That Time I Went Skiing in the Alps

What a weekend!

It was great to get out of Geneva for the weekend and head up into the mountains (only an hour away) for a little downhill skiing, and of course, some après-ski.  And best of all, I got to make another "tick" on my bucket list!

I teamed up with Cy for the weekend who was a complete beginner.  I hadn't gone downhill skiing since middle school, so I figured a refresher would be a good idea.  We made it to the lessons to find that we would be learning where all the little kids learn.  Oh joy!

Didn't really matter to us though.  We were just excited to get out there and learn!  So we put our gear on, with the help of the instructor, and made our way to the Disney sponsored "classroom".

Very excited for my lesson...so much so that I couldn't make a normal face.  

 After re-learning all the ski techniques, but in French this time, the instructor dared taking us on the bunny slopes.  When we made it to the top, I had her take a picture, just in case we didn't make it down alive and my mum was begging for a picture of me attached to skis.

See Mum?  Proof!

But we did make it down in one piece.  Many times!  It's amazing how fast a skill comes back to you.  Just like riding a bike, but not.

However, the instructor did have a problem with my lack of coordination.  It wasn't that I couldn't turn properly or stop, the problem she had with me was what I was doing with my arms.  I wanted to just keep them beside me.  She wasn't having any of that.  Instead, she spent half the lesson yelling up to me to put my arms out (like a starfish) and to raise one each time I turned.  It was then I decided to not understand French.  There was no way I was doing that.  I know, I'm a terrible student.  But once the lesson was over, I had no trouble going down the slopes.  I guess that's a pretty terrible moral of the story though.  So to all the youth out there reading this: listen to your teacher!  They know what they're doing!

We eventually made it to some bigger hills and got to enjoy a spectacular view.  Unfortunately the weekend was quite foggy, but that didn't get us down.  I mean, look at that view!

And after a few hours of falling off the lifts, crashing for no reason, and accidentally going down the hill backwards, Cy and I just needed to sit down.  So that's just what we did.

But a big thanks to Ecole du Ski Français for making sure we didn't kill ourselves, and all the small children on the hills.   If you're in Chamonix and have no idea how to even put on your skis, check them out.

And now for some shots in and around the ski school.  How lucky am I?