Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 6 Finish

After a hectic day we ended up in Spieljoch for the last ski area to be completed on the challenge. We were relieved to be up the gondola with plenty of time to ski all the runs and still have lunch. By the time we finished lunch the weather was starting to change for the worse. When we arrived at the top it was just starting to snow, we skied the remaining runs and headed for the run back to the village. It was very soft on the run down but everybody managed it and we all ended with a spelling test!

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 6

The skiing in Ahorn was all pretty straight forward with only the long run to the valley being more challenging. The views where amazing despite the weather. Peter again decided that speed was going to earn himself a coffee stop and was last seen being chased by Kit toward the bar at the bottom!

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 6

Wow! what a day. The weather was a bit dodgy but stayed relativity clear for the morning. We were in Hochfugen before the lifts opened this morning in the hope of skiing the remaining pistes on the challenge today. We finished the runs in Hochfugen before 9am and headed off to Kaltenbach to ski to the valley. The valley run was very nice with no people and was still very smooth. A few of the team decided if they skied all the way down at high speed they could fit in a coffee stop at the bottom, Which they did in the Apres-ski bar, a bit early for apres ski being as it was only 10am! Here the guys were falling over themselves to be first down.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 5

The skiing was good today with firm pistes and not to many people. A few navigational errors and "Somebody" leaving their lift pass in the car cost us dearly today, the lost time meant it was not going to be possible to get to Ahorn in the afternoon. Friday has become a make or brake day as we have to tidy up the remaining pistes and areas. What looked like an easy day on Friday this morning has turned into another big day. We are going to need a bit of luck to get it all done. Check back tomorrow to see if we have made it!

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 5

That's a nice picture Hanna! Shame peter was in the way.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 5

We headed back to Konigsleiten today with a ig plan to ski here and Haizenberg and Ahorn in Mayrhofen. It was going to be difficult for the teams to get around all these areas in the day, the weather was great as you can see so we had a good chance.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 4

What a great bump run, well there were bumps around the mud! After Kit blasted down there wasn't much left for the rest of us! This was the last run down at the end of the day. We finished spot on time and even had time for a well earned drink near the bottom. Sheila and Hanna had gone on ahead to find somewhere nice. They seemed to have forgotten to preorder us anything when we arrived though!

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 4

Here is Sheila making the steep red down to the 3 person chair lift. Sheila has been pushing herself to the limits and beyond this week it was another big day today with the Hintertux runs always challenging. The visibility cleared after this run with the forecasted snow not appearing.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 4

They seemed normal yesterday! these guys seem to have lost the plot this morning. I can only put it down to altitude! It all went well after this they quickly returned to normal when we got to the steep red warm up run.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 3

The Harikiri was on peoples mind from the start of the day and after warming up with a few black runs these brave guys took the plunge!
It all came out good with everybody making it safely to the bottom, in one way or another! These guys pushed hard all day and we even managed a couple of stops for food and water. We finished the day early at 1530 mainly because there where a couple of runs closed.
Tomorrow we are of to Hintertux glacier which is less km's than the last days but more travelling to get there. The weather is looking like it is going to change for the worst. If the weather change it is going to be a tough day at 3000m!
See you tomorrow.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 3

We got out early today and managed to be up at the top in Mayrhofen before most of the crowds. The weather was amazing again. Here is the group just before starting the first run of the day.
Chris (in the foreground) took Sheila on the Mayrhofen tour.
Mayrhofen is the resort in the valley with the most challenging runs and with plenty of Km's to ski it was going to be a hard days work for the teams to cover the distance.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 2

Here's Kit setting off down from the top of the new Kreuzjoch Express towards the new piste created this year. With a fantastic view of the Zillertal. Unusually Kit is still stationary. Shortly afterwards she reached maximum velocity! This was one of the last runs we skied in Zell before we connected over to Gerlos and Konigsleiten. It was a good day today. We achieved our target of reaching Konigsleiten and managed to ski one of the black runs before catching the last lift 5 minutes before it closed. The team is off to Mayrhofen tomorrow. Yet another big day ahead. An early start is on the cards to ensure that they get their much-requested lunch stop. Check back to see how they got on in the difficult Mayrhofen ski area.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 2

