Powder! at Alpbachtal, Austria

Ok, so I've been complaining about the snow here the last two posts. Well, we finally got into some deep powder today! We also had unbelievable weather. It was probably just below freezing so the snow was good and we were plenty warm. I went on the ski bus with the Munich Ski Club with a few friends this time. My friends Justin, Kinsey, Chris and his fiance Kerry, and their friend Erika joined us this weekend for a trip to Alpabchtal, Austria (Kinsey and Chris are from Chicago and also work for EY). It is east of Innsbruck and about an hour and a half from Munich by bus. So, back to the powder...the runs were pretty packed down, but Justin and I went to the backside and found quite a bit of "boot-high" powder for a change just off the marked runs. Justin is a really good skiier, so he definitely pushes me to do things I normally wouldn't do (hence one of the reasons I got a helmet!). Anyway, everyone else took lessons, so Justin and I skiied together all day and had a wonderful day of skiing! Needless to say, I'm going to be feeling this one in my thighs tomorrow!

Alright, so Justin decided it would be a good idea to take this one unmarked trail (are you getting the general theme here!) that had really deep powder, so of course I followed him. Well, let's just say we crossed 2 barbed-wire fences on the way and had to go over/around a few hay bales. Yeah, not really something we should have been on! So anyway, we came to this one area where there was no way down but STRAIGHT down on a path no wider than our skis that was really icy. This picture doesn't do it justice, but Justin went first and tried to go down as far sideways as he could to keep his speed down. Well, you can see where he ended up. So I of course tried to go straight down and take the "jump" at the bottom instead. Yeah....I made the jump alright, but I landed in such deep powder that I literally did a summersault and ended up in a very similar position to him, but on the other side of the tree at least. What a fun day! It's probably good that nobody had a video camera or we might have made America's Funniest Home Videos a time or two...or at least America's Stupidest Videos, one of the two!

Where's Justin?
HA!, there he is...buried!

Skiing at Obertauern, Austria

My two friends Justin and Alissa and I went to Obertauern, Austria to ski today. It is south of Salzburg, so is about 2 and a half hours southeast of Munich. Even though it was fairly far in comparison to a lot of other places, we heard they just got new snow and it is a pretty big resort. The weather was great most of the day until mid-afternoon and then the clouds came and it got hard to see. The snow wasn't too bad. I never thought I was or realized it, but I think skiing so much in Colorado made me become a snow snob. Even though they had just gotten some new snow a day or so ago, it still wasn't "Colorado powder". All of those fun "back bowl" areas that almost always have powder have been really chunky and icy here so far. Maybe we just haven't been lucky either. However, the runs here seem to be a lot steeper and are actually a lot of fun because of it. The other thing they have here are heated seats (on a few lifts) and "bubble covers" over the chair lifts, which make a huge difference especially toward the top if it is windy. Neither place had long lines either, so we are definitely getting plenty of ski time in!

The first time I was in Europe and at the Hofbrauhaus, I thought it was strange everyone was singing along to John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" song. Well, it is a German and Austrian favorite apparently and everyone was singing it during Apre's Ski today too. Needless to say, some of the music you hear here just makes you laugh. We heard a Milli Vanilli song today at lunch! I am not even kidding!

Ski Trip to Axamer Lizum

A few friends and I joined the Munich Ski Club, which takes weekly bus trips to different ski resorts each weekend. This weekend 2 friends and I went to Axamer Lizum, which is just outside of Innsbruck, Austria (or about 2 hrs from Munich) and was used for the 1964 and 1976 Olympics. They hadn't received any new snow since January 1st, so the snow was pretty crunchy/icy in spots, but we had a great time anyway. I can never complain about the scenery! I also learned that skiing in Europe is more than just skiing though. Apre´s Ski (which pretty much translates to after ski party - literally "after ski") is part of the experience and entails listening to "party" music, drinking and dancing after the last run of the day.

My friend Alissa and I taking a pre-lunch break for a warm drink.

This is a view from the top of the mountain down into the town of Innsbruck (right side of the picture).

This is the band that was playing during lunch. Not a bad view behind them!

This is me and my friends Alissa and Justin at Apre´s Ski.

This is a video of someone paragliding while skiing. He just skiied down enough to pick up some speed and then his parachute took over (it's hard to see, but he did a flip right at first too). You can hear the band in the above picture playing in the background...and yodeling. Yep, yodeling. Gotta love Austria!

Christmas with Friends and Family

As much as I have enjoyed my time in Germany, there is still no place like home. I was lucky enough to get to spend about 2 and a half weeks in the US visiting friends and family and absolutely loved every minute of it. You guys are all what's most important in life and you will definitely be missed! Keep in touch! Here are a few pictures from the trip.

My brother, his wife Tina and their two daughters Cadence (left) and Kendall (right).
Cadence and Kendall laughing at Grandma and Grandpa!

Kendall chasing the balloon she got at Pizza Hut (with her uncle Brad supervising).

Cadence giggling in Grandma's chair.

Cadence eating her candy cane. I'm sure she didn't get sticky after that!

Kendall showing off for the camera (and her dad Kyle looking on).

Cadence cheesing in Grandpa's new mowing hat.

Kendall taking a short break (or is it more like a recharge!) with uncle Brad.

Who is more tired? I think the parents!

My parents...and of course super proud grandparents on the girls' first birthday in October.

I couldn't resist posting this picture. The little jayhawks sporting their National Championship t-shirts from their Uncle Brad on their first birthday. Kendall is on the left.

These are my other nephews and niece from Kansas City on their first day of school this year. (from left to right...Max, Jack, Jake, and Madie). Max and Madie are twins.

Jack and Jake on the way to school. Was the summer really that boring? I guess starting the first and third grades is probably pretty exciting though, huh.

Madie on her first day of kindergarten.

My Godson Max after scoring one of his 3 goals in a soccer game this summer (do you think he is proud?). What a stud, huh! Jack was also on the team and scored 3 more goals in the same game.

This is my other Godson, Henry who is about 10 months old. His dad is one of my best friends from college.

And last but not least...the man himself...Winston. I think he might be mad I woke him up from his nap!