In to 2009 with My Peak Potential

From the arrival of our first holiday guests on the 22nd December right up until waving the last of the New Year's stragglers goodbye, the Carnegie Alpenrose has been full of life this year.

The families that joined us here for Chrismas day made it particularly special. With 6 children under the age of 8, Santa utilised our Gym as his delivery room. (There just wasn't enough room under the tree!) A varitable Everest of presents awaited them on Christmas day morning and, as a bonus to us, they were speechless for at least 30 seconds

A morning Sledging on the field infront of the Lodge was enough to build their appetites for a very hearty traditional Christmas dinner. I might add it was a traditional English Christmas dinner, the Germans have potato salad and sausages for theirs! This was closely followed by a calming Disney film in the Carnegie Alpenrose cinema. Wrapped up in Duvets this kept them quiet enough for the "Grown ups" to indulge in some festivities of their own.

Christmas was over all to quickly but the ski school for the little ones continued. With the children's novice area only 300m from the lodge, they were able to walk back and forth from the Lodge to keep warm, with unstopping cups of tea and mince pies.

As the guests for New Year started to trickle into the Lodge, the ski room filled up and the corridors buzzed with excitement. The sun shone and the temperatures stayed low enough for us all to enjoy the amazing winter wonderland up here at Gunzesried Sage. The mix of families, couples and single visitors was perfect. Everybody made themselves at home, which is just how we like it here, and came and went as they pleased. Some leaving early for the Slopes and some easing themselves into the day with a leisurely breakfast and a spot of relaxing on the Sofa!

Good friends were made, e-mail addresses swapped , facebook invites sent and above all a great start to the New Year was made for all. We are now embarking on a busy programme of Ski touring courses, Corporate Team Building days and we are nearly full up for Easter. However please don't hesitate to get in contact if you are tempted to join us anytime in 2009. We will do our best to fit you in.

Until then, stay posted

Jo

A weekend to remember

It is offical the snow is really here. The last lot was just a teaser and the last weekend we got a good meter of the white stuff and with freezing temperatures it is here to stay!

The group in this video were in two minds about how the weather would effect their stay and we had the climbing wall booked as back up, but they decided to brave the wintery conditions and stick with the programme.

The snow made their trip. First on the schedule was a days team building in our stunning gorge behind the Lodge. The perfect shelter from the blizzarding snow! With the team roped up safely they embarked on their descent of the gorge. Down two abseils, a traverse of the river and the on to the two zip lines. The snow fell heavily but this all added to the amazing atmosphere and the excitement, and the biggest bonus of being out in the snow is the coming in. With the cosy sofas waiting for them and hot Gluhwein, tea and coffee, it was the reward they all deserved.

Day 2 involved the amazing Sky Walk high ropes course under the World class ski jump in Obertsdorf. Strung between the two towers of the jump the course is a maze of exciting challenges and culminates in the Big Swing. You are tied onto a long rope that swings out from the end of the cantilevered structure of the ski jump, allowing you to launch yourself from the platform at the top of the tower.

After all the adrenaline there was just enough energy to get to the top of the Sledge run and enjoy the speedy descent and then hunt for steeper terrain! The competetive edge kicked in here. There's no friend with sledging conditions like these.

The last day was time to enjoy the snow, with a steady walk on snow shoes up into the mountains around the Lodge rewarded with a hearty soup in the Lodge on their return. All in all a good few days in the mountains with winter conditions that are set to stay!