We had a brief break in the snow, as seen in the photo
previously, and then the snow just kept coming.
So yesterday was spent hanging out with Claire, then hiking Savoyard and
sledding! Then down to The Pub where
Steph was working her first shift of the season for the opening day event. We made her make us spiked hot chocolate and
chatted with all the patrons.
It could be argued that I came to Europe to experience
different cultures (hey, anthropology degrees), but that is not the case
here. Ski towns are ski towns, and I’ve
spent quality time in ski towns. There
ARE differences here. I’ve certainly
skied with my fair share of Aussies and Kiwis, but the English, Irish, and
Scottish make up a big portion of the population here. Plus some Zimbabweans, Swedes, Finns,
Russians, and – of course – French. Apparently
we were actually “sledging” last night, per the lingo. Even Claire and Steph have picked up Brit
accents and slang from their constant contact with those islanders. And the approach to skiing is a little more
serious to some of the people here. The
big debate yesterday was whether to buy the €20 insurance that pays for the
cost of the helicopter ride off the mountain if you are injured.
Today the lifts remained closed,
either due to avalanche danger or lack of employees. Every answer is different. So Claire, Stephanie and I hiked up Les
Planards for my first ever snowboarding excursion. The snow is deep and light, making the going
slow and the landings soft. But getting
up again was quite a challenge! I made
some less-than-completely-embarrassing turns.
After skiing for 36 years (not counting the in utero time), snowboarding
does not feel natural.
The clouds lifted for about half
the day and I finally saw Mont Blanc.
Doesn’t look as impressive from this side, but nevertheless
beautiful. Looks like we’ll be trying to
real skiing tomorrow. I’ll try to
remember the camera!
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