Thursday & Friday on the Mountain

I was so tired, bumped and otherwise beat after yesterday on the mountain that I couldn't bring myself to post photos. But here we are, Friday night, and well show some shots from yesterday and today.
 Thursday morning we woke to beautiful sunshine and a few inches of fresh snow that had fallen in the night.

Thurday:  drop off the girls at their lessons and hit the slopes.

Thomas and I striking out in the beautiful sunshine.

Thomas doing something that, needless to say, I will never, ever do.  Skiing thru some shortcut trail.

This photo was taken first thing on top of the mountain Thursday.  Before things "went awry".

Thomas and I had taken a T-bar that we hadn't tried yet, which took us up the far side of the mountain and gave us a great view over the main face and the rest of the trails.  It was a great perspective! 

After this we tried a new trail completely on the other side of the mountain, and I was on a trail I wasn't quite ready for, fell a few times, finally got down, got on the T-bar which was really long and carries you up over a red trail - except I fell, and had no other choice but to go down, or take off my skis.  It was quite a challenge and we were quite high.  I cried, I screamed, I fell, over and over, and I swore, loudly, in both languages.  I appealed to the sky, to my father, to God.  I panicked.  Finally, finally, got down, then had no other choice but to get back on that damn T-bar in order to get out of this no-man's land on the mountain and get back to a blue trail.  I was so absolutely terrified of falling off the T-bar again and having to go down that red trail again that I was tense, tense tense the whole ride up (the T-bar actually turns at a 90 degree angle at one point) and so when finally, finally we reached the top, I burst out sobbing and cried for like 5 minutes.  Real hard crying.  So ridiculous.  I still can't believe it.  Poor Thomas.  He stuck right with me.  Then it was time to get the girls.  I was S-H-O-T.

After the ski lessons, Léna went straight home with Andrée & Guy - here she is with Lousie after her lesson on Thursday:

 Thomas, Estelle & I headed right up on the chairlift to the top of the mountain.  We had a picnic in a backpack and so we skied down a ways to a great spot in the sun. 

This photo is Thomas guiding Estelle down.

This was the first time I saw Estelle skiing from the top of the mountain.  It was amazing.  Especially given my trying experience in the morning.

I kept having what I felt like was an out-of-body experience, because #1 I was skiing down this mountain and #2 there's my 6-year-old flying down in front of me, fearless, and yet, in control.

Despite my rather trying morning and our busy afternoon picnicing and skiing with Estelle, we went down to Marie's Dad's chalet, where the whole gang was to celebrate Marie's bday.

11 kids and 5 couples = a lot of people singing Happy Birthday to Marie.  This is why Eliott and Milo are covering their ears!  It was then that I realized the T-bar I had fallen off is actually classified as "extremely difficult" and everyone else found it hard too (though no one else had fallen).

Friday (this) morning:  after dropping off the girls, Manu & Thomas & I hit the slopes.  It was fabulous.

We went right back to that hard trail, this time I managed to get down with no falls, and I went right back for a little hair of the dog that bit me.  I stared that T-bar down and up the three of us went. I sang I've Been Working on the Railroad and Old Dan Tucker, out loud, to try and keep from tensing up since I was pretty scared of falling again.  I made it all the way up, no problem!  So happy.

Léna on the little Mighty Mite T-Bar.

Meanwhile, here's Léna in the  Piou Piou class, riding up the rolling carpet. 

Sometimes, we'd run into Estelle out with her group.

Today at the end of the lessons, the girls got their little medals for passing a level.  Below, Léna gets her pin from Benoit.

Estelle gets her pin from Damien.

Estelle & Damien.

We love Damien.   What's not to love?

Same thing as yesterday.  Léna whisked off and Estelle hits the chairlift with Thomas & I, picnic in hand.   We got the one picnic table on the whole mountain. 

These photos were on the chairlift.

Proud of their accomplishments:

Despite the lack of sun this afternoon, and a cold wind, Estelle went up that long chairlift 4 times this afternoon and took 3 blue trails.  She fell a lot on the steepest part, but she did great.  I, meanwhile, almost never fell anymore.  What an amazing week for all of us - so fun!  It was hard to turn in the skis for Estelle - she stopped dead in her tracks when she realized she was on her last run - she didn't want it to end.  In 5 short days, we've created a ski monster.

3rd Day Skiing: Thomas joins

This morning Léna said she didn't want to go to ski. When I asked why, she replied: "Well, I might have to pee." She went anyways and had a good time.

