Snowboarding at Zell Am See (Austria) & crap airports
Hi everyone,
I'm writing this email to myself while waiting in the Passport Control line at the airport after getting back from Austria. The facilities here are just crap and can't seem to handle the influx of passengers. We're going on a hour in the queue and I'm guessing I'm just shy of
half way. BAH!
Well, enough griping and lets get down to business - snowboarding! It's awesome ad I still love it! The place we went to is a little village called Zell Am See. It's a very tiny little town with a lake on one side and a massive mountain jutting up on the other. Snow falls have been pretty sparse in many parts of Europe, but we were pretty lucky in that there was a decent snow dump a couple of days before we hit town.
Although I arrived on the Wednesday, I got in too late to get my board hire etc sorted. I had planned to do a full day boarding on Thursday, but had to settle for a half day as it took all morning to get it all done. Overall, boarding/skiing in Austria is pretty cheap. Of course,
travelling on the pound helps a lot, and because it's close, you can get there pretty easily. The runs are nice and long and the slopes weren't crowded at all (it's still a bit of a secret), so if any of you are up for it.. Let me know!
Zell Am See is a very small village though, and the main landmark (it's on all the maps) is the McDonald's restaurant on the main street. I took a walk around the place on Wednesday night and checked it all out - it's very quaint :). It was especially deserted because of the lack of snow. I was speaking to the operator of our accommodation (Pension Gudrun) and apparently because local people aren't expected to put deposits on books, heaps booked early in the year and then cancelled in the last couple of weeks. The view over the lake is especially nice, but it's impossible to capture in a photo.
I must say that after not boarding for a couple of years, I was VERY rusty at the start. After getting my 'feet' a little I started to get more adventurous and picking up speed. As you'd expect, this lead to a couple of nice big stacks so I sort of backed off for a bit after
that. No serious injuries for the first day, but the mountain closes around 4pm, and the sun starts to go down around 2pm, so you need to make the most of the time.
Anka
I'm writing this email to myself while waiting in the Passport Control line at the airport after getting back from Austria. The facilities here are just crap and can't seem to handle the influx of passengers. We're going on a hour in the queue and I'm guessing I'm just shy of
half way. BAH!
Well, enough griping and lets get down to business - snowboarding! It's awesome ad I still love it! The place we went to is a little village called Zell Am See. It's a very tiny little town with a lake on one side and a massive mountain jutting up on the other. Snow falls have been pretty sparse in many parts of Europe, but we were pretty lucky in that there was a decent snow dump a couple of days before we hit town.
Although I arrived on the Wednesday, I got in too late to get my board hire etc sorted. I had planned to do a full day boarding on Thursday, but had to settle for a half day as it took all morning to get it all done. Overall, boarding/skiing in Austria is pretty cheap. Of course,
travelling on the pound helps a lot, and because it's close, you can get there pretty easily. The runs are nice and long and the slopes weren't crowded at all (it's still a bit of a secret), so if any of you are up for it.. Let me know!
Zell Am See is a very small village though, and the main landmark (it's on all the maps) is the McDonald's restaurant on the main street. I took a walk around the place on Wednesday night and checked it all out - it's very quaint :). It was especially deserted because of the lack of snow. I was speaking to the operator of our accommodation (Pension Gudrun) and apparently because local people aren't expected to put deposits on books, heaps booked early in the year and then cancelled in the last couple of weeks. The view over the lake is especially nice, but it's impossible to capture in a photo.
I must say that after not boarding for a couple of years, I was VERY rusty at the start. After getting my 'feet' a little I started to get more adventurous and picking up speed. As you'd expect, this lead to a couple of nice big stacks so I sort of backed off for a bit after
that. No serious injuries for the first day, but the mountain closes around 4pm, and the sun starts to go down around 2pm, so you need to make the most of the time.
That night I met up with Damo, Zac and Bartle (all Perth mates) and it was awesome to catch up. Lots of travel stories were swapped but I did manage to get some updates about some of the going's on in Perth.
The next day was the first day of snowboarding for all the guys. Watching them learn and basically fall over made me remember how totally painful and frustrating it was for me. Annoying people like Brett also make it worse because they picked it up really fast (curse
the Ski!). Bartle did really well for his first day and by the end he was able to make it basically down a full run with me.
As the day wore on, I also got more confidence up and a better feel for the board. By the end of it I could reasonably fang down the mountain and even got a teeny bit of air from a jump. The lifts closed at 4pm and I was lucky enough to be one of the last on the mountain. It's so
awesome when you've got the room to do whatever you want. I caned it down!
The other thing I remember from the day is the views from near the top of the mountain. I went way up to a real high part (close to the top) and got almost a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding mountains, other towns, the alpine lake, resorts on the sides of mountains etc.. All with the sun dropping low over the mountain tops. A really amazing sight.
