Selva Val Gardena

Liam, Rosalie and I joined up with my dad for a week of skiing in Selva Val Gardena (Dolomites) last week.

Heike was ordered by the doctor to stay home and rest, which was lucky for her as she would have gone mad on the drive there. Snow caused traffic chaos through Germany and Austria on that day, so that we were on the road a total 13.5 hours getting there!

Below are some pictures of the kids both in the apartment and on their sledges, and a video of Liam skiing.

 

Skiing in Selva Val Gardena

We spent last week skiing in the Dolomites, together with my parents. The weather was for the most part excellent, and the skiing fantastic.

From 2009-03 - Selva Val Gardena

This was the first time we’ve gone with self-catering accommodation for skiing, and we were very impressed with the Apartment Renata. The location could hardly be better, about 50 metres from the Costabella lift and not much further to the town centre. The apartment itself is brand new and very tastefully decorated. And as an optional extra, Frau Lanzinger will deliver fresh breadrolls from her bakery in the mornings. Highly recommended.

Liam went to ski school, and learned to snowplough, which was handy as his initial attempts didn’t include any braking manoeuvres.

From 2009-03 - Selva Val Gardena

The kids enjoyed their sledging in the afternoon as well, as the photo below illustrates.

From 2009-03 - Selva Val Gardena

On the down side I managed to pick up a concussion by unknown means on the last day, and spent three hours wandering about the slopes not knowing where I was until my father found me. This has resulted in me spending this week visiting a doctor per day, and undergoing the following tests: CT, X-Ray, EEG, ECG, MRT. After all this effort, the net effect seems to be that I’m ok.

Skiing in Montchavin

We spent the last week skiing in Montchavin, part of the Paradiski ski arena, of which La Plagne is the most famous resort.

"We" refers to a rather large party, comprising myself and Heike, Liam and Rosalie, my parents, sisters Fiona, Sive, and Davnet plus brothers-in-law and offspring. Additionally our friends Albert and Caitriona Fleming with entourage were staying in accomodation nearby.

Some poorly composed snaps of the people above can be found on my Picasa gallery, including this one of Rosalie and Liam on their sledge:

From Skiing Montch...

The skiing was great - more snow than we were expecting haven driven through Switzerland in summer-like temperatures. The creche in Les Coches was a nightmare - it easily rates as the worst childcare facility I have personally experienced.

Below is a video of some of Liam's first skirmishes with snow:

Weekend in Mayrhofen

I deserted my pregnant wife and infant son for a couple of days, and spent the weekend skiing in Mayrhofen together with my parents (more correctly, skiing with my father, dining with both parents).
The lack of snow this year has been well documented, so I was a bit worried that we'd just be sliding over grass. However when on my arrival in the Zillertal on Saturday morning, it was snowing in the car park. I had intended to go up to the Hintertux glacier on Saturday, but given the weather conditions I stopped at Eggalm, a smallish area which in a normal year is connected to the rest of the Zillertal Arena. This is not a normal year, so the connecting runs were closed, but I wasn't all that bothered as the view was restricted to 20 metres most of the time, so it didn't matter which landscape I couldn't see ;-)
On Saturday evening I met up with my parents, and had a pleasant dinner with them. Heike and I had hoped to travel en famille so that Liam could see his grandparents again, but we couldn't get a room in their hotel. Instead, I got a single room outside of town, which would have been not so good for Liam.
On Sunday the weather was perfect, blue skies and sunshine. My father and I skiied all over the Penken area, and had a great time. I enjoy skiing with my dad, because he's just as impatient as I am, refusing to take rests or anything sensible like that. It meant we were both pretty tired by the end of the day, but as I'm unlikely to get skiing again until next year, it was worth it.