Formarinsee -> Rote Wand (2700m)

On the 23rd September  2006 I started at about 7 a.m. in the morning and at about 8 a.m. we bought some last snacks for the trip. Heading towards Zürs and Lech we finally reached Zug. It was hard to find a parking lot but while driving through the small town we spotted a fish pond with a large parking area. We had to pay 5 Euros for the whole day but the good thing was that the payment was just a credit note which can be used afterwards if you eat or drink something in the restaurant. A wonderful marketing idea we thought.

A few minutes away is the bus stop. The bus to the Formarinsee and Spullersee leaves every 30 minutes so you don’t have to wait very long.

At about 10 a.m. we were at the Formarinsee. A lot of the hikers just walk to the Freiburger Hütte or the Steinerne Meer which are nice day trips as well. But Michael and I had a other goal: the “Rote Wand”.

From the Formarinsee it takes you about 1.5 hours to the first col. It is a mostly grassy and later rocky path. At the col which is almost 2000 meters above sea level we made our first rest. After that we followed the small route on the backside of the mountain to get to the entry point for the west col. That is the only way to the top. You can reach this point from the Formarinsee like we did or you can also start at Marul.

The next big step is the rocky ridge to the top. On the way up you can see the glacier and the summit. I must admit that the last part of the ascent is not that easy, especially if you are not free from giddiness. The last meters where just slate and very slippy. But finally we made it to the summit and the impressive view was our reward. On clear days you have a fantastic panorama and you are just on top of a glacier.

We couldn’t stay at the summit as long as we wished because we calculated about 3 hours for our descent and the last bus started at 18:08 p.m from the Formarinsee. So we had a quick 30 minute rest at the top and headed back.

We managed to catch the last bus and back at Zug we converted our 5 euro credit at the fish pond. The goulash soup and bier tasted very good after our demanding 7 hour walk.

Some facts:
Time 7.5 h (with small rests)
Ascent 4 h
Altitude 900 meters
Pictures Click here

Formarinsee -> Rote Wand (2700m) Details

How The Stock Market Works

While reading the “Tools and Tactics for the Master DayTrader” by Oliver Velez and Greg Capra I came across an excellent metaphor about how the markets really work. Please read the following text and you will be surprised how easy the underlying theory is.

THE BANDWAGON THEORY: A GLIMPSE AT HOW THE MARKET REALLY WORKS

Imagine a bandwagon that is rolling forward at a quickened pace. Music that is very pleasing to the ear is being played from speakers on each side of this bandwagon, and a few people currently on the back of the wagon are partying, having the time of their lives. The music, loud and clear, starts to attract many other onlookers that happen to be idly standing on the sidelines. These onlookers, unable to resist the sweet sounds being played, run to join the party that seems to be going on.

Progressively, more and more onlookers jump on the back of this bandwagon, and those few who were initially enjoying the first phase of the party begin to leave. As the crowd of new party animals on this bandwagon grows larger, the bandwagon finds it harder and harder to move forward at the same pace. It slows, enabling more and more late onlookers, witnessing the great fun, the chance to jump on. The crowd grows even larger.

Larger and larger this crowd grows, until the bandwagon, heavily laden with the bodies of drunken party animals, can no longer move forward. It finally comes to a complete stop. Now that the bandwagon is at a complete standstill, more people jump on. And why not? At this point, joining the fun is easy. Absolutely no work is required, for individuals wanting to join the crowd no longer have to run to jump on board. But the nature of the bandwagon is to move forward. Its motionless state is unnatural, and therefore cannot last. It tries to move forward again, but can’t. The crowd, piled on back, is much too large. It must free itself of the heavy burden. And it does. It quickly shifts into reverse, and jolts backward, knocking a few of the party animals off the back. The music stops. Puzzled faces from the crowd begin to emerge. Before anyone figures out what’s going on, another backward jerk takes place, only this one is more violent. Another large group of people gets thrown off the back. Now, reality sets in.

The fun has turned into a nightmare of epic proportions, and panic begins to run rampant. Some decide to jump to their deaths. Another thrust backwards sends an even larger group of drunken, off-balance people, hurling to the muddy ground. It doesn’t stop. The jolts backward continue, each successive one more violent than the last. At this point, only a few die-hard wagon dwellers are holding on, their very lives hanging in the balance by a very thin thread. Failing to be completely free, the bandwagon angrily puts the pedal to the metal, and this final thrust backward is so vicious that its front wheels lift high off the ground, momentarily suspending the wagon in a perpendicular position. The last of the hangers-on crash to the ground, broken and maimed to no end.

At this point, a new group of onlookers emerge from the nearby woods. They are clean and serene. Each movement they make is deliberate and powerfully energetic, for they did not take part in the tragedy that just transpired. Or did they? A few of the dejected souls lying on the ground take a closer look, a look that reveals something very interesting. This seemingly new group is not new at all. It is the same group that was seen quietly exiting the party before it came to its violent end. An even closer examination by a few more beaten-down onlookers reveals something even more stunning. This group not only exited the party early, they were the originators of it!

“My God,” someone exclaims. Paralyzed, and unable to move freely, all these dejected souls can do is watch, as the masters of the game go to work, again. No sooner does the bandwagon’s wheels hit the ground than this professional platoon bolts for the wagon. In a flash they are on board. Easy. The bandwagon, now free of the larger crowd, can move forward freely and gracefully, comfortably carrying the more astute group with it. Its pace quickens, and before long a smooth elegant stride is in place. After a few miles of uninterrupted movement, someone from this masterful group flips on a switch, and suddenly the loud sounds of entertaining music start again. Someone yells, “OK everyone. Here they come. Let’s do it again.”

