We're Back!!

Nothing like paraphrasing The Shining to start a blog - sounds rather ominous this return to Oz. Speaking of which, Zermatt struck me as a kind of Oz - but more of one from the Wizard of Oz - with midget vehicles and quaint little huts etc. - seemed rather other-worldly.  We made it to Geneva without a hitch, then checked in at British Airways only to discover that our travel agent hadn't booked us through to Adelaide. I realize Jen and I should check through these things before leaving and ensure all is organized, but given we were leaving from Adelaide one would assume that we would be returning there - obviously not the assumption of the travel agent. Once discovered though I quickly got onto the iPhone and with less than 20% battery left,  quickly booked a connecting flight at a fairly reasonable rate (suprisingly) and all was sorted. The flights went well into Sydney and we caught up on some recent movie releases such as the Invention of Lying - great flick - very humerous and tongue in cheek, Wolverine - the Origins, and It Might Get Loud - a 'rock'umentary about the Edge, Jimmy Page and the lead singer/guitarist of the White Stripes - very inspiring. Jen got into the girly flicks like He's Just Not That Into You and Bride Wars - which she indicated weren't much different in theme or storyline for that matter. The kids are a tad exhausted and a bit batty at present - looking forwards to some serious rest. We should be set up and ready to go in Murray Bridge by tonight and hopefully to work by Wednesday.

White out, Swiss Chocolate and Fondue!

The day began with a skiff of snow and an accidental slow start after a raucous night. For some reason my iPhone had it's SIM card locked and switched the time to Sydney-time. Jen woke at 7:07 in a panic as I hadn't left yet and I was due to speak at 7 am for the conference. My phone said it was 4:37! 10 mins later I was at the conference cursing Apple and begging forgiveness (it was easy to come by - as it was the last morning of the conference). Jen and Mormor took the kids to the drop off point for lessons and were told the winds at the mid-station were 100km/hr and so the final day and races were going to happen at a different ski area. It was fortuitous as we hadn't explored this area yet and the means to get to it was pretty fantastic. These clever Swiss have carved a tunnel through the mountain on an angle of about 45 degrees, then designed a train also angled at 45 degrees except the floor (windows included) to go with it. You feel like you're on an amusement park ride especially on the way down where you're just waiting for them to release the magnet and let you drop. This doesn't happen - but you feel like it could! The boarding/skiing was a bit whited out and the previous night's snow wasn't great so there were lots of icy bits. The legs were done by noon so we headed down the mountain to have lunch at Fuchs Backeri (bakery). They had this curious pie concoction called 'Cholera' and hot dogs in pastry (pigs in a blanket?) as well as wonderful hot chocolate and chocolates in the shape of the Matterhorn. The 'Cholera' was terrific - a mix of Swiss-type cheese, potatoes and onion - very yummy! As the stores were closed for a bit in the afternoon we organized ourselves and packed up the apartment while the kids did their journals. Once skis were returned, we trekked around for one last shop and a swim at the hotel pool. Morfar and Piper had earlier booked us a table at a restaurant called Stornmont (recommended in the Lonely Planet) and we feasted on Fondue Borginon (beef chunks in hot oil), Chinoise (strips of beef/pork in hot broth) and some Raclete (melted cheese with bread and potato). Aidan had a Toberlone mousse with cherry sauce for dessert (which we all sampled cuz he's sweet enough). A beautiful walk home in the snow and evening lights set us up for a great slumber before our travel day.

3883 metres and Italy

From the get go, blue skies reigned and the lights on the large mountain map radiated all green - all lifts open. Given that this has been a rare occurrence this week, Jen and I decided to take the cable car/telecabine to the Glacier lookout which I believe is the highest cable car in the world. The line up was a bit overwhelming at first but seemed to move quick enough so we were 'sardined' into the 'cabine' by about 10 AM. At the top of the route they have carved a tunnel through the mountain about 200ms in length and set up a viewing platform above. With time restrictions to catch up with the kids we elected to simply ski back into Switzerland rather than down into Italy and had some of the best runs of the week with patches of soft snow just off piste away from the hordes and hard-packed, icy groomed runs. Once caught up, the boys, Jen and I ventured to the top restaurant called Ice for lunch and had a feast much larger than our stomachs could handle. Bloated but content we got back in line to head up the telecabine to the Glacier and hence, Italy. 40 mins later we were sardined again but once at the top of the viewing platform knew it was all worth it. Climbing the stairs I could noticeably feel my heart pounding heavier and was a bit breathless with the exertion up the steps. The views were phenomenal at 3883 metres and not a cloud in this stratosphere to block horizon. We caught our breath and headed into Italy down run #7 which essentially skirts the side of the mountain giving incredible 360 degree views of the Alps and surrounds. Feeling a bit 'conferenced out' I skipped our evening session on Adult Congenital Heart disease as couldn't see too much relevance to my practice, and took the boys to the pool where we practiced snow angels and hopped back into the hot tub for that lovely burn sensation. Jen and I had the conference dinner in the evening and enjoyed a 5 course meal with a few shots of schnapps to get into a festive cheer. They were apparently flavoured but subtly so - all seemed to be more of a burning flavour and smelt of rubbing alcohol. None of us went blind though but there were some crazy dancers hitting the floor in front of the least animated keyboard/singer I have ever seen. Imagine a white male in a tuxedo singing 'Maniac' with a straight face - it was hilarious! One of the GP attendees(with a few schnapps under her belt) offered us her husband's 40 foot sailboat as she hates sailing (and shook on it) so we may be acquiring another possible way back to Canada....?

