Life is not a Practice

This morning we sent the two kids off to school and then Alison, Max and I drove to St. Anton in Austria for a days skiing. The weather wasn't perfect but the snow was and there were few people especially on the black runs :-)



In the afternoon we also did a long steep ski trail way out under the mountains. Real adventure but very tiring.



I had three crashes and pulled something during one of them but it was great fun.

Pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/103827427036815679772/201213Winter#

Took the GPS with me and let it write our route. It is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=xcdbishtrwxhjxig Nearly 6000m of descent. No wonder my legs hurt!

A morning with great snow and super weather. max and I went to Hahnenkamm in Tirol to go skiing.



The first run we had the entire slope to ourselves and could go as fast as we wanted. Brilliant!



Later we met a few friends and had even more fun.

A hard days work today looking for a way to get the Internet in to the ski arena Grasgehren.
Unfortunately there is fresh snow every where and I had to use my skis to get around. It is a tough life!



Finished at Grasgehren about lunch time and then went round to th Hörnerbahn to check the view from there.



Pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/103827427036815679772/201213Winter

There were hundreds of tourists here today but luckily they all get up late so Max and I enjoyed the empty piste for an hour

Christmas morning. Alison at church and Daniel and Rhiannon in bed so Max and I went to Oberjoch skiing.

Back in Jungholz again. This time with Jon and his boys, Max, Daniel and Rhiannon.
Finished the day by crashing in to Max (or Max crashing in to me - who knows). Max just did a 180° turn but I slid down the mountain.

The ski season has started. Alison and I went to Jungholz just over the border in Austria for a few hours on Saturday afternoon. No sun but great snow and few people.

Walked with Alison and Max up to the Riedberger Horn and then on to the Grauer Stein.
Actually we did a little off roading part of the way as we were checking the location for a new mast and therefore "official".



Some of the way the snow was above our knees.

A sunny (but cool) Sunday afternoon in November. Karin and I went out mountain biking "without mountains". Just a gentle trip through the Allgäu and Tirol countryside.



Track at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=numhcywsrnceqsyu

Walked up to the Alm for lunch with Mona and Vinzenz.



Track is at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=bgarssnkxryczfuq but it also includes the drive home because I forgot to turn it off.

Photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/103827427036815679772/WithMonaAndVinzenz?authkey=Gv1sRgCJCajP3S2IXmuQE

Max suggested that we walk to the top of the Zugspitz and Alison and I had time today so the three of us climbed from Ehrwald to the summit.



It took us six hours from bottom to top with the second three hours being a steep rock climb to the summit ridge.



We caught the cable car back down which took about 10 minutes.

The track ist at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=fjvzqbxpzcrqboku 1700 meters of climbing in 6 kilometers.

All my pictures at https://picasaweb.google.com/103827427036815679772/Zugspitz2012#

Max's pictures at https://plus.google.com/photos/102257273463070793435/albums/5796473961752264017

Today is the "Day of German Reunification" in Germany so we had the day off. Seven of us took the chance to do some mountain biking. A great ride through the autumn landscape.



I fell off twice. Once I caught the handlebar on a tree going down a trail but luckily landed on my helmet. The second time was a bit more dramatic and my bike landed on me.



The tour is amazing. Some of the uphill and some of the downhill trails were on my limits but that is how you get better (and bloody knees).

More photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/103827427036815679772/2012Cycling6#

Track at http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=bzdbdyxibpdwxvun

Spent all morning in Altenstadt doing a survey for a new network. 4x4 Yeti, Garmin GPS, Samsung with Google Maps and a pair of binoculars.



Today was Sunday so I suppose it was officially fun but I got a lot of work done as well. What a great job.

The nights are getting darker earlier and it is colder so biking is reduced to quick dashes round the Grüntensee. Not as satisfying as a long mountain bike tour but better than watching TV.

Early on Sunday morning and every one sleeping so once round the Grüntensee.

http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=qendvgkhpzpcfktd

The motivated fit people went nordic walking to Kögelhof. I walked over there and enjoyed an hour of peace in the Ällgäu countryside. Passed the Kögelweiher at sunset.