SNOWLI, every childs friend in the Swiss Snowsports Schools

Snowli is a small alien creature from another Planet who, after a long and tiring journey through Universe landed by chance in soft snow. Here is where his adventures on earth begin when he learns how to slide.

He is a hero to all the children. He will help you how to learn to have fun on the snow He and his friends Bear, Penguin,Snake and Kangaroo will turn you and your friends into great skiers or snowboarders.
Join them in the Snowli adventure world - ask your parents to tell you their story so that you are already prepared before you start in the Swiss Snowsports Schools.

Have fun and see you soon

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The Story of Snowli
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Snowli discovers the planet snow
The snow
The very special apparatus
The village of snow
The dream
The awakening
The children of the village
The return of Snowli

Snowli discovers the planet snow

Some time ago, a strange white being with two big blue eyes and long ears flew from an unknown pllanet all through the universe to land on Earth. The journey was endless and very, very tiring. - "Where am I now?" asked the frightened little being to the snowman who suddenly stood next to him. - "You fell into the snow, isn't that funny?" answered the snowman. - "Snow?! What a funny word. What's that?" asked the strange little being. - "You tell me your name first and where you come from, before I explain to you what that is, " answered the snowman with the carrot nose. - "My name's Snowli." - "What a lovely name!" Amazed and happy, Snowli told his new friend, the big white snowman, the story of all his adventures. His parents had sent him on a wonderful journey through all the universe to visit other planets and meet other races of people. That was why he'd landed on our planet, Earth. - "And now, Mr. Long Nose, would you please explain to me what this cold, white stuff is?" The snowman bet down to him and started to tell him the fascinating story about snow.

The snow

"Snowli, you had a long journey before you arrived here on Earth. Just like the snow, you know, which also has a long and difficult journey before falling to the ground. Snow is not just frozen rain. The delicate, white snowflakes are formed inside the clouds. The clouds are like a factory which produces small crystals and forms them to snowflakes. When it is warm, the snowflakes melt while falling to the ground and turn into raindrops. The snowflakes only settle on the ground in winter, when it is cold." Snowli couldn't believe that such mysterious things should happen on Earth, and he listened attentively to the snowman.

"The snowflakes are blown about by the wind whilst they're falling. Sometimes they're carried far away through humid, cold and warmer layers of air. This causes the snowflakes to change into the most amazing forms such as stars, columns, needles, trangles and squares. There are thousands and thousands of different forms, and nobody knows if two same crystals fall to the ground! Do you know which is the most beautiful form?" asked the snowman. - "No", answered Snowli quite puzzled. - "The most beautiful form is definitely the star! That's a snowflake with six points. Next time it snows, we'll take a good look at a snow star. You'll see how perfectly it is made and how fragile it is, as if it wasn't from here!" - "But why do the different temperatures change the form of the snowflakes?" asked Snowli. - "When it is very cold," continued the snowman, "then the snow is dry and powdery because the snowflakes can't stick together. When it is warmer, the snow melts a little and becomes wet. That's why it's easier to build a snowman with wet snow than with dry snow, because the wet snow sticks together better!"

Full of curiosity, Snowli suddenly asked Mr. Long Nose: - "How many snowflakes are your actually built of?" - "Oh! Oh! Oh! That's a very difficult question, Snowli! There are so many, that it is impossible to count them!" answered Mr. Long Nose with a smile. Snowli, still listening attentively, was just fascinated by the story Mr. Long Nose was telling. - "You can slide, stopp, make curves and even jump in the snow, " explained the snowman. - "Doesn't that hurt the paws?" asked Snowli impressed. - "Aren't I silly, " answered the snowman smiling, "I forgot to tell you that one can only slide quickly, make unbelievable curves and stopp abruptly using quite special apparatus. Sometimes, when there's a lot of new snow, it's really difficult to move forwards, and when the snow's frozen, one has to be very acrobatic to be able to keep balance." - "Mr. Long Nose, please tell me about the special appartus!"

