My day in the alps~

Wednesday: I woke up around 7:30 to my uncle getting up and looking out the window. Since it was really foggy when we pulled in the night before we weren’t sure if skiing was going to be fun. If it was clearer we would still go the place we planned, but if it was worse or the same we would go some where else. I asked him how it looked and he said it was worse. Sure enough the fog was heavier and worse. We got packed and then ate breakfast down stairs. We asked the lady who owned the place about it and she said when you see a dark blue strip at the bottom of the fog cover that means it’s clear on top. She then turned on the TV and sure enough it was! The channel was showing a live feed from the webcam at the ski place. So we were pretty excited! It was going to be amazing! We ate the rest of our breakfast, packed our stuff, put on our snow gear and then left for a day of skiing AND forgot a very important thing... sunscreen! I would come to regret that by the end of the day.

We got to the place at about 9:00, when it was supposed to open, and it was kind of packed (a lot more so than my uncle had thought it would be). We found a spot and got our stuff on (boots and etc... ). We got our tickets which were really cool. They clipped on to your jacket and had a little bar that you slipped into a machine to go on the lifts. It was kind of like a thin credit card. There was a really cool dam under the first lift and I went to take a picture of that while my uncle went to get goggles in the car. We then scanned in and got onto the first car. It fit like 20 people and was really crowded. We started up and went into the fog cover... and with in 2 minutes we broke through and it was so sunny and beautiful! The mountains were... indescribable! They were endless and white and amazing. I just sat there and stared... my jaw probably hit the ground. We got to the station and I stopped and took pictures, but little did I know... it was just the beginning of what I was going to see. We took the second car up and got even higher! The second car went to the main ski base. The view from there was even more incredible! I could stand and look out at the mountains all day! The first thing we did was search for a locker. I had brought my camera and I wasn’t going to leave it in the backpack we brought laying around. So we found a locker that was right by the front door and put our stuff in it. It was also super warm so I took off my jacket and put it in the locker along with my camera.

We started down the first slope and I got used to skiing again. We took the ski lift up to the three runs (which were more like 5 or 6 and AMAZING) and right as we were scanning through I realized at had forgotten my card on my jacket that was now back at the lodge and in the locker. Once again I experience a moment in life where I'm so excited I forgot something important. It happened back last year when I ran the Ragar relay and was so excited for my first leg that I forgot my shoes, light and jacket gear.... :P I guess I haven't changed much - haha

So while I waited at the bottom, my uncle rode up and skied down to the lodge, got my card and then came back. We then rode up and then skied down and I had some trouble. I found out that my posture was messed up and my balance was off. So I messed around a little bit and figured out the right groove and skied a lot better. I improved over the next couple of runs and felt really comfortable on skis. We went down the blue hill and the red hills for a few times and then we went down a really long reed one that turned to black diamond and then red again. It was like 3 miles long. It was soooo fun! Then we road the car back up again and skied the other three runs a couple of times.

Around noon we skied back to the lodge and I got my camera and wrapped it in my jacket and hat so it was padded in the backpack and then skied down to the lift. We were going to ski down once more and then take the next car to the top of the Mountain peak. I skied down, very carefully, and got my camera out before I got onto the lift. I made sure it was safe and then started taking pictures on the way up. I got to the top and skied to the right and took about 20 pictures and then skied over to the other hills and took about 30 and then skied down to a little shack where there was a deck and took about 10 more. Then we skied down and took the next car up to the very top... and wow... wow!... I mean WOW! It was so high and incredible! I told myself I was going to come back to this very same spot someday because it was worth seeing again and again and again! I took at least 60 pictures from the very top and just stood there and soaked it in. We ate lunch at the place there, which was kind of gross, but filled us up. I then hiked over to a couple spots and took pictures and then hiked up to a really high look out place where you could see the other side of the mountain range and the little tiny town below as well as clouds. I too, yet again, more pictures and then I wrapped up my camera, slipped it over my back and skied from the very top the hill to the lodge, about a mile... and I put my camera away and took off some layers. I skied the rest of the day with a long sleeve t-shirt with a t-shirt over that and snow pants. You could have easily gone skiing in short and a t-shirt though... it was that warm. We then skied from the lodge down to the second car station (the 2^nd one we took up in the morning) it was about 3 or 4 miles long total. It was amazing! The black diamond was a little hard, but I made it with out falling, with out going too slow and felt good! By this time of the day it was getting kind of warm so the snow was a little wet and was starting to pile up on the hills. Skiing it was kind of hard at times. We got to the bottom and rode the car back up. My uncle sat in a lounge chair and took a nap in the sun while I continued to ski.

I went down the black diamond one (Which is so much better than MN Black Diamonds!) and then the red one and then skied all the way down to the car station again. I then met my uncle and we skied 4 more runs and then called it a day at 4:00. We were going to ski till 5:00, but we were getting tired and there is no need to get really tired and fall and get hurt. I took onne last look at the mountains and then we got our stuff in the locker and started our way down. When we got to the bottom we got our boots off... which felt so amazing on my feet! We changed and then hit the road. We stopped for coffee quick and then left Oberstdorf and headed back “home”. With in 10 minutes we stopped and I took a picture of the mountains again and then we drove on a little bit before pulling over again so I could take a picture of a cool creek with the mountains behind it. I took a picture of myself too. When we pulled in there was another car there. I was about to leave and then this lady had walked over to the creek as well and asked me if I wanted my picture taken by her with my camera. I was like “YEY!” She took my picture and then I took her with her camera and it was cool! J

I then looked through all my pictures, ate a little bit and fell asleep. I slept a good 2 hours of the 4 hour trip. I woke up in time to see the sunset and it was weird. The sun was all dark red, but the sky was completely blank with no color what so ever... it was like, the most un-romantic sunset ever :P – The other thing I woke up to was a very red face... no I wasn’t angry, but I discovered that the after noon in the sun had turned my face into a tomato! And I was even so lucky to have a line across my nose and cheeks where my goggles were. So now I look like a dork :P Oh well! My arms are also red from skiing in the sun with my sleeves rolled up all afternoon. It was well worth it though, but I regret forgetting the sunscreen!!! We got home and unpacked and I got ready for bed and talked about Thursdays plans, peeled some potatoes for my uncle and then typed this all up and went to bed!

It was a very amazing day an probably my favorite day so far! What a great way to start the month of April off! J Thank you God for safe skiing and amazing mountains views!

-meeting couple in car