Early rise for skiing in the Alps today- a dream come true for Marshall! Brian drove us about two hours into the French Alps to the ski town of Avoriaz. It was beautiful- snow aplenty, ski lifts surrounding us, and ski towns all along the drive. One big difference between slopes in the Alps and the states is the set up of the slopes. At the tops of the mountains there, you look around and it is ALL snow everywhere with the tree line much lower marking the runs. We all started on a blue, but sadly that blue turned into the US equivalent of a Black Diamond, without any of us realizing. Yep, not a problem for most, but definitely a challenge for Lori. About an hour, too many falls to count, and some tears later, I arrived at the bottom. Something I can laugh about now, but can’t say I was smiling then. With each fall, I would sink into a couple of feet of snow, that is, when I wasn’t falling on a mogul:) For all of you who know how much of a beginner I am and the broken leg I’ve endured skiing in the past, you would have been proud that I made it down. I thank Marshall for talking me through it (and not laughing at me as I’m sure it was quite a sight)! Once realizing that it was not a typical blue run, we took some more runs before lunch, all of which went much better than the first run! Ellena and I camped out at the restaurant, Les Trappeurs, for the afternoon to enjoy some hot chocolate and stay warm while the boys took to the slopes, on and off piste. We didn’t take our camera up on the slopes, so the few pictures you see below are from Marshall’s iphone. It was definitely an award winning day- amazingly beautiful and a once in a lifetime experience for us… something for your bucket list! Epic!
Slopes of Avoriaz
Fully recovered from her first run
Lori and Ellena at the lodge
Lunch at the lodge
Marshall and Brian taking a look at the trail map
One last view of Avoriaz