Abenteuer Neun: Ski laufen

A couple weekends ago, the exchange student network hosted a skiing trip to Fiesch, in the Alps.

Yes, you heard me right. Skiing in the Alps.

Of course, despite the incredible costs of skiing and ski equipment, I had to give it a shot.

Our trip started at 7:00 Friday night and ended on 7:00 Saturday night, by which time most of us were so tired, sore, and full of food that we could barely haul ourselves off the train. The cost of our trip covered two nights in a glorified Girl Scout lodge and three AMAZINGLY LARGE meals a day, INCLUDING dessert! (When I say all of us ate waaay too much, I'm not kidding. But hey, we paid to be fed, and the vast majority of us hadn't had someone else cook for us in months). The price of the trip also covered train tickets there and back and tickets for the tram up and down the mountain.

It did NOT cover the costs of the drinks served in the bar at the top of the mountain--a quaint little renovated barn called "Steffi's Kuhstall."

This was the first place we visited after we'd all moved into our lodge. Upon walking into the establishment, we were greeted by a taxidermy goat head, a disco ball, and possibly the most random musical selections I'd ever heard in my life.

It's not every day you see a discotheque which features its own goat head...

As you can see, there was a little snow on the top of the mountain--and snow continued to accumulate throughout our journey. By the time we left, walking to and from the tram was a skiing trip unto itself.

Saturday morning,  we went to rent our skis. I, having never skied before in my life, needed the assistance of several passerby just to put them on. This accurately foreshadowed my skill at skiing.

The remainder of the morning was spent on the kid's lift with two of my associates, attempting to learn exciting tricks, such as "slowing down," "stopping," and "getting judged by Swiss children".

Me in skiing garb with my trusty companions, Brittany and Gary.

At noon, seeing as how we had all almost mastered staying upright on our skiis for more than two minutes, our Swiss skiing instructor decided to test our skills by taking us to the next most difficult slope--the blue slope.

This adventure began with me nearly falling off the lift up the hill. It ended with me loosing control of my skiis, loosing one ski completely, sliding halfway down the mountain upside-down on my stomach, and then hiking halfway back up the slope with only one ski on (no one had showed me how to take them off yet) to retrieve that which I had lost.

Over the next two days, two of my three other attempts to conquer the blue slope ended in the same fashion. The third attempt ended with me falling off the lift on the way up and being stuck for ten minutes. I concluded, after that, that perhaps I skiing really isn't my forte.

After my morning blue slope suicide attempt, I spent the afternoon sight-seeing around the mountain with my friend Brittany. First, we rode the tram to the top of the mountain with the other, more advanced skiers. Unfortunately, it was cloudy--but my friend Gary still enjoyed the view.

On the way back down, the clouds began to clear.

Here's the view, including a little tram like the one we were riding and the little area we were staying in:

Here's the view from the tram stop:

Notice the lines in the snow. It had just been raked. They do that, apparently...

Because the clouds were clearing, Brittany and I decided to ride on of the chair lifts up and down, just to enjoy the view. It was exciting, like riding a roller coaster. And the view of the mountains made us Missouri girls feel like we were in a fairytale world.

(I apologize for the schmutz on the glass)

Back on the ground, we took a break to explore and take more pictures before returning to our kiddy slope struggles.

This teepee was also a bar. Because nothing says the Alps like a teepee?

The Berghaus on the far right there is where we were staying. Before it, the kiddy slope. Behind it, the dreaded BLUE SLOPE (Dum dum DUUUUUMM!!!)

The view on the way to the blue slope

That night in Steffi's Kuhstall, to warm up and to alleviate the pains of the day, my friends and I ordered fire. Literally.

Four of us ordered tiny drinks that were served with a small flame burning across the top and a plastic straw. The trick was to drink the drink before the straw melted. It tasted good, like toasted marshmallows--until we drank the fire part, that is. 

Notice the fire still burning on the spoon there...

Th next day dawned windy and wet, with a fine screen of snow falling sideways all day. We skied as best we could, given the weather, but most of us were still exhausted and sore (and stuffed with food) from the day before. I attempted and fell off the blue slope one more time before spending my remaining hours on the kiddy slope in disgrace.

Around 6:00, we caught the lift down to the train home. Many of us passed out on the train.

By the time I reached my room, I could barely keep my eyes open. I spent the majority of the next day trying to remember how to make my arms move.

All-in-all, I'd say it was a pretty good weekend. You know, as far as ski weekends in the Alps are concerned.