When Thomas and I started out to ski today, we ran into Estelle out with her group.

When Thomas and I arrived at the mid-low-base of the mountain to get back on the lift, lo and behold there was Estelle and her group.

Check me out, Mom.  I'm up here where you and Dad are.

Today we had lunch at a restaurant, outside on the terrace in the sun.  After, Thomas took Estelle out on the slopes for her first real skiing experience, wearing no pinney, and not with her coach.  He took her all the way up to the top on the mountain on the chairlift, and she skied all the way down, by herself, with him behind but no help from him, never fell.   I find this amazing.  The child has been on skis a total of 12.5 hours of her life.
Meanwhile, how to keep Her Highness occupied while Daddy & Estelle are up the mountain:

Here's the paper-maché King which was going to be burned late in the afternoon.
Is anyone else reminded of Bob Dog from Mr. Rogers when you look at this photo?

Finally we looked over and there came Estelle & Thomas on their way back: strangely you must take a short T-bar to get back up to the station from the bottom of the mountain.

So comfortable she can wave.  I can barely keep standing up on those dang things.

 Meanwhile:
When we got back at 4:30, it was time to make some crepes.

Nothing like raclette!

A few older photos from Sunday & Monday

This is what happened in the afternoon after Day One of skiing:

A few photos from Sunday afternoon when it snowed, snowed, snowed.  We had just picked up the rental skis and the girls tried them on in the yard.  We dragged them around.

Much fun to be had in the snow in the yard:

Sunday morning we found this park in the village with the girls' favorite things:  swings!

I heard Léna over on the swing murmuring something over and over.  When I went up to her, I realized she was singing a little ditty Martha made up last summer:  "Léna likes to swing, swing, swing, Léna likes to swing, yes she does.  Up to the blue sky down to the green grass up to the blue sky, down to the green grass."  (we changed it to 'down to the white snow')

Here's another favorite pasttime:  drinking hot chocolate.

So far, so good on this trip.  Lying on the bed Saturday afternoon with that migraine, I did think to myself, well, things can only get better after this.  I was right!

2nd Day Skiing

Today I got right back on the horse and went straight up to the top on the chairlift first thing. I was able to even spot our chalet. Here's a fuzzy zoomed photo:

I had 4 great runs, and by the 4th run I got brave enough to go onto a blue trail.  A friend gave me some pointers about how to make turns which really helped.   It was thrilling to go fast.  The girls were both smiling at the end of their lessons - Léna even won a prize (cola-flavoured candy!) for being the last kid standing on this merry-go-round thing they use to teach kids to hold on.  She was pretty excited.

Meanwhile, grandparents are great.  They crawl around pretending to be a wolf.  They make you homemade fries cook in duck grease.

They feed you when you arrive back at the chalet after being gone for 2 days for work (Thomas).

And they read to you when you're in your PJ's.  Life in ski heaven is good.  Tomorrow:  Day 3 = skiing with my husband.  Watch out.

First Day Skiing!

 Today was Day One of ski lessons.  11:00 - 1:30.  Above:  Estelle maneouvers a slight incline.  (she fell shortly after I took this photo).  Below, about 90 minutes later, you can see Estelle lower left, in red/white, heading left, next to girl w/pink pants (strangely that girl is named Léna).

 Below:  The REAL and one and only Léna, who survived her first day.  She did great, though was crying at the end because she saw me get Estelle first as I couldn't get thru the mob of parents to her right away.  She was tired enough to let that push her over the edge and was crying by the time I got back to her.   When I said "Why are you crying?"  she wailed back "I WANT TO GO TO A RESTAURANT!"

 Once the girls were safely into their lessons, I put on my rented equipment and got myself a 5-day (student price!) pass and off I went, first time in 8 years.  After going down the same trail that Estelle's group was on and using the (I don't even know what it's called in English????  T-bar?  J'bar or something like that) "tire-fesses" (literally:  "buttcheek puller"), I decided I was ready to go higher:

 With my handy laminated little minimap in my pocket, off I went on another tire-fesses which brought me to a 4-person chairlift and with some major terrified trepidation, off I went.

 Totally worth it.  The views were amazing.  I stayed on only one huge green trail that took me all the way down, and then it was time to get the girls.   

Thomas left this a.m. at 7:00 to head back to Sophia to work today and tomorrow.  He'll come back up tomorrow night and stay thru til Saturday.  I look forward to skiing with him - though I totally enjoyed being on my own today, even tho I only skied for an hour.  Conditions were perfect.