Oh Say Can You Ski ⛷

For all of November I debated whether or not I should get a season ski pass or buy ski gear (as opposed to renting). It would be a big investment and would mean I probably wouldn’t be able to travel much during the spring months. On one hand — I’m living in the Alps in Austria for goodness’ sake, so of course I should ski! On the other hand, I’ve only skied on little Midwest hills (what people here might call the bunny slope 😅). Still, other teaching assistants assured me that they’d “never skied before coming here” and “it will be fine” and “you’ll catch on fast.”

So maybe it was peer pressure…maybe it was a matter of wanting to partake in perceived cultural traditions…but in the end I decided to go for it and buy the season ski pass. 🙀 Suffice to say: I’m terrified and have no idea what I’m doing. So if you think of me, please say some prayers that I don’t end up with a broken leg or a concussion 😛

Of course, before I bought the ski pass, I had to figure out how to get ski gear without completely breaking the bank….🤑

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I was under the impression that all Vorarlbergers are born with skis on their feet. However, I’ve been really disappointed that this isn’t true. In fact, some of my older students live next to ski resorts and have never been skiing in their life (and they’re proud of it!). Furthermore, in true Austrian fashion, they love to meckern / jammern (complain) about all the tourists who come to Vorarlberg to ski and how expensive it is.

Yes. Well, about that. (You already saw how much the ski pass cost.) When I was in Innsbruck, I meandered into a sporting goods store just to have a look at the different ski equipment. I was starting to take the idea of skiing for the whole season seriously (I mean, it seemed like all the other teaching assistants were going for it!) How much could equipment possibly cost? I flipped over the tag on some ski boots. New ski boots start at around 300 euros. Hah! HAHAHAHAH. I stared longingly at the beautiful ski gear before concluding that skiing was way too expensive, and I was very out of place.

So how was I going to make this dream happen? I’ve been told Austria is an “asking culture”  — “ask and ye shall receive” — so I decided to put that to the test and start asking around if anyone had old equipment I could borrow or buy.

Part one: asking around

Fortunately, everyone I asked was super friendly. Unfortunately, all of the people I asked either didn’t have anything or didn’t have anything in my size. Fortunately, my friends Luke and Sam had found out about a used ski supply store (thanks to one of the teachers they work with — see? Ask and you receive.) So I dragged Luke with me (what a good sport) “just to have a look” — I was still waffling on my commitment to buy the ski pass.

Of course, “having a look” ended up with me buying a pair of ski boots. 💁🏻I mean, what could I do? The owner of the shop went out of her way to help me out — she told me to go sit in a chair and kept bringing over ski boots for me to try on. She even put them on for me — I felt like Cinderella trying on shoes haha. (Fortunately I was wearing clean socks.)

After paying 75 euros for the boots (a pretty solid deal), I realized I was committed to this whole thing. You can’t really buy boots and rent the rest of the gear. And if you’re going to buy gear, then you should go skiing more than once, which means: get the season ski pass.

Then I started thinking despairingly about everything else I still needed: ski jacket, ski pants, helmet, goggles, skis, and ski poles. I mean, Who do I think I am? Bill Gates? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Part two: ski bazars

Back to the “asking culture.” I happened to be talking to another teacher and mentioned my interest in skiing. And surprise, surprise — he and his wife were both members of a ski club and told me there was a ski bazar happening that Sunday. But he cautioned: “people sell really nice gear, so even though it’s used, it can still be quite expensive.”

On Sunday morning I was feeling pretty tired and almost didn’t go, thinking I probably wouldn’t find deals. But fortunately Luke was going too and I didn’t want to to bail on him, so I gathered myself together and headed out the door….and man, I’m so glad I went!

Let me tell you about these ski bazars. They are a well-kept secret. Run by ski clubs and ski enthusiasts, you might hear about them by word of mouth or a random flyer posted on a wall. Go to these ski bazars because you will find amazing things. And word to the wise: you should get there within the first 15 minutes of it opening, otherwise most of the stuff will already be gone. I learned that tip from another teaching assistant who apparently got all his ski gear at a ski bazar (boots, poles, helmet, skis) for a whopping 65 euros. 😲😅 That’s insane.

