We’re in Innsbruck Austria for the Christmas Holiday. We decided to ski!
A first for me…..downhill skiing! Skiing was a challenge for sure. The boys & I got up early as Mason wanted to be on the slopes when they opened. Mal & Shane decided to join us later & so did Steve (even though Steve did not ski). It was raining again this morning but we trekked to the bus stop & managed to get ourselves on the free bus J running to Patscherkofel ski lodge. The problem we encountered was that we picked the wrong direction, so we ended up at the exact opposite end of the bus line at a lovely bus stop where the driver kindly pointed at Patscherkofel ski lodge, high on a mountain, on the other side of the city… We recovered nicely & eventually found our way to Patscherkofel. We had rented all of our gear so after a quick breakfast, we hit the slopes!
Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Alec & I had never skied before, so bustin’ out our first moves in the Alps seemed like a great decision. Mason tried to give us some advice on the bus ride, but there’s only so much you can do to explain it. We went to the bunny hill for me & Alec to give it a whirl. Alec did fine, except he didn’t know how to stop. I didn’t fair so well on my first attempt. When I got to the bottom I decided I was not prepared. Mason yelled at me as I was walking away…”Mom! Where you going?” I said “Ski school!! I’ll see you two later!” The boys went skiing & I went to ski school. I’ll tell you what, 40EU was worth every penny of it!
The instructor was Tony. He was incredibly direct. He told me….”We ski graceful and gentle like reindeer, not like ELEPHANT!!” So, I tried not to take it personally although he mentioned it a number of times during my 2 hour class….Tony did great teaching me how to turn and stop (sort of). After my lesson, Mason said I was ready for the full-on bunny hill run. So I tried it. Man I can ski fast!! Stopping is a fricken disaster! I wiped out a number of times, but gathered myself each time & kept going. Eventually I made it without falling (once). I walked away without any major injuries so that was a huge success!
Shane went snowboarding while Mason & Alec went skiing. They all fell plenty of times but had a great time. Mallory went down one run & said she was done. We’re each in charge of ourselves on this vacation so her decision was totally hers. Steve did a fine job racking up a bar tab while watching his insane family try to ski. He recognized Alec coming down the slope as there were arms & legs flying everywhere. Ha ha! A fun day.
We’re getting pretty wild & crazy tonight with frozen pizzas and a Christmas movie. We’re exhausted & really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, the first time since our vacation started. I think I’ll take some Advil before I go to bed, I imagine I’ll be pretty sore tomorrow.
Merry Christmas to ALL!