kiing the Austrian Alps is pretty tough, but someone's got to do it. In this case we were snow boarding, however.
We have friends that snow board (you know who you are, Kevin), and it's always been a source of jovial friction. But when our church's men got together for a snow board trip, I knew that there would be little room for a skier. It seemed like a good time to try snow boarding. Plus, this would help justify the saying, "Don't knock it before you've tried it" ... though it is a little late for that.
We met at the church at 4:30am (we'll actually, I was there at 3:30am, but that's just an alarm clock issue) and were on the road by 5:00am. If that sounds early to anyone, it's because it is. Fortunately, the roads to Mittleberg are mostly autobahn, and I was able to sleep while driving.
We arrived, rented our equipment and were on the slopes by about 10:30. We spent this first day on the beginner's slope. After that experience, I am convinced that the rope tow is a medieval method of torture that has somehow has made it's way into the 21st century. Having survived the infidel threat, as well as a couple of badly executed jumps, the next day we spent crashing through mounds of fresh powder on the real slope. They don't make powder like this in the Pacific Northwest, and it was fabulous.
So fabulous, in fact, that I spent much of the day wishing that I had my skis. I survived the weekend, and honestly have to say that snowboarding is fun. But more fun than skiing? I don't think so!