Mayrhofen, Day 6.

Our last full day skiing today. It's been the most fantastic holiday, and because we've packed so much in, it seems like the week has lasted forever - a great feeling when you're away!

This morning we set of early again and walked right past our usual Penkenbahn to the Ahornbahn. This is the largest cable car in Austria with a capacity of 160 people and looks like something out of a Bond film. It was really quiet in the car, which made it look even bigger!

We arrived to pristine snow at the top and blue skies, and had a good few runs on Blues - there aren't many Reds on Ahorn. We did the slalom (I was devastated when M beat me - a skier should always outrun a boarder, but unfortunately not in this case) and as the weather closed in a little, we sought out warmth and more gluhwein in one of the restaurants that the slopes are peppered with.

After discovering a nice route (Blue 1 > Blue 2 > Red 4 and back again) we stuck with it for a while, even after an equally hilarious/terrifying moment on the chair, which after an emergency stop, free-fell about 2 and a half metres thorough the air because we were right between two pylons. Once we realised it was safe, M wanted to do it again!

We had lunch in another nice wee restaurant before wandering onto the White Lounge for a gluhwein. The ice-bar is set inside a huge igloo with amazing snow-carvings on the walls, solid, clear-ice tables and packed-snow seats covered in sheepskins. The lighting is really creepy and there are sound-systems wired into the igloo walls! Amazing. We stayed for a little while, but were eager to make our way down the 8km home run.

The home run was really good fun... We stopped halfway for a beer and the remaining sections were a bit of a struggle - instead of leaning forward in my ski boots I could feel myself falling back, and I'm sure neither M or I made the last descent with any style whatsoever. Big sense of achievement at the bottom - this holiday I skied a total downhill distance of 158km!

We walked back to the chalet with big grins on our faces and M fell fast asleep after his shower while I read my book. The chalet hosts outdid themselves with a fantastic roast lamb for dinner, afterwhich M and I headed out for drinks with the Scottish boys (turns out they had mutual friends - Aberdeen is so ridiculously small). We went to the Scotland Yard pub, a hilariously confused English/Scottish bar with London Underground tube signs and English paraphernalia everywhere.

When we wound our way back home, the boys were still out - and looking like they were settling in for the night. So sad to be getting our flight home tomorrow!

To see the runs/places I'm talking about, there's a map here.