The very special apparatus

"These very special apparatus are called skis and snowboards", continued the snowman. "Like the snow, skis also have a long and unbelievable history. Just imagine, skis were invented many thousands of years ago, but the inventors didn't use them as we do today. In the beginning, skis were not used for sliding, but to prevent people from sinking in deep snow. In winter, when the hills and valleys were used every day for walking in the snow and for hunting animals. At that time skis looked like snowshoes. Like all other objects of daily use, they've developed with time, they have changed their form, and have become an important means of moving forwards by steps or by sliding. Long, short, narrow and wide, made of painted or unpainted wood, skis are not used today for the same purpose as in early times. Today they're used for leisure. You'll see, there's nothing better than skiing in the wood." - "And the snowboard?" asked Snowli. - "Snowboarding, " explained Mr. Long Nose very competently, "is a modern sport, which has been created to inspire young people. Those crazy people who surf on enormous waves in the sea had the idea to try surfing on snow. The big snow sport family includes skiing and snowboarding, but also cross-country and telemark skiing, whereas the last is like the father of the family." The snowman was a huge source of information, and Snowli was the most inquisitive being that had ever landed on Earth. They went for a walk together.

The village of snow

The village of snow was so big that you couldn't see the other end. With every gust of wind, the big trees covered the village with snow again, as if they were huge paint brushes. The whole day long Snowli and Mr. Long Nose played together, chasing each other and tumbling around in the snow. Snowli was happy: He'd discovered Earth, a very special village, a very dear friend and fascinating, white stuff, but... - "My little feet are as cold as ice!" remarked Snowli surprised. Without losing any time, Mr. Long Nose took Snowli into a small wooden hut, gave him a nice hot drink and a biscuit and lit a fire in the fireplace. He wrapped him up in such a big scarf that one could only see his big eyes. Besides that, he gave him warm socks, shoes, a pair of gloves, some large sunglasses and a funny hat. It was very warm inside, so Mr. Long Nose had to leave again quickly, because he began to melt! Snowli was so tired, that he fell asleep next to the fire. He slept so deeply, that he stayed in the house for some days.

The dream

It was pleasant to sleep after such a long journey and discovering all the incredible things on Earth which were all so new for our small friend. The best of all was to be able to sleep knowing that he was quite safe, in a wonderful place, where one could learn so many new and interesting things, and he dreamt and dreamt...

Snowli dreamt that he left the small wooden house. Mr. Long Nose had dressed him so well, that he could hardly move. He stumbled to a wood, where he saw a bear behind a tree making the nost funny exercises: He was moving forwards on funny boards, and even with his weight, he didn't sink in the snow. Snowli gathered all his courage and asked him what he was doing. - " I'm playing in the snow, sometimes on skis, sometimes on a snowboard! I walk through the wood, turn right round and walk forwards and backwards! Do you want to try too?" asked the bear. - "Well, why not!" answered Snowli. First he tried with the skis, then with the snowboard! They both enjoyed themselves tremendously and played cat and mouse together. Snowli learnt very quickly how to run away on skis and hide behind trees! The bear was very nice. He gave him so many tips, that Snowli began to feel a bit like a little bear.

Snowli travelled further in his dream and found a lovely slope which wasn't very steep. He began to slide, getting quicker and quicker. He couldn't stop anymore! He was so frightened that he closed his eyes, and as he opened them again, he felt that he was slowing down, and to his surprise, he found himself standing in front of a penguin! - "My goodness, that was very frightening!" The penguin held his hand and encouraged him: "I'll show you how to slide quickly and safely over the snow. I'll also show you how to stop, because that's very important!" It was great fun, even though he didn't always quite manage it and sometimes fell over. The snow softened his fall and it didn't hurt a bit. It was also quite easy to get up and go again. The penguin was just as nice as the bear. He gave him so many tips, that Snowli began to feel a bit like a penguin.

