Friday, January 3, 2025
At around 07:45, I stopped by the Aqua Dome reception to purchase a daily pass for Solden. It was 79 euros + 3 euros deposit = 82.
It was much less expensive than most of the U.S. Ski resorts for a single-day pass! (The 3 euro deposit was returned
to me after I returned the ski card)
I had a small, quick
breakfast, eating a bowl of yogurt with jam and some scrambled eggs. I
returned to room #169 to dress for skiing. I put spare gloves, water,
and my GoPro Hero11 in the backpack. (Spare skiing gloves came in handy
after my other gloves froze)
At 08:15, I walked downstairs to
Sunup Sports to rent a snowboard and snowboarding boots. After trying a
couple of snowboarding boots, I found none that fit me well. Either they
were too small or too loose. Next time, I need to bring my snowboarding boots (as it's difficult to rent the correct size).
I decided to switch to Alpine Skiing (as comfortable ski boots were available in my size) and rented the following:
I found a pair of Fischer XTR RC4 90 HV
ski boots that were reasonably comfortable, with good support and not
too much pain. I attached my GoPro sticker to the helmet to record the
skiing.
After paying for the gear rental, I
walked to the bus stop in my ski boots (not too comfortable) and waited
for Bus #44, headed for
Solden.
Bus #44 runs every 10 minutes and takes about 25 minutes to reach Solden Ski Resort from Aqua Dome (Langenfeld). The last Solden stop is called Gaislachkogl
(it has the main gondola) and is where I planned to get off.
When I boarded the bus at
08:50, it was jam-packed with skiers and snowboarders and I had to stand
the entire ride to Solden.
After
arriving at Solden, I boarded the main gondola and proceeded to ski. It
took me a few runs to re-acquaint myself with proper downhill skiing technique (after a decade of exclusively snowboarding).
The weather was
cold (-12 Celsius at the top) and there were gusts of wind. It was quite
sunny most of the time and only a light snowfall (I was hoping for more
powder).
I stuck to the red slopes
(blue slopes in the U.S. ski-rating system), particularly trail #11, as
it was a nice long and steep run with an easy chairlift back C31. When I
got cold at 10:20, I stopped by the Rotkogolhuetta (Huetta) - a small self-serve restaurant near the chair lift C31. I ordered the following items:
- Pretzel
- Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream
- Frittatensoupe (beef boullion soup with pancake slices)
I
found an unoccupied table (quite difficult usually) and swallowed large
spoonfuls of soup. Hot chocolate also helped to warm me up and the
pretzel was delicious.
While resting, I also installed my GoPro Hero11
on my helmet to record some skiing videos. I usually prefer to record
videos using a selfie stick, but I am not sure how to use one on skis.
After
this quick snack stop, I decided to ski to other parts of the mountain
(to explore other runs) and started skiing trail #12, using chairlift
C35. There were some remnants of powder on the trail and it was more fun
than scraping on ice. I also noticed a ski park, nearby, with multiple
jumps and obstacles with many small kids taking full advantage.
I
continued skiing, stopping a few times to use the restroom and warm up.
At around 14:15, I was starting to get cold and tired (my toes started
to feel numb) and I decided to ski down. I used trail #11, followed by
7a, 7b, and 9 to get to the bottom.
Once at the
bottom, I boarded bus #44 back to Aqua Dome. The ride back was about 25
minutes and the bus was full of skiers. Luckily, I was able to find a
seat and the ride back was uneventful.
Links
0 comments:
Post a Comment