This is how things work in Schetteregg: The best part is the open dorm area. We don’t sleep there though. Instead we sleep in a room with two bunk beds. My brothers and I sleep up top and my parents sleep down below. My big brother talks in his sleep and my dad snores if he has joined the lift personnel at the Schetteregger Hof. Usually that means he won’t start skiing until eleven o’clock. Although there isn’t actually all that much snow at the moment, they prepare slopes that remind me of freshly combed hair after a bath. Everything you can imagine is here in Schetteregg. A carousel, magic carpet, a mini platter lift and more. On the “hedgehog” circuit, I learned to snow plough. My little brother skied the “squirrel” slope. At the “bunny” slope there is only a normal platter lift. Here there is an area to blow your nose for kids who have snotty noses. My mom actually thinks this is a great innovation. The lift at the “deer” slope alternates between platters and T-bars. Big animal figures can be seen along all the slopes so that kids always know where they are. We used to think that the “eagle” slope was the best but that was before we tried out the “lynx” slope, which was a true test of skill. We had our passes stamped at the register. If you’ve been 5 times in one week, you’re allowed to ride along on a snowmobile or snow groomer. That is so cool! There is also kids’ movies and disco, a scavenger hunt and fox ‘hunting.’ This is when the ‘Schettifuchs’ fox gives you a best time to beat. The one who gets closest to the time wins! Once I found the Schettifuchs fox’s outfit in the closet at childcare.
My grandma and I like horse-drawn carriage rides together. She is too lazy to go walking but she gets quite a tan. My grandpa can’t go cross-country skiing because there isn’t enough snow so he goes hiking instead. He believes that nature is splendid and that there is nothing more important. We didn’t know our way around the first time we came here. My brother was sick and my dad stayed with him at the Lifthus so that mom and I could ski together. I was still little. Suddenly big flakes began to fall and we got stuck in the deep snow and we didn’t know where to go. Then, August came and rescued us. August lives near the lift in a witch’s cottage. By day he works as a carpenter, but in the evenings when he comes home, he shovels the special ‘Augustland.’ This is the best obstacle course you can possibly imagine. It has three mogul courses!
August already begins preparing the area in autumn by digging tunnels, building snow castles planting trees and setting up flags in the snow. He saws out wooden figures and paints them. When semester break begins, he takes off plenty of time. He does all of this without being paid because he really cares for children. Hannes, the boss of this whole place, says that August is more valuable than a winning lottery ticket because the way that August makes others happy is pure and authentic.
When everyone is gone, only 7 people live in Schetteregg: August and his wife, Ms Marianne, who makes hats to go along with the Juppe traditional dresses, and the family from the Schetteregg Hof. Everyone likes one another. One time I fell into a hole and I lost my skis but an adult came quickly to help me. Here, everyone helps one another. If a kid can’t use the T-bar well or loses a ski pole, someone is always there. “Nothing gets lost here,” says Hannes. That makes mother happy and allows her to get the rest and recovery she needs. In a giant ski resort, she would be worried about us the whole time.
