First ski of the winter

It's quite a long way to drive for three draglifts and a day's skiing, however, with a group of mates we headed over the border to the Swiss resort of Saas Fee on Monday. A six o'clock departure (in the fog!) got us to the bottom of the Alpin Express for about 9.30.... along with too many other like-minded skiers and boarders! We'd completely forgotten that it is half-term week so the queue was fairly hefty for the gondola and subsequent Metro Alpin funicular access lifts. The latter whisks you to an altitude of 3500m where you clatter up about 20 steps to the glacier, puffing and panting like you've just smoked a few packets of fags in preparation!

Saas Fee is a popular early season training venue for race squads and park riders so the queues for the three t-bars on the glacier were fairly sizeable - probably averaging a 15/20 minute wait each uplift.

The blue skies, sunshine and excellent snow quality made up for a lot of the grumbles and even though we only managed about eight runs, which we estimated to be a total of approximately 15 minutes ski time, we had a great day and certainly managed to break in the ski legs.... ready for Austria in 10 days time!

Back to my roots

Yesterday I had a trip down memory lane with a visit to Glencoe - the place I first learned to ski in 1980. I remember the now office building (see pic.) as the tea room and ticket office...where you bought your daily 'punch card' style ticket. The ticket was only made of lightweight card so inevitably ended up as a soggy mush in the bottom of your 'ever so stylish' ski pants pocket!

I'd almost forgotten how spectacular the setting is with amazing views across Rannoch Moor and beyond. Memories came flooding back of a stormy day in January 1984 when a blizzard almost prevented me and my friends from being collected by my Dad, at the end of a day's skiing in whiteout conditions. Luckily for us (completely unaware of how serious the road conditions were) a charitable chap persuaded us to catch a lift with him down to Fort William.... as he was the last vehicle to leave the carpark it's probably just as well we did. We later discovered that my Dad had been turned around by police at Bridge of Orchy where the road (and railway line) was totally blocked with snow!

Great days....and if that bloke who gave us a lift is reading this......THANKS MATE!