Dave and me atop the Alpspitz.

This is near the top of the mountain. Apparently, they worship here during the summer months.

On the last day, we hiked up and out across a high snowfield to find fresh powder. Here's a shot of Dave coming down the mountian. Awesome.

When we were out boarding in the powder, I came to what I thought was just a little jump. When I jumped it, though, I realized just in time that there was about a 20-foot drop on the other side. I came over the lip and just barely caught myself with my arms. It was enough to give Randall, our snowboard instructor, quite a little stare. Once he caught his breath, he proceeded to laugh at me unreservedly. When Dave came down the mountain, he whipped out his video camera to capture the action. There was nothing but air below my board, and I could go neither up nor across. I decided to go straight down, and Dave has a video of me plummeting an then riding it out like a pro. It was fun. As soon as he updates it, I'll link his website so you can see the footage.

My friends will appreciate that this WUBA's favorite part of the day, or at least one of my favorite parts of the day, was eating at one of the many lodges on the mountain. The Germans know how to eat, and their food (meat and bread, mostly) suits my palate.

Dave bought us a full snowboard package for the week, and it included instruction. We lucked out big-time, because our group ended up consisting of just Dave, me, a cool Air Force dude named Darin, and our instructor, Randall. All the other groups were loaded with kids, so we referred to ourselves as the geriatric class.

Leaving Garmisch behind was a bummer, but the drive home was beautiful. The sun began to set as we neared David's place in Italy.