On Wednesday we did a bigger tour in the tracks of the Bortelid Skicentre. We met at nine at the parking slot of TrollActiv loaded all our skies in the sprinter and about 40 minutes later we unloaded it in a quick teamwork procedure. The conditions improved, the temperatures decreased below zero and therefore we were able to put on the blue, hard wax. The weather was great – sunny and cold.

Right from the beginning on, I wore the same clothes as yesterday which was a good decision and worked very well. Only for lunch I had to put additional layers on. We first couple of hundred meters were the same as yesterday. We went up the slope, passed the flat area where we did the technic training, went crossed the second, smaller hill and skied towards the big alpine slope with the ski lift where we trained yesterday after lunch. Short bevor this slope we turned right and discovered new paths. In the end, we skied about 8 to 10 kilometres. Most of the time on piste but also short distances off piste. This periods were mostly the result of improvisation because we had to wait for Sharon. She is a lecture in York St. John, where some of my class mates, who visited us in this week to get an insight look into the Outdoor Education subject. Unfortunately had she never been on skies before which is no big deal, some students of my course neither. The difference is that all students of the Outdoor Education class are willing to train and improve their skiing skills no matter how often/badly they fall. Sharon did not have such a high motivation which is understandable on the one hand because we practiced a lot with this skies but on the other hand she slowed down a whole group. This is a really bad situation for Len as our veileder. He has to find adequate tasks for her and the group and told us in a lecture that no friend is allowed to join our official trips because they are influencing the pace or the learning process. Therefore, when she was walking up a hill, he told us to go off piste to play around. Sure, this was a lot of fun and was good for becoming a better feeling for the skies but it was also annoying when Sharon walked down a small hill and everybody knew that she is able to ski it down by using the track.

All this is understandable in a particular way because I think she did not feel very comfortable and was worried due to her fall. Nevertheless, it is a no go to refuse skiing after lunch with the arguments that she has sore muscles and has plans for next week due to that she does not want to get injured. In this case, the best option is to be honest and stay at home for the day instead of slowing down a whole group. Luckily, we met the other group not far away from our lunch spot and Sharon joined them for the rest of the day. So, we could do your speed and were able to enjoy nature.

All in all, this day showed me how difficult it can be for a guide/leader from time to time. I admired Len for being so patient and flexible. All day he was able to improvise and keep us happy. Last but not least, I had to learn in a painful way that the wax is breaking at the moment when you leave the piste. I did not pay attention to it while doing so and therefore I was falling face forward.