Started the day with a lovely breakfast from Sigrid. Gernot took us down to Schladming and we hired our skis and got our lift passes from the Olympiastadion on Planai. Worked out at €160 each for six days. There was a real scrum for the Planai Gondola which was at bit unpleasant, we’ll need to avoid a 9:30 start there for the rest of the week. Up the mountain we had a couple of runs on 8 (Weitmoosabfahrt) to warm up—I was very stiff. Then did a few runs on 12 (Die Schönfarerpiste), 5 (Die Sportliche) and 3a (Startstrecke WM-Abfahrt). Sometime during this we stopped for a hot drink. We had a bratwurst lunch, then headed over to the runs around 9, 3, 10 and 11, which are lovely, wide, open runs above the treeline, serviced by two very long, fast and steep T-bars. Great fun here until I took a tumble trying out some small moguls! Oh well, maybe at the end of the week. Our favourite run of the day was probably 5, which had some great curves. Finally we skied out from the top of Planai at 1894m to Schladming at 745m, via routes 8, 3a and 1. 1 (Die Shwungvolle is a great run, with a mix of steep and flat slopes. So we enjoyed the route out, arriving back into Schladming in time for the 15:10 bus to Ramsau.


Skied down from the bus stop to Gernot’s house, which involved legging over a barbed wire fence to get onto the cross-country track. Michael went to Billa for a few snacks.

In the evening Alexandra took us to the Ramsau ski festival, where she skied down the piste carrying two burning torches as part of a massed display. It was beatiful. There was also synchronised skiing, skiing on stilts, uphill skiing on cross-country skis, tag skiing, speed skiing and the final display was of snow grooming machines from several mountains that drove downhill towards the crowds with their lights blazing and with fireworks. Had dinner in a bar before all the entertainment started and then a couple of glùwine from the icebar. Alexandra joined us for a tee mit rum, which turned out to be a rum mit tee (but they know her well there I think!).

