alpine anniversaire

Today I'll have to start the count-down to leaving my 20s, yikes. But Derek and I celebrated my 29th birthday under a clear blue ski, with lots of sun and perfect snow. My skis even cooperated by staying mostly parallel, as seen above.

 Mt. Blanc kept us company during our runs on quiet, uncrowded slopes.

The town below.

Getting close to the end of a full day of skiing. Time for espresso and chocolates.

half-day ski

After breakfast, (early) Derek attended the morning conference session. This session conveniently ends each morning around 11:30- plenty of time to change and hit the slopes with the half-day lift pass. I went wandering around the town for the morning and enjoyed the sunshine. Then up the highest lift, a few runs, lunch, and as many more runs as we could squeeze in until the chairs stopped- we caught the very last lift and made the long run all the way back down, ending at our hotel- also convenient. A few more physics talks, cocktails, and then multi-courses of food.