Ski WrapUp
It is pretty much the end of ski season here, even in Switzerland; so Mom, you can finally stop sending me articles about people dying from head injuries while skiing. Fortunately for me, though, I was able to sneak in two final days of skiing in April and May -- once at Glacier 3000 in Switzerland and once at Chamonix in France -- with no head injuries to speak of. Hooray!
Glacier 3000 is part of an enormous ski area which stretches across the Alpes Vaudoises and Berner Oberland in central/western Switzerland. As the name might indicate, most of the ski area is on top of an actual glacier, which means that parts of the resort are open year around. The top part (which is open all-year) is very gently sloped so it is absolutely perfect for beginners. If you want to go skiing and you want to visit me, this is the ideal trip any time of year!
Fig. 1: Glacier 3000. What's cooler than being cool?
Since the pistes are easy, a bunch of obstacles and jumps were built to attract more experienced skiers. You couldn't pay me enough money to go off of a jump on skis (the fact that I know two people who literally broke their necks trying to do this might be affecting my decision), but my labmate and buddy Marc decided to give it a try. Before watching the video, I repeat Marc's defense that "there was a lot of wind slowing him down in his approach, and thus he did not get as much speed as he would have liked." I still think it was pretty incredible, check it out for yourself here.
Fig. 2: The highest peak in Europe is partially visible behind the baddest mofo in Europe.
Chamonix is on the other side of the a from Mont Blanc, the highest point in continental Europe. Although it involved waking up at 5 AM, I decided to take up Serge and Bernard on their invitation to join them there for one final round of peau de phoque. Frequent readers of this blog will remember my last adventure with peau de phoque -- skiing uphill with special fabric attached to the bottom of your skis -- and many will wonder why I would willingly submit myself to such torture a second time. Sure, the first time was painful and traumatic, but I have a short memory and an eager desire to do exhausting outdoor activities. I also had a new pair of boots and my trusty Swiss Army skis, so I figured I would be in somewhat better shape, material-wise. What could go wrong?
Fig. 3: While I felt pretty comfortable with my Swiss Army skis, I have to admit I was a little bit jealous of Serge's skis. They were not just SHARK, but MAX SHARK.
For someone with my (lack of a) skill set, the real challenge with peau de phoque is going downhill, not uphill. Since one is rarely near a piste of any sort, downhill skiing is almost always of the challenging, dangerous variety. Thus, when planning our route, it became clear that at certain point I would have to leave the group and go back down to the resort to spend the rest of the day doing traditional downhill skiing while the rest of the party went ever upward. Serge volunteered to stick with me, so our plan was to ski a bit and then prepare lunch for everyone when they returned.
Although I only got to do a bit of uphill, it was actually fun, challenging, and not nearly as painful as the first time. As the slope we were climbing was very steep (it would have been tough to do with hiking boots in the summer), we were forced to make switchbacks. If you think about the geometry involved, this is a fairly difficult thing to do in skis. When it is time to turn around, you can't turn gradually (you'll eventually be facing too steeply uphill and you'll fall badly), so you have to make almost a complete 180 degree turn in two awkward steps. Many people consider this to be the most challenging aspect of skiing with peau de phoque and in fact it is something that one generally learns how to do on flat ground with the help of an instructor. I got some instructions when I hit the first switchback, and from there I was pretty much on my own. I will summarize by saying that some falling ensued, but fortunatey not too much.
For lunch, we decided to have a barbecue. Now, what you're probably thinking is that we were smart enough to bring a hibachi with us, or that they had little bbq pits near the snack bar, or something else normal like that. Wrong -- here's what we did. Serge and I skied a little ways away from the main eating area, then we broke off of the piste and headed into the woods. Once we found a small cluster of rocks, we ditched our skis and started digging a hole in the snow for a fireplace. Hole dug, we went off into the surrounding trees to scavenge dead branches and whatever else we could find that looked like it might burn. Once we had a sufficient pile, Serge built a tepee style fire with some newspaper as tinder and we were set.
Fig. 4: Serge tends to his fire. Just off camera: non-crazy people
First off, I can't believe that the plan actually worked. Were we to try this in the US, it would be a failure on so many levels that it would not even be worth a second thought. Having a bbq at a ski resort? No way! Even if you had a gas grill that you brought with you, there is no way that they would put up with an open fire anywhere near a ski slope. Building a fire in the trees no further than 200 yards from the chalet? I think you could definitely get arrested for this in the US, but, of course, you wouldn't get any further than gathering a bit of wood before you'd get a stern lecture about resource management, fire safety, and selfishness, so it would be a moot point.
Since the chalet wasn't too far from our little fire pit, anyone from the resort could have seen us, had they looked. What would they have thought? The whole thing made me feel like some sort of country bumpkin in the city for the first time, unaware of local mores and customs; like some yokel shooting and cooking squirrels in Central park. The fact that we were roasting meat on sharpened sticks certainly added to these feelings.
Fig. 5: Paul sharpen stick. Make stick pointy. Pointy stick hold meat.
Fig. 6: Bernard tends to the cervelas, the national Swiss sausage. If you're jealous of his awesome goggles, those too can be purchased at the Swiss Army Surplus Store in beautiful Morges.
