Tag: Ski

Nightmare vacation – Rokytnice

We don’t have luck with this area of the world. Last year when Radek went skiing in Harrachov he had to shorten his trip as I was admitted to hospital during my pregnancy with Kamila. But he got to know the area and we knew it was worth revisiting. So we did this year. It was a long-awaited trip for many reasons. Therefore you can imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be utter disaster!
What happened? The very first day we arrived Wojtek got severely ill. So I stayed with him and Kamila while Radek and my sister’s family went skiing. This was the only day we saw the sun! The only day out of an almost week trip! Anyway, we managed to take a couple of photos that day. Have a look and I’ll continue my story afterwards.

Skiing in Rokytnice:

My short walk around:

The next day wasn’t particularly inviting for skiing but we decided to give it a try and it was a good idea because otherwise I wouldn’t have touched the hills at all. The weather was bad, we had to ski in very difficult conditions (thick fog and very little visibility). It was the real fight for survival. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. Being able to spend time with my family, try and push my limits on the hills a bit… and a children-free morning – enough for me to appreciate it.

And a movie from that day:

After that day it was only worse. It wouldn’t stop raining and one after another we got ill. I was by no means in the worst condition and I was unable to get up from the bed for like 2 days. My sister’s husband was in a pretty bad shape too and when Radek started to fill a bit blue, we decided it was high time to go back to Szczecin. Did I mention it wouldn’t stop raining? Anyway, although I do consider this as nightmare vacation, I do want to go back there the next year. In the end, I didn’t get to hike those hills 🙂

Skiing in Harrachov

Now when we no longer live close to the mountains we really miss all mountains activities. So when I heard that our friends were going skiing this winter I joined them right away.

We went to the closest skiing resort possible – in the Czech city of Harrachov that is „just” 400 km from Szczecin.

First day after arrival we went to see the city of Harrachov and enjoy the famous Czech beer. We found Harrachov local brewery located in the same building as the glass foundry where you can watch glass craftsmen making beautiful glass while drinking beer and eating „Knedliczki”.

The next morning we headed directly to ski slopes where my friends joined ski school and I checked out my skiing skills to find out that I did not forget anything from the last year. Unfortunately there where just two slopes in Harrachov. Quite few when compering to the Alps resorts but it was OK for the morning skiing and later we went to enjoy more Czech cuisines and beer.  

The next days we spent on skiing and some other tourist activities like visiting Szklarska Poręba, walking up the ski jumping hill, drinking more beer etc. Unfortunately I needed to get home faster than I planned but after all Harrachov was a good trip for a longer weekend. 

And a video:

Our last skiing outing this year: Espace Diamant

Our first outing together as a marriage and at the same time our last outing this year… In any case – an important day! We set off to Espace Diamant resort – one of the biggest in the area. We were both really looking forward to this day and the fact that we had had to wait for such a long time to ski together was rewarded by the most beautiful day in the mountains! The sky was cloudless and we could see as far as the horizon let us.

I really enjoyed the freedom of choice when skiing with my husband. By that I mean the freedom of routes, freedom of speed, freedom of timeline etc. Although the conditions were already so-so due to spring temperatures, it was a very nice day for us. Our lunch break was a cherry on a pie to all of that. We stopped at the most beautiful restaurant with an amazing views over the Alps. When we finished our meal at the table we moved over to sun loungers. The sun was literally frying us and it was such a blissful moment.

We were planning to go skiing again this season but due to really high temperatures, snow is not the best for skiing now and we prefer to use up our free days in a different way. But we are looking forward to the next season. Wherever we are next winter, we will find a way to ski together again.

Check out the movie we filmed during this beautiful day:

Skiing in Châtel

This weekend I went skiing in Châtel with my colleague from CERN office. Oliver is an experienced skier (CERN level 3.5 when I was 0.5) so skiing with him was a bit challenging. 

He convinced me to go down some black slopes and in the end I had a lot of fan what you can see in the attached pictures and the video 😉

After this crazy tricks I deserved some yummy food.

This day was lots of fun even with mediocre weather and me feeling a bit sick. But what I am really waiting for is skiing together with Ania. Another 3 weeks and we will be able to do that.

Weekend skiing: Les Contamines and Espace Diamant

CERN ski course has come to an end so now we enjoy more freedom when it comes to skiing. On Saturday I went with a couple of colleagues to Les Contamines. It was my favourite resort of the ones I had seen but unluckily, I had really bad conditions that day. No visibility, strong wind, rather cold temperature – it was a real challenge to me to ski there. But that’s not all! I had to scale the heights of my skills as my companions were way more experienced and imposed a very fast pace on the pistes. I barely managed to keep up but it all gave me lots of satisfaction and fun (combined with a bit of terror too). To make the day brimful, I went down a black slope. How cool is that? Who would have thought that 2 months ago I even didn’t know how to put the skis on 🙂

Radek had more luck this week. He went to a new place – Espace Diamant. Beautiful weather, endless pistes, no people whatsoever, breathtaking views and a relaxing lunch break on a patio with a mountain landscape – what to want more? The resort was so big that within a day they managed to see only a small part of it. Without any doubts, we will return there.

Skiing in Avoriaz

Our last outing with CERN Ski Club took place in Avoriaz. We skied to a beautiful, blue sky with almost no clouds, in abundance of snow and in good moods. It’s amazing how much progress we did thanks to these five days with instructors. I mean, I put my skis for the first time this year and now I am able to go down a red piste without problems.

We both got into skiing but I have to admit I miss hiking. I feel like going snowshoeing soon, to have a bit more contact with mountains. With the skis everything is fast, there’s not that much time to take in the vastness of mountains. I guess ski touring would be sport for us but that’s maybe for the future 🙂

(That’s Dents du Midi on the left – our biggest trophy so far):

Skiing in Les Contamines

This week’s outing was in Les Contamines in French Alps. This is by no means the prettiest ski resort I have seen so far, it’s a pity I had visibility only for a very short period in the morning. Still, it’s better luck than Radek had as he skied in blizzard and mist and haven’t seen anything. I hope to go there one more time to show him the beauty of mountains around.

Within half an hour the weather turned from what you see in the upper photos into this:

In any case, we had lots of fun both on the pistes and in the lifts 🙂

Skiing in Saint-Gervais

CERN ski course outing number 3 – Saint-Gervais. Every week I get better and better at skiing. It makes me so happy to see my progress but most of all, it becomes more and more fun on the slopes. Of course, I am still in my „a bit scared” phase when on the skis but I gain confidence with every hour.

Both days were kind of gloomy, Radek had slightly better weather than I did. Nevertheless, it didn’t really matter because the nature still  looked spectacular. I just love winter mountains.

Skiing in La Clusaz

Ski adventure continues… This weekend we’re in La Clusaz. Our second outing with CERN Ski Club was a real blast. We had been closely observing the weather the week before as the snow level in the Alps was rather alarming. Fortunately, just a night before Saturday temperatures had dropped and it had been snowing. What a relief 🙂
My turn was on Saturday. I had rather difficult conditions as it was pretty cold and it was snowing all the time. You won’t see many lovely photos from my outing but nevertheless I enjoyed the views even if they were a bit misty. I managed to go down a blue piste for the first time in my life – a challenge that was rewarded by the sunny spells!

Radek had more luck on his day as it was bright and sunny all the time. I can’t really say a lot about his outing as I wasn’t there but I can assure you he had lots of fun. He’s getting way ahead of me with his skills, I really need to catch up!