If you’re looking for the perfect time to go skiing, February is probably your best bet. This is one of the best months as it is nowhere near as cold as January, yet still chilly enough to enjoy a hot chocolate. If you don’t take to the cold too well however, wait until March and you can actually sunbathe whilst skiing.
Flying into Innsbruck, Austria is quite spectacular, weaving through huge, stunning mountains, the glistening snow, and rocky peaks look close enough to touch. The Tirol region is known for Austrian folk traditions, historic sites, such as the Imperial Palace, the Swarovski Crystal Caves, the larger than life bronze Renaissance statues that flank the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I, and of course some of the best ski resorts the alps have to offer.
So there I was, stood at the bottom of the beginners slope in Seefeld, pondering as to why the most accident prone girl in the world was about to spend a week on a mountain side with two lollipop sticks attached to her feet. However, the holiday company sold the experience as exhilarating, so what could possibly go wrong? One of the first things I learnt here, was that Bridget Jones was not actually that bad at skiing. The fact she could stay upright and get all the way to the chemist gets an A* in my book.
As for my skiing, I am so glad I had an instructor as there were so many times I ran into her or she had to rescue me from a pile of snow. Yet eventually I was doing small ploughs to stop myself, and maneuvering small turns by waving my hands from side to side in the air to make my body turn… it’s definitely a dignified activity, I can see why lawyers like it.
Another thing I quickly noticed was my uncontrollable resentment towards anyone under the age of seven, they are like rag dolls, they just sit back and enjoy the ride, no fear and absolutely no tumbles. I remember watching a three year old follow her dad all the way down the toughest slope in the resort, Rosshütte (Pictured above, the massive one on the right), 2074m high and you needed a train just to get half way up. I was going no way near it with my lollipop sticks and yet she wasn’t even as tall as my knees. The last statement I can confidently make is that ski boots are seriously the most uncomfortable thing in the world! I can just about walk and practically ski in these vice-gripped weights, but negotiating stairs is an almost explicit activity.
Snowboard boots on the other hand are the sporting equivalent of slippers, but whilst I spent more time upright on my skis, (except for the occasional crash but nobody’s counting them), I spent 75% of the time on my backside. So this year I have a choice, snowboarding where I cannot even stand up, or skiing. Decision, decisions.
