Chamonix, "City of Lights"
What an amazing day we had today! We had a tasty breakfast at our hotel, then had to clean all the snow off our rental car, "Slippy", before heading up to the slopes.
We started at the Brevent gondola to go up to ski.
The lift began operating around 9:00 a.m. It was sunny in town this morning, but at the top of the gondola it was still overcast and flurrying.
The snow quality was excellent, and we estimate that there was about 16" of fresh snow.
It quickly became apparent that there was only one chair lift to return skiers to the top. Other lifts that connected with other parts of the mountain were not working. It was getting quite crowded, and the lift line was getting long. After 2 great runs, we bailed and downloaded on the gondola to get back to our car. The snow was awesome, but the crowds were getting too much.
After downloading, we drove to a different lift nearby, called "Flegere". This put us way ahead of the crowds. Right off the bat, when you enter the lift building, you get a great impression and a calm feeling. Everything is so clean, modern, and new! This brand new lift, along with the building that houses it, wins the "Best Lift" award.
The building has a retro kiosk that provided snacks.
Even the ski holders were modern and efficient.
The views from the gondola, which seats 10, were lovely and awe-inspiring!
We also enjoyed the Flegere area much more for skiing.
After 2 outstanding and fun off-piste runs, we stopped for lunch. Seated right next to us was a young couple, Dirk Druet and Julia Bleckner, with whom we began conversing.
Dirk is from Prince Edward Island, Canada, and Julia is from Oakland, California, but both are now living in London. They work as researchers and analysts for the United Nations, working for human rights and world peace. It's too bad we don't have more people like them in the world!
After lunch, we skied a few runs with Dirk and Julia. They were really interesting to talk to and also fun to ski with! We hope to keep in touch with them.
When we were worn out, we downloaded on the fabulous gondola and returned back to our hotel. Along the ride, we enjoyed breath-taking views of the mountains, and you can see the train tracks leading up to the "Mer de Glace" Glacier.
We had a really fun ski experience today!
At breakfast we met another young couple, Julie Jordan and Jason Schattenkerk of Seattle, Washington. We kept running into them around the hotel, and it turns out that they just became engaged in Annceny, France.
They are heading to two places we are fond of: Zermatt and Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. They are exceptionally nice people, and we hope to keep in touch with them, too!
We feel very blessed to have already met so many nice people in Chamonix.
We enjoyed our short walk to dinner at "The Atmosphere" French restaurant. We noted an autographed photo of Bode Miller in the restaurant. Bode Miller is well regarded in France, having won a gold medal in the downhill at the Olympics when it was held in Val d'Isere. Ironically, Bode now resides with his family in Big Sky, Montana and serves as an ambassador there!
We have noticed that many buildings in Chamonix sport beautiful flashing lights at night. This photo does not do it justice, but this building had flashing gold lights around its windows and it was just gorgeous. I admired it the whole time I was eating dinner.
Paris is called "The City of Lights", but Chamonix rivals Paris for this moniker. Chamonix is beautiful at night! And with the mountain back drop, Chamonix is beautiful during the day, too!