Ski School

After 13 previous winters in Switzerland, we decided it was finally time to get our kids some ski lessons.  1) They were finally all old enough, and 2) we finally had enough money.  Cuz like everything else in Switzerland, it’s gorgeous and fantastic and expensive. 🙂  (There are actually some smaller resorts that are actually rather budget friendly, but you have to know how to already ski to take advantage of them. )

The first part of the plan was getting them all skis to use for the week.  We went to one of the local ski shops in the next town over.  They were really great about helping all the kids individually and really taking their time to make sure everything fit and was comfortable.  It took quite a while until everyone was satisfied.  In fact, in the time it took the girl to help all of us, the other guy waited on 3 other folks. 🙂

Finally the first week of sport vacation arrived.  We had signed the older kids up for full day lessons Monday through Wednesday, and Alexandra for half day lessons starting after lunch.  This meant that we all had to get up much earlier than we were used to during vacation to make the long drive to Engleberg before the 9 am start time.  Unfortunately, even though I called extra to make sure that the way to the ski school was clearly marked from the road, so that someone who had no idea where they were going would be able to find it, “oh yes, oh yes, big clear signs, no problem”, this was not the case.

There was a large sign pointing out a parking lot, but it was not clear which mountain/ ski area went with the parking lot, and certainly no mention of a ski school. So I drove into town to ask for directions.  The guy at the train station pointed in a vague direction to either “that ski school over there” or the “other one over there”, neither of which bore the name of the ski school I was asking about. sigh

So after walking around the tiny town aimlessly for a while, I called Chris to get the phone number of the ski school so I could get clearer directions.  She directed me back to the giant parking lot and then into this huge building filled with ski shops and ticket lines.  And there, mounted low down on the ski shop counter, hidden behind all the people paying for things was a tiny sign for the ski school.  Are you freaking kidding me?  This was the “impossible to miss” sign she was talking about?

Yeah, so we finally got the kids lift tickets and ran to find their teacher, now that it was after nine and they were late.  Talk about organized chaos!  In fact, it was so hectic, these pictures were actually taken on the second day.  I was too stressed to bother with getting out the camera that first morning. 🙂 This is the brave students with their teacher, Manuela.She did a great job dealing with their fears, their frustrations, and their physical limitations.  They all loved learning to ski, and were so glad we forced them to go.  Just look at those smiles!

It was a little scary letting them go that first day.  They were going way up to the top of the mountain, and I couldn’t follow them because Alexandra’s class was on the other side of the village.  So we just waved as they slowly made their way up and up and up.

Then Alexandra and I went back to the car and had some special together time.  I had brought yummy snacks and lunch, games to play and books to read aloud.  We also took a few little walks through the village, and even had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant one day.  She loved that. 🙂 And her manners and behavior were impeccable.  whew!

Then it was time for her lessons to start.  Thankfully I was able to have a front row seat for all the action.  This made us both feel much better about the whole thing.  Doesn’t she look adorable? The backdrop wasn’t too shabby either.

I was very relieved to see that Alexandra figured out how to get on and off the magic carpet almost immediately.  You never want your kid to be “that kid” holding up the rest of the group. Alexandra was not so sure at first if having a man teacher was going to be a good thing, but he was so good with the kids, she warmed right up to him.  It was adorable watching this big guy skiing with all these teeny kids in tow.

A big highlight was when the ski school mascot, Snowli stopped by for a visit.  Alexandra was the only one who got to shake his hand, even though she was too shy to actually speak to him.

The class stopped halfway through for a little drink break.  The teacher brought out cups and drink for the kids, and they had a nice rest for a few minutes.  Then it was back on the skis for more lessons.  Alexandra readily admitted that her favorite part of class was at the very end, when they got to ride in the giant crocodile like a sled!