As ski season ends, hiking season begins. I've got a new hiking book the other day, so if you come and visit, bring some decent shoes -- the mountains call!
Glacier 3000 is part of an enormous ski area which stretches across the Alpes Vaudoises and Berner Oberland in central/western Switzerland. As the name might indicate, most of the ski area is on top of an actual glacier, which means that parts of the resort are open year around. The top part (which is open all-year) is very gently sloped so it is absolutely perfect for beginners. If you want to go skiing and you want to visit me, this is the ideal trip any time of year!
Fig. 1: Glacier 3000. What's cooler than being cool?Since the pistes are easy, a bunch of obstacles and jumps were built to attract more experienced skiers. You couldn't pay me enough money to go off of a jump on skis (the fact that I know two people who literally broke their necks trying to do this might be affecting my decision), but my labmate and buddy Marc decided to give it a try. Before watching the video, I repeat Marc's defense that "there was a lot of wind slowing him down in his approach, and thus he did not get as much speed as he would have liked." I still think it was pretty incredible, check it out for yourself here.
Fig. 2: The highest peak in Europe is partially visible behind the baddest mofo in Europe.Chamonix is on the other side of the a from Mont Blanc, the highest point in continental Europe. Although it involved waking up at 5 AM, I decided to take up Serge and Bernard on their invitation to join them there for one final round of peau de phoque. Frequent readers of this blog will remember my last adventure with peau de phoque -- skiing uphill with special fabric attached to the bottom of your skis -- and many will wonder why I would willingly submit myself to such torture a second time. Sure, the first time was painful and traumatic, but I have a short memory and an eager desire to do exhausting outdoor activities. I also had a new pair of boots and my trusty Swiss Army skis, so I figured I would be in somewhat better shape, material-wise. What could go wrong?
Fig. 3: While I felt pretty comfortable with my Swiss Army skis, I have to admit I was a little bit jealous of Serge's skis. They were not just SHARK, but MAX SHARK.For someone with my (lack of a) skill set, the real challenge with peau de phoque is going downhill, not uphill. Since one is rarely near a piste of any sort, downhill skiing is almost always of the challenging, dangerous variety. Thus, when planning our route, it became clear that at certain point I would have to leave the group and go back down to the resort to spend the rest of the day doing traditional downhill skiing while the rest of the party went ever upward. Serge volunteered to stick with me, so our plan was to ski a bit and then prepare lunch for everyone when they returned.
Although I only got to do a bit of uphill, it was actually fun, challenging, and not nearly as painful as the first time. As the slope we were climbing was very steep (it would have been tough to do with hiking boots in the summer), we were forced to make switchbacks. If you think about the geometry involved, this is a fairly difficult thing to do in skis. When it is time to turn around, you can't turn gradually (you'll eventually be facing too steeply uphill and you'll fall badly), so you have to make almost a complete 180 degree turn in two awkward steps. Many people consider this to be the most challenging aspect of skiing with peau de phoque and in fact it is something that one generally learns how to do on flat ground with the help of an instructor. I got some instructions when I hit the first switchback, and from there I was pretty much on my own. I will summarize by saying that some falling ensued, but fortunatey not too much.
For lunch, we decided to have a barbecue. Now, what you're probably thinking is that we were smart enough to bring a hibachi with us, or that they had little bbq pits near the snack bar, or something else normal like that. Wrong -- here's what we did. Serge and I skied a little ways away from the main eating area, then we broke off of the piste and headed into the woods. Once we found a small cluster of rocks, we ditched our skis and started digging a hole in the snow for a fireplace. Hole dug, we went off into the surrounding trees to scavenge dead branches and whatever else we could find that looked like it might burn. Once we had a sufficient pile, Serge built a tepee style fire with some newspaper as tinder and we were set.
Fig. 4: Serge tends to his fire. Just off camera: non-crazy peopleFirst off, I can't believe that the plan actually worked. Were we to try this in the US, it would be a failure on so many levels that it would not even be worth a second thought. Having a bbq at a ski resort? No way! Even if you had a gas grill that you brought with you, there is no way that they would put up with an open fire anywhere near a ski slope. Building a fire in the trees no further than 200 yards from the chalet? I think you could definitely get arrested for this in the US, but, of course, you wouldn't get any further than gathering a bit of wood before you'd get a stern lecture about resource management, fire safety, and selfishness, so it would be a moot point.
Since the chalet wasn't too far from our little fire pit, anyone from the resort could have seen us, had they looked. What would they have thought? The whole thing made me feel like some sort of country bumpkin in the city for the first time, unaware of local mores and customs; like some yokel shooting and cooking squirrels in Central park. The fact that we were roasting meat on sharpened sticks certainly added to these feelings.
Fig. 5: Paul sharpen stick. Make stick pointy. Pointy stick hold meat.
Fig. 6: Bernard tends to the cervelas, the national Swiss sausage. If you're jealous of his awesome goggles, those too can be purchased at the Swiss Army Surplus Store in beautiful Morges.As ski season ends, hiking season begins. I've got a new hiking book the other day, so if you come and visit, bring some decent shoes -- the mountains call!
Comments
Post a Comment