Suddenly Snowli became quicker. The slope was steeper at the bottom and there were trees everywhere! He had to be careful not to hit one! Go and stop, climb to the left. Go and stop, climb to the right. "This is hard work" , thought Snowli. As he stood by a big fir tree, panting like a steam train, he heard a strange laugh and afterwards a voice, which said to him: "What are those funny movements you're mading? You must learn to make curves!" Snowli looked around, until he suddenly saw a small snake winding its way over a branch. - "A, a sn.. sn.. snake!" stammered Snowli, surprised by seeing this unusual animal. - "Don't worry, I can teach you all the curves in the world!" said the snake. The little snake was a very dear and watchful friend. He explained to Snowli how he could make curves in the snow and avoid all the obstacles in the wood. A curve to the right, a curve to the left and even backwards: what fun that was! Snowli and his new friend even had a race to see who was quicker, once on skis, once on a snowboard! The snake gave him so many tips, that Snowlis began to feel a bit like a snake. Snowli skied down into the valley singing "a curve here, a curve there". He made one turn after another, easliy avoiding all the obstacles in his way, stoping to admire the mountains and sometimes walking along, following an animal's track.

After another turn, he suddenly felt light, very light, much too light... - "Oh dear, dear, dear, I don't know how to jump, not to mention fly!" cried Snowli terrified. Luckily his jump wasn't too high and he landed in the soft snow. As he slowly recovered from the shock, he saw a strange animal with big paws standing in front of him. - "Hallo little one", he said, "shalll I teach you how to jump?" - "Oh yes, " answered Snowli, "I'd even like to learn how to fly, but who are you?" - "I'm the kangaroo, King of Jumps. I can teach you how to jump, but not how to fly." The kangaroo built lots of bumps and jumps. Snowli sometimes felt he could even touch the sky. Often he jumped so high, that he thought he'd never come down again. The kangaroo, King of Jumps, gave him so many tips, that Snowli began to feel a bit like a kangaroo.

The awakening

Before Snowli said good-bye to the kangaroo, he made one last jump. The jump was so high, that he thought he was back in the universe again, on the way home. - "Oh no", called Snowli, "I want to stay on Earth, I want to learn more!" After his wonderful dream he was so happy to wake up in the small wooden hut in the village of snow. It was nice and warm inside. The snowman was standing outside in the same place, as still as his carrot nose. Snowli stretched and felt a bit funny. He sat up and noticed that his body was stronger. He pushed back the blanket and saw that...

...his legs were blue and strong like a kangaroo,
...the upper part of his body ws orange and looked like a penguin,
...his paws were yellow and hairy like a bear.

He turned round - and saw a red snake's tail coming out of his kangaroo backside!

He found a mirror and discovered with surprise that the only thing that hadn't changed was his head. His lovely white, soft head with the big blue eyes and the long ears was still the same, which reassured him that he really was still Snowli! However, his body had changed into the forms of the animals he'd met in his dream, who'd helped him to have so much fun skiing and snowboarding in the snow.

The children of the village

Having recovered somewhat from his shock, Snowli decided to leave the house and tell his strange story to the snowman with the carrot nose. As he put his foot outside, he was greeted by a crowd of children singing a happy song! They all wanted to learn to ski and snowboard, and they'd found a friend for this adventure: Snowli.
Mr. Long Nose didn't make a move, but some of the children were sure they'd seen him laugh and push his carrot nose straigth as he watched Snowli playing with them. Snowli was the friend of all the little champions in the village of snow. He amused everybody, and they were all amazed to see how he could do anything he wanted on skis or on a snowboard. He easliy moved forwards and backwards, he could slide, swing, jump and even do some funny tricks, which was his speciality!

The return of Snowli

In the village of snow, they say that Snowli returned home after having taught snow sports to thousands of children. He went back to his parents to tell them all about his wonderful adventures on Earth in the villag of snow. Back on his planet, amidst the stars, he fell asleep beside his brothers and sisters and woke up after a wonderful dream, opening his big blue eyes which sparkled like snow crystals: his little body was white all over and he still had his lovely long ears...