Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lessons - yes, really. Again.

I wasn't going to do it. I really wasn't. I'm sure you're all groaning, wondering, "What more could she possibly have to say about these ski lessons?" But the fact of the matter is this week's lessons have too many stories to resist a blog post. So, here goes.

The lesson coordinator sent out a quick email Thursday night that said, "The ski school has just called to say that they have LOTS of snow. As most of you will have noticed, the roads in Switzerland are no longer guaranteed to be cleared and salted. For this reason, I advise you to leave with plenty of time in the morning!" Sounds reasonable, right? So, we headed out early.

We just didn't understand the Swiss definition of drive-ability.
There was a good foot of snow on the road. We passed many cars that were either stuck or broken down on the side of the road. In California (yes, it does snow in parts of California!), they require chains if there is a 1/4 inch of snow on the ground. With a foot of snow, the roads would be closed. No question. So driving in these conditions without even a requirement of chains was a new experience for us. At least we had a 4 wheel drive SUV with snow tires. Most Swiss have some version of a smart car. Sure, they have snow tires, but they aren't exactly big, sturdy vehicles that can plow through snow.

The roads were clear compared to the parking lot. We would have doubted whether we should drive/park in the lots, but there was a person waving us in. The parking lot had lots more snow; it came up to our headlights. Several cars chose their parking space based solely on where their car stopped.
The snow at the base of the beginner's area wasn't packed or plowed, so the kids had quite the hike to the meeting area.
C.J. said that while waiting for his lessons to start, he fell over. His head was lower than his feet, and he couldn't get up without the help of a few friends. The conditions didn't bother the kids, though. They happily headed off to their lessons. The groups were mixed up a bit as many instructors didn't make it -- getting stuck on the roads or public transport. The groups were still smaller than usual. C.J., for example, only had 3 of the 7 kids. Here's Abbie heading up the t-bar. Her group spent the day on the "big" lift.
Brendan was glad to make it up this lift twice. In the afternoon, his instructor took him back to the bunny hill, but he piled snow into a ramp and taught them how to jump. C.J. made it up the big t-bar in the intermediate area -- a 20 minute ride. He also learned how to do 360 spins on his board. It was part of a level test, so he's graduating to the next lesson level. Here's a video of him boarding:


I also got a snapshot of the people mover/conveyor belt for the 6 person chair. You can tell that I find this lift design fascinating.
The ski conditions were rough. The groomed runs had over a foot of snow. I had a really hard time seeing where I was going. I was wearing glasses with goggles, and one or both kept fogging up. One time, I skied off the more groomed snow, and I ended up stuck in snow up past my waist. John typically skied in areas where the snow was up to his waist. And, no, he wasn't skiing off course!

Now, the Swiss are normally incredibly polite people. They are also quiet. So, you can imagine my surprise when I took my first fall and heard laughter. It wasn't just the chair with obnoxious teenagers either -- every single chair that passed until I got up and resumed skiing taunted me. It isn't a friendly laugh either, it's a bit evil. John didn't believe me until he got stuck off course up to his armpits. The people on the lift found it hilarious. John, not so much.

Between the lack of visibility, the piles of powder, and the freezing cold, John claims he knows exactly where Abbie inherited her whining abilities. I admit, while I like a bit of powder, snowing in stuff up to your knees with no visibility and frozen toes isn't my idea of a good time. I was wiped after a few runs. The kids were tired as well. All of them were ready to head home as soon as their lesson was done. There weren't any requests for "just one more run."

Here's the beginner's area at the end of the day. The skies were starting to clear and you could actually see the lift.
Now today probably would have been an amazing ski day. Too bad C.J. has a school project to complete. Just goes to show, you can move across the world, but the homework still follows you!

Right now, the kids are off shoveling the driveway. They heard that Uncle Craig used to make money shoveling snow, so they rang our neighbor's doorbell and asked to do their driveway. They didn't get any money, but they did come home with two boxes of cookies. They seem to think it was a fair trade.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Loved it....Mom

Unknown said...

In the last picture I see a person with a baby strapped to the front...is that person going to ski like that????!!!!
If so, is this common???

Marci said...

We have never seen a strapped on baby on the slopes! I have no idea if this lady skied like that or not, but it sure looks crazy!