Everyone can find their ski legs, even a terrified kitten
THE town of Zell am See in Austria was the destination for my trip and with the ski websites predicting great snow coverage and plenty more on the way, it seemed as though my timing or location couldn't be better
The traditional town, with its hotels and shops hugging the sides of Lake Zeller and the Schmittenhhe Mountain rising up from the base, is everything you expect from a skiing destination.
Snow coats everything in sight, and the views from every angle are picture perfect. To be honest, I would have been very happy to simply travel up the mountain every day by cable car, find a quiet spot in one of the many cafes and bars and read a book while drinking hot chocolate, occasionally gazing out at the views and the mad eejits travelling at speeds on skis that really should be illegal!
But that was not my purpose. Beginner ski school was booked for five days and with the cost, although reasonable, playing on my mind, I knew that I had no choice but to get onto the slopes and make the most of it. The first job on the first morning was hiring ski equipment and with the school due to start at 10am, it was an early start.
But the process couldn’t have been easier. With ski veterans warning me of huge queues at the hire shop I imagined a hellish hour spent in the freakish heat that plagues every indoor space but in fact it was a two-minute walk from our hotel’s front door and the fitting of our boots took just two more.
So, with boots in hand and skis slung over my shoulder it was with trepidation that I ventured up the mountain. I should also mention at this stage, that my skiing partner for the week was my mum. She first skiied back in her school days – some 30 years ago – and hadn’t been back since. So while I had the look of a terrified kitten about me, she was raring to go!
Our instructor for the week was a young man from Holland called Dirk, he was younger than my youngest brother and looked as though he should still be in school himself, never mind teaching me how to ski! But he was an enthusiastic chap and there was no doubt that I needed a touch of encouragement along the way.
The first lesson was spent, naturally, upon the nursery slopes and most of the time I was so busy concentrating on holding myself upright that I missed half of what I should have been learning. But nevertheless, as I made my way down the hill on the very convenient bus service (free if you’re holding your skis and which left us just 100 yards from our hotel’s front door) I was quite looking forward to the next day.
Falls
The sun shone brightly on most of our days on the slopes and on day two I even found myself losing a few layers as the rays and exercise warmed me through. I also mastered the somewhat precarious drag lift. Well, I mastered it most of the time. On one trip up, I was concentrating so hard on the death-defying action of the snowboarders on the adjacent black run that I found myself flung unceremoniously onto the snow. It wouldn’t have been so bad had I not lost my sunglasses in the fall and the whole lift had to be stopped while the man operating the controls could dander up to retrieve them for me while I tried desperately to get into an upright position again.
I have to confess that a further fall that day, this time while travelling up the notoriously hard to get on t-bar lifts, made me less then willing to get back up on day three. In fact, on the second evening, after another fantastic meal at our hotel, I almost considered throwing the towel in. Every muscle ached, the falls had knocked my confidence and the constant action had me knackered. Thank goodness for my mother, who thought my ‘bootcamp’ references to be typically drama-queen like, and instead of letting me bow down under it, persuaded me to indulge in a glass or two of red wine, insisting I would sleep better as a result and be raring to go the next day.
Honestly, I wasn’t. The thought of pulling on those boots for another long day was not filling me with glee. But I’m nothing if not a trier so I got myself back up to Dirk and one look at his ever-constant happy face, and I felt I couldn’t let him down by simply giving up.
Thank goodness I didn’t. Day three was a turning point. They amalgamated two groups, before separating them into ability. And with people around me skiing at the same ability the instructor was able to get us skiing better and faster in no time at all.
Day three also saw my muscles loosen up and the restrictive nature of the ski boots had become bearable rather than excruciating. The rest of the group were also improving at a good rate and we had all become key in helping each other along. And this camaraderie really made our trip. It’s good to know you’re not on your own.
All week had seen us experience beautiful skiing weather. Clear skies, sunshine and a decent temperature – around minus 4. But secretly I yearned for some real snow and day four saw those dreams come true because it not only snowed ... it REALLY snowed!
As luck would have it, we were also venturing up to the blue runs at the top of the mountain and while the snow made visibility low, it was genuinely a blessing in disguise. First of all, I couldn’t see the whole of the slope in front of me and the need to focus merely on the next few feet rather than the mountain as a whole helped me keep my head.
It was also a gorgeous experience to be floating down through the snowflakes – and I got a real sense of what skiing is all about. And despite my thigh muscles quivering under the strain of holding me in a safe position, I began to see why people go back every year.
Day four was also spent having our progress videoed by the ski school. It was fantastic fun, with the cameraman encouraging us to race each other down, ski backwards and even manage a few jumps – these were very small and I still managed to scream the whole way down.
By this stage my mum had also found her calling. She was like a speed demon. Never missing an opportunity to go faster, she would tuck her ski poles under her arms and fly down the slope quicker than you could shout stop. I think she would have stayed there for the entire skiing season had she not had to come back to reality. Our instructor had also taken to calling her ‘Mama’ – in reference to my constant shouting of ‘Mum – wait’, ‘Mum – slow down’!! – a point the rest of the group found hilarious.
Conquered
Finally, we had reached day five and our final day out on the mountain with the school. It was a really relaxed day, with little learning and more time spent honing our new-found skills. However, the slopes were definitely harder to negotiate. The snowfall from the day before had been compacted by a day’s skiing, and a further snowfall overnight left the top layer of powder very fresh. These two combined made the blue runs a harder run indeed and Dirk was highly impressed by our ability to ski on them.
So, I took my chances and left on a high. After a lovely Austrian lunch of apple strudel (sugar is a must in the middle of the day, honest) I left the high achievers (including my mum) to enjoy a few hours of harder runs. They tell me they even went off-piste through the forest for a time and I’m glad I didn’t stay to attempt it – I may have been capable of skiing a bit but off-piste would have been one step too far.
Back home, I still find it incredible that I had come from a Bambi on skis on day one to someone who could actually ski confidently on day five. It is testament to the professionalism of the school and the teachers that they spent just 16 hours getting us to that point.
A skiing trip is not for the faint hearted. It’s hard work and physically demanding but the sense of satisfaction you get from successfully skiing down a few runs is worth it. It’s not a trip I would make every year (much to my mother’s disappointment) but I can see why many people do and I would go back. And if you have young kids, get them out on the slopes early. There were four-year-olds skiing better than me by the end of the week and most of them were loving it. It’s definitely a family holiday everyone can enjoy.
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Weather for Belfast
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
