A Well Kept Man

Today was the day to shake the rust off, or in my case, knock it off with a hard fall....repeatedly.

We decided to go skiing this afternoon down in Verbier, one of the better ski resorts in Switzerland. After making the drive down (about an hour and a quarter), we got in line to buy our lift tickets. In Europe, you don't get the sticker passes that you hook to the outside of your ski coat, instead you get an RFID card about the size of a credit card. You load your lift ticket onto the card and at each lift/gondola/funicular you just swipe your pass and you're good to go.

The views were spectacular, even when all I could see was a spray of snow (that I was enveloped in). The temperature was a steamy 0 C (32 F), but it felt like it was about 10 C (50 F) in the sun. Apparently every one else in Switzerland had the same idea as it was super busy, but it was still fun. The resort itself starts out at around 1500 meters (just shy of a mile above sea level), and climbs to a bit over 3300 meters (just over two miles). As you can tell from my sweet camera phone pictures, there was ample snow where we skied (although most of it was man made...but hey, it's mid November and I'm skiing, so I won't complain).

We skied for about three and a half hours (with Alli's coworker Jen, who lives in Verbier) stopped for lunch somewhere in the middle, and then had a quick cup of tea at Jen's chalet before heading back home to rest our sore muscles (I am told the pain will subside soon...ibuprofen is my friend!)! Anyway, we hope that you all come play with us on the slopes if you get a chance; we are spoiled and would love to share this scenery with the rest of you.

My only disclaimer is that despite the appearance of an orderly Europe (one where all rules are aboded by, and never a cross glance or word is directed at a passerby), all bets are off once in the lift lines. You'd think there was a contest to see how fast you could get back on the chair-lift or something...I had fifty year old women pushing me out of the way, kids and adults alike stomping on my skis just to get ahead in line. Europeans amuse me in that they are very attentive to all rules of acceptable social behavior, but when it comes to ski lift lines and escalators they have no concept of personal space. If nothing else it is endearing, and shows that we are all human. (Oh yeah, and there aren't any trees this high up...Alli has the sunburn to prove it!)