After a dead easy travel we (myself,JD and Gwyn) arrived in the World Cup resort of Schladming which is to be our home for a week of skiing. Temperatures are a bit too high for my liking and I knew things were not going to be as perfect sas they can be when our rep, answering the time old quetion about the conditions in resort, said snow was forecast and followed it up with the suggestion we could do a snow dance if we knew one. The town itself is really interesting, with an unusual amount of architecturally interesting churches. I will make sure I post some photos on this blog. We unpacked, collected skis and went for a walk round town. The main attraction here is the finishing stretch, photograph above, of the mens World Cup downhill. It finishes in the middle of the town with a finish area so small it defies belief. The actual race is next week. You wouldn't know it but when the circus moves in the peace is shattered. The photo above does not do the sheer gradient justice. Take it from me, it's steep! We will have a go at it tomorrow or when the snow conditions improve. By the way, in the photo, the car park is part of the finish. Apparantly they will import snow if there is no new by next week. Better get those dances going!
