I snowboarded from Switzerland to Italy!!!

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Last weekend I headed back to Verbier for a holiday with a bunch of strangers (and English strangers at that)!!! How did this happen you ask?

Well, last time I was in Verbier I started chatting with a couple staying at our chalet, Jackie and Dave. They ski at Verbier quite often, and had a trip planned for March. As it turned out, one of their crew couldn't make it, so they invited me to join them. Being keen to spend as much time at the snow as possible, I agreed. While I was a bit concerned about spending 5 days with a bunch of strangers, as it turned out, I needn't have worried - I had an awesome time!!! Everyone (3 other girls, plus Jackie and Dave) was really great - and they are not strangers any more!

Stayed at a smaller chalet this time, so we had the place to ourselves. The food was amazing - who would have thought that you could be out boarding all day and put ON weight??

Snow conditions were the best I have experienced so far this season, helped out by more snow while we were there. The highlight was a day of off piste boarding) well, I boarded - everyone else skied) where we skied from Switzerland from to Italy, stopped for lunch and then caught a bus back through a mountain tunnel to Switzerland.

All the fun started at the Grand St Bernard pass, about 40 minutes drive from Verbier. The pass is the most ancient pass through the Western Alps, and in 1800, Napoleon’s army used it as a path to Italy (bet they did not have as much fun as me though!). There is also a hospice there, named after Saint Bernard of Menthon. The monks kept the dogs as mountain rescue dogs, and they ultimately got their name from Saint Bernard himself. (Did not see any St Bernards though, so lucky I did not need one.) Barnard is now the patron Saint of the Alps.

Anyway, we did a couple of runs on the Swiss side of the border and then climbed over the pass to the Italian side. The snow conditions were amazing and I had an awesome time. We stopped for some champers on the way down (very civilized) before heading to an Italian farmhouse restaurant for lunch.

The lunch was amazing. The ‘Italian Mama’ who owns the restaurant just brings out whatever food she is cooking on the day …and LOTS of it. She cures all her own meat and makes her own cheeses, and the food is fantastic. And it just keeps on coming, and coming and coming. I felt like I had stuffed myself till I could eat no more and yet, as we left, the ‘Italian Mama’ accused us of not eating much!!!

We then hopped on the bus, back through passport control and back to Switzerland… one of my best boarding experiences ever.

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Photos

On the slopes
Note the new jacket!

Love it
And love this picture

Italy crew
All skiers but me

Verbier sights
Snowy trees and the St Bernard train to the Le Chable, the gateway to Verbier

The 'Strangers'
but not any more!!!

Dining in style
Our amazing Italian lunch venue and champers off the piste

Comments

[Dad in China]

Small typo in para 4
Great story Nez. Para 4 has a small typo "Switzerland from to Italy". Also in following para, should the patron saint of Switzerland be "Bernard" not "Barnard" to match the St Bernard linkage? Love, Dad

[Neddy]

Picky picky!!
but amendments made