Day 4... Let it snow... let it snow... let it snow

Thank you to all my friends who sent me pictures of the snow in Reading with the message... 'Don't know why you bothered to go to Norway'... just so you are aware...
This...

 is not snow...

This...

 is!

So as you might have read on the day 3 blog... I am in some pain as the skin on the back of both heels is non-existent due to a bad fitting pair of boots on the first day of skiing (day 2). Day 3  made them worse and I was concerned on the morning of day 4 that I would go with the short intermediate group and find myself 5 miles and a few hills from the hotel.. not being able to go any further due to the pain. Therefore I stuck myself back in the beginners group as they were staying near the hotel, practicing technique so if I was in too much pain, I could try another pair of boots, or add another insert. Remember I was already on my third pair! 

So we strolled down to the nursery area and played netball and tag and other games designed to improve our on ski movement.

It was good to go over the basics. Twice I had to sit down in the snow, take off my right boot and sock and add some padding from my first aid kit. The left heel was proving far more problematic as the boot was still slipping slightly. I was getting more and more frustrated as it hurt a lot, especially when I pushed off with that foot and the heel came up, rubbing against the damaged part. I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to quit the day altogether.

The second dressing layer I put on in the snow seemed to help a bit. Add that to a bit more determination to just ignore the pain and it felt a bit better.

So when our instructor Ingrid asked who wanted to go for a short loop, I was confident that it would be ok. As no one else wanted to join, I got an instructor to myself which meant that I got a few more pointers on technique and how to double pole using one leg to help push you along. The loop we did around to the shop and back involved a few slopes... enough to practice a bit of herringbone and some one foot snowplough to help me stop when i need to! very useful.

I was also trying to put more effort into each stride which was quickly very wearing to the body.

The right heel had settled into a dull ache rather than a sharp pain and for the most part could be ignored.

After we came round the back of the shop, there is then a climb back up to the hotel. It starts off reasonably gentle and then gets harder and steeper.

At some point on the hill, I lost momentum and started sliding back. In an effort to turn parallel to the slope in order to help stand back up... I slid even further back and ended up almost waist deep in snow.

There is nothing harder than trying to get out of a snow hole with skis on... its a bit like quicksand.... the more you struggle... the deeper you go.

Ingrid came to my rescue and got my legs round to an angle where the skis could be released and then I heaved myself up out of the hole and with as much dignity as I could muster (not much after that) I walked back to the hotel. Here I added another insert into my right boot in the hope it would help even more and then went to lunch with a plan to repeat the loop in the afternoon to test it out!

Turns out its quite difficult to re tog yourself up and drag yourself back out into -10 degrees after warmth and lunch... but that is what I did.

The weather today has closed right in, making what were familiar tracks, now look totally unfamiliar in the low visibility.  Add to that, the snow had been falling again over lunch which meant the tracks were either far less visable or non existent.

As I slowed down at a junction, a little unsure of which way to go... Syra, one of the other participants, caught up with me and together we worked out the way to go.  It was a loss of isolation but on the other hand it was nice not to worry about getting totally lost!!

We eventually got to the shop and I continued alone... back up the slope to the hotel, though this time J cut a corner and took my skis off early to walk up to the hotel. The right heel had felt ok... bearable and the left was good. Happy!

I spent time before dinner catching up with the biathlon and the cross country world cups, and having now tried this, my respect for their fitness levels and skill has gone up a few notches for sure! This... is... not... easy!

Dinner came and went under a haze of aches and pains from a slightly battered body and getting up out of my chair resulted in several yelps of pain.

Still tomorrow was an easier day...

. hmmmm

Anyway shortly after dinner I crawled up to my room and promptly fell asleep, without so much as blogging a word!  So better late than never...

Day 5 will follow shortly!!