#15: Welcome to the Winter Wonderland

Sunday morning, I had breakfast at the hotel and excitedly got on the bus to head to one of the major ski parks in Andorra, Grandvalira.  My original plan was to try to ski.  First, I wasn't wearing the right clothes (and I had no clue!).  I wore a turtleneck with a cotton cami underneath, a pair of jeans with tights and thick socks, my "snow" boots (note: Mom bought these for me in Louisiana, so they're really more like "frost" boots) and a wonderful all-weather jacket I bought from walmart once for about $12.  It had a fleece lining and was water-repellent on the outside with a hood, so it kept me warm without weighing me down.

Those are not ski-appropriate clothes, according to Google.

First, I needed ski pants, so when I fell my butt wouldn't get wet.  (Oops.)  The jacket was ok, but I should have had a shirt with moisture wicking and insulation to keep me warm and dry.  (Strike two!)  And those frost boots? Definitely needed real snow boots with traction and again, insulation.  (Although the frost boots were very warm, just very slippery on the ice and snow.)

It was all just useful information for later because when we got to the ski resort, the skiing prices deterred me by A LOT.  And to rent an instructor, even for two hours, was something like 130E!  I decided to forget the skiing this time and maybe try it in the states, where it's bound to be cheaper (and the slopes aren't as difficult).'

Instead I went with another group who wanted to try "winter activities".  We paid 6.50 for the pedestrian passes (one ride up the funicular and one down) and entered the park.  Originally we wanted to go tubing, but it was canceled because the conditions weren't good (not enough snow on the slopes in general, so they used snow machines, but there was a lot of residual ice as a result).  Instead, we went dog mushing.  YES.   It was only half an hour, but i LOOOVED it!  Basically, we walked up to the lodge where the guides loaned us (real) snow boots to use.  They took us to the sleds and introduced us to the teams of dogs.  Since we each wanted to drive, we each got a pack of dogs.  You stand on the runners behind the sled and hold on to the handle, but you steer with your body (staying bent at the knees and leaning left or right, or crouching left or right during a curve).  Between the runners is a metal lever that you can press with your foot as the brakes, and it slows the dogs down.  There is also a metal anchor that you can throw into the snow, with long teeth that stick in the ground.  This keeps the dogs from running away with the sled if you're not ready to move.

My three dogs were very frisky and loved to run.  My lead dog's name was Boosh.  You learn your lead dog so that you can shout commands to him/her, and the rest of the pack follows.  Boosh was a good leader because he was playful with his pack mates but still eager to pull.  Some of the other lead dogs were tired or not very convincing to their pack (slower sled) or too aggressive and jumpy with the pack (altercations between dogs during breaks).

That's my pack! Boosh is the light colored dog up front.

After learning all those basics, I stood on my runners and said, "Go-go-go, Boosh!" and the dogs took off!  We had a couple practice runs around a small track with a light curve to get us used to the dogs and how to hold your body in the turns.  Unfortunately, my dogs knew the track by heart and as soon as they saw the curve, they would sprint before I had time to apply the brakes to slow down.  They would throw me off the sled, into the snow and the guide would have to catch the dogs and drop the anchor while I jogged to catch up.  (This happened four times!)

I was at a stop (see the anchor on the side of the sled?).  10 minutes later I was on my butt, laughing as my dogs ran down the hill.

The most exhilarating part was when we took a deep curve followed by a long sloping hill.  For all of three seconds I felt like a champion sled driver--and then Boosh and the gang threw me off, and I had to trot a long and cold way downhill to catch up to them, and drive them in for the final stretch.  All in all, I loved dog mushing!  If I ever move to a colder climate, I'd consider taking up dog mushing as a real hobby.

Bethany and I also went snowshoeing, but I didn't care for it very much.  Again, you don the snow boots and put them into these giant plastic contraptions which are designed to more evenly distribute your weight while walking on snow.  On a flat trail this is ok, but we went down part of the mountain (where I got stuck in a snowdrift) and back up through the underbrush, so it was difficult and not as awesome as I had hoped.

I spent about 7 hours at the park that day, so I was pretty pooped that evening.  I went out to dinner with Julie and Patrice and we found a lovely Italian restaurant.  Monday, I camped out in the hotel room in my pajamas to work on homework, complete my readings, and nap.  I got a bit of fresh air and dinner when I went back to Monoprix to buy more supplies, but that was it.  Nothing interesting, but I think an afternoon of dog sledding the day before made up for it!