4/9
We were in Houston after seeing the eclipse. We did some errands in the area (like mailing our camping equipment home) then caught a flight from Houston to Munich on United (most uncomfortable seats ever), but good food and movies
4/10
Arrived to Munich. Took a short flight to Geneva. We picked up a rental car (paid for by Eleven) and drove to Le Miroir, France. On the way, we stopped at a cool little place to get baguettes and pastries. After the 2.5 hour drive or so we arrived to Chalet Hibou situated with great views of snowy peaks (Mont Pourri) and lush, green valleys in the quaint and very tiny village of Le Miroir in the province of Savoy.
We were greeted by Thomas, the experience manager for the Chalet. He gave us a tour of the magnificent chalet. It has 4 or 5 bedrooms and a bunkroom. It has a beautiful living room with a fireplace and another living room and dining area also with fireplaces. It has a media room, a kitchen, exercise room, spa room, dry and steam saunas, and a music nook. It has a fancy ski locker area, and each of us was assigned a ski locker and given welcome gifts (hat, goggle cover). The Chalet also has a game room and 2 open access bars (you can take and make whatever you want!). There are several nice decks (including off of our room) and of course a hot tub with a cold plunge. There are also several areas with a variety of fancy snacks and cold drinks in a fridges (ex. coke, fruit juices, special teas, beers). At the hot tub, they also put out cold drinks in an ice tub for us. Two other people are staying at the Chalet with us. Laura from Eleven (marketing) and her boyfriend Joe.
Our room has a fancy shower that includes a steam shower. The room is of course very fancy and has buttons to control all the lights and to pipe music. Wide double doors open up to a deck with great views of the alps.
We got organized and settled, hit the hot tub, then had cocktails. There is a lodge staff who will make cocktails whenever you want if you don't want to make your own. We had hor's devours by the fire. We also popped some champagne (when in Rome..err..France)
For dinner, chef Philippe comes out with his heavy French accent to explain what each course of the meal is. Tonight the first course was zucchini cheese pastry salad. 2nd course was scallops with garlic potatoes. Dessert was a half-baked chocolate cake with ice cream from a local creamery. And of course dinner comes with wine to go along with the cocktails.
Before dinner we each met our private ski guide. Ours is Antoine.
4/11
We had a breakfast prepared by the morning chef (Anna). She also explained everything in her thick French accent. Almost all of it was locally sourced (like really locally sourced from this village of Le Miroir or a neighboring village). You start the breakfast with a ginger lemon shot (for health...and it wakes you up!). Then fresh sourdough bread (200 year old starter), croissants, and other pastries. There was an amazing fruit bowl, handmade granola, and cheese and ham board. There were eggs made to order as well as hot drinks to order. Fresh homemade yoghurt as well.
Then it was time to get ready for skiing! My first time in Europe! I was extremely excited. We were whisked away in a fancy Mercedes van (with to-go tea in hand) to our first ski area. It has snowed overnight, so we were extra excited for the skiing. We drove to Val d'isere ski area. We started the day by taking a funicular. At val d'isere we would take all kinds of lifts (funicular, tram, gondolas, chairlifts, platter tow, magic carpet, t-bar).
Val d'isere is just HUGE! ANd the views are absolutely incredible!! (including Europe's tallest, Mont Blanc) It's so wide open! With no trees for the most part. And most people ski only on piste, so the incredible off piste terrain is untracked powder all day! In Europe, they don't do avalanche mitigation off piste, so we skied with shovel, probe, beacon, and an airbag pack (that Eleven gave us). We skied a lot of good powder and only hiked a little bit. We skied a small glacier.
We had an outdoor lunch at a cool mountain chalet (exactly how you would imagine in the Alps). We had beers and delicious pasta meals (thanks to Elisha's company for paying). At the end of the incredible ski day, we saw some endangered ibex type animal on the last run and then had beers in the sunny weather at one of the base areas.
Back in the fancy mercedes there were snacks and more beers. And then back at the chalet it was cocktails, hot tub, and aprés (goat cheese tart with smoked duck and bruschetta with some french named thing on top. Then it was dinner (definitely a theme in France, besides skiing, was eating and drinking. I was FULL all week!). dinner 1st course: white asparagus with eggs and sauce. Main: duck over mashed sweet potato with honey glaze and a small baked casserole (cassorette) . Dessert: Lemon curd puff with raspberry sauce!
4/12
Today started with a similar breakfast, except that there was also pancakes. It was then off to the ski area of Tignes. We took a funicular and then a larger tram to get to the top of the resort. From here we put on harnesses and prepped for skiing the Grand Motte Glacier. We skied down to the glacier area and then faced a super steep pitch (~55 degrees). Elisha actually got roped in as a security measure in case she fell while side-slipping down. But I was able to make turns down it!
