Skiing
Archived posts from this Category
Thursday, 12th February 2009
Posted by Judith on 12 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Skiing
We went skiing. As we drove up to La Molina it was howling, so much so that we were in a whiteout a couple of times with snow being blown onto the road. Roger was going to meet us there and we were torn between going to Masella or La Molina, but the more easterly position and lower slopes made La Molina win out.
It was a beautiful sunny day and would have been warm had it not been for the wind. Roger was snow boarding for the first time this year and after an easy warm up blue he was off piste zooming through the trees and whizzing past us. We couldn’t keep up with him.
Friday, 6th February 2009
Posted by Judith on 06 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Skiing
We got up early this morning (despite the hang overs) and met up with Debbie in Olot to go skiing. The forecast had been for sunny weather, but it was very cloudy. As we drove towards La Molina, we could see the cloud sitting in the valley and amazingly, a balloon was hovering above it, with no apparent place to land without having to descend through the cloud.
We hit the pistes and the snow was excellent. Interesting views and great fun. We all amused each other with spectacular splats (except Geoff, the stick-in-the-mud). Debbie won the most outrageous splat competition, nearly taking my nose off with a kamikaze ski.
We skied all day and didn’t even break for lunch. We’re all knackered…
Wednesday, 4th February 2009
Posted by Geoff on 04 Feb 2009 | Tagged as: Skiing
A nice sunny day at last, and we went skiing. Loads of new snow – but also, unusually for mid-week, loads of people. It was possibly a Semana Blanca, which seems to be when school kids get a week to do all sorts of activities, including skiing. In any case, there were a lot of kids out today, along with their parents. So it was very busy, there was also a competition on, and whilst the pistes had been groomed, they got very churned up very quickly. Still, we skied most of the day and had a great time.
The forecast rain for Friday has now moved to tomorrow, which seems likely to be yet another work day. Friday should be OK for skiing. Not that stunning for the weekend though. Our friends just across the border, in France, Udo and Jenny, have been told that this is the worst winter for 20 years. Seems about right….
Tuesday, 27th January 2009
Posted by Geoff on 27 Jan 2009 | Tagged as: Skiing
Our last day before the conference opens for posting. We have a lot of work this evening, including phone meetings and final preparations, so we decided to spend at least part of the day out, given that we won’t move from the house now until it closes on Sunday morning. Since La Molina is more or less back to normal following the power cuts there, we went skiing. The power may be restored, but the wind was back (the first time we’ve been blown up a slope on the skis), and progressively throughout the morning more and more lifts were closed. Most of the pistes which were open were covered in wind-blown snow, and the skiing was difficult at first. But we found a couple of pistes where the snow was blowing off as fast as it was blowing on, and skied there for a while. The wind began to drop too, so lifts began to re-open. In the end we had a really nice day, cutting it a bit short because we had to get back home to begin work.
The SDP conferences are always fun; but always stressful too! Fortunately, Judith has bought a good supply of chocolate and alcohol.
Thursday, 15th January 2009
Posted by Geoff on 15 Jan 2009 | Tagged as: Skiing
Geoff writes: Another warm, sunny day. We went skiing, at La Molina. It was a little busy, but not too crowded at all, especially once we got a bit higher, and away from all the beginners. The forecast was for a lot of high cloud, but that never appeared, and it was sunshine all day, with very light southerly winds. The temperature has definitely improved this week, but the snow was still good – not melting on the slopes, in spite of the warm sun, and still really nice to ski on. Just the occasional icy patch.
Spending the evening working – as the conference gets closer (we open next week), there is more and more to do, mostly administrative stuff like processing new delegates.
Monday, 12th January 2009
Posted by Judith on 12 Jan 2009 | Tagged as: Skiing
We finally made it up to the slopes! Nicky’s toe is still too swollen for ski boots and Mark decided at the last minute not to come, so Geoff and I headed up to La Molina. It was freezing when we left home, but on arriving the sun had been shining a couple of hours and it was actually quite warm.
Gorgeous skiing conditions – sunny, empty and with great snow. The disabled skiers world cup was on today, so we were provided with interesting stuff to look at on the ski lifts on the way up too.
The skiing was excellent, though we finished around 3.00pm – we were pretty tired. But it was an excellent day.
Friday, 19th December 2008
Posted by Geoff on 20 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Skiing
Geoff writes: Went skiing at La Molina. For a Friday, it was almost deserted, but the skiing was excellent. A little windy on the top, but most of the resort was open so we got to ski a lot of places for the first time. A great day, completed with the usual beer in the car park afterwards. Then back home to meet up with our other German friend, Sasha, who Nils had picked up from Barcelona.
Had a really nice evening. Shame it ended with most of one of my teeth breaking off….