Afghanistan – the new skiing destination The Guardian

via guardian.co.uk

In a classroom just a few hundred metres from the towering niche that once housed a giant Buddha statue, someone has pinned up a poster detailing the attributes of a good ski guide: optimistic, articulate, patient, reliable, active, cheerful, punctual and extroverted.
Sitting around a table in the middle of the room, the 10 young men who hope to become Afghanistan's first ski guides are being taught how to avoid avalanches, and the importance of taking enough food and water on trips up the snow-capped mountains that loom over the town of Bamiyan.
They have all the poster's key attributes in spades. Indeed, it's hard to think of a more agreeable bunch of enthusiastic young men, who chatter in excellent English. The only problem is the one characteristic they all lack: the ability to ski.

Hey the Afghanistan Cricket team is pretty good. This was what Scottish skiing was like over 50 years ago. Mogul down the piste and watch for unexploded land mines?

Posted via web from poobumwee's posterous

BBC News - Kilted skiers set CairnGorm 'world record' for kilts on the piste

via news.bbc.co.uk

The Cairngorms are bloody freezing at the best of times. I learned to ski there in the days of lace up boots and wooden skis. Bloody miserable I was.
I wonder if they were True Scots? And did they get piste after?

Posted via web from poobumwee's posterous

Pure as the Driven Snow

Mount Hotham, a Victorian ski resort (yes there are ski resorts in Australia) is set to create a worlds first with the use of recycled wastewater in artificial snow.

Apparently if it is good enough to spray on vegetables, then it is good enough for face plants.

And watch out for that yellow snow.

This weekend is the start of the season, which looks to be much better than last year, which was a complete dud.

I am a bit of a ski snob, having learned to ski in Aviemore, when we skied on wooden skis and had to lace up our own boots, which hurt all day and we froze our balls off. After having spent many miserable days at Glenshee and The Lecht, battling gales, white outs, rocks and ice, I was lucky to take my basic skiing technique to America with me. I have been lucky enough to spend many a day at Colorado, Utah and California resorts. After my Scottish experience and having skied at some of the best resorts it is hard to get too enthusiastic about Australian skiing, which is unpredictable, crowded and expensive.

I plan to just stick to watering my vegetables.