RACING AGAINST MY CHILDHOOD HERO - SKIING'S ANSWER TO DAVID BECKHAM!

It's not often one gets a chance to race against their childhood hero, but that's what happened when I went on my family ski holiday last year. I visited a resort in Austria (Bad Kleinkircheim) which is home to 5 times downhill ski champ, the legendary Franz Klammer. As luck would have it, my stay coincided with an annual event - anyone who wanted to could race against Franz Klammer, to see if they could beat his time!
Well, I jumped at the chance to have a go - the only problem was I hadn't skied for a year and my ski legs hadn't yet had a chance to return before I was faced with the scary slalom course. But I did it, AND I met Franz afterwards and had a chance to chat! And here is the man - still a charmer with the ladies and happy to pose for the camera! You can read all about it in this article: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/skiing/its-a-kinder-surprise-in-austrias-alps-8990769.html

 Well, this was one of those 'once-in-a-lifetime' moments which you don't expect to happen. I'm sure my son would be just as excited to play football against David Beckham! 

There is even a black slope in resort, a world cup downhill ski run, named after Franz. 

Let me tell you, it was absolutely PETRIFYING! I'm a pretty competent skier, but the surface was icy and hard (it hadn't snowed for ages) and there were lots of hard tiny ice balls. HORRID!

But there is, of course, one way to get over the adrenaline rush: 

Ah, much better. And finally, one great family photo: 

The children are getting a bit useful on skis and are even now able to whoosh down black runs. Although NOT the very tricky Franz Klammer black run!

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