Anni: Wow, how lovely: This is where ski dreams come true!
Paul: Absolutely! The Wurmberg is really popular with skiers. No wonder, because you can ski down to the valley on different slopes of varying levels of difficulty - whether on skis or snowboarding.
Anni: Actually, I quite fancy going tobogganing again this winter.
Paul: Yeah, you can do that too, here on the Wurmberg. There’s also various cross-country ski trails and winter hiking trails here. You need snow, of course.
Anni: True. But they can make snow here, too, right?
Paul: Yes, they can. But the ambient temperature has to be right for that, too. It’s not always that easy. There’s a ski museum at Braunlage, the Braunlage History and International Ski Federation Museum, which is well worth a visit.
Anni: Oh, really? What’s there then?
Paul: You can learn all about the history of winter sports in the Harz there. Did you know that Braunlage can call itself one of the birthplaces of skiing in Germany?
Anni: No, really? That’s amazing.
Paul: Yeah, really interesting. It so happened that in 1883 a snow storm swept over the Braunlage forest with such force that nobody could get through. Head forester Arthur Ulrichs then came up with the brilliant idea of having wooden skis made, so it was easier to get into the forest and inspect the damage. The people in the village found this so amazing that skiing became established in the Harz mountains just a few years later and the first ski club was founded in Braunlage in 1892. In fact, it’s the oldest ski club still in existence.
Anni: Amazing! Great he came up with that idea, too. So we can enjoy winter sports today.
Paul: Exactly. But for now I suggest we continue on our walk .
Anni: [laughs] Yes, thinking about snow right now makes me feel cold anyway...