December 2008
Monthly Archive
Saturday, 6th December 2008
We woke up this morning with Michaela shouting “Balloons!”, so we all rushed out to the balcony to see four balloons around the house.
The forecast wasn’t very conclusive, so we decided to go flying at Santa Brigida. When we arrived the wind was light north and Wayne and Michaela walked up the hill whilst we chatted to Joan and Carlos. We drove up to meet them for a picnic and as we waited the sun started shining and the wind came on. Wayne was first off, and we flew off and on all afternoon. I launched at one point and it was very scratchy. I had to fight for about 15 minutes until I managed to get enough height to top land. Lots of flights for everyone and lots of happy faces whilst we had the obligatory LZ beers.
Friday, 5th December 2008
Another fab skiing day. We drove up to Masella through various layers of cloud. Wayne assured us that the cloud would break and the sun would shine, but I was a bit dubious. We skied in cloud for a few runs, not being able to see much, but then the sun did come out and it was glorious – warm out of the wind, fantastic views and great snow. Everything skiing should be about. We had a brilliant day, exploring more of the resort, going down runs we had never skied before and racing each other down the pistes. Apres-ski beers on the way home as usual and off for big nosh-up and boozing tonight.
Thursday, 4th December 2008
We got up early to make the most of the skiing. We drove up to Masella and got Wayne and Michaela kitted up and then it was off into the white stuff. The forecast was for cloudy weather and it was cold!
Both Wayne and Michaela are skiing better than ever before, so we went up to the higher red slopes and due to there being more snow than in previous years we managed to ski lots of pistes Geoff and I have never skied on. The snow was great, really fantastic skiing conditions. We had lunch outdoors and skied until the lifts closed down.
We stopped off for a beer on the way home and then went to the restaurant opposite the house for steak and wine (although I didn’t come along due to a horrible headache).
Wednesday, 3rd December 2008
Geoff 03 Dec 2008 | : Boring stuff
Possibly flyable today at our only westerly site – the one where you have to dodge the Ryanair planes – but we decided to do some work, because tonight our friends from the UK arrived, Wayne and Michaela, so we won’t be doing too much work for the next few days. Given the forecast, we will probably spend the next couple of days skiing, then fly at the weekend. Long term forecast is currently good – nicely sunny, and increasing temperatures.
Tuesday, 2nd December 2008
First skiing day of the season! Yipee!
We collected our season tickets for La Molina and headed out to the pistes. The cable car was closed due to high winds and it was bitterly cold on the higher runs, but if you stayed half way up the mountain it was quite pleasant. The sun was shining all day and it was warm, once you got out of the wind. We even had our lunch sitting outside.
Geoff made me promise faithfully that I wouldn’t ski like a maniac, as it would be a bit ironic if my first day of the season would also be my last. I did take it easy for a while, but was pleased to see that by the end of the day I felt like I have started where I left off and the snow quality was so good that I did zoom down the last run without delaying myself by turning (much). I’d forgotten what a buzz it is!
Monday, 1st December 2008
Judith 01 Dec 2008 | : Boring stuff
Geoff picked me up from the airport, after having been in Ireland for my sister’s birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the cat was let out of the bag by someone in a birthday card which arrived two days before me. Hmmmmm.
We left the airport and drove past Santa Brigida, but it was howling, so we drove straight to Rupit, checked the house and went for a walk in the cold sunshine. Work in the afternoon. Hope the weather picks up soon!
Geoff’s comments: 8 day forecast getting worse now…… waste of time looking at it really.