Friday 25 February 2011 - Saturday 5 March 2011
Having spent less than 20 hours in London after our return from mojito-drenched Havana, we exchanged shorts and shirts for ski jackets and woolen socks and boarded our flight to Switzerland.
There is a first time for everything and after sky-diving in Queenstown, bungee jumping with AJ Hacket and surviving La Paz's Death Road, skiing was inevitably next. Em is an experienced skier, but I on the other hand, have happily survived the last 34 odd years by staying well clear of the ski slopes.
So off we went, from London to Geneva, via Neuchatel to Saas-Fee with Em's aunt and uncle and her two little cousins Mimi and Rachel in tow.
A nice chap from Portsmouth called Chris was my ski teacher. All I can say is that it was a humbling experience. We started off on the "nursery slope" with the "other" three-year olds. It is the sort of place where you don't really fit in if you don't have a Mickey Mouse cap. On my slalom skis (a practical joke from the rental guy) and wearing ski boots previously worn by Darth Vader, I made my way down the slightest of slopes in an agonisingly slow fashion. At the same time a dozen three and four-year olds speeded me by flashing their Mickey Mouse ears in my face. Em quickly abandoned me once it became clear that I would never be able to qualify for the Winter Olympics and she got herself a more advanced ski teacher.
Getting off a ski lift mid-way a slope is definitely one of the most stressful things I have done this year. I guess there is no better way to really wake up in the morning than tumbling out of a ski lift taking the unsuspecting guy behind you with you.
So after a couple of days of lessons with Chris, the cheeky cookie monsters Mimi (9) and Rachel (11) convinced me that it was time to go up to the top (at 3,200m) and ski all the way down. It is those little things in life that make you later realise that someone doesn't like you (or in this case, is after you Wii). It took me over half an hour to come down one of those red slopes (which apparently should have been labeled a black slope), having crashed down twice in the process. It took Rachel and Mimi less than half a minute. And then there was still a long way to go after that. All I can say is that I survived. Just.
We had a fabulous time though, with beautiful weather, great powder snow and fabulous company. Thanks is due to the cheeky monkeys Rachel and Mimi, who not only happen to be fantastic skiers but also are pretty decent Wii players, the only houseman we know who divides his time between shorting the market and shopping, Albert, and the snowboard Queen Sofie who made sure we didn't miss out on the apres-ski. I think I can get into that skiing stuff, but next time I want one of those Mickey Mouse hats.
Next Destination: #23: The Ice Hotel in Lapland (Sweden)
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