JS


Outlook


Skl-ing on th e fla t


CROSS country ski-ing is reputed to be a dull, plod­ ding sport, hard work and unfashionable. I t is a view usually


of the countryside as I ski, enjoy the relative isolation and, now I’ve mastered it, the ability to ski uphill as well as down.


joined local specialist cross country ski firm Alpine Overland for a week in the Austrian Alps. I t was an exhilarating


Earlier in the year I


experience, a holiday to remember and hopefully repeat.


Overlanders throughout the country and more recently Fred and his wife Cath, a mill worker in Chatburn, introduced nordic ski-ing


son, of Chatburn. He decided to form the com­ pany 10 years ago, after organising a successful two- centre walking holiday in Switzerland for friends at Rolls-Royce Rambling Club. Today there are Alpine


Valley-based firm by acci­ dent, having searched for a reasonably priced cross country ski-ing holiday for some time. At the helm is Fred Jack-


I stumbled on the Ribble


I have tried it and it’s not for me. I prefer to see something


expressed by the downhill brigade, whose presence on the European slopes is growing at an alarmingly rapid rate each year. I make no apology to the exponents of alpine ski-ing,


VIVIEN MEATH (pictured right) says the better-known downhill ski-ing is not for her; instead she chooses to get away from it all on her cross country skis


in a short time the firm has developed a first rate repu­ tation as a winter holiday specialist. Held in high esteem by the Austrian Tourist Board, Fred’s holi­ day company is regarded as a model, showing Austria as


holidays with a winter programme. It is a growth market and


the ATB believe it should be.


traveller, the prospect of sitting on a coach for more than 24 hours filled me with horror.


transport and it was that which initially caused me reservations. Admittedly not the best


My colleagues were sea­ soned coach travellers. They boarded from Black­ burn to Dover, carrying special cushions, painstak­ ingly prepared picnics and cassette recorders.


I had no cause to worry.


fumbled in our brown paper bags, failed to find a com­ fortable position to sleep and blamed ourselves for our ill-preparation, our com­ patriots travelled in style. The coach remained with


While my husband and I


us throughout the week, as did our Geordie drivers.


His holidays rely on coach


They boarded at Dover expecting to find a coach full of young lithe single down­ hill skiers.


they certainly proved that age is no barrier. In many cases their level of fitness had to been seen to be believed.


stops during our journey. Dawn broke in Germany and we left the autobahn briefly to discover a spot­ lessly clean hotel with conti­ nental style breakfast ready and waiting.


saw our arrival in Unken, a small village just over the German border into Austria in “Salzburger Land.” The hotel Gasthof zur Post sur­ passed our expectations and continued to do so through­ out our stay.


Mid-afternoon Saturday


divided into groups of dif­ fering ability and equipped with skis, boarded our coach travelling to the village ski


On Sunday we were There were plenty of


reflected in their faces as they glanced down the aisle. The majority were in their 50’s and 60’s, represented a wide range of professions and were all seeking an independent holiday with a difference. As the week progressed


The disappointment was


having travelled with us, taught diagonal slides,kick turns, double poling, her­ ringbones and how to stand up again having fallen down! As the week progressed,


centre, Heutal. There our instructors, all


country skier, he derives a tremendous amount of satis­ faction from “seeing people enjoying themselves.” Highlights of the week


were certainly many, but for me St Ulncht with its beautiful views and lakes, trails through farmyards and woods, past magical


troller at Barnoldswick’s Rolls-Royce factory, joined us for the holiday. An accomplished cross


sampling goulasch, apple strudel and bier, and after­ noons working it off. Fred, a production con­


wish to ski daily, there was the chance to potter around the village, sample winter walking at various resorts, or v is i t Salzburg and Zell-am-See. Lunchtimes were spent


easy to extremely, difficult, all pass through breathtak- ingly picturesque country­ side and every day our coach took us to a different area. For those who did not


is littered with loipes — cross country terminology for the narrow specially created tracks in which your skis gracefully glide. The trails range from


next time more exercise before departure! The Austrian countryside


recalled the advice: “It is worth remembering that few activities involve so many of the body’s muscles simultaneously as does cross country ski-ing.” I made a mental note —


until Wednesday when at Veidring an awkward fall — uphill! — led to my depar­ ture for the “B” team. I t was at that point I


so did we. I joined the “A” team


7


was Jack a 72-year-old retired ICI laboratory man­ ager trying ski-ing for the f irs t time, but having recently returned from a two week mountain bike holiday — another first. Sally (78) spends her


summers on St George’s Island off Looe doing con­ servation work and added: “It’s a bit primitive I sup­


ponds, trout filled streams, over narrow bridges and out into the mountainside with wood and pine scents min­ gling with smoke from farmhouses, while high above our heads were mountains covered in swirls of cream broken by pine for­ ests, will live on for ever. Among the personalities


who is happy to give slide shows and talks to local groups, aims to open prem­ ises in Barnoldswick’s for­ mer library selling outdoor equipment and promoting Alpine Overland’s winter and summer holidays. □


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elled from the Lake District to join our party and swept straight into the “A” team; hardly surprising as she ranks as one of the top Brit­ ish women orienteers. In the near future Fred,


just stream, sea and rain­ water.” She started down­ hill ski-ing six years earlier b u t said “ i t became tedious,” hence the change to cross country. Architect Margaret trav­


pose, there’s no tap water,


:V ;........ \


\ ■ >* I


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