"Summit to Base," I replied, a small smile tugging at my lips. "The mountain is ready. Let ‘em up."
The engine roared to life as I turned the key of the PistenBully 600, the vibration humming through the seat of my snow-covered boots. It was 4:00 AM at the Hallstein resort, and the world was a silent blanket of blue and white.
By 7:30 AM, I was at the summit station. The Anniversary Edition’s new lighting effects made the sunrise look incredible; the sky bled from deep purple into a fiery orange, reflecting off the steel cables of the lift. I hopped out of the cab to perform the manual checks. I climbed the ladder of Tower 4, the wind whipping at my jacket, and checked the grip sensors. Everything was green.
I pushed the throttle forward. The headlights sliced through the falling snow, revealing the uneven moguls left behind by yesterday's skiers. There’s a meditative rhythm to it: lowering the blade, engaging the tiller, and watching the jagged ice transform into a perfect, corduroy-textured carpet of white.