Austrian Ski Adventure
Skiing isn’t really my thing. I’ve lived in the north east of Scotland for 24 years now and probably been to the ski runs at Lecht and Glenshee three or four times over the years. Its always been with a few friends and we’ve had a good laugh at the time. Mainly laughing at either the bad weather, poor conditions of the slopes or just our inability to ski. Most Scottish Skiers will tell you more often than not that the visibility is close to zero, the wind is howling and wet snow is battering against your face ! So, with this being 100% my experience of skiing, its never been high on my priorities to spend my valuable holiday time skiing….I’d much rather be doing a city break or relaxing somewhere hot.
Then recently Dave has had an urge to take up skiing again. He was fortunate enough to have learnt as a child and spent a lot of his youth up at Lecht and Glenshee having his face battered by snow and wind. So when the opportunity arrived recently to spend a long weekend with some good friends (Sean and Kirsty) at the Ski resort of Dienten in Austria he was very keen to go….and persuaded me that I would enjoy it. It would be a “totally different experience”.
And so it was ! From the moment we stepped inside the Ski hire shop the whole experience already felt something complete different. We were lucky enough to be staying at a wonderful apartment owned by friends of Sean and Kirsty ( Patrick and Rachel ). It was only a short 10min walk down to the main lift, centre of Dienten and hire shop, and once we had our skis you were able to ski straight our from the apartment !
The first day was exactly how I’d imagined it all to be. Loads of snow….blue sky…sunny….and plenty of places to stop and eat and drink 🙂 On the second day we had booked a 2hr lesson where our hilariously funny instructor (Robert) taught me the basics of snow plough and side slipping. He also said that “below the waist was the engine room, and above the waist was the sundeck“. So basically all the work turning etc is from the waist down, and the top half should be nice and relaxed….and smiling 🙂 . Unfortunately, I think my sundeck was clouded by a storm of terror, and therefore just a little too tense for Roberts liking. By mastering these “moves” he said… I’d be able to navigate 80% of the slopes around the area. Wow ! Was I finally being to enjoy Skiing ? I might have looked more like a duck than a swan as I ploughed and turned my way down the blue runs….. I might have had lost my balance many times with arms flailing…. BUT ..I finally felt like I was skiing and enjoying myself. Maybe there was something to these ski holidays after all !
Patrick and Rachel arrived to join us on the Friday night, and we were all out on the slopes nice and early on Saturday morning. Another glorious day weather wise. Patrick and Rachel were fantastic skiers, and kindly escorted us over the other side of the mountain from where we’d been the last couple of days. There were some great long blue runs to practice my new found skills, and with some additional instruction from our new friends, I really felt like I was getting somewhere. Yes, I had a few stumbles and falls, but just got back up and carried on. But then later in the afternoon on the pursuit for lunch we had to come back down a particularly horrible red. I must admit that half way down this run I had lost the enjoyment factor, frustration, exhaustion and fear had taken over. I was back at Glenshee….not enjoying it ! …and nowhere to stop and get some dutch courage in the form of a rum shot or schnapps 🙂 . I was just about to give in and remove my skis and walk down, when out the corner of my eye I saw that Rachel had been following me…keeping an eye out. I think with knowing someone was watching out for me, and with some encouraging words, it got me down the run. That was me done for the day though ! I was absolutely exhausted physically and mentally. What a wimp ! LOL …. but nothing lunch and a beer didn’t sort out.
Sunday was another great day out. I’d got back on the metaphorical horse after the incident the previous day, and we skied the same areas as the day before, and I was enjoying it again. However this time myself and Dave bypassed the “scary’ red run by getting a taxi back to Dienten at the end of the afternoon. I just wasn’t ready to face that again 🙂
So all in all we had a fabulous 4/5 days away skiing. Had some good laughs with friends old and new, had some tasty food and have some great memories and photos. Would I go again ? …. ABSOLUTELY ! I need to prove to Robert that my sundeck is a chilled and relaxing place to be !!
