Post by Lauren

This week, class was in session for A, S & moi. Ski school that is.

While I was by far the the worst of the three, I convinced them to take ski lessons with me for the day. The womens’ club has a ski group and the leader takes beginners in the month of January for an introduction and a lesson. And January is running out fast!

I obviously needed some skills based on the last adventure, so we set off for Les Contamines, France for some education on how one skis the Alps properly.

Luckily, the place was a ghost town on a Tuesday. The lack of crowds immediately made me more comfortable. Part of the fear is lack of control. Mainly, hitting a small child.

We started on a blue and Ski Angel (our name for the nice lady from AIWC) led the way, and like little baby ducklings, we followed.

We went slowly, and after a few runs, our confidence built. We were ready for ski school!

 

 

Our instructor, Odile, taught us the basics in a combination of French and English. It ended up being more than skiing…it was also a good French lesson. We learned that to snow plow is “chasse-neige” and that the technique of side slipping down a mountain is “descendu en escalier” . She had us (me in particular, being the worst) follow in her tracks so she could teach us how to S curve back and forth properly. I learned that when transversing, the skis should always be parallel, you should stand up straight, and put your weight into the front of the boots.

We also took lots of types of lifts.

There is the bubble lift, the “Télécabine”

There is chair lift, the “Télésiège”. A took this of me & Odile.

 

There is also the butt lift, or the “Téléski”, captured by A.

 

We went on a few runs on green and then Odile took us to a blue. After completing that, we took a lift to the tippy top and then we saw…..

 

Yup, that is a black. Covered in snow. Named Olympique. Okay, so we didn’t do all of Olympique but we had to take it to connect to another area of the resort.

After our two hour lesson, we met back up with Ski Angel for another run.

When we got to the car, I realized that while we had done at least 10 runs, I didn’t fall down once the whole day. Quite a contrast to falling about thirty times in one run on our previous trips. My husband was on a business trip and didn’t believe it when I emailed him to tell him I was safely back in Geneva. In fact, I am not sure he still believes it!

 

 

So, gratitude for more confidence and a great experience!!!

Bon weekend, everyone!