Anyway, I had just gotten back from the trip up north with Jenny and I had to finish up some schoolwork before we headed out on Thursday afternoon. Long story short, I did laundry at 8:00am and didn't get packed until 30 minutes before we left. However, I am now done with any sort of school related work until the end of April. Unfortunately, half way to Åre (7 hour drive via bus) it started to rain...and it didn't stop. Even after we got to our condos and went to bed around midnight you could still hear the rain outside. At this point I'm thinking there isn't going to be a bit of snow left on the mountain.The next morning we were up bright and early to get to the lifts and do some skiing. Turns out, there was still over a meter of snow, but it was now covered in a layer of ice. No problem, the sun was out and it was warm. Very warm. By mid afternoon we were skiing through slush. I can't complain, the rentals were good and I was skiing in Sweden. After a full 9 to 4:30 day, we headed to one of the pubs on the hill for an After ski party, "possibly the best after ski in the world" says the banner sponsored by Carlsberg. The live music was really good, though it was Swedish so really they could have been singing anything and we wouldn't know better. By the time we were done and had skied back to the condo, everyone was dead. There was no going out on the town that night, only dinner at a local restaurant. Holy crap do you not want to eat out in Sweden if you can help it. 215 kroner for a buffet, and we weren't even in the main part of Åre. Oh well, we were on vacation.
Saturday was much colder, but the wind had picked up - almost 20 m/s. The peak was closed so no way to ski the summit. Though things were still a bit icy in places, the snow was generally okay. We had spent a bit of time in the terrain park but then moved on to the moguls and the lesser used trails. I can now say I will do any mogul run I come across, no fear. My biggest problem was that my speed was quite a bit faster than most of the people I was skiing with which meant frequent stops while people caught up. It was worth it though to be on slopes that steep and carve all the way down them. At one point my eyes were watering through my goggles (time for a new pair I think). Towards the end of the day it started to snow. By the final few runs of the day we had picked up a couple inches and were staying out on the lesser used trails as long as possible before the lifts shut down.
The next day it had continued to snow. Urska and I were at the lifts 30 minutes before they opened but it was worth it. I was the first one down a run through 5 inches of powder throughout the entire trail. Sooo smooth. Det blåser! It was windier Sunday than Saturday and so there was only one open chairlift. Everything else was t-bar. I hate t-bars...with a passion. Regardless, we headed over to the far right peak where we found the most amazing tree runs I have ever seen in my life. It was work, I could barely stand by the end of one run, but it was incredible. 3 or 4 of us found a section of trees that no one had been too. Fresh tracks every time. I've never had so much fun in the trees. I really think they might have been the best runs I've ever taken in my life. Sadly, the trip had to end. Our bus headed back at 4:30 making it home by midnight.On the bright side, I leave for a month in Europe in just a few days (fair warning for when I don't update everyone for a while). I also bought my map of the Kungsleden and planned out the route. After those two, everything else will be icing on the cake. What an awesome semester.
PS: Pictures are up -->
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