Skiing in Soelden
Soelden, Austria



Soelden has some of the best skiing in the world. I wouldn't know. I spent most of the time flat on my ass.

Day 1: Four hours of lessons. It was very rudimentary and slow-paced, so I decided to dare the slopes myself. I could go fast. I could go straight. I could turn gently while going fast. But I couldn't slow down or stop. That was a bit of a problem.

Day 2: After getting four hours of sleep, Lasse wakes me up to hit the slopes. Surprisingly, my head doesn't hurt. Unsurprisingly, I couldn't walk straight, nor could I put my ski boots on without much difficulty. I stumble onto the slopes, get a quick bite to eat (not without the assistance of Jula), then soldier onto the lift. The result can be seen below:

Flat on my ass. The whole way down.

Sliding backwards with my skis in the air for about 5 minutes was probably the best part of the day. It got me down the slope without having to worry about standing up, looking where I'm going, or thinking much at all.

Day 3: We take it a little easier the night before, but my legs are completely dead by this point. I get a few good trips down the slopes, though, but not without hurting my shin on a particularly nasty fall -- which, by the way, is a good way to meet people. You get lots of "Hey, how ya doing. Are you alright??"

Relaxing lunch with Manuela and Joao.

After my injurious spill, I decided to call it quits. Back to the restaurant by the lifts, where I enjoyed a few beers and a lovely painkiller from a kind Googler.

Click here for more pics.



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