Bruised, Battered and Bewildered

Sorry for the lack of updates!! I have been snowboarding in Copper Mountain, Colorado at one of the airlines ski weeks. This ski week is a little less party ( only a little) and a lot of learning. No matter the level, you get a week of coaching to improve your form.

As a new boarder my form needs mucho work!! I have taken to the sport enough to agree to put away my skis for 2 years to get a handle on all things boarding. Shhhh, I have joined the darkside. My neck , butt and abs are in serious pain after a week of coaching. One chair lift 'dismount' was so catastrophic that the workers merely stared in wonder rather than turn off the lift . Warren Miller could have used it as an outtake in his videos.

My friends , unlike me, have digital cameras so the beauty of the slopes will be here shortly!! I am off to ice my various parts, back soon.....

How to Get a Pilot in a Dress

I recently came across a disc of photos from a Ski Week and had to post them, in all of their ridiculous glory. Each year the International Airline Ski Federation holds an annual ski week, with airlines from around the world participating. Thses photos are from the March 2007 ski week held in beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Past years have been held in Schladming (Austria), Levi (Finland) and Alyeska (Alaska) to name a few.

One of the last nights of each week is a costume party. There is a 'theme' to each party and this year was cartoons. Getting the team to decide on a costume is always a give and take between the women ( the planners) the men just go along with whatever is decided. This year my airline chose Underdog as our cartoon ( our standings in the races would indicate it was an appropriate costume for us !) Some teams had very emaborate purchased costumes, some thought up some the day of. In any case, here are a few of the costume highlights-

The above costume is SwissAir's 'Globi' which is a cartoon they assured us every child in Switzerland is familiar with . (No, none of us had heard of Globi either!)
These pilots are with Condor. Their team traditionally ignores the theme and wears what makes them ( and us) laugh. Yes these 2 men are pilots.
These men with their purchased brawn are with Southwest, and I think the Wilma Flintstone is with American Airlines.
This gang is from Transavia, a Dutch airline. I remember seeing this cartoon as a child but completely forget the name, I think they were bank robbers??





Looking at these photos makes me excited for 2008 in Garmisch,Germany. Some teams are more competitive than others, but everyone has a great time and it really is a big piss up and a chance to meet new friends from around the world. A recent marriage just happened for an Emirates and former MyTravel ( now Etihad) couple, as well as a Qantas and SAS couple.