We skied around the resort going to cool couloirs and off-piste areas. We had a snack of sausage and cheese from a cool viewpoint where we laughed because there was some bdsm style lady getting her picture taken in a near nude state. We then skied to an area where we repelled through a cool little hole in the wall to get to another area where we had a really long ski to get to the bottom. We then worked our way back to the Val D'isere ski area.
They were having a paragliding and speed skiing (skiing with a small parachute) competition, which we watched while having apres. It was pretty awesome! Then it was back to the lodge for hot tubbing and cocktails. Max, a travel agent is also staying with us, just for the weekend.
In the early evening we did a 40 minute hike up to an alpage (sheepherders cabin). When we arrived there was a roaring fire outside, which was surrounded by torches. Hors d'oeuvres were awaiting us (some shrimp things) as well as moscow mule type drinks in large stines. They had games like ax throwing and team sawing.
We eventually moved inside of the cool and rustic cabin. There was no electricity, so it was all lit by candles. There was also a fire inside. We had *TONS* of delicious fondue and wine. I've never been so full off of fondue. But wait, there was more! After we finished the fonde, we moved downstairs to another fire, and a set table where Philippe was cooking sirloin and delicious french mac 'n cheese. We had a dessert of chestnut cake with mascarpone. We then ended the meal with a local digestive , Genepi, which was very strong. We spent some more time outside drinking and watching the stars before hiking back to the chalet.
4/13
Another great breakfast. But before breakfast I got up before dawn and sat in the hot tub for the alpenglow and sunrise. Then we were off to the closest ski area to the chalet, Saint Foy.
We took some lifts up, and then did a ski tour up a small peak where I proposed marriage to Elisha again with the rinf I had originally proposed with. She had given it back at that time as she wasn't sure, but then had asked my mom about it later after we were married. I surprised her extra by hiding it in a snowball. From the top where I proposed, there was a spectacular 360 degree view, including Mount Blanc. We then finished the tour and skied a few runs to a wonderful chalet to have a fancy lunch (duck and steak and champagne and beer) on the deck with views.
We then skied a few more runs and watched a poullet race where TWO people were on either one pair of skies, one snowboard, or one monoski. Pretty crazy! I also did a pond skim.
Back at the chalet was cocktails and hot tubbing with some special cocktails made by Elisha. Apres ski included some raw salmon kebab things and then ham and cantaloupe. Dinner was celery root and prawn soup, veal saltimbocca, and lemon tiramisu.
4/14
Breakfast today was the usual but also with crêpe bretonne (buckwheat crepe with ham, cheese, and egg). We then went to the La Rosiere ski area, complete with a red (rose) colored road up the base area.
From here we skied from France into Italy to La Thuile ski resort. In Italy we went to a fancy Italian restaurant where we had a variety of cheeses, meats, and pastas and of course dessert. Then we were served an amaretto digestive in a chocolate "shot glass". We then skied back to France and past a fort built by Napoleon Bonaparte. On the way back, in the van we stopped at a really cool church perched high up on a hill.
Back at the chalet, we had lots of cocktails and of course had a hot tub and a cold plunge. Apres ski with some duck finger food and asparagus wrapped in egg. Dinner was a puree of white beans and seasoned vegetables (like a hummus), grilled salmon with leek fondue. Dessert was panna cotta with a sour raspberry sauce
4/15
The weather wasn't quite so good, and Elisha wanted to stay back to enjoy the chalet, so Antoine and I went to Val D' Isere to do a cool ski tour. We took a couple lifts to access our tour, then toured up a pass and small peak. We skied down an awesome and huge bowl on the other side. Really amazing and good skiing. We skied down to a refuge (Refuge du Fond des Fours) in Parc Nacional de la Vanoise where we had a pepsi (French brand) and the best cheese omelette I've ever had! The refuges here are kind of like 10th mountain division huts except that they have a refuge manager who cooks meals. Her kids were also living there and are homeschooled there. The refuges are cool because for about $65 USD, you can get a bed and breakfast and dinner. The refuge manager and assistant manager clearly had crushes on Antoine and flirted with him.
We then skied our way back to the base area where we took the van back to the chalet. We had yummy pizza with Thomas before heading out in our rental car to the town of Annecy. We drove the town of Albertville which hosted the 1992 winter Olympics.
At Annecy we checked into our hotel and then walked the 2 miles to the center. Annecy has cool old buildings and canals. It's also on a huge lake with mountain views. The water of the lake and canals are a beautiful glacial blue/green. After exploring around, we had an outside fondue dinner before walking back to the hotel.
