Day 4 - Powder Puff

16:00
I wake to a dump of maybe 20cm of snow. That’s in Mayrhofen town centre, so I’d expect there to be 2-3 times that up the mountain. Today should be a spectacular powder day, as long as visibility stays good enough.

I manage to sleep through the night. Huzzah etc etc. I feel much more refreshed than the past couple of mornings. I’m up and out of the hotel by 09:00, and at the very top of the Penken valley by 09:30. The first run down into the Horberg valley is a thing of absolute beauty. I can see that I’m heading into cloud and heavy snow, but where I am right now, there’s 30cm of fresh powder under my skis, and the sun is just about shining through some light cloud. It’s about as perfect as skiing conditions can get. There’s such a satisfying sensation as skis cut through fresh powder. I’ve not experienced anything else quite like it. It’s highly addictive. I cut across a few different runs and lifts.

Around 11:00, I deserve a break, so stop at my new favourite piste-side café for a coffee. There are sadly no Aperol antics today, but I pass the time looking at how the conditions are changing around me. I’ve never seen weather on the mountain quite like it. In each valley, the conditions are markedly different, and they’re changing rapidly. Where this valley was sunny a few moments ago, it’s now a blizzard, and visibility is down to a handful of metres. I can see that in the next valley over, the sun is pushing through.

I decide to leave the slopes, and do some off-piste skiing. Now, normally when I’m skiing on my own, I stick to the groomed pistes. It’s a self-preservation thing. The powder just off piste is too alluring though. It’s comfortably up to my knees, and cutting a swathe through it down the mountain is a properly fun way to spend time.

Around 12:00, a lot of folks on the mountain stop for lunch. Despite not having breakfast, I’m not particularly hungry yet, so carry on skiing, taking advantage of the slopes and lifts being quieter. I finish maybe 4 runs in the space of an hour, and am conscious that the speed at which I’m moving has accelerated. I use a ski trail tracking app, which tells me that I’ve hit 80 kph this morning. I’m not a speed freak, and top speed is hardly a measure of how well I’m skiing, or how much fun I’m having - but it IS a measure of how confident I feel on the mountain.

I stop for some lunch around 13:30, at another slope-side restaurant. I treat myself to a gluhwein, and then another. Lunch is currywurst - a bratwurst served with a spicy curry gravy. Banging. I stop for nearly an hour, and getting back up and onto my skis is a bit of a challenge. My legs have seized up pretty effectively while I’ve been sitting down. They start to unfurl after a few minutes of shouting at them. On one of the lifts, I bump into Brian and Steve, who I met on Saturday afternoon. We ski together for a few runs, before heading in our respective directions.

Around 15:30, I decide I’ve done enough for today. It’s been a long and tough, but massively fun day. The weather could have been a sticking point, but I’ve actually enjoyed the changeability. It’s certainly kept me on my toes. I stop at a final slope-side bar to celebrate the hard graft I’ve put in. An Aperol Spritz, and ooh - they have teeny bottles of Jäegermeister! Yup, deffo have one of those…

22:30
I head out for a walk around 18:00, and stop in at Mo’s for a beer. The atmosphere’s pretty raucous. I’ve been advised that Christmas Eve tends to be the day/evening of most celebration, and everyone seems to be going for it. The music is eclectic. Avant-garde, even. Predominantly Euro style covers. Still the beer’s cold, and the company’s not too shabby.

Dinner is excellent. The main course is a beef Wellington type affair, and I’m impressed at the kitchen’s ability to produce such high quality food so consistently for so many people.

I briefly consider another walk/beer combo, but the day’s arduous activity is catching up with me. By 22:00, I’m jaded and yawning. I read for a while, but my eyes are heavy with sleep. Zzzzz…Read more