Werfenweng Ski School

We booked in for ski lessons on Saturday night. Philip from the ski school came to the hotel and made it all so easy for us. He had a table in the lounge and we could do everything there. He told us we must go to the office once we are up on the mountain, as the lady who runs the ski school with her Austrian husband is Australian! 

Cookie comes from the Central Coast, she met Alois at Threadbo, and moved over here, got married, and have 2 adorable little girls. We got along really well, and I think the common Australian link gave us extra help. 

The kids instructor was Babsi. We were amazed at how quick the boys picked up skiing. Of course, Cameron wanted to go really really fast, Babsi had to keep him from racing off on his own down the slope, and staying with the group. They teach the kids without poles, and have great ways of making sure they know how to snow plough and how to use the different lifts etc. 

We loved watching the boys ski down the slopes.

Phil began his lessons with in intermediate group. He skied a few times in Australia over 20 years ago . When he got shorter skis and told the techniques had changed, he knew it was going to be an interesting week!

 Starting off with Harry, after one day on the lower slopes he was 'cut from the herd' and sent with the very advanced group with Hubsi, (the instructor sitting at the front of his group photo). They took the chairlift to the top and Phil quickly found that he really didn't have the 'new technique' for slopes of this standard. He skied with the group for 2 days, had a great time but found the difficult slopes a bit challenging (and hard on the backside!). 

After hurting his knee on day 3, Cookie advised him to drop back a group and just ski for fun. The instructor of this group, Ron,  also had had knee problems, and quickly fixed up Phil's technique - with some massive outcomes: No more knee pain, an ability to ski, and confidence to tackle all of the runs on the mountain.  It was only then that the things Hubsie was trying to get him to do made sense.

 Ron even dragged him down some of the Black runs and Phil was exhilarated that he was able to cope (and conquer!) these. Phil is hooked, and I think he would have stayed for another week if he was given the chance

I started in the beginners group with Ronnie, I had never skied before. We learnt to snow plough, stop, and turn down a small hill quite quickly. Then we moved onto the first beginners slope in the afternoon. That wasn't too bad. It was a gentle hill, and we learnt to go from side to side without too many great falls (well, maybe a couple of spectacular falls!) I learnt heaps on the first day, and really enjoyed myself. 

I was exhausted by 3pm, and ready to hit the swimming pool to ease the muscles that I haven't used in a long time! The second day we began on the 1st beginners slope again. It was a bit harder, as there was no fresh snowfall overnight, and the snow was icy. It sounded really rough as you skied over it, and it felt more slippery than the day before. I lost a bit of nerve, and felt myself being more cautious, and slower. The beginners slope was quite busy, and it was a long wait for the chairlifts, so Ronnie took us to the 3rd beginners slope, where I got really scared when I looked down the slope. The more I thought about how steep this slope was, the more I forgot the techniques I should be using, and the more I fell.

The second day was exhausting and I can honestly say I really didn't enjoy myself (only because I discovered a fear of heights and going too fast). The following day, I went into the office to speak to Cookie, and ask her if I could drop into another beginners group. My new instructor was Gunter. (the "Dude" at the beginning of the line in my ski photo.) We moved at a slower pace and I felt more confident. We skied on the 1st beginners slope and progressed to the 2nd beginners slope. The following day I attempted the 3rd slope again and I managed it really well. I skied down it 3 times, without falling once! 

The next day (my final day of lessons) we went up the mountain and skied down some really big slopes, where I managed to totally freak out over the steep slopes, forget everything Gunter and Ronnie had taught me, and fall over heaps. but I wasn't the only one to be a bit scared, and fall over a lot! We all had a good laugh about it (well, I think you needed to laugh about it, otherwise I think I would have just cried). Even though I have not overcome my fear of steep slopes, I had a great time, and I am quite comfortable skiing on the beginner slopes Maybe next year I will try the steep slopes.....after a couple of Barcardi, lime and lemonades perhaps!