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Did you know that it is possible to go skiing in the Northern Hemisphere during the month of May? I sure didn't, until Dominique invited me to accompany her on her annual 4-day skiing trip to Val Thorens in Haute Savoie, France! As the highest ski resort in Europe (the base is at about 2300m and the summit is at 3300m) they are able to stay open until May 8 every year, long enough to extract the last of the money from season-ending ski-addicts like us!
I was thrilled when Dominique invited me to go skiing, because (if you didn't already know) skiing is just about my favorite thing to do in the whole world. During the month of May nobody in France works because there is a holiday practically every week, and everybody skips a day of work to "faire le pont", (literally, "do the bridge" or in other words elongate your weekend to 4 days). To illustrate my point, the following days are "ferié" (holidays): May 1, 8, 17, 28. Basically one a week. It's awesome! I was more than happy to take part in this French tradition, and I got to take a holiday a la
Vallée des Belleville
This is the valley we stayed in, just below Les Ménuires. During the winter everything would be covered in snow. francaise!
Dominique was originally going to go alone, and then she got the idea to ask me, and THEN we added her brother Rémy and his daughter Julie (a bit older than me) to the trip. Rémy is really nice and fun to spend time with, so I was really looking forward to our little group. So, on a gorgeous Friday afternoon on April 28 with temperatures in the 80s, we hopped in the family car in La Défense, (the financial district in Paris), and 6 hours later we arrived in the small village of Bétaix in the valley of Les Belleville, located along a rushing little glacial river running along the steep-sided valley. We stayed at the home of a woman named Giselle who runs a little bed-'n-breakfast, and while the house was slightly odd (a regular 1970s time capsule!) Giselle herself was very nice...and an excellent cook! Fondue, Savoyarde specialties, pies, fruit salads, wine...we definitely ate well during our stay!
The little village of Bétaix was rustic, tiny, and very simple, but its best aspect was that it was only 10 minutes' drive down the valley from Val Thorens! It's actually located right under the base
of Les Ménuires, another large ski resort in the same valley as Val Tho. Along with Méribel and Courchevel, these stations make up what is known as the 3 Vallées, supposedly the world's largest skiable domain. (Although it seems to me that Verbier and the 4 Vallées gives it a run for its money). At this late point in the season only Val Tho still had snow, but that was impressive enough! The sides of the valley were completely bare and transitioning to the verdant green of an Alps springtime, and the temperatures in the valley were at least 60 or 65 degrees. Coming from Paris, where it was unseasonably hot (I was wearing a sundress when we left!) I had trouble believing that we would actually find snow. It was there, however! Even more incredibly, it even SNOWED on us on Monday May 30. Incredible! I kept pinching myself all weekend to make sure I wasn't dreaming it. Skiing in May! Amazing!
Val Tho itself is a large ski resort with a lot of varied terrain, and thanks to our experienced guide (Dominique) we got to ski the best of it. Pretty much ALL of the 60+ slopes
were open, with varying snow quality depending on your elevation. Go too high too early and it's icy, and go too low too late and you're wading through an interesting brownish mixture of slush/sand-texture material. But I wasn't complaining in the slightest- I was skiing!
We skiing on Saturday and Sunday under gorgeous blue skies and warm sun, picnicking on the rocks at lunchtimes and whizzing all around the ski area. Dominique is an excellent skier, as is Rémy, and Julie (a boarder) was equally good. We made a good team! I loved the "family" dynamic, relishing in the feeling that I belonged in a family-unit after having been basically solo all year. It's always fun to joke around in a group and share the joy of skiing with others, so I really couldn't have imagined a better time. What a lucky girl I am! Dominique and I kept looking at each other and laughing happily (or guiltily), thinking about all the poor schmucks stuck back in Paris working. And there we were, at the top of Europe! Hooray!
Can you tell I had fun? If possible, I had even more fun once Benjamin, Dominique's second son, came
Val Thorens Domaine
Looking down onto the basin of Val Thorens from the ridge going down to Orelle. to join us on Sunday night and stayed to ski with us on Monday or Tuesday. He's a medical resident in Grenoble, which is only about 1 1/2 hours from the Vallées des Belleville, so it was a piece of cake for him to hop in his sexy new blue sports car (his pride and joy, typical guy) and drive on up. He's only 25 (26?) so pretty close to my and Julie's age, and the three of us had fun joking around. For some reason I seem to make an attractive target for his irreverent sense of humor, which at times leaves me at a loss (because how can you make a quick rejoinder when you don't understand the joke?) but it was fun (trying) to hold my own. Lacking a witty comeback, I could always whiz away down the slopes in a spray of snow, which is possibly more satisfying anyway! Altogether, the five of us really enjoyed each other’s company and we had a fabulous time.
It was colder and snowier on Monday and Tuesday, but the snow was still fine on those days and we got about 5-6 hours out on the slopes each day.
Not bad! Ski pass tickets were reasonable, as well, so I can see why it is so tempting to sneak away to the slopes for a couple quick days of sunshine, snow, and relaxing après-ski drinks on the restaurant terraces. I should have gone to school in Colorado like I thought about doing! Oh well...I will take a year off and go become a ski-bum before joining the "grown-up" world of work and taxes. And if for some reason I don't come back...you'll know where to find me! On the slopes...
Tuesday evening our idyllic getaway weekend came to an end, and we bid goodbye to Ben and Giselle (and the mountains!) for the long ride back to Paris. I have to say that 6 hours in the backseat gets a little old, but it was totally worth it...and compared to the States, where I am a good 3-hour flight from good skiing, it was awesome! If only we could have French Alps in Pennsylvania.
The best way to appreciate the mountains, I believe, is to fling your arms out to your sides, tip your head, back, and slowly pivot in a circle, absorbing the bite of the
cold, clean mountain air, the warmth of the strong sunshine, and the majesty of 360 panoramic views. It's hard to capture with still photos, but I gave it a shot...check out the series from the top of the Cime de Caron, from which you can see the Mont Blanc in the distance. It's not quite the same, but it'll give you an idea! Enjoy the photos...
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