ski: chamonix

Saturday- we are back to the slopes, starting the spring ski conditions at Chamonix. With a low snow base and an early warm-up, it seems like we will get to hiking season a little early this year. It's sunny and toasty, not a cloud to be seen, and everyone seems to have the same idea as we do: ski as much as we can before the snow melts. We waited nearly two hours for the gondola up Flégère to start the day. I suppose we've been exceptionally spoiled this year with no lines, but this morning made up for that. Surprisingly, the slopes weren't crowded and there was no waiting at the lifts after the first ascent. Yippee! Even with a later start, we had a long day of skiing and came back with some nice goggle tans.

Picnic break with a view.

my birthday in megève

After eight weeks of skiing, we took a break this weekend, but since it's my birthday, we must celebrate with mountains. Every winter, I am hesitant to ski during the school holidays, and figured this weekend would be especially crowded. We wanted to avoid the slopes but still get out, and somehow we ended up in Megève. The slopes seemed pretty quiet, (should have brought the skis) maybe because everyone was busy walking around town in their furs. Even though it has been mild this year, I have to admit, I'm just ready to be done with winter. 

We found a trail and went for a snowshoe hike.

We had the cocoa thermos and a little picnic in the snow. It was too cold to stop long, so back to it.

I was afraid we left the sunshine back in the valley while chasing the mountains, but luckily it caught up to us by the end of the day. We dropped everything and ran up a little hill to play in the snow with a great view on Mt. Blanc. It was fun to make snow angels and have a snowball fight...maybe for the last time until next winter.