Crookhorn Ski-ing Tuesday 19 February 2013

Wendy’s birthday today and I’m enjoying myself on the slopes while she is off to work in the office. Something not quite right there!

We are back at Zauchensee today and it is another fine morning with clear blue skies although a little colder.

As it is so fine I decide to ski again and on our arrival I go off to hire some ski’s for the day. As i said yesterday I’m given a free lift pass and the ski hire costs €23.00.

When I went into the office yesterday I thought the young lady had renewed my pass as she asked if I was ski-ing tomorrow and I’d said yes.

We all meet by the chair lift and everyone is ski-ing together today so that the groups can be assessed and those needing to go up or down a group can.

I go to go through the turnstyle with my lift pass in my sleeve pocket but nothing happens! It should beep and let me through! Steve is there and takes my pass to the attendant who lets me through and says I can pick up my pass on the next run.

So panic over and we make our way to the top where the sun hasn’t quite reached but the wind certainly has! It bites into your face.

I follow a couple of the groups down and it is really lovely ski-ing with people I know and down a slope I have skied before.

They all sort themselves out and I tag along with Phil White’s group as we ski to the bottom and then take the chair lift up to a long blue run.

On the way down one of the girls, Cian, has hurt her knee and is a little worried about ski-ing. This means a lot of stopping and starting and I eventually go off on my own to the bottom. From here I ski another run and then meet up with Phil again for a coffee.

Our next adventure is to take the four man gondola (small cable car) to the very top of the mountain and ski down to the bottom.

There is a long queue for the gondola that isn’t helped by it keep stopping. Phil and a one of the girls are in a cabin ahead of me and I get in one with two of the lads and a girl from his group. Steve is two cabins back with the other kids.

The wind has got up and is gently blowing the cabins but is not too bad all the time you are moving. It is when it stops and you are suspended that you realise how much the car is being buffeted by the wind. The ones behind are moving about and so are we. The last time we stop we are near the top of the mountain and are swaying a lot with the wind howling through the gaps in these 25 year old cabins. I must admit I was frightened and very relieved to reach the top where Phil was waiting for us.

He told us that Steve is not coming up as they have shut the cable down due to the high wind! He was taken off just before the cabin left and there is only the people in the one behind us and that is it!

As soon as you walk out of the cable car station the wind hits you and is blowing the snow into our faces. It almost feels like it is pushing you over.

The weird thing is that we are alone on the slopes except for one other couple and there is nobody behind us. All a bit spooky.

We all manage to get down but I didn’t enjoy the first part very much and didn’t ski very well as I had tensed up a bit.

By the time we reach the bottom it is lunch time and a very well needed break.

I don’t ski this afternoon and relax on the bus.

By the time we are back at the hotel this evening it has begun to snow.

Dinner is early tonight, straight after we return, as we are all going to the disco tonight.

We leave at about 19:30 for the disco which is in the closest town to us, Golling. It is snowing heavily now and you cannot see the tarmac or pavements.

Brian drops us at the disco and goes off to purchase some fuel while I go into the disco to purchase a beer.

This is always a good night and the chance for the teachers to relax and let their hair down a bit and also a great night for the children. We are the only group in here tonight which is nice and everyone enjoys themselves.

The highlight of the night has got to be Amos, one of the kids, dancing. He is fantastic.

When we come out at 22:15 it is still snowing heavily and has settled heavily!

As we approach the hotel we have to drive up a slope that is thick with snow. Halfway up is is apparent that we cannot go any further without chains.

There is another car park for the hotel lower down that has steps up to the hotel so we park here. To put the chains on to travel a hundred yards would take a lot longer than walking up a few steps.