Waaaaa!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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exploring "my" mountains
Midway, Utah
Utah's "Little Switzerland"
Why the Swiss theme for a blog about hiking in Utah?
Much of my ancestry hails from the Emmental Valley of Switzerland. Between 1860 and 1870, several of my ancestors joined the Mormon Church and immigrated the Utah Territory. Not able to speak much English and out of place in the arid Great Basin, the Swiss banded together and found a special home in Midway, Utah underneath Mount Timpanogos. This lush valley--high elevation pastures beneath a towering snow-capped mountain--was the closest thing to home that these people could find to home. They were drawn to the beauty of Utah's mountains.
My Swiss ancestors weren't the only ones that made their homes in the mountains. My Swedish ancestors, also Mormon converts in the 1800s, settled at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon (home to world famous ski resorts Brighton and Solitude) and enjoyed skiing in the winter, a skill they had brought with them from their homeland.
Over 100 years later, I too am drawn to the amazing mountains of Utah. I feel like it is part of my heritage that connects me to my mountain-loving ancestors. Hiking in northern Utah has slowly become a hobby for me over the years, interrupted with stints out of state. But when I have been away, I have constantly yearned to get back into "my" mountains.
This blog is my place to occassionally post some of my discoveries and adventures as I explore these places that I love.
My Swiss ancestors weren't the only ones that made their homes in the mountains. My Swedish ancestors, also Mormon converts in the 1800s, settled at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon (home to world famous ski resorts Brighton and Solitude) and enjoyed skiing in the winter, a skill they had brought with them from their homeland.
Over 100 years later, I too am drawn to the amazing mountains of Utah. I feel like it is part of my heritage that connects me to my mountain-loving ancestors. Hiking in northern Utah has slowly become a hobby for me over the years, interrupted with stints out of state. But when I have been away, I have constantly yearned to get back into "my" mountains.
This blog is my place to occassionally post some of my discoveries and adventures as I explore these places that I love.
