J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Dave Mac

Last night I was privileged to attend, with my son, a lecture, by Reinhold Messner. This came about as a result of a word from Ise, that Messner was coming to the Kendal Mountain Festival. We had planned to attend that, but then found out that Messner was doing the same at the Dundee Mountain Festival.

So thank you for that Ise. Most of you will have heard the name, but Reinhold Messner was the first person to climb Everest without the assistance of oxygen. He then proceeded to do the same with all the worlds 8000m peaks.

One of the points that he made was that on many of the challenges, there were failures, sometimes multiple. He also made the point that he did not espouse extreme sport, it just happened in his case that the outcomes were extreme.

The accompanying film and still sequences were simply stunning, on a colossal scale.

My son had carried out an interview with Messner, and written a full page article. He did the same with other world renowned climbers, including Doug Scott, the first Briton to climb Everest, and Tomaz Humar, who Messner has called the world’s greatest high altitude climber.

Afterwards, we chatted to Reinhold Messner, he was very friendly, and personable. He lives with his family in South Tirol, and is a regular skier. He has a good outlook on sustainability issues, and a good way of explaining how we can achieve and maximise our personal goals.

If you get the chance to go and see the man, do it. I found it to be very inspiring.

Oh, he is 64 years old, and still has a resting pulse rate of 45!

Idavies wrote:

DAVE MAC,
will i lose all credibility if i tell all that when i've finished dancing ON the table, i tend to slip UNDERNEATH it,and that this is especially the case if i'm at (oooh, er, here goes): the CAVE? L.

OK, L, this is how I see it: _

Bonus points for knowing that you are not on top ofthe table.

Bonus points for all the Euros you manage to find under the table.

Treble bonus points mandated for achieving attendance at the Cave Bar, after the under-the-table. Less one set of points, cos I won't get to go, cos my OH is there that week. :cry:

I am not quite double your years in Niederau, the cave used to be high qual live groups, in the days when music was really music. On the OH, you & I have experienced great Dave Lambert nights at the Vicki. (Not together, I hasten to add) Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

Jan wrote:

The webcam at the top of the gondola is sited on the back of Rudi's. This cam is very expensive to operate for the owner (the Paragliding School)

This was never the brightest place to put the cam, t'would have been better across the top of the Mercanwiess, if it had to be there at all.

Expensive? I thought once they were installed it was free!! :wink:

Ski Girl ~ May catch you for one day, I arrive for my two&bit weeker on 16 Jan.

It's great that you are getting to Niederau Tony.

As I see it, you are the legend, you have been voted dryest J2ski sense of humour, with RossF winner of the yound skiers section :mrgreen:

Jan, winner of the gassthausmann of the year, and also webcam man of the year.

Idavies, blodwyn, caron-a, joint lap dancers of the year. Oh, sorry that should be table dancers :oops:

Have stayed in Arabba. So features I recall:

Beautiful rock formations, many just off your piste.

Sella Ronda makes for an easy day trip, stopping off at a different village for coffee, lunch, etc. And then do it the other way round and it is totally different.

May be a generalisation, but I viewed the Italians as having the worst slope discipline outside of snowboarders. (I said it once, and I think I got away with it!)

But if you have children, Italy is the place to be.

The year we were there was a bad year for Eurosnow, and the Sella was a white artificial strip of sugar.

Made a mental note that the Sella Ronda would make a great summer walking holiday.

OK,

Have been unable to download the big picture, so cannot see the Hotels.

However:

The lift was the first chairlift in Tirol, built by Ingineer Sepp Hochmuth, who only had one arm. The story is that the other was shot off during the war! The building of the lift was Niederau's response to the Tirol's element of the Marshall plan, (The after war Re-build plan) The plan was orchestrated by the major of Alpbach.

I think the build year was 1947.

So my guess is 1948.

OK, here's the list so far


Dave Mac, frau & friends ~ Harfenwirt
ParalyticSkiCrazie & family ~ Harfenwirt
cornishmaid and family ~ Harfenwirt
Hamish Mcbeth & Family ~ Auhof
Idavies & Blodyn ~ Staffler?
Tony_H & frau ~ Auhof
Someone in Oberau ~ Dorforwirt
Jan Stenmark and family ~ Auhof

Idavies & Blodyn ~ There will be NO dancing on the tables in the Bichlwirt, you can leave that kind of behaviour behind in the Sport!!

I will be in the Bichlwirt just about everynight, although I will be subject to our group constraints. Most of us arrive on 27th, Tony on 26th.

Who said that? What? Oh it's Tony's round? :mrgreen:

RossF wrote:

Just figured you would know being from Scotland what that was...a road that goes up behind my place, so much snow and it is falling outside now

As you are well aware Ross, unlike most others, Scotland is a huge place. It ain't snowing in the east, and I need to keep it that way so as to maximise the amount of playable tennis.

Unfortunately, my co-players do not like to play on frost/ice/slippery surfaces, in spite of my implorings that their balance will improve immeasurably.

It wasn't until I devised doubles tennis, played within the singles court, double bounces allowed on the frosty side of the net, that they agreed to play.

Glad to hear that you have good weather though. :-)