Snowboarding in the French Alps
Left on Sat 7th Jan for 6 days of snowboarding in the French Alps.
Background to the trip - Sara's (my flatmate), boyfriend's best friend's friend is at Churchill College in Cambridge which had organised a ski trip. Through above tenuous connection, I was asked if I was interesting in going, and thought, why not? Big advantage being the discounted package deal since it was a was a big group booking (roughly 60 people attending from the Churchill group). The subset of this group - 15 or so of us linked in some way via Sara's boyfriend's friends - were the ones I hung out with during the trip.
Most of the days followed the same sort of pattern:
8.40am: Alarm goes off
9.00am: Get up (after putting on "snooze" a few times)
9.30am: Leave for boarding class (get there 15 mins late ... getting ready involved spending a good 10 mins lacing/tightening the boarding boots)
9.45 - 11.30: Class
So cute! One of the kids from the kiddies skiing class. We shared a lift up cos the kids all had to go up with at least 1 adult ... I tried to get him to turn around and look at me, but he was camera shy.
Christel ... our uber cool female boarding instructor (I just love it when chicks kick ass in a field generally dominated by men). She grew up in Bourg St Maurice (town closest to the slopes).
11.45 - 1.30: Lunch (usually quite yummy and in large portions)
1.30 - 5pm: More boarding (finishing up time varied depending on level of tiredness)
Playing in the snow!
5pm - 6.30pm: Apre ski (post ski), involving the drinking of mulled wine or hot chocolate (with a shot of baileys) ... and sitting around discussing the day's events - including achievements and falls/injuries (to yourself of others ...). Yasin (Sara's work friend) for example, made a habit of bashing into very small children (and crashed myself once).
First sunset outside the "Red Hot Saloon" (where we went for apre ski on our first few nights)
6.30 - 9pm: Resting/showering/dinner
9pm - early hours of the morning: Night activities which generally involved drinking and dancing. Included two "theme nights" organised by Churchill College ("back to school" and "beach party").
First night out (Sun) ... (the group meeting up in our room)
Tues night ... "Back to School" ...
Weds night ... l'Arpette
Sara and myself outside l'Arpette in one of those "finally made it" moments. The restaurant is situated on the side of the mountain and is basically inaccessible, except by skiing/boarding ... 'twas a bit of a trek to get there ... especially for beginners!
Place was pack with about 200 young 'uns on organised college ski trips (like us).
Check out the massive wheel of cheese (and melting contraption) ... Called "Raclette", the top of the contraption heats the top layer of the cheese. Once it gets hot and bubbly (and slightly grilled), you tilt the cheese and scrape the melted cheese into a plate and dish it around the table. For those in prime position (like me), you can scrape the melted cheese straight from the wheel. Cheese was accompanied by cured meats, salad and potatoes.
After the cheese was wheeled away, dinner was followed by some dancing on on the benchtops (1 bottle of wine EACH was included in the meal), and then by tipsy night skiing/boarding back down the mountain. It was eventful to say the least. Somehow my turns didn't seem as co-ordinated as they usually were ... but it also meant that falling didn't hurt quite so much (despite the rapid speeds at which I was going down)... all fueled by alcoholic courage and the shouting of "whhhhheeeeeeeeee" at the top of my lungs).
Thurs night ... Beach party night ... the less commentary the better I think!
On Friday after the morning lesson, left the rest of the group and hopped on the train early to Paris for Georg's going away / birthday party ... which included a fabulous live latin band which somehow managed to fit inside the flat!
Background to the trip - Sara's (my flatmate), boyfriend's best friend's friend is at Churchill College in Cambridge which had organised a ski trip. Through above tenuous connection, I was asked if I was interesting in going, and thought, why not? Big advantage being the discounted package deal since it was a was a big group booking (roughly 60 people attending from the Churchill group). The subset of this group - 15 or so of us linked in some way via Sara's boyfriend's friends - were the ones I hung out with during the trip.
Most of the days followed the same sort of pattern:
8.40am: Alarm goes off
9.00am: Get up (after putting on "snooze" a few times)
9.30am: Leave for boarding class (get there 15 mins late ... getting ready involved spending a good 10 mins lacing/tightening the boarding boots)
9.45 - 11.30: Class
So cute! One of the kids from the kiddies skiing class. We shared a lift up cos the kids all had to go up with at least 1 adult ... I tried to get him to turn around and look at me, but he was camera shy.
Christel ... our uber cool female boarding instructor (I just love it when chicks kick ass in a field generally dominated by men). She grew up in Bourg St Maurice (town closest to the slopes).
11.45 - 1.30: Lunch (usually quite yummy and in large portions)
1.30 - 5pm: More boarding (finishing up time varied depending on level of tiredness)
Playing in the snow!
5pm - 6.30pm: Apre ski (post ski), involving the drinking of mulled wine or hot chocolate (with a shot of baileys) ... and sitting around discussing the day's events - including achievements and falls/injuries (to yourself of others ...). Yasin (Sara's work friend) for example, made a habit of bashing into very small children (and crashed myself once).
First sunset outside the "Red Hot Saloon" (where we went for apre ski on our first few nights)
6.30 - 9pm: Resting/showering/dinner
9pm - early hours of the morning: Night activities which generally involved drinking and dancing. Included two "theme nights" organised by Churchill College ("back to school" and "beach party").
First night out (Sun) ... (the group meeting up in our room)
Tues night ... "Back to School" ...
Weds night ... l'Arpette
Sara and myself outside l'Arpette in one of those "finally made it" moments. The restaurant is situated on the side of the mountain and is basically inaccessible, except by skiing/boarding ... 'twas a bit of a trek to get there ... especially for beginners!
Place was pack with about 200 young 'uns on organised college ski trips (like us).
Check out the massive wheel of cheese (and melting contraption) ... Called "Raclette", the top of the contraption heats the top layer of the cheese. Once it gets hot and bubbly (and slightly grilled), you tilt the cheese and scrape the melted cheese into a plate and dish it around the table. For those in prime position (like me), you can scrape the melted cheese straight from the wheel. Cheese was accompanied by cured meats, salad and potatoes.
After the cheese was wheeled away, dinner was followed by some dancing on on the benchtops (1 bottle of wine EACH was included in the meal), and then by tipsy night skiing/boarding back down the mountain. It was eventful to say the least. Somehow my turns didn't seem as co-ordinated as they usually were ... but it also meant that falling didn't hurt quite so much (despite the rapid speeds at which I was going down)... all fueled by alcoholic courage and the shouting of "whhhhheeeeeeeeee" at the top of my lungs).
Thurs night ... Beach party night ... the less commentary the better I think!
On Friday after the morning lesson, left the rest of the group and hopped on the train early to Paris for Georg's going away / birthday party ... which included a fabulous live latin band which somehow managed to fit inside the flat!
posted by linh at 02:18
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