Through a comedy of errors and a stroke of last minute luck in planning, I was finally able to get out to the slopes for some snowboarding. This was the first (and sadly, only) time this year that I was able to. Well, that’s not 100% true, I had snowboarded a couple times when I was home for Christmas, and so I should have said ‘first and only time this year in Switzerland’. Done.

We get there at a decent time, and had a full day on the slopes. With a couple of beer breaks thrown in there too :) The conditions were epic. About 13 degrees, although this made the afternoon a bit slushy on one side of the mountain, so we rode there in the morning and on the shady side in the afternoon. Mint.

It was also the first time to try out my new goggles. I bought them because they are designed to go over glasses. I thought this would be a better idea than using contacts for riding. Normally I use my contacts for any sporting activity. The goggles worked pretty well, just a bit of fogging on my glasses when I was stopped. However, the issue with them comes from shunting. I thought it would be a good idea to try some off trail stuff. It’s a little deeper and softer snow, and looked like fun. Besides, Carmen did it, so I can too, right? Too soft, hooked a toe side edge and went down face first. Did a sort-of half twist and a roll and ended up in a normal riding position again, sweet, except the initial impact had caused my goggles to be ripped off and in the process, taking the glasses with them. So when I ended up righted again, I couldn’t see fuck all, and was in the initial 8 year old shock of ‘oh no! my glasses!’ … so I promptly fell again. Hard.

When I came to a stop, it was like a bad cartoon. I ended up on my knees, facing up the hill, and then just to my right, the goggles came sliding past me and stopped maybe a metre behind me. Glasses were not in them… I sat pondering how I would find them in the deep snow, when Carmen came skiing up to me, stopped just above me and asked if all was ok. Well, everything except missing glasses. She pointed down to a spot just between the two of us; ‘there they are’. Indeed.

Tonight was the dancing presentation that we were invited to just before Christmas. By now, it was only me that was going, since Scott and Crespi had both left the company and country by now. Michu, at least, would be meeting me there at some point. I call these little parties that I sometimes get to go to ‘farmer parties’ because, well, that’s kinda how they feel! Finding the place is hard enough. It really is in the middle of a large farming community and everyone knows everyone – literally. But they are fun. The team of dancing girls was very good, and the people I met there were quite friendly and spoke enough English for me to feel welcome.

There is a common game at these parties, I’m sure it has a name, but I don’t know it. It consists of a large piece of soft wood (think tree trunk) and the number of players determines the number of nails that are started into the wood – one for each player.

When it is your turn, you have one chance to hit the nail with the hammer. This continues around the wood, and when your nail is fully embedded into the wood, you are ‘safe’. The last person with a nail still up buys the round of (cheap) shots for the rest of the players.

Sounds easy? Did I mention the head of the hammer is hollow? With very little surface area to hit the nail with. Also, you cannot ‘line-up’ your nail, as in hover the edge of the head above the nail and swing. You need to start with the hammer away from the wood and go for it. I played three times, and succeeded in acquiring free shots each time :) But you need to play early in the night, the later (and more drunk) players get, the longer the games last!!