Can I see?

Oh Mickey You’re so Fine You’re so Fine you Blow my Mind Hey Mickey

Our first meal in the chalet was cheered up by the arrival of Mickey the Ski Instructor. I’d been mulling over the idea of having some lessons to improve my skiing technique, as I’m frankly rubbish.

It doesn’t help that everyone in our group is a very good skier, some have been skiing since being kids and some are just naturally talented and then there is me!! I had a bit of a scary experience in Tignes last year and lost some confidence. However, when cute Mickey arrived I knew he was just the man to give me back my skiing Mojo.

As soon as dinner has been cleared away I rushed to see him and booked an hours lesson for the Monday morning. Mickey was tall with shoulder length brown hair and a cute goatee beard and with twinkly eyes, so I felt in very safe hands indeed!

Monday morning came round too early and it was snowing hard. Made it for the bus up to the town centre and the ski lesson meeting point. After getting lost 100 times (me not the bus) Found the ski lesson place and located Mickey we trudged through the heavy snow to find none of the lifts open due to snow. Now that would have been quite a funny thing if I hadn’t been paying for a lesson. What else would a ski resort be expecting?!! Mickey kept asking one of the people when the lifts would be open… cinq minutes! Was the reply everytime, only cinq minutes kept coming and going without the lifts being open!

Eventually got onto a lift that was working and set off. The snow was coming down so hard and the wind was blowing really hard, it was impossible to see more than a centimetre in front of your nose. Followed Mickey down part of the run and the snow was so heavy that even he nearly fell over! Lower down it cleared slightly and he explained some exercises to stop me twisting my body up the slope. I have a mental block against leaning forward. When you’re hurtling down the side of a mountain the crazy thing (in my mind) is to lean down the slope I want to hug the terra firma!! All was going well until I fell slap on my face.. Ooh the shame – fortunately Mickey didn’t laugh too much.

All to soon the lesson was over and with the palava other the non-open chair lifts meant there wasn’t that much teaching time, so I agreed to have another lesson the following day in the afternoon, after all there isn’t much hope if they can’t open the lifts in time for 1pm!!

The next day the weather was just as bad and at 1pm I went and found Mickey at the lesson place he had icicles forming on his little goatee beard it was that cold. He did look cute.

We had a long chat on one of the open chair lifts where he told me he was Dutch – I thought he was French and had been trying out some of my best rusty French phrases!!! It did surprise me… How does a fella from Holland become a ski instructor? Where do they find mountains to practice on??

The next lesson was much better but still managed to fall twice. One fall really winded me as we were going at high speed and my ski popped off and I fell flat on my front. Mickey caught up and asked what had happened, but really had no idea. Almost thought about crying but decided that it would waste my teaching time so stuck out my lip and kept going.

Mickey was a really nice teacher, funny and patient and answered my endless questions and did 100s of demonstrations as I couldn’t remember everything he was telling me. Still not a good skier and still lean back, but getting down the slope in one piece is a good result in my eyes!!

Told Mickey our chalet was heading out on a bar crawl that night and he said he’d look out for us and say hi at the Dutch bar in the main town. Made a plan that our trip made a special detour to say hello to our Hollandish friends

posted by Pixie @ 3:38 PM