On the third day I ditched the ‘langlauf’ skis!

I’d pretty much stopped falling over – except when I couldn’t snow-plow those tiny skis on icy snow – but was frustrated by all the ‘skaters’ zooming past me. I was too slow, and a little bored!

But the next day was gorgeously pretty in the next valley in the Engadin – compared to cloudy and snow in our valley – so a really uplifting day walking between the small Engadin villages, with a view towards the Swiss National Park. We really must go back in the summer to do some walking – simply gorgeous scenery and small villages.

Well, I have to stave of boredom, despite being in the spectacularly pretty mountains. Okay not that pretty today due to cloud and snow!

So if I can’t do downhill, what about cross-country? And then the vexed question of skating or ‘classic.’ I decide that I’m the classic type and take a lesson – I’ve never done it before!

The next hour-plus I fall on my derrière at least a dozen times as my weight goes too much backwards – this hardly ever happens in downhill as you’re balanced by the pitch of the hill. But anyway, I think I’m getting the hang of it – even if my derrière disagrees!

Regular readers will be aware that each year in January I disappear for what I like to call ski-training before doing a downhill race in Mürren.

Well, about 10 days ago, jogging at night in Chablis, I failed to observe a chain between two massive ‘plant-pots’ – I hit the ground hard and fast, and made a mess of one of my shins. Still, it was just flesh!

That’s what I thought anyway; putting my skiboot on was not totally comfortable – but skiing got harder and harder until it simply wasn’t possible. I’m aparently fit – I can walk or run – but it seems I can’t lean forwards into my boot. Race? I can’t even get down a blue run properly – I must have actually bruised the shin-bone. Curses…

I think I need a great Chablis!

A week away from Chablis and ouf! – snow 🙂 Definitely not a skiing day – rather a train-ride a nice Italian lunch and the impressively cool spa of Samedan…

I had a few nice wines whilst in the mountains last week, but it seems that the holidays are now over. I’ve a snowball of articles to publish over the next six weeks – oh, and there’s a harvest coming too! It seems that a number of domaines will be be starting with their whites around the 10th September, but reds won’t really start, in earnest, until the 15th. The weather is warming after a cool, often wet, August – hopefully this weather will stay around for the harvest…