Today was our first outing and ski lesson with the CERN Ski Club at St. Gervais in the French Alps with a nice view of Mt. Blanc. The next four Saturdays, we will be skiing at nearby locations in France and Switzerland. It wasn't a sunny day in the mountains, but it was warm. (photos, left to right: Daisy, Tim, Derek, me- We all have sweet retro boots and poles from a used sports shop in Geneva- actually my boots are pretty current- Derek's are yellow).
We took a guess as to which level to sign up for, settling on 1.5 which we thought might be okay for both Derek and I. It was pretty clear I wasn't going to be able to keep up after I fell within a minute of putting my skis on. I got to move down to level 1.0 after lunch. (There is also 0 and .5 and ranges up to level 3.5). The last time either of us skied was in Taos, 2001, almost a decade ago! For Derek, it was like riding a bike, for me, it was more like riding a unicycle with a flat tire off the side of a mountain. But this is why we have lessons, right?
Lesson 1a: Get back up. Sure I fall, a lot, but I always get back up and keep going. Falling is the best way I know to slow myself down...it's either throw the body on the ground or aim for a snowbank. Getting up is only difficult when your legs are tangled in directions that legs should not get tangled.
Lesson 1b: Accept the speed. Not my favorite thing to go straight down as fast as you can. (Do we have to practice this?) Needless to say, each person in my group totally wiped out at the bottom. I think the real lesson was that even when you wipe-out hard, it doesn't hurt too badly (if you are already low to the ground like I am).
Lesson 1c: Watch out for trees. This is what happens when you volunteer to go first...you end up stuck in a tree.
Lesson 1d: Even a five year-old skis better. No matter how many little kids pass me, sitting on their skis and doing flips off of ramps, I am not going to try it. I am a product of the American Midwest: it is FLAT.
All in all, a good day, no major injuries, a bump down into an English speaking group, and great views. The toughest part was lugging our skis, in the rain, more than a mile to the bus stop to get back home. Luckily the Y bus was late (as usual), otherwise we would have been standing in the rain for an hour waiting on the next one. Hot cocoa and sleeping for 12 hours- mandatory recoup.
