UPDATES! Skiing.....

SKIING - December 11-14, 2008

First Day Skiing!

Julie, Ryan and I went skiing at Isola 2000 the second week in December with a group of Friends that we met the first couple of weeks we were here. This group, usually known as the "Yachties" consist of Fraser, Chris, Justin, Rudi, Jon, James, Griff, Ria and Ruppert (when he's not on vacation!).

Fraser did a great job of organizing the trip for the group (Thanks Fras!), and it was a nice change to get away and chill. The Chalet we stayed in was awesome, and the skiing conditions were great. We did however, start the trip off with the Chalet manager informing us that because of the amount of snow the area had received, there was NO WAY, we would make it up there. This seemed like a challenge, especially to a group of 8- 20 somethings (and maybe the odd 30 year old!), 4 of which were Canadian. Not knowing if we'd get past the village of Isola, we headed up and after an adventure (and snowbanks at least 5 feet high) we arrived to find our Chalet not quite ready- after all we weren't suppose to make it up there right?

Our Chalet is one of the left ones near the top!

Regardless, we had a great time. Skiing was awesome, especially the first day when there was hardly anyone there and the "powder" was still fresh. Julie learned how to ski, and although she had a few wipe outs, the provided commentary as she was flying and wobbling down the hill gave us all a laugh! I, on the other hand, learned that beginner snowboarding on the Alps is frustrating and the I'm not allowed to just snowplow down the hills when skiing! We also learned that if you don't pay attention, your experienced skiing and boarding friends will drag you down advanced level hills! HAHAHA

Oh and the company wasn't bad either. We ate well, talked lots, and even managed to play an intense game of French Monopoly that ended in two alliances, numerous market share deals, and a little bit of cheating on my part ;) OOPS!

Overall, we had a great time in the French Alps!