Day 94 - Skiing in the Rain and One Week to Go

Day 94 started out much like the rest of this week. Sunday morning, waking up around 7, coffees on, breakfast sorted, and the kids into a bit of reading before we headed anywhere. I didn’t have any work to do which made it feel slower and lighter from the start. The plan was simple. Get up the mountain and make the most of the final week we have left here in Austria.

We were convinced it would be chaos. Sundays usually are. Everyone squeezing in one last ski before the working week begins. But when we rolled into the car park at Kasberg Ski Area, it was almost empty. Drizzle hung in the air and the sky looked heavy. That should have been our first clue.

We told ourselves it was probably just rain at the bottom and snow up top. That is usually how it works. The higher you go, the better it gets. So we clicked in, did one run on the smaller slopes to warm up, then jumped on the gondola to head up to the second mountain.

It was still raining.

Not light flakes. Not that magical soft snowfall you hope for. Just steady, cold rain.

We pushed on anyway. Three solid runs down toward the chairlift. The snow itself was actually still pretty good under the skis and board, but within minutes we were soaked. Gloves wet. Jackets wet. Pants wet. That slow creeping cold that works its way in and does not leave.

By the time we regrouped at the bottom of the chairlift, everyone was dripping. Emmett was not ready to go. Still determined. Still wanting just one more run. I get it. We are down to a week left here and every single day feels like it matters. But we were cold and heavy and it just was not fun anymore.

So we called it.

Back on the gondola. Quiet ride down. A bit of disappointment in the air, but also that unspoken understanding that sometimes you just have to pull the pin. That is skiing. That is travel. That is life.

We drove home, heater blasting, gear spread everywhere. Warm showers. Dry clothes. Dinner on. The mood slowly lifted.

The kids had been organised all day for a sleepover at the Austrian family’s house down the road, so once they were fed and warmed up, we bundled them off with overnight bags and big smiles. Watching them run down the street to friends in a tiny Austrian village still feels surreal. This is the stuff we hoped for when we packed up life in Australia.

Kia and I finally had a quiet house. No ski boots thudding around. No wet gloves on heaters. Just stillness.

Day 94 was not epic powder. It was not blue skies and postcard views. It was rain, wet socks and learning when to call it. But it was also another day on the mountain. Another day pushing ourselves. Another day squeezing every bit out of this season.

We have one week to go here in Austria. And we are going to keep showing up, rain or shine.