The High Life

I’m in Albuquerque, New Mexico and today is a day out - I get to take a trip up to the Sandia Mountains that are just outside of the city. A group of us from the hotel are going, and we assemble in the early morning to get the tour bus. Albuquerque is on a plateau, and it looks from the city as if the mountains just come straight up out of the plain. As we get closing it seems that they really do - it’s very flat, and then suddenly there are the mountain peaks. The area around the base of the mountain are Native American lands, and, we’re told, they also have the areas best casinos, which will arrange to come and pick you up from the hotel if we are interested.



The tour bus drops us at the Sandia Peak Tramway - the world’s longest passenger aerial tramway. All I can say from the bottom is that it looks long and steep and really impressive. Albuquerque is itself about 6,500 feet above sea level, and the tram - a cabin holding around 50 people suspended on a tiny wire - take 15 minutes to take us up another almost 4000 feet.



We get our tickets and board the “flight”, and that is not a bad description of the trip, as we sour up over the peaks and boulders that make up the face of the mountain. Down where we have been it’s the start of another warm and sunny day, but up here we’re told to expect cold. I’ve got a sweat shirt to put on, but some - who have done this trip before - have the foresight to bring blankets and coats, and real walking shoes. And others, who maybe have not read the information about the trip too well, are travelling in just their summer clothes and sandals.



A number of us take off in different directions - the other side of the peaks are the winter ski slopes, but a few of us take to walking into the hills. The first sign we see tells us that bears and other wild animals inhabit this area, and we’re warned not to approach them - don’t worry! If I see a bear the last thing I’m going to do is go up and try to shake its hand! We walk uphill and soon form into 3 groups - the leading pack who have done this before and/or are incredibly fit, and well prepared for walking. I’m not in that group! Then there are some reasonable walkers who are a bit less sure of their footing/less well prepared - you’ll find me in that group. And then finally a trailing group bringing up the rear.



And there is snow!! Even this late in the year there is snow in between the trees, and then as we go further up, we are walking over snow tracks. After a while we come to a clearing, and the more adventurous go right up to the edge of the cliff face.



I am getting over my fear of heights, but I won’t go that close to the edge, just close enough to see that it IS a cliff and a long way down. And I get someone to take my picture, to prove I did it!



The views from here are truly stunning, and some of the group decide to stay here and relax, whist others (me included) decide to carry on up, and maybe try get to a small cabin that is perched on a peak way in the distance. So again we set off, and again I’m in the second group, and we soon lose sight of the leaders. As we go up and further into the trees, the snow on the ground becomes thicker, and before long, snow is all we can see. At this point it becomes important to watch one’s footing - I walk a bit off the beaten track, and suddenly the snow cover gives way, and my left leg is thigh deep in snow. I try to get out, which causes my right leg to follow suit, and I’m soon covered in snow. But I get out and back onto the path, feeling sheepish for my stupidity. This happens a number of times, both to me and to my companions, and we are not even sure we’re on the right path anymore, so we take a group decision to turn back - we have after all, had a long and strenuous walk.



Climbing up a snow covered path is one thing, it’s actually much more difficult to climb down one! All goes well, until we come to a particularly muddy piece of the trail - I now know better than to go off the track to the snow, or I will certainly fall in. So I stick to the path, slip, and end up sliding a good way down the slope - but by now, I’ve got over being embarrassed, and it’s actually very funny! On our way back we meet the leading group, and we’re soon all back at the cliff face, where we sit for a while talking about our adventures, before heading back to the Tram.



We meet up with the non-walkers, and, it being well past lunch time, talk about what to do for food. There are two options - there is a restaurant up here at the top of the peak, and one at the bottom of the tramway. One of our party was talking to some locals last night, and was told that the place at the bottom has a wider menu, so after some discussion we all get into the tram for the trip down the mountain again. And one assume that this was to be the end of our adventures - but not so!



We get off the tram at the bottom to discover that the restaurant there is not open today! And out tour bus is not due back to collect us for another couple of hours. And our tram tickets only entitle us to one round trip! What to do?



A couple of our better negotiators go and talk to the people who operate the tram, and eventually persuade them, as a gesture of goodwill - and as they are not too busy - to give us free tickets to ride up and back once more, so we can go eat in the restaurant at the top. So we get another trip up over the peaks - how cool is that! Lunch is fine and then a scramble to get back down and onto the tour bus, and back to the hotel.

A physical and spiritual adventure indeed!