Ski Sunday

I awoke feeling a bit nervous on my first morning of skiing. I always do. However I needn't have worried; James, Heather and Ewan, who are all excellent skiers, made me feel very comfortable and welcome as we all skied together. After a wobbly first couple of runs, I made a big effort to ski the best that I could, firstly by keeping going (rather than my old habit of grinding to a halt when the slopes get a bit steep or busy), and also by skiing parallel all of the time. With the others' encouragement I relaxed quickly and enjoyed the day very much.
We strapped on all of our gear and set off from Arabba at about 9.30 a.m. The weather was fine and the snow was excellent. It's a really interesting ski area with varied runs, all with the backdrop of the jagged limestone Dolomite mountains, which are dusted with snow. The runs are mostly reds, with a few blues thrown in. Because of the great snow conditions, the reds are currently fairly straightforward - apart from a few quite steep and bumpy bits. Luckily for James and me, Heather and Ewan know the area very well and guided us on our journey. Our destination on Sunday was the Alta Badia area, and we made our way there via many lifts and runs to our furthest point which was the Church at Santa Croce above Badia. When we got there we took off our skis and plodded up a short but steep track to the church. The views were lovely, although it has to be said that the views everywhere here are stunning in every direction! On our way back we had lunch in La Villa in a really friendly restaurant. I had the bacon dumpling soup which is so good that I would eat it every day if I got the chance. By the afternoon my legs were getting tired, especially my thighs which felt as if they were on fire. However I was not too tired to head down to Peter's Bar for some drinks outside (under a heater!) and some rather loud Euro pop music! When we got back to the hotel I popped down to the health suite with Heather and James to soothe my tired limbs in the jacuzzi, before a magnificent four course dinner. I felt so happy to have not only managed, but enjoyed, my first day on the pistes.