Today would be our last day of skiing. We enrolled Avery just for the morning session of ESF so we could ski with him in the afternoon. Ideally, Josh, Charlotte and I would have skied right out of Chamonix in the morning so we'd be close by for Avery's pick up. But, we had decided that Les Grands Montets in L'Argentiere was the best area to ski in these part so we headed down the road.
The weather today seemed to change every 15 minutes. It was clear, then cloudy, then an inversion layer developed so it was sunny at the top of the mountain, and then we'd ski down into the cloud where the visibility was poor. However, the snow conditions could not have been any better. Much of yesterday's snow was still untouched and fresh on the mountain ... up to 30 centimeters in some areas ... making for great powder skiing. We had a couple of great runs.
We ate our sandwiches in the car. We were heading for Le Tour which is the next town over from L'Argentiere. Le Tour is located at the very end of the valley, just before the Swiss border. Everything we had heard about Domaine de Balme - as a more intermediate mountain - indicated it would be great place for us to ski with Avery. Someone I spoke with even told me about the Foret Vert (Green Forest) where you can ski on wide runs in between the trees.
The bizzare weather continued. It was sunny and beautiful when we arrived in Le Tour; the mountain -- Domaine de Balme -- looked unspoiled and boasted a wide open area. We certainly didn't see too many trees let alone a forest. We boarded the gondola with Avery. It was the "newest" gondola we'd encountered here in Chamonix Valley -- skiis stay outside and there were seats inside!
Josh and I were both so impressed by Avery's balance and skiing. I don't think he fell at all the entire afternoon. We followed signs to the Foret Vert -- it was a long way over onto the other side of the mountain. All was going well until we decided to continue on the trail past the chair lift. The run turned into a boring cat track and we ended up all the way down in the valley in a another town called Vallorcine. There is a gondola in Vallorcine that takes you back up the mountain, BUT it's on the other side of the railroad tracks! So, we had to walk through town, past the train station, shlepping our skis all the way. What a completely bizarre and unskier friendly set-up. I think Josh was ready to strangle the person that suggested the Green Forest.
After we reached the gondola and took it up the mountain, we had to ski back down to the chair we'd passed the last time in order to get high enough to ski down to the other side where we'd parked. Unfortunately for us, the weather took a dramatic turn for the worse. The visibility vanished and the wind began howling. It was one of the most miserable lift rides I'd had in all my life. Josh and I tried to shield Avery. Charlotte was left out in the cold (pun intended). We could not wait to unload this thing! For the first half of our descent, conditions were not too much better. Today was by far the coldest day we'd skied so far. In fact, it was really the only cold day.
Josh drove back to Les Planards to pick up Avery while Charlotte and I took the gondola up one more time.
We ate our sandwiches in the car. We were heading for Le Tour which is the next town over from L'Argentiere. Le Tour is located at the very end of the valley, just before the Swiss border. Everything we had heard about Domaine de Balme - as a more intermediate mountain - indicated it would be great place for us to ski with Avery. Someone I spoke with even told me about the Foret Vert (Green Forest) where you can ski on wide runs in between the trees.
The bizzare weather continued. It was sunny and beautiful when we arrived in Le Tour; the mountain -- Domaine de Balme -- looked unspoiled and boasted a wide open area. We certainly didn't see too many trees let alone a forest. We boarded the gondola with Avery. It was the "newest" gondola we'd encountered here in Chamonix Valley -- skiis stay outside and there were seats inside! 
Nonetheless, we survived. We downloaded the gondola on the Le Tour side. Even in good weather, the terrain would have been too tough for Avery. But he really demonstrated what a champ he today. There was no complaining on his part. He skied extremely well, and it was fun to see him having so much fun.
Once back in Le Tour, we had to race back to Chamonix to pick Olivia up from ski school. When she got into the car, her nose was so red she could have been mistaken for Rudolph. It was a cold day indeed.
It was our last night at Hotel Les Aiglons; the girls enjoyed the pool and made some new friends. Once again we had an excellent dinner. The restaurant is clearly a destination for guests outside of the hotel; and being a Saturday night, it was full. Last night, I had enjoyed venison with a succulent piece of foie gras on top. Tonight, I tried the slow-cooked veal and wasn't disappointed. Josh's veloute de champignon (mushroom soup) was outstanding as was the ribeye. Each night after dinner, we were well-sated and ready for bed.
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