As Josh put it this morning: “the French are making the Italians look good.” Everything surrounding the Ecole du Ski Francais (ESF) was complete chaos. It was hard enough getting Olivia and Avery enrolled in to the ski school in the first place – from Rome, three weeks ago. Then, this morning, the mini-bus that was supposed to pick Avery up at our hotel, showed up over 45 minutes late despite repeated calls from the concierge during which she was told they were on their way. Josh had taken our car to drive Olivia to the meeting point for her group. Apparently, her group was leaving the meeting point right on time, and Olivia almost missed them because of two snafus relating to food! Olivia needs to bring her own lunch for these lessons – a new concept for us since it is always included in U. S. ski schools. So we ordered a lunch box from the hotel, and put it in a small backpack that we brought especially for this purpose. First, Josh left the hotel without her backpack and needed to circle back to pick it up. Then when he took her to the meeting point, he left the backpack in the car. Charlotte had to run back and get it while the group was waiting to go up the mountain. Then, he got the call from me saying that the bus hadn’t come for Avery, and I was putting him in a taxicab with another family (whom I’d met in the lobby also waiting for the ski school bus) and could he please drive directly to Avery’s ski school location to check on him. It was very nice of this Hungarian family, with a son Avery’s age, to offer to take him and check him in.
Needless to say, after the morning run-around, Josh, Charlotte and I got a late start. The problem now was – no parking remaining at the spot that we wanted to ski from. Then there is the slight issue that Josh is not able to walk a long way in his ski boots (after parking the car far away) without a lot of pain in his recovering leg. Fortunately, he hitched a ride with a Frenchman who told him “no problem, the Americans are great friends of the French.” Clearly, the gentleman was of a certain generation.
So, it was almost noon before we got up on the mountain! It was a beautiful, sunny morning. The vistas of the Alps were stunning. Mont Blanc had a dreamy look to it. As I would soon find out, skiing here is all about the mountain that you choose. After that, who knows where you are because there are no trail signs. There are poles places around the “piste” and that’s about it. Today we were skiing at Brevant; which is the South facing mountain right out of the center of Chamonix.
We took a few runs before stopping for lunch. We wanted to make it a quick stop – hot sausage or a sandwich and go – but the lines everywhere were extensive. Several folks told us we wouldn’t eat well in the French Alps, and I didn’t believe them. I always thought the French take their food just as seriously – if not more so – than the Italians. And, perhaps that’s true; but not in this part of France. Apparently, Chamonix is known for great skiing, but not for great food. We walked out of the first restaurant we went in to because the food looked so horrible – especially for the prices they were charging. Then we waited on line for a long time, for crappy hot sandwiches. What a disappointment.
We took only a few more runs today after lunch before we pooped out. The sun disappeared and the snow pack became hard. Charlotte and I headed for the town center – acute pedestrian only area – to go shopping for snowboots (for her; she came in canvas sneakers), and snacks. Of course we made the obligatory stop at one of many creperies that line the streets. The town itself is nice although of course you now have the major brands all represented: Helly Hanson, Columbia, La Coste, etc.
Josh went to pick up Olivia from ski school, and then circled around to get Avery. Unfortunately, the traffic turned his outing into a longer one than he expected. Driving around a ski resort is new to us. In fact, you technically don’t need a car in Chamonix because there is bus service. But, judging from how full the buses are; I’m glad we have a car here. Still, it’s a whole new concept of having to drive from one lift area to another. As one local explained to us on the gondola today, Chamonix was a real town before it was a ski resort so it’s just not set up like a ski resort. Well, I still can’t help but compare it to the resorts we know and love in the US. Telluride was a "real town" before it became a ski resort – they were just very thoughtful about how to set it up as a ski resort when they did it. Plus, you get tissues at the lifts, free (tap) water is readily available, as is sun-block at designated dispensers. And, most importantly, there is only ONE ski school, in one location where reservations are not required. Oh yeah, and the food is great. If you’re already paying “resort” prices, it might as well be tasty. Then there’s Jackson Hole where we routinely stay a 15 minute drive away from the ski mountain; of course, the hotel provides shuttle service so you don’t have to think about parking.
Another major difference is the elevation. While Mont Blanc is the highest peak in Europe at about 4000 meters. The town of Chamonix sits at just 1000 meters. Denver is higher! While this is good for those who suffer from altitude sickness, it’s not good for those that like to ski all the way down the mountain to town. Because the base is so low, the mountains at Chamonix are effectively un-skiable ie. icy and rocky at the bottom. So you have to take a gondola to get down the mountain. That’s new. We rode down with an Italian woman from Rome who lives in Milan now for many years. She prefers the skiing in Chamonix to the Italian ski resorts, but she doesn’t eat the food “it’s so heavy one serving could kill you.” She cooks in with her family and friends.
Overall, we’ve found it to be extremely international. While French is predominantly spoken, Chamonix seems to be popular with the British, some Italians and Americans as well.
Olivia seemed to have fun with her group – there were 12 kids with the instructor. They skied the whole mountain. But she said she didn’t make any friends. In fact, she said some kids were mean and kept telling her to “hurry up.” It’s true that eight is the minimum age for this group (we fibbed about her birth year) so all the kids would be older. But she is excited to ski tomorrow, so that’s good news.
Avery too had fun. He really likes it. We were worried that he’d be bored because he had to start with the beginners again. But with longer skis this time around, he needed a refresher so it all seemed to work out well.
Charlotte skied with Josh and I. Josh was in some pain from time to time as a result of his injury last year, but he won’t give it up.
No comments:
Post a Comment