Friday, January 3, 2025
At around 07:45, I stopped by the Aqua Dome reception to purchase a daily pass for Solden. It was 79 euros plus a 3-euro deposit = 82 euros. The daily pass was much less expensive than a daily pass at U.S. Ski resorts! (The 3-euro deposit was refunded to me after I returned the ski card.)
I had a small, quick
breakfast, eating a bowl of yogurt with jam and some scrambled eggs. I
returned to room #169 to dress for skiing.
I also put spare gloves, water,
and my GoPro Hero11 in the backpack. (Spare gloves came in handy
after my main gloves froze over.
Here is a GoPro Hero11 video of skiing in Solden:
The snow was hard-packed with small areas of light powder.
At 08:15, I walked downstairs to
Sunup Sports to rent a snowboard and snowboarding boots. After trying a
couple of snowboarding boots, I found none that fit me well. Either they
were too small or too loose. Next time, I need to bring my snowboarding boots (as it's difficult to rent the correct size).
I decided to switch to Alpine Skiing (as comfortable ski boots were available in my size) and rented the following:
I found a pair of Fischer XTR RC4 90 HV
ski boots that were reasonably comfortable, with good support and minimal pain. I attached my GoPro sticker to the helmet to record the
skiing.
After paying for the gear rental, I
walked to the bus stop in my ski boots (not too comfortable) and waited
for Bus #44, headed for
Solden.
Bus #44 runs every 10 minutes and takes about 25 minutes to reach Solden Ski Resort from Aqua Dome (Langenfeld). The last Solden stop is called Gaislachkogl
(the main gondola stop), where I planned to get off.
When I boarded the bus at
08:50, it was jam-packed with skiers and snowboarders, and I had to stand
the entire ride to Solden.
Here is a map of
Solden (it's quite a large resort):
After
arriving in Solden, I boarded the main gondola and headed out to ski. It
took me a few runs to re-acquaint myself with proper downhill skiing technique (after a decade of exclusively snowboarding).
The weather was
cold (-12 Celsius at the top), with gusty winds. It was pretty
sunny most of the time and only a light snowfall (I was hoping for more
powder).
I stuck to the red slopes
(blue slopes in the U.S. ski-rating system), particularly trail #11, as
it was a nice, long, and steep run with an easy chairlift back to C31. When I
got cold at 10:20, I stopped by the Rotkogolhuetta (Huetta) - a small self-serve restaurant near the chairlift C31. I ordered the following items:
- Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream
- Frittatensuppe (beef bouillon soup with pancake slices)
- Pretzel
I
found an unoccupied table (quite difficult usually) and swallowed large
spoonfuls of soup. Hot chocolate also helped to warm me up, and the
pretzel was delicious.
While resting, I also installed my GoPro Hero11
on my helmet to record some skiing videos. I usually prefer to record
videos with a selfie stick, but I don't know how to use it while skiing.
After
this quick snack stop, I decided to ski to other parts of the mountain
(to explore other runs) and started skiing trail #12, using chairlift
C35. There were some remnants of powder on the trail, and it was more fun
than scraping on ice. I also noticed a ski park nearby, with multiple jumps and obstacles, with many small kids taking full advantage.
I
continued skiing, stopping a few times to use the restroom and warm up.
At around 14:15, I started to get cold and tired (my toes were beginning to go numb), so I decided to ski down. I used trail #11, followed by
7a, 7b, and 9 to get to the bottom.
Once at the
bottom, I boarded bus #44 back to Aqua Dome. The ride back was about 25
minutes, and the bus was full of skiers. Luckily, I found a
seat, and the ride back was uneventful.
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