So I got there about 20 minutes after it opened, and the place was already packed and fairly picked over.

But both Luke and I got aaaamazing deals on ski gear and had a really fun time. At one point I was standing in front of the row of skis, having no idea where to begin, when three people came up to me at once asking if I needed help. “YES PLEASE.” So they proceeded to take the skis, examine them, and hold them up to me — speaking excitedly to me dialect. “Oh sie sind ja supeerrrrrr schiien!” — was about all I could understand. (They were older, so their dialect was just impossible to understand!)

At one point they even put the helmet on my head and fastened it for me (“Well, how does it feel? Is it too tight? Too loose?”) and stuck ski poles in my hands and muttered about the height and the feel. I’m sure I looked ridiculous lugging all the ski stuff around and having three people poking and prodding and putting things on my head. I understood maybe 10% of what they were saying, and all I could manage to do was “um ja, das passt.” and “Ja, das ist super!” and nod excitedly. I feel like this situation encapsulates my experience in Austria so far: incredibly helpful, a little awkward, and only understanding about a quarter of what is happening.

They advised me not to buy the ski poles because they were old and gross, and it would be better to just buy new ones that were the right size. But they said the skis I had picked up were super and in excellent condition. There was another pair for 10 euros that I thought about getting, but they were much heavier and I would have had to pay to get them waxed. So I went for the 40 euro Seven Summits pair that were in excellent condition and very lightweight. Now that I’ve had to carry them around, I’m really happy I picked the lightweight pair.

Outside the ski bazar, there was a little market where you could buy food and (of course) Glühwein, so Luke & I got a bite to eat. We kept turning to each other, repeating flabbergasted: “I can’t believe I found these X,Y,Z (skis / goggles / helmets) for only five/ten/TWENTY euros.” 🙀 😁 It was a good day, and we left in a blissful state of shock over 20 euro skis. 😊

Part three: how to lug all this stuff around & ski bindings? 

Normally I’d feel super self-conscious about lugging around skis and ski boots on buses and trains and through supermarkets, but you know what? Everyone does it in Vorarlberg, so I don’t think so much about it. It’s funny to see people trying to walk fast in their ski boots to catch a train, but I don’t laugh too much because I know that’s going to be me soon 😛

I had fun taking my skis and ski boots on a crowded bus to Intersport — fortunately I’m short, which means my skis are short and I haven’t whacked anyone with them yet! 😉

 

​At least the view was nice:

Building those arm muscles! 💪

Part four: putting it all together

Okay so I’m sure I’ve bored you with this whole long, exhausting tale of finding ski gear and getting a ski pass (it has certainly felt like a whole ordeal), but I haven’t even gotten to the ski suit and the ski poles yet!

Remember the used ski store? Well, when I was first there trying on ski boots, I noticed a ski suit hanging on the wall. It was dreamy. I looked at the price, but it was a little bit more than I was looking to pay, so I thought I’d wait and shop around a bit more. But the whole next day I kept thinking about it –I’m really picky about jackets (I shopped around for over a year before I decided on a rain jacket! — but I’ve been super satisfied with it!), and I had really liked the look of this one. I thought a little more — if I was going to invest in a ski jacket and pants, I might as well get one that could last me for a while, right? It wouldn’t hurt to at least try it on, right? 🤔So I went back. It was still there.

It fit perfectly. 😍

SOoo I know it might seem silly, but I am ridiculously excited with my jacket/pants! I’m trying to be more picky / conscious about things I buy — only buying things I really love and that I feel good in. I also feel better about spending money on something that’s used, rather than buying a brand new ski jacket / pants. (Originally this brand goes for something like 600 euros (yeeks!), but I got it for practically pennies. 😍) Anyways, I’m really thrilled with this find & can’t wait to wear it out on the slopes! ✨

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So basically that’s the story of figuring out how to get ski gear in Vorarlberg! I have yet to hit the slopes — I was hoping to go skiing today, but the weather hasn’t been good (and the avalanche warning is at level 4). BTW the German word for avalanche is: die Lawine. Gut zu wissen 😉 We’ll see about Friday. 🙂

Ski you later 😉 🎿

Sarah