A picture is worth a thousand words...and since I have no pictures....

OK! So we lost our internet for a little bit for some odd reason so I couldn't post last night. And I apologize for not posting this earlier, I was lazy.

Anyways now I will FINALLY report on my trip to France. This past weekend as you should already know, I went to France to visit my sister. I left on Thursday and flew into Geneva at around 3pm. After a nice 3 hour flight, I got a shuttle to take me the rest of the way from the airport to Eliza's quaint and cozy studio apartment over looking the French Alps.

After I arrived, we ran a few errands and got me the nicest rental snowboard that I have ever ridden on. They tend to be pretty much crap all around. This one however, had nicer bindings than the board I use at home with boots that were in better condition than my own as well. That night we went out to a bar to see a small group play old American classics like Hendrix and Cream, and met up with some of Eliza's boyfriend, Patrick's friends. Thats a cumbersome sentence.

We woke up at 830 the next day to get ready and eat breakfast before the hill opened. Patrick was nice enough to let be borrow all the winter gear that I didn't bring from the States except for gloves which were acquired at a cheap 15Euro. Before we even set foot on the mountain I got some idea of what was to come. To be sure that nothing TOO exciting happened, we put on harnesses and avalanche beacons, just in case one of us fell down a gaping crevasse or was swallowed by a large cascading snowbank.

When we got to the top of the 2700+ meter gondola, we set off. I was pumped, I hadn't ridden in a while and I was excited to get to go once more before the summer. The first run was EXHAUSTING. The snow was packed powder which had been chewed up by many people before us. This left pockets of crème brulée type snow more that eager to gnaw my legs to bits and shove my face in the snow. It was probably the hardest terrain I've even encountered simply due to how tired it made me.

After a couple of runs I started to warm up and string a few lines together. Luckily we were with Patrick who was sympathetic to my burning quads and didn't leave me behind. A couple of our runs took us over a very impressive glacier. By the end of the day I was burnt out, but really enjoying myself. Just before our last run the clouds began rolling in, bringing with it the snow. On our final decent we could hardly see at all due to the falling snow. It looked like it would be good skiing the next day.

The next day we got up at a bright and early at 630. Patrick wouldn't be joining us because he had a job later (hes a mountain guide) and didn't want his clothes to be wet. That would turn out to be a DEADLY mistake, with out the death. Anyways, Eliza and I met up with a few of her friends and we set off. When we reached the top of our first run the view was amazing. The low clouds that blanketed the valley made the mountain look as if it was 20,000 feet high instead of 10, 000. The sun was shining and there was not a single cloud above us. Not to mention, the snow was PERFECT. It had dropped about a foot or more of fresh powder and the first couple runs were amazing. I have to say, I LOVE powder.* The feeling of cutting out a fresh line while grabbing a hand full of snow as it flies by is indescribable. Its awesome. After a few runs however, it started to get a bit choppy and finding fresh snow was more tricky. One had to keep behind the person leading and not stray too far off to either side as it could cost you YOUR LIFE! Not really, but it was possible. This time around the snow was more forgiving but the people we were with were less willing to give my thighs a break. This was probably a good thing because it forced me to push myself and it showed. The last run I could hardly keep myself from falling over the smallest lump of snow.

After our last run we went to a bar where I practiced my French listening skillzz. The next day was uneventful, and I caught my flight at close to 4. It was a great weekend, I really had a good time. I was not able however, to take many pictures because I did not really want to bring my camera up the slope to get wet/broken in any way. Sorry! I did take a few pictures from my sister's balcony which has a pretty damn nice view.





And I hope you don't mind Eliza but here is the largest room in the studio apartment which was taken from the kitchen...if you can call it a kitchen.


And one more mountain picture


So before I lose the internet AGAIN I want to get this up!

*And yes, I realize how much it sounds like a reference to illegal drugs.