ski: morzine

Still going strong in the ski season, this morning we headed out to Le Gets, and spent most of the day at Morzine. We're hoping for a really clear, sunny ski day as we're getting closer to spring, but the snow has been fresh, the slopes have been quiet, and it hasn't been too cold - so no complaints here. A bonus while riding the lift- we saw a pair of wall creepers on the rocks.  

ski: sunday at avoriaz

Today we headed back up to Avoriaz. Now that lessons have finished, the club organizes outings with transport and lift ticket, so Derek and I are finally skiing together. About a meter of fresh snow had fallen overnight- conditions were amazing and exhausting. It snowed most of the day, so we were constantly making new tracks. This will be a ski day that we compare all others against- a true powder day.   

Not my best form, but look at that snow!

run: inscription day

Happy Inscription Day! This morning was a flurry of excitement, scoring a place among the 4,000 runners for the 2014 Jungfrau Marathon. Our team is growing again this year with a few more first timers, as well as repeat offenders, and we are shaping-up to have a solid cheering section. It didn't hit me until my post-registration run...we've got seven whole months to wait until the big day. Counting down!

snowshoe: crêt de la neige

The sun was shining right from the start this morning, so I took advantage of this break from the rain and gray to head to the Jura. Derek dropped me at the base on his way to work and I rode the telecabine up to Crozet to begin my snowshoe journey to Crêt de la Neige, about a four hour loop. I saw a group of chamois on the first steep climb up Crêt de Crozet, making the first tracks up that way for the day. 

The morning was a mix of dense cloud and sun...more cloud as I approached the summit. Standing at Crêt de la Neige, there was zero visibility and I got very cold in the wind. So without a break, I started my way back, and after a little while, the sunshine returned.

Finally, a view across to the Alps, as I made my way back to the lift. I thought I had a perfect plan for the day until discovering that the bus I was waiting for runs only on weekends and school holidays. Ooops...so it was time to continue walking.  

ski: avoriaz

Today was the last of our five Saturday outings with the ski club, and it was a fantastic day. All of yesterday's miserable rain added up to nice fresh powder in the Alps. Besides the deep, soft snow, the sun even made a surprise appearance in the morning. Conditions were perfect. More snow fell and some fog worsened visibility in the afternoon, but it was a great day on the slopes. It was one of those days that I had to be practically dragged away kicking and screaming. At least there was an apéritif waiting at the bottom.

A big thank you to the incredible instructors and organizers of the Cern Ski Club outings. These five weeks went too quickly, but there's still a lot of ski season ahead. 

ski: les houches

Today we skied at Les Houches, familiar territory from hikes and snowshoeing, but our first time for the slopes. I had low expectations for the day, with snow and rain in the forecast, a small skiable area, and the highest runs at only 1900m, but that didn't stop the club from having a great time. We practiced carving on wide, quiet pistes, and wove our way through trees on fresh snow. It was fun to ski  the famous Kandahar, the downhill run for the first winter Olympics in 1924.   The sunshine even lasted until the mid-afternoon, and the views of surrounding summits were fantastic.