Within moments, those who were the former victims of the backward crash become interested again. The music almost calling them from the grave. And once more, the never-ending cycle repeats.

Now guess to which crowd you belong to.

Review: The Power of Now (1)

The Power of Now

I read a few chapters of the book and so far it’s quite interesting. Here is the first part of my review:

You are not your Mind

Descartes belief “I think, therefore I am” is basically an error, as the author states. Thinking is NOT Being and Identity is not Thinking. Today almost everyone is not able to stop thinking, it is like a mental noise that prevents us from inner stillness. In today’s world thinking has almost become a disease. One is constantly judging, comparing, analyzing, complaining, speculating, commenting and so on…
It looks like that we don’t use our mind in the right way and that most of the time the mind uses us.

That does not mean that we have to stop thinking altogether. It means that we should be aware of our thought processes, that we should “watch the thinker”. Being aware not only of the thought but also of yourself as the witness of the thought is the key. The moment we are aware of observing the thinking process a higher level of consciousness is activated and thought itself loses it’s power over you. 

The voice in your head (your mind)  judges the present through the eyes of the past and that view doesn’t have to be the most accurate one. Sometimes this voice can be your own worst enemy. It can drain vital energy from you and it can make you unhappy. So we have to free ourselves from this mind-identification. We do this by realizing that there is the voice and here I am. We are not that voice and that is why the author calls this state a higher consciousness. We are able to observe our own thinking patterns. This is one way to free yourself from mind-identification.

Another way to create a gap in the mind stream is to direct the focus of your attention into the Now.

In your everyday life, you can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself.

We have to learn to disidentify from our mind. We have to rise above thought.

So it looks like that it is best to avoid thinking at all? That’s not true.  The mind is an instrument, a tool. It has to be used but in the right way.
Eckhart Tolle explains:

The mind should be used for a specific task, and when that task is completed, you lay it down. As it is I would say 80 to 90 % of most people’s thinking is not only repetitive and useless, but because of it’s dysfunctional and often negative nature, much of it is also harmful.

The next logical question you may ask is: Why should we be addicted to thinking?

Because you are identified with it, which means that you derive your sense of self from the content and activity of your mind. Because you believe that you would cease to be if you stopped thinking.

This is the common misperception or fear we all have. We think that we can not be without thinking. But to be conscious is more than just thinking. Actually thinking is just a small part of consciousness.

Emotions

Emotions are the body’s reaction to your mind. They are a reflection of your mind in the body. Usually they represent an amplified thought pattern and because of this it is often not easy to stay present enough to be able to watch it like we discussed “watching the thinker”.
Here again it is important that you’re not identified with your emotions (especially harmful ones like anger, jealousy, hatred…)  because if so you end up in a vicious circle:
thought -> emotion -> amplified thought -> …

Review: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World

Leaving Microsoft to Change to World

Subtitle: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children

The book is about John Wood, a top executive at Microsoft. He was director of business development in the greater China region. After a three week vacation in Nepal his life had changed in a fundamental way. He began to question his whole life, his job and his marriage.

From that moment on he wasn’t quite sure if the life he lived so far was exactly what he wanted. The trip inspired him to help the children in Nepal and to set up schools and libraries. Nepal’s illiteracy rate was 70 percent !

” I found it hard to imagine a world in which something as random as where you were born could result in lifelong illiteracy”.

He could do so much good things with so little resources in this country. He wanted to change something.

For that vision he left Microsoft a few months later and started to collect books for Nepal. I liked the way how Wood described his life as a business person before and how he had transformed to make such a big change. It’s one-third a business saga, one-third world travelogue and one-third human drama as Marc Andreessen, Co-founder of Netscape Communications stated.

First he had only the help of his friends and family but later the network grew and he started a official non-profit organization (Room to Read). He was fueled with the drive that made him a top executive at Microsoft and he could use lot’s of business practices he learned earlier in his business life. Sometimes it was hard to ask for the money he desperately needed to build the schools and libraries. He wasn’t always welcome at the may Foundations he visited, but he had a helpful statement which inspired him to go on:

“Anyone in a sales career knows that if you’re not getting rejected, you’re not casting your net widely enough”

Another interesting point is how he set up these aid projects. It was essential for him that local people were required to also donate labour and small amounts of money. Projects which are just a gift and bestowed by outsiders will not be valued enough because then the people have nothing on stake. Best example is the following : “… in the entire history of the travel industry nobody has ever washed a rental car. If they don’t feel ownership, they won’t do any long-term maintenance. ”

The book also covers the effect of September 11. He points out how important education is and describes the school system in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. He sees major problems in these systems because most of them are religious schools which taught their own anti-Western views. Maybe there is a point but I think one chapter is by far not enough to cover this complex topic.

He built one of the most effective nonprofits called Room to Read  which has now built more than 2000 schools and libraries throughout Asia and Africa! In fact he wanted to build “The Microsoft of Nonprofits”.
It is an amazing book with lots of inspiring ideas and I read it almost in one go during my vacation.

Some quotations I like:

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work” (p. 149)

“Those who say it cannont be done should not criticize those who are doing it” (p. 163)

“But sometimes if you wait until you have your entire pln figured out and buttoned-up, the world will have moved on and passed you by.” (p. 229)

Title:   Leaving Microsoft to Change the World
Author:   John Wood
ISBN:   006117906x
Year:   2006