A Bavarian Farmhouse

Bailing at the Grassgeheren in the Allgäu Grassgeherren: where everyone l earns to snowboard This is the off-piste element of the day, if you look carefully you can see that I am exhausted, eating Wurst and drinking coffee. Christian gave us the basics of snowboard training and then gradually took us higher and higher up the slope. This learning concept works well for people under the age of eighteen but perhaps needs some refinement for the elderly. We spent a week in the Allegäu snowboarding. Christian (my brother in law and professional Ski Instructor) is almost military in his training technique so it is appropriate that our Bad Lieutenant helmets are modelled on the military. I think I fell off the mountain eight times before the level of my exhaustion reached acetone production level. Fortunately we had a large supply of Rauchpeitschen, dried dates, pineapple and water available in Red October

The Little Piste at Eschach Eschach is one of those little pistes that is sort of halfway between a practice slope and a... well just a wee totty slope. The tow was an effing nightmare and I managed to get up it once - the next two times I was totalled. From then on I went up with Susi as a clinging monkey. Susi and I had a long discussion on the subject of ski-slope production lines where I observed that if a single tin of beans pops out of the Heinz beans production line that's a problem. The farmer was just making as much money as fast as he could by pouring skiiers and boarders up the slope like pellet out of a paint ball gun. The point being that he doesn't have any costs if the tins are popped. In the UK he would have a major lawsuit. The slope though is pretty good, like Stuben, it has a long right hand side and this takes you on to great powder. There is a sudden crest and if you aren't aware of it, it will drop you on your face, however it is pretty cool going ov

Boarding at Stuben Last time we went to Lech it was such a fantastic day that the whole resort was full to overflowing. However further down the mountain range there is a place called Stuben and the practice piste is absolutely top notch. The ski tow is well designed circle type and not the deadly knee-breaking hook that I have managed to get up about twice on my own. Stuben has a nice easy slope with lots of deep snow on the right providing lots of space for nice wide slow practice turns. We had the slope mostly to our selves and had a lunch break at the car for some rauchpeitschen, coffee and seelen (a type of chewy bread named soul!). The weather was superb all day and it cost us just 18 euros for the tow pass for 15 trips. So just nine euros each.