Friday, Feb 16 - Saturday, Feb 17

Fresh snow for our last day of skiing followed by afternoon naps. We had a disco in the evening to keep us up till the bus came at 1 am. It took three hours to get to Munich, we connected in Amsterdam, and finally made it home (with only one piece of lost luggage!). Thanks to everyone for a great trip!!

Thursday, Feb 15

Race Day!

Today the bus driver took us to the wrong mountain so we had to travel around the mountain (with our instructor) and got to do lots of freestyle. I was practicing 180's. We had a nice lunch - the food was good but the line was long, but that's Austria. I had Wiener schnitzel and bread with ham. After that we did the slalom race and I won, with 41 seconds. We practiced going backwards, and did some off piste, which was very challenging, but the powder was extremely nice. I fell once so had to walk a bit, but it was good. Billy did a front flip (not on purpose!). We came back and had a shopping run to Billa, and when we came back we had a presentation from the ski instructors. We got awards and certificates, and then had free time and played ping pong.

~Andreas

Wednesday, Feb 14

Valentine's Day!

Some of us took a half day cuz our boots were hurting, but it was a great half day. We got to go off piste, and it wasn't even scary, kind of fun! It was powder, so we fell a lot, and you couldn't see your skis. We did two blue slopes and a red, and fell a lot, but less than the day before. The weather was sunny which was great. We had an epic card game which I lost (Suzanne won once because she owns the cards) and Mohammad dominated. We were really chill when we won and didn't brag.

~ Javier

It was my first time curling but I had a lot of fun and figured out how to curl properly! We didn't use brooms like in the Olympics but there was still technique, and I got it down. I had to keep my arm in a straight line so it didn't go out of place, even though my hands were freezing. I still had fun with my friends, cuz I learned to curl. I borrowed Eva's shoes because mine were soaked from playing in the snow. I tried to avoid the snowball fight because I was already cold. Overall I had a lot of fun with my friends yesterday. Skiing was ok too.

~ Ameer

Tuesday, Feb 13

A good night sleep, sun, and thermal hot springs!

We were so sore! We've all been falling all over the mountain. The weather and the snow were great, and we enjoyed relaxing in the sun during lunch. We went to a huge thermal hot pool in the evening. There were three massive slides, one that had a loop where you went upside down. There was also an outdoor swimming pool, and with the cold air the steam was so thick you could barely see anything. They had a laser light disco show, and we relaxed in the bubbly jacuzzi while the kids danced in the wave pool. Hoping for early bed times!

~ The adults

Monday, Feb 12

With a little more sleep, we all took on the slopes with newfound enthusiasm and energy. 10cm of fresh snow covered the Austrian Alps, making skiing conditions perfect. Today, all groups made it to the top of the mountain, even those of us who hadn't skied before. At 11:45, we regrouped at the foot of the mountain and ate lunch together under the falling snow. At 15:00, the ski shuttle picked us up, driving us back to the Hostel (where a snowman was attempted). After dinner we took a walk to the local supermarket, where we stocked on snacks and practiced our Austrian.

-Maibritt & Eva

Sunday, Feb 11

After a long but smooth day traveling, with a late night disco on the bus on the way, we arrived in the resort at 1 am. The early group was asleep, and we were up at 6:15 am to do ski fit and head to lessons. There are always a few glitches with ski fit but everyone stayed patient and got sorted. The instructors are great and were amazing with creating groups. We had a gorgeous morning and by the afternoon all of the groups were cruising. The beginner group was thrilled to be told they're no longer beginners at the end of their lesson, and we're moving to a different area tomorrow. Most people had an afternoon nap, an evening of ice skating, and are in bed before 10! We'll have students write tomorrow and add more of their pictures.