After arriving in Zell to a queue at the bottom of the lift, we were concerned that it was going to be a busy day on the hill. Luckily these fears weren't realised as we got to the first lift and there was no queue. The runs were empty for about an hour before getting busier. Zell has a large number of interlinking runs and it is difficult to navigate to stay on the correct pistes. By the time this photo was taken, we had already skied half of the runs in Zell and this was a quick toilet and coffee stop before skiing the rest.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 1

The team taking the connection between Hochfugen and Hochzillertal. A tough run down from here, as the soft snow was really bumped out by lunchtime. The moguls made the going tough to get all of Hochfugen skied in time to catch the connection back over to Hochzillertal. After a short lunch break in the Panorama restaurant, we pushed on, but time was always going to be tight to get the 4pm connection. We took the last gondola up to Hochfugen at 3.50 and realised that we weren't going to make it. So we had a leisurely last run down to the Kristallbar for a well-deserved drink.
Tomorrow the team is off to Zell am Ziller, one of the largest ski areas, so the team will need to get organized quicker for an early start.

Ski Challenge Feb 2008 - Day 1

The official START photo for the challenge this week. After a bit of faffing about, we finally made it up to the top of the mountain to start skiing! Blessed with much better weather to start the challenge this time around, this team are confident that they'll get around all the pistes this week - as long as the weather holds out(!!??)

Nina's Beginner Kids Group 18th Feb

Here's Nina's with the little ones on the Family Learn to Ski Week. We had great fun skiing together - they were amazingly good, getting up the button lift on their own, although following me down was more of a challenge, each wanting to go their own way! Thank you for sending me this lovely photo. Nina

Greg's Beginner Group 18th Feb

Here's Greg's beginners on their first go up the lift on the Family Learn to Ski Week. They're all still smiling! They all did really well and Greg got lots of flattering comments about the high standard achieved by this group in just one week. They've had perfect weather and piste conditions for learning to ski.

Family learn to Ski - Feb Half Term

Although the weather has been fantastic all week, Nigel and Jessica seem to be finding it very windy! Nigel has had the Teenage beginners group this week and the guys are really skiing well. Nigel has been amazed by the speed at which they have learnt.

Family learn to Ski - Feb Half Term

Here is Steve's group after the first time up the lift. They all made it first time and they are still smiling! These guys are taking advantage of our family learn to ski weeks to learn at the same time as there kids are with one of the other instructors.

Sara's Kids Group 06th Feb

After the fresh snow the skiing was great with nicely groomed pistes and lots of soft powder for the kids to have fun in! Here is Sara's kids group at the top in Spieljoch they look like they are having fun, 2 of the kids where beginners at the beginning of the week they are skiing really well now. I know Sara is really pleased with the way the week has gone!

February Skiing - Spieljoch

The first week in February is the start of the European school holidays so the ski areas were starting to get busier. We opted to stay in Spieljoch this week as it is quieter than the other resorts. Here are Fabien and Margaret enjoying the fresh snow and sunshine.

Ski Challenge 2008 - Day 6

Finished! The last run down to the valley was a challenge for some with the man-made snow getting very thick by the end of the day! With tired legs and bodies the guys managed to pose for their final "Finish" photo before heading over to Thomas's to celebrate their achievement. Sara and Steve really enjoyed skiing with the Snowtrax Ski Club Group this week and we'd like to thank Liz Turner for organizing the challenge week for the ski club members. It has been a great success and we hope to see some of the challengers out here again in the future.

Ski Challenge 2008 - Day 6

Having caught up the missing runs in Hochfugen and Kaltenbach (no time for a photo that morning!) the group moved back to Spieljoch and had time for lunch at the middle station before clearing up the rest of the runs at the top.