SKI WEEK!!!

Ski Week is now in the books, and it was everything I thought it would be....and more!

I woke up Tuesday morning, packed for my trip, and then headed down to school to wait to board the buses. They told us to be there at 2, but our bus didn't pull out until around 3. In total, there were 4 buses for everybody on the trip. I think there were about 30 IBP kids, and the rest were all French.

The seating on the bus was kind of small. I like being tall, except for when I have to travel. Too bad my legs don't detach. But, at least I had the aisle, so I could stretch out a bit.

The trip to the mountain was only about 3 hours, but it would have been quicker if we didn't have to stop twice. I guess the French can't go 3 hours without having to smoke.

While on the bus, they asked where the IBP kids were, and then they had us identify our countries. On our bus, there were 4 Mexicans, 2 Germans, 1 Russian, and me. They then proceeded to have us all come up front and sing our national anthem. Unfortunately for us, the Russian guy, Evgeny, and I had to do solos. I also noticed that most other nations' national anthems are like chants, while the US has a nice, challenging song....

I noticed on the ride up, that the Alps are very rocky and jagged. They remind me more of Whistler than the Sierra Nevada or the mountains in Idaho. I enjoyed the drive up, being able to see the little villages outside of the big city.

We finally got to our destination around 6, unloaded and found our flat. The two German girls (Lisa and Stefanie), Evgeny, and I all shared a flat. There was only one bedroom with two beds. The other two comprised of the couch, and a bed that pulled out from under the couch. We let the girls have the room.

We were all hungry when we got there, but there was no food in our room. I was able to make hot chocolate, but with water....We finally got food and made some pasta. Then it was off to bed.

I woke up the next morning and went over to the rental shop to get my board and boots before hitting the mountain. They weren't my board or boots, but they worked...sort of.

I made my first run, and it felt AMAZING. It was as if I had found a piece of me that had been missing. The Alps, snow, and boarding....it can't get much better than that. There is nothing like the sound and feel of a board on my feet carving into the snow.

I spent most of that morning with another girl who snowboarded. I did happen to make some treks through trees, but after my second adventure, I had to give up and realize that there would be no skiing through the trees on this trip.

I quickly realized that the summits were the places to be. There was the best snow and nice, open terrain. I had read that there was a boarder-cross track, but I didn't find it.

I ate lunch outside in the sun and had myself an awesome hamburger with fries. Good ole American food hit the spot. After lunch, I got separated from my pack, so I rode solo. I was near the top of the mountain when my left toe strap broke, but I was able to board down and have the rental shop fix it.

With a new binding, I was back up on the mountain, trying to get the most out of my time. I found a run that I really liked, and stuck to it for awhile. It had some nice jumps on it, and I could hall balls down it. I was thankful that the mountain and runs were not crowded.

I finished boarding for the day, and went over to this little ice rink where they were playing hockey. It was a plastic-ice surface and hard to skate on. I played some hockey, scored a goal of my own, and also stopped some.

Exhausted, I went back to my room where it was time to snack. At 8, we all went to a restaurant where they had a French specialty dish, Tartiflette, ready for us. It was like au gratin potatoes with some sausage and salad. Of course, it was good. To finish it off, we had chocolate eclairs for dessert.

The second day was another great day of boarding. It even started off with some nice french toast for breakfast. I was able to find the "boarder-cross" track (a couple of small banked turns and a little jump) and the park. But, the two jumps in the park were a nice size.

My first run of that day was full of moguls, which was a bad idea to warm up on. I spent most of the morning on the peaks. It was so nice and sunny up there.

At 1, I made my way to the bottom of the hill where we had a barbecue, which consisted of two sausages on a baguette. Definitely a different type of barbecue.

The Big Air competition kicked off just as I got my food, so I scarfed it down and then got in line.

The competition was amazing. We went off a jump into a huge air-inflated pad. It was so nice to not have to worry about landing. I could just throw my body and not care what happened.

My first jump was just an air, but then I mostly did back flips with a twist. My personal favorite jump was when I took a redbull and pretended to be drinking it while doing a method.

After the Big Air, I got in some more runs before going back to the flat to eat a little. I went back out for night skiing at 7.  I was disappointed that night skiing was only one run, and only a small rope-tow run at that. But, I made the most of the two hours we had.