4/16
We had a slow morning and then walked back to the Annecy center to have a picnic lunch by the lake. We walked around and explored the city. It was much cooler today. We had hot cocoa in a bakery and cafe and also got a raclette panini from a street stall. We had drinks along one of the canals for happy hour before heading back to the hotel. Chilled at the hotel and worked on my journal. We had dinner from the nearby supermarket.
4/17
Drove to Moutiers this morning. We got there pretty early, so we couldn't check in. So we drove to Brides des Bains and then up a steep and narrow road to the cute mountain village of Feissons-sur Salins. We then hiked to a couple viewpoints including Croix de Feissons with a steep view down to Moutiers and another one looking at the Three Valleys ski area. It was kind of cloudy with some sun to start, but then started to snow. Picnic lunch on our hike and had dinner at a Kebab spot in Moutiers
4/18
Due to bad weather forecasted in our area, especially at the ski resorts, we drove South to Briançon. On the way, we went over a snowy pass near Alp d'Huez (famous climb in the Tour de France) and past La Grave ski area. Briançon is a cool, walled medieval town. The streets are really narrow and the buildings colorful. The town is near the Italian border and surrounded by fortresses. We hiked up to 2 different fortresses for views and crossed a cool old bridge over a deep gorge. After our hike, we got some ice cream (even though it was pretty frigid) and walked around the cool medieval town. We met a very nice Frenchman in the town who we tried to converse with, and he gave us some chocolate. Then it was time for the drive back to Moutiers, mostly in the dark.
4/19
Today was the big day that we skied at Les Trois Vallees, the largest ski domain in the world spanning 3 valleys and 7 or 8 villages. It has 159 lifts!! One of the cool things about European skiing is that every resort has so many unique lifts. We'd take trams, gondolas of all sizes, funiculars, cogwheels, 6-pack lifts, chair lifts with bubble covers, side by side surface lifts, magic carpets, etc. The French (Europeans?) are also funny about requiring that the bar on the chairlift comes down immediately!
We started the day at Les Menuires the skied to Val Thorens then to Orelle up to the highest point (3220m=10,600 feet) back to Val Thorens to Meríbel and then to Courchevel. The 3 valleys are Thorens, Courchevel, and Meríbel. It had snowed the day before, so there was LOTS of powder off-piste all day. The views were of course incredible until a storm blew in during the afternoon.
After skiing we drove by the Olympic ski jump and then to Faverges where Elisha had visited previously with her friend Megan. We visited a couple small villages near there and also an Abbey. We then drove to Chamonix, arriving in a light snow to our hostel (Vert Lodge) on the outskirts of Chamonix. The hostel had unlimited tea and cocoa! and cool little pods to sleep in.
4/20
It was foggy when we woke up, but as we were having breakfast all of a sudden we could see a huge glacier appearing out the window. Eventually it cleared completely to reveal beautiful and glaciated Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe. We then got ready and headed to Grand Montet to ski.
It was another powder day, and we had lots of fun. It's a small little resort. From the resort we could see a cool, giant glacier. We had aprés ski outside on the mountain before heading down.
We walked around Chamonix town, a cute town where they held the 1st winter Olympics. We had crépes, then hamburgers for dinner.
Zach was arriving by train, but was going to miss the train connection to Chamonix (thanks Swiss!), so I drove up the pass to Vallorcine to pick him up. I also squeezed on other guy into our tiny Mitsibishi who also missed the last train to Chamonix. We then hung out in the hostel, making plans.
4/21
We got up early and took the train up to the Aiguille du Midi, which is this cool spire on the shoulder of Mont Blanc where they have crazily built this big structure with a cafe, viewpoints, and exhibits. It sits at 3842m (12,605 ft). We walked around a bit, looking at the views. Then Zach and I headed won the steep, snow walkway to access the skiing. We skied down to a point and then skinned up to a pass on the Italian border. We then skied down a crazy steep couloir into Italy where we skied an awesome powder run to Glacier de Toula to a tram in Italy. We took the tram back up and then skied back into France to ski the famous Valle Blanche, a 7 mile run down glaciers (we had glacier travel equipment like rope, harness, and ice axe) to reach the valley floor of Chamonix. The glaciers include Glacier du Géant, Glacier du Tacul, and Mer de Glace.
When you reach the end of the glacier after the 7 mile run (6000ft descent), you take a gondola out of the valley and then a cogwheel back to Chamonix. Bro and I went for a crépe (me) and burger (him) before heading back to the hostel to meet Elisha. We had apres at the hostel and then went out to Ramen in town. On the way back, we saw 2 amazing light shows: the first was natural, and it was the full moon coming out behind clouds, illuminating the clouds and the tall peaks; the 2nd was a really cool light/movie show on the town church.