Schlittlespass and other naughty words

Because I am rather immature at times, (Jen touts me as her fourth child)  I get a little giggle with a lot the German signs/ spellings here. Schlittlespass being one (altho' it means tobaganning/sledding - not something faecal) and the other "lietse fahrte" (?sp)- which sounds like something different than it is (last run). We had a great day yesterday. Although visibility in the morning was fairly difficult due to snow and low lying cloud, by 1 pm the sun had burnt the clouds away and there was nothing but blue skies and magical peaks for the eyes to see. Whilst in a bit of a grey light zone I inadvertantly took a wrong turn and ended up losing Jen and Mormor mid-morning. On my own I was flying down to try to eventually catch them again and suddenly hit an invisible lip which caused me to sail off balance into some residual snow, landing on my backside hard and getting a good plastic knock to the helmet which likely saved me from a concussion or worse. It took me a few seconds to gather myself and decide whether I 'd been injured or not (just a bruise?) and then 'limp' down the hill with my tail between my knees. I caught up with the rest of the family at noon and trekked down to our apartment for some lunch. As a change of pace we decided to do the schlittlespass in the afternoon which is set up near the top of one section of runs - set off from any of the skiing/boarding trails. In contrast to the runs you get in Canada this was more like an actual luge/tobaggan run you see at the winter games but with groomed soft snow instead of ice. It was probably a couple of kilometres in length and you had to rent these old fashioned looking wooden toboggans on which to do the run. We had a blast, doing 3 runs all up and then heading back to town as the sun started to drop out of the sky. Only two days to go and then a big trip home- can't believe it's gone so quick!

The wheels are starting to come off....

Two weeks of skiing and conferencing is seeming to weigh on us. The legs, although not sore, are starting to fatigue and the prim and proper groomed slopes not looking as appealing as when we started this venture. I attempted to find some off piste sections with some success but nothing sustained. The kids' lessons are going well but the late nights and early mornings has weakened their resolve and increased their sillies. We took an easy day today - catching up with the kids at lunch and then taking one big run all the way down to Zermatt from the top for the afternoon ski session. This left us some time to browse around town and get a sense of what Zermatt is all about. From above on the Gondola and hill it looks like a quaint little village with plenty of history - down on the ground it's a bustling tourist mecca with souvenir, high end Swiss watch shops, chocolatiers, bakeries, ski/snowboard shops, fashionistas, and hotels/restaurants. The watches are incredibly pricey with tags listing to $150,000!! In the end it's just a watch right? We bought the boys some token Swiss Army Knives ( My First Victorinox) with their names engraved on them and Piper a cute little water bottle with a pink fairy design to even the score. Dinner was served by Chef Morfar and sous-chefs Cole and Piper and was of the Japanese sushi theme (complete with wasabi of course!). Again - hats off to the chefs - it was tantalizingly tasty - and onward to another day!

Long groomed rides and a train-ride home

The first day of lessons and kinder took some organizational zeal from Jen and parents but all went without a hitch and Piper failed to put up the anticipated fuss - she seemed happy to get away from her brothers and elders...hmmm. Mormor, Jen, Fraser and I hit the slopes with some gusto, exploring what we could before collecting the kids and meeting up with Morfar at noon for lunch. Fraser's quest for 'stinky air' fueled yet another soft tissue injury ( the day before he took on a rock with his knee but failed to break anything) - this time to his shoulder. Aidan followed suit and had a four-piece yardsale on the same jump. He seems to have a different appreciation of 'stinky air' as ultimately it seems to end up with him splayed across the hill with a smile of pride (and fortunately no tears!). Cole was suprisingly conservative - following the slow controlled curves of his mother down the hill - it was like watching paint dry at points for me so I nearly joined another young family who seemed to understand where the bottom of the hill was located. Alas I copped some heat complaining to the boss - "Safety first!" she said emphatically. We enjoyed Igludorf again for Mormor's sake and took the Gorgendart train to the top of one section of the mountain and down again. It seemed to be an endless journey down - walking might have been faster -  but we inevitably made it. Aidan and Morfar organized our 3 course dinner - escargot/bruschetta for the entrees (complete with Bollinger Champagne), Beef Bourginon, the main, and 'pampelmousse' (French for grapefruit)/ orange slices with ice cream on a stick for dessert - a feast for champions! The escargot didn't go over 100 % - but was pretty close! Looking forward to the future feasts this week - can't wait to see what's on the menu next!

3800 meters above sea level and -23 degrees Celsius

A morning of getting sorted led to an afternoon of chill and incredible vistas of the Matterhorn. There are 3 or 4 ski areas with multiple Gondolas taking you left right and up the middle. The main runs are hard-packed and many, quite narrow en route to the lifts. You can venture a little off-piste but if you're not careful can get stuck in a gully and need to hike out (not from experience though!) After a short afternoon exploring the hill and nearly losing Aidan (we went right and he - left) we trekked back to town and to the swimming pool ... no - large hot tub located in the hotel across the street associated with our apartment complex. Being country hicks and all, we barreled in, stripped off in the front entry of the pool and got ready to go before being confronted by the official pool-man who showed us the locker room and fetched us some keys. Once in the pool, Piper did her best impressions of drowning and the boys enjoyed splashing themselves with snow and jumping back in the steaming pool. Chicken cordon bleu for dinner amply filled the gullet and then, without much adieu, we crashed. The boys have been signed up for some more half day lessons for the week and Piper gets to do some kinder up the mountain for a few days. Should be fun!