We wake up at 7. It’s minus 14 outside so we dress warm and eat a good breakfast. At 8:15 we head to the ski resort to rent some gear and buy a day pass for Olga. The family asks for regular updates and say their good byes.
Olga has 0,5 day of skiing experience 20 years ago in Winterberg, but she thinks she will manage. She has strong legs because of the daily 20KM biking up and down the Brussels’ mountains. The confidence and ignorance is a tricky combination. Her calfs are already burning from just walking to the ski lift.
The way up is endless. Steep ski trials below look quite intimdating. Olga’s confidence shrinks and she wonders how she will ever arrive back down, as her calfs are still burning. Luckily, it’s quiet on the mountain, so at least Olga does not have to avoid any other skiers. She follows the family trial, but after two turns she already needs a break. When she loosens her boots to relief her calfs she realises they were probably too tight.
Up on her ski’s again, she gives the mountian a second try. Terrified to go too fast, she ski’s all 4,5KM in sharp turns to lower pace. Trying to manage a slower pace is exhausting. The trial seems endless. Turn after turn, and the base village does not come any closer.
She’s extremely happy to see the start of the skilift again, sweat is dripping from her back, and she wonders if she should give it another go.
Tim, Cleo and Zeno did some grocery shopping and visited The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, a basilica set along the Saint Lawrence River and one of the six national shrines of Canada. On their way back they pick up Olga for lunch. Olga is extremely hungry, but as it is only 10, and Tim promised a pool dip, she first has to go for a swim with the kids. Olga tries to relax her muscles a bit in the cool water. Tim bakes some burgers and Olga finishes her own and the ones from the kids.
Recharged, Olga feels ready to give the mountain another go. Cleo also wants to try to ski, so we rent an extra set, and while Tim teaches Cleo at the base, Zeno plays with the snow, and Olga goes for a second trip.
This time Olga feels a bit more confident to increase speed. It’s much less intense, and she starts enjoying it and even passes some other tourists, but also falls three times.
Back down, Cleo already manages to ski down a small hill on her own. Going straight goes alright and just like her father and uncle she only likes to go in a straight line and fall at the end to stop. We try some breaking, but Cleo finds this too much work.
Olga dares to go for a final third time, and this time she feels much more confident and she does not fall or need a break a single time.
We return our gear at 15:30. We don’t want to push our luck any further, nobody got hurt, and we had a lot of fun.
We end the day with a final pool dip, while Tim goes for a hike through the forest in the warm sun. It does not feel like minus 10 at all. Olga starts to get stomach pain, the burgers turned out to be made from mushrooms, and Olga’s mushroom allergy proofs not to be gone just yet. Tim cooks a simple dinner and put the kids to bed while Olga recovers.
