Chamonix

We woke up early on Sunday and headed to the Lyon train station in Paris to start our real vacation. Not that Paris wasn't great, just that the whole reason we came to Europe was to go snowboarding (skiing for Lisa) in the Alps. The train station was hopping at 7:30 AM unlike the rest of the city which was still asleep. The first leg of our voyage was to St. Gervais and from their we connected to a local train to Chamonix-Mont Blanc.

Getting to Chamonix was easier than I expected. I thought for sure there would be moments of great doubt all along the way but it was really quite easy to navigate the french train system. At the station in Chamonix, the information booth attendent provided us with a map and sent us on a ten minute walk to our hotel. I was particularly happy at this point that I was not lugging my snowboard as well as my suitcase over the icy roads. After checking in and unpacking we headed out in search of food and gear, food first. Our guide book suggested the burgers at Poco Loco and we gave it a try. Along with our food we tried out a local favorite, demi panache, half beer half 7-Up. While a little apprehensive, it turned out to be quite refreshing.

Upon arriving at the snowboard rental shop, Colleen and I quickly realized that Chamonix is a skiers area. Not that I was really surprised but you would think that they would at least have a few snowboards in each size. Instead, Colleen walked out with the only 151 and I with the only 155 in the shop and neither appears to be in that good of condition.

On Monday morning we woke a little later than planned. When I asked Colleen what happened to the alarm she informed me that it went off but is was too cold and too dark to get out of bed. When we did finally get up, we all agreed with Colleen's description and it stayed true all day. Not only were we boarding (skiing in Lisa's case) an unfamiliar mountain (Brevant) using unfamiliar equipment but the visibility was so poor that we could tell if there was a bump in front of us until we already gone over it. It snowed throughout the day and a large part of the mountain was closed due to avalanche control so we primarily did the same two runs over and over. Fun, but not the most exiting day of boarding.

Waking up Tuesday was a whole other story. First of all, we figured out how to set the automated wake up call system so Colleen couldn't decide on her own whether it was time to rise or not. Secondly, we looked out the window to see blue skies - only the second time in France that we've experienced this. Colleen and I had found an actual snowboard shop the night before and got new snowboards for the day and were excited to try them out on the slopes. We decided to try out Les Grand Montets for day 2 and spent the entire day playing in great fields of powder (with a few rock gardens sprinkled throughout). The new boards combined with the great visibility led to a great, but exhausting day of boarding. Additionally, we were able to see the amazing mountain ranges surrounding us for the first time. As I looked out I kept thinking that the alps should be called the Sierra Nevadas which translates to snow-covered saw tooths. The mountains were very jagged with tall, narrow peaks.

We still have two more days in Chamonix before heading to Geneva and if they are anything like today this will turn out to be a great trip.