all this white stuff comes from?’
‘I know that but…’ Mina lifted her shoulders and glanced up at the deep blue sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight.
Together they boarded the gondola, which clicked and whirred with mechanical efficiency as it lifted and swayed up out of the station. As it swung out away from the building, making her feel as if they were leaping out into mid-air, Mina’s stomach lurched and dropped and she gripped the side bar.
Without saying anything, Luke dropped his hand on top of hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze, for which she was very grateful. Even though they began to climb smoothly upwards, the mesmerizing view made her feel a little dizzy and disorientated. The view emphasised just how high up they were, and although heights didn’t normally bother her, she felt a certain sense of nature being so much mightier than mere humans, and it made her feel just a tiny bit vulnerable. Far below, the village looked like and reminded her of the model village her uncle had once taken her to. From this distance, the houses, dotted at random, looked as if you could tuck them in your pocket, and the dark ribbon of river cut through the white snow while row upon row of trees seemed to march up the wide expanse of the valley.
‘The village looks tiny. Odd. When you’re on the ground, you lose all sense of just how high up you are.’
‘We’re climbing to nearly three thousand metres,’ said Luke.
‘That doesn’t mean much to me,’ said Mina apologetically. ‘Except it sounds high.’
‘Everest is over eight thousand metres. There are fourteen mountains in the world over that height.’
‘OK, that sort of puts it into perspective.’
‘Wait until you get to the top. On a day like this it’s spectacular. You can see a lot of the Aletsch Glacier, which is the longest in Switzerland.’
‘Where do you learn all this stuff?’
Luke held up the map with a smirk. ‘Most of it is on the back, here.’
‘Cheat, I thought you were some kind of mastermind.’
‘And I know about mountains.’
‘Well, there are certainly plenty here.’
‘When we get to the top you can see the Matterhorn, the Eiger, and the Jungfrau.’
‘Only if you know what you’re looking for. Good job I have a handy mountain expert guide.’
‘It might cost you.’ The devilment was back in his eyes.