The previous night we'd caught up with Damo's brother's boyfriend (Giles) and his mum. They were both really cool and we got an invite to dinner on Thursday night. Despite being knackered we enjoyed the company and the spaghetti bolognese. I was also put onto the idea of getting a bus from Zell Am See to Salzburg. Buses in Austria are amazing well run, and sometimes they even get to places faster than trains! Each bus timetable shows all the stops and even an approximate time that they will be reached. It makes it very easy for travellers to get around.
That night I found out that my whole professional snowboarding career could be in jeopardy! Apparently if you are right foot dominant, you should have your right foot forward on the board!!! Hmmm! When I first learnt in Australia, I was sure that we were told to put right foot
back. As I skated as a kid (and that's the 'regular' skating stance), it all seemed good to me. I queried a few other people later and apparently it is better to have the dominant foot forward, but really whatever is most comfortable is fine.
Just to try it out, I gave right-foot-forward a go this morning. Oh boy I sucked! It felt so wrong and I kept moving my weight in the totally wrong way. After falling about 6 times on one run (one where I fell backwards and totally smacked the back of my head), I switched back and belted around for a bit. The day was warm though and because the snow hasn't fallen much the slopes were beginning to ice up in places. It did make things a little tricky so it was difficult to cruise at the crazy speeds of the previous day.
The last thing I did was meet all the guys at the very summit of the mountain for a warm Gluvine (something like that, it's basically warm mulled wine) before having one last long ride down the mountain. After a bus back to Salzberg, and delayed plane flight and around...
An hour and a half in the passport queue, I'm almost near the front.I guess I'd better sign off then!
Extra note: After getting through all that, I still had to get an hour and a half bus ride into London, and then get a cab to Southfields. I made it in the door around 4am, and considering I was on the bus to Salzburg the previous afternoon at 4:50pm, I think nearly a 12 hour transit (considering the flights from Salzburg to London is just over an hour) is pretty crap!
Later all. It was great to see some Aussie boys again and now I can't wait for snowboarding in Canada.. Only 2 days away! I did take some picture of us skiing using a disposable camera however I've still got lots of shots to use so I plan to finish it off in Canada, then post the lot.
The next day was the first day of snowboarding for all the guys. Watching them learn and basically fall over made me remember how totally painful and frustrating it was for me. Annoying people like Brett also make it worse because they picked it up really fast (curse
the Ski!). Bartle did really well for his first day and by the end he was able to make it basically down a full run with me.
As the day wore on, I also got more confidence up and a better feel for the board. By the end of it I could reasonably fang down the mountain and even got a teeny bit of air from a jump. The lifts closed at 4pm and I was lucky enough to be one of the last on the mountain. It's so
awesome when you've got the room to do whatever you want. I caned it down!
The other thing I remember from the day is the views from near the top of the mountain. I went way up to a real high part (close to the top) and got almost a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding mountains, other towns, the alpine lake, resorts on the sides of mountains etc.. All with the sun dropping low over the mountain tops. A really amazing sight.
The previous night we'd caught up with Damo's brother's boyfriend (Giles) and his mum. They were both really cool and we got an invite to dinner on Thursday night. Despite being knackered we enjoyed the company and the spaghetti bolognese. I was also put onto the idea of getting a bus from Zell Am See to Salzburg. Buses in Austria are amazing well run, and sometimes they even get to places faster than trains! Each bus timetable shows all the stops and even an approximate time that they will be reached. It makes it very easy for travellers to get around.
That night I found out that my whole professional snowboarding career could be in jeopardy! Apparently if you are right foot dominant, you should have your right foot forward on the board!!! Hmmm! When I first learnt in Australia, I was sure that we were told to put right foot
back. As I skated as a kid (and that's the 'regular' skating stance), it all seemed good to me. I queried a few other people later and apparently it is better to have the dominant foot forward, but really whatever is most comfortable is fine.
Just to try it out, I gave right-foot-forward a go this morning. Oh boy I sucked! It felt so wrong and I kept moving my weight in the totally wrong way. After falling about 6 times on one run (one where I fell backwards and totally smacked the back of my head), I switched back and belted around for a bit. The day was warm though and because the snow hasn't fallen much the slopes were beginning to ice up in places. It did make things a little tricky so it was difficult to cruise at the crazy speeds of the previous day.
The last thing I did was meet all the guys at the very summit of the mountain for a warm Gluvine (something like that, it's basically warm mulled wine) before having one last long ride down the mountain. After a bus back to Salzberg, and delayed plane flight and around...
An hour and a half in the passport queue, I'm almost near the front.I guess I'd better sign off then!
Extra note: After getting through all that, I still had to get an hour and a half bus ride into London, and then get a cab to Southfields. I made it in the door around 4am, and considering I was on the bus to Salzburg the previous afternoon at 4:50pm, I think nearly a 12 hour transit (considering the flights from Salzburg to London is just over an hour) is pretty crap!
Later all. It was great to see some Aussie boys again and now I can't wait for snowboarding in Canada.. Only 2 days away! I did take some picture of us skiing using a disposable camera however I've still got lots of shots to use so I plan to finish it off in Canada, then post the lot.
Anka
posted by Anthony Hawke at 9:46 pm
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