4/22
We all went to Grand Montent with the intention of doing the Le Tour glacier ski tour, but it was so foggy--soupy fog--that we just skied a few runs and called it.
Elisha and I took the cogwheel to the Mer de Glace glacier and toured the ice caves that they had made into the glacier. Zach went to the spa.
For dinner we went to a really nice French restaurant and had Raclette with 750g (~1.7lbs) of cheese and lots of potatoes and cured meats. We got very full and the raclette heating device kept us warm and toasty.
4/23
The 3 of us again tried to do Le Tour, but it was still pretty foggy. However, bro and I still decided to do it, while Elisha stayed back. We took the Gondola up on the Grand Montet, then continued skiing up to a pass. We eventually broke above the clouds to have great views above the fog! We got some nice powder turns in the sunshine before we descended into the fog. We did some foggy pow turns that were completely disorienting and we had to ski side by side to keep some semblance of up and down and of course used GPS to figure out where we were going. But soon we got below the fog and skied onto the giant Glacier d'Argentiere.
We put skins on again and ascended up the other side, eventually boot packing up a steep couloir on part of the Haute Route. Once on the pass, we descended down on Glacier du Tour for some great powder turns. At the very bottom, we lost enough snow to ski and had to descend a steep, rocky, bushy area with skis on our back. We ended up in the tiny village of Le Tour where we walked through the town to catch the bus back to Chamonix. Again we had aprés at the hostel. We went to Thai dinner in Chamonix.
4/24
As the weather was nice, Elisha and I went once again up to the top of the Aiguille du Midi for the fantastic views. It is definitely spectacular 360 degree views from the top, including view of Mount Blanc, other 4000m peaks, and the Matterhorn.
After coming back down, we had lunch at a kebab place and then drove over the pass into Switzerland. We checked out one small Swiss town on the way to Visp. The town had a cool church, castle, and narrow, cobbled streets. At Visp we parked and bought an expensive train ticket on the glacier express to Zermatt as no cars are allowed in Zermatt. It's a nice train ride up to Zermatt in a deep gorge, passing by cute villages with view of white peaks. Once in Zermatt, we lugged our gear the mile up to our hostel. Our hostel has nice views of the Matterhorn. It started peaking out of the clouds when we got there. After checking in, we explored around Zermatt, which is a cute ski town. There are no cars allowed except for a few small electric taxi carts.
4/25
We woke up to a beautiful bluebird day. After breakfast at the hostel we hit the slopes. There was still lots of nice powder to be had! Views everywhere were amazing, including of the Matterhorn. We rode a cable car up to the top of their peak area that sits on a glacier. We skied down the glacier to the border of Italy. We went to another area where we did a small hike to ski lots of powder and down a long glacier run. Near the bottom of the glacier was a really cool ice arch that we skied through.
At the end of the day, we took the cogwheel up to the dop of a different area with awesome glacier views and an astronomical observatory. We then took the train down to Visp and drove til around midnight to a hotel outside of Geneva.
4/26
We drove to the Geneva airport and flew to Washington Dulles and then on to Denver where mom picked us up. We got Taco Bell and then drove home in a snowstorm to Estes.
4/27
We woke up heavy snow with 14" already accumulated. The power was out. In the afternoon, Elisha and I skied some great powder up at Hidden Valley. We went out to Byrd and Jim for Elisha's birthday.
4/28
I woke up early for 3 awesome powder laps up at Hidden Valley. We then went to church with dad before driving down to Erie to watch the Avs game with Rick.
4/29
Went for a hike with mom in the snow in the park around Sprague Lake. We had a fancy skirt steak meal with cocktails and bananas flambé for dessert.
4/30
We left Estes in the van in a snowstorm to head to Heron, Montana. It was very windy through Wyoming. We drove through Lander and over a pass into the Teton Valley with nice views of the Tetons. We watched the Avs at a bar in Jackson and spent the night up on Teton Pass in a snowstorm.
5/1 Drove to Idaho, then into Montana and to Heron.
I kept a couple of statistics from our trip:
# of days skiing: 11
# of days eating cheese: 16
I tallied up my number of days skiing for the '23-24 season.
Downhill days = 64
Back country days = 9
Cross Country days = 13
Total days on skis = 86
I was curious how this compared to my '22-23 season when I worked for SAIL and lived both in Gothic and Mt CB. Here is that info:
# of days downhill skiing = 81
# of days backcountry skiing = 87
# of days cross country skiing (cross country skiing often overlapped with the other types of skiing, and I didn't include it as a day of xc skiing if I was just using xc skis to move around Gothic on my daily work activities tehre) = 49
Total events on ski = 217
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