We went back to shower and eat. I decided to go last (yes, I know that is a bad idea). I went right before dinner, but the water was ice cold, so I jumped right back out. I decided to wait until after dinner to try for some hot water. As dinner ended, and I did the dishes, I had the water all the way on hot, and there was nothing but straight up cold water. I knew that my shower was not going to be fun.

My shower took my breath away, but not in a good way. It was sooooo cold. All I wanted was just a nice, relaxing, hot shower. But, twas not to be this night.

Friday was the last day of skiing. It was also the coldest out of all three days. We went to the top right away, but the first run chilled me to the bone. My toes were frozen and I thought about going back inside to thaw out. But, we made our way over to the sunny peak, and all was good.

We ate lunch at the mid-chalet, and then went over to where the slalom was taking place. The slalom course wasn't hard, but I had the toughest time trying to gain speed. I did everything I could think of, but felt like I crawled across the finish line. The skiers definitely had an easier time compared to the boarders.

After that, I went down the jumps a couple of times. One of the girls with us ended up going off one and breaking her tailbone. We had to call up ski patrol, and now she has to be in the hospital for a week. Another IBP kid hurt his neck in the Big Air, and has to wear a brace for awhile. Only IBP kids got hurt on the trip.

I continued to shred for the rest of the day, trying to leave nothing in reserve, leave it all on the mountain. I broke my left toe strap again, so my last three runs, I didn't have it. I was able to catch the gondola with 5 minutes to spare and take my last run down the mountain. Once off the mountain, I returned all my gear and went out in search of a pin. It is a tradition of mine to get a pin from the places I have boarded (sorry Bogus, you don't merit a pin).

I searched in all of the ski stores and found nothing. Then, I found a Tabac, which is like a little mini-mart. They had post cards, and even key chains, but no pins that I could see. I was about to give up and decided to ask the woman behind the counter if she had any pins. She did, and pulled out a few from under the counter. I was so excited to be able to keep my tradition going.

On my way back, I ran into a guy from the club that organized the trip. He told me that Happy Hour was going on at one of the bars, and that they would be giving out the prizes for the competitions at the bar. He also said that he thought I won something.

We went over to the bar, but it was crowded and there were no IBPs in there. I left and went outside, where a little match of snow soccer was about to begin. I joined for awhile, and showed how good Americans are at soccer. It was 3 French and I against 4 Mexicans. The Mexicans handled us. I soon left the game as my hands were freezing and I wasn't wearing any snow gear.

I went back and the girls were making dinner. Towards the end of dinner, there was a knock on the door, and it was for me. The leaders for the group told me that I had been missed at the Happy Hour when they handed out the prizes. It turned out that I won the Big Air competition for snowboarders. They then proceeded to pull out a snowboard! My prize for winning the competition was a SNOWBOARD! I had to ask if they were sure I was the one that had won it. The board is awesome. It has a rainbow fade to it, and at the bottom is a wave with a snowboard surfing it. It definitely made my Friday. I just don't know how I am taking it back to the States with me. I think I covered my loses from the trip by winning the snowboard.

Saturday, it was up early to clean the flat. We had to have it cleaned by 9:30. They ended up making us leave our flat around 10:30, and we had to drag all our stuff to a luggage room. We then proceeded to a restaurant and I ordered some hot chocolate. But, they kicked us out around 11:45 because they needed our table. We got our lunch that was provided for us, but had nowhere to sit and eat. There was no lodge at the mountain. It was so cold outside, so we went into a restaurant to eat inside. The manager got mad and asked me if I took my own food inside to eat in restaurants and didn't order anything in my country. I felt like saying that in my country, our ski resorts had lodges. So, that was the cue to leave. That was around 12:30, but the buses weren't supposed to come until 2. We ended up having to wait outside for hours until the buses came. I think they came near 3.

We were all completely frozen by the time the buses came. We loaded up and made our way back to Lyon. I never thought I would look forward to going to my residence, but I wanted nothing more than to get off that bus and take a hot shower.

When we got to Lyon, it was 6, and I had tickets to a soccer game that started at 7. I went home and ate, and was debating on whether or not to go to the game because I was tired. Ended up that the game was already over because they had bumped the starting time up to 5. So, that cleared that situation up. My HOT shower felt amazing last night. I didn't want to get out.

Overall, Ski Week was a grand success. Even though Saturday may not have been much fun, the three days of boarding completely erased Saturday's pains. Plus, I had an awesome time during the Big Air comp and an even better time when I found out that I had won. If those are the only three days that I get to board this winter, then I will be completely satisfied.