This is really the longest blog I will have written thus far, but the last XX weeks have been absolutely packed with goodness, and I have tried to condense it as much as possible. Lots of pics, but I hope they bring you into my world at least a little bit, and the panoramas are definately worth clicking on to enlarge!
Wow, so here I am, not even living in Bourg St Maurice anymore. I always feel like time flies by, but never have I felt like it has more than from March 5th when Dave arrived to me sitting here in the Chamonix valley writing this blog 7 weeks later. It is almost terrifying how fast it has gone.
Alas, here goes nothing:
The last memory in my head (that feels like yesterday) is the few days before Dave arrived to France. I was working my nanny job, and it was one of the weeks that was with another asshole tight penny british family with little shit kids running around screaming. Needless to say, this made Daves arrival an even brighter light at the end of the tunnel. Several nights before he came in I couldn’t even sleep I was so excited: I would finally be free from work and get to escape my annoying roommates stupid British accent, to ski around Europe with my best friend from California. Dave came in on March 5th and was ready to go! Jetlag wasn’t even an issue with him. The first night out was perfectly planned “cough cough” trip up the mountain, to not get into a sold out concert, just to head to a bar and drink with a bunch of frenchies neither of us knew, but were incredibly nice, to hitch-hiking back to Bourg at the end of the night… Priceless!
From Brevant looking towards glacier des Bossons, Mont Blanc is the upper right peak in the pic(Highest mountain in europe if in question)
In summary, the rest of that week was spent skiing around france, including the famous Vallee Blanche route in Chamonix (Rumored to be the most beautiful ski run in the world). We had a few days of pow, and I really think he got a nice sneak preview of European Skiing.
Looking up La Mer de Glace(sea of ice) from Montenvers...This was the end part of our run.
Me and Dave eventually made our way into Switzerland to eat yet even more cheese, baguette’s, and wine in Leysin, where I studied 2 years ago. It was great to see friends there and just be back in the town for a couple days. At this point in the trip, as if life wasn’t good enough, another friend from back in Cali showed up to join me and Dave for the second week of his trip. I was honestly shocked when
it happened, but Jessika bought her ticket to Europe on a complete impulse buy, and its exactly one of the reasons I like her! She showed up after 30 hours of traveling, and just like Dave, was ready to go at it.
We did a little sightseeing in the Swiss Alps, but the next mission was Ireland for St. Pattys day! After even more traveling, we arrived to Dublin for a quick 2 night trip. It was a cool city, and cool preview of what Ireland had to offer. I want to return someday and go to the little cities in the countryside of Ireland. On St Patty’s we went to the Jameson Distillery, followed by the Guiness Brew House for a few hours. The guiness brewery is a 6 story building in the shape of a guiness bottle, with parties and bands playing on every floor. It was a blast. I can honestly say that I do love guiness, but it is impossible to drink more than 4 or 5 without exploding, 
From Ireland we headed back to France and took a rip-off of a train ticket to Paris. This was my 3rd time to Paris, but my first time as a true tourist, so it was nice to see all the sites and landmarks of the city. Apart from the fact that it is a HUGE city, I really liked it. The Café culture is one of my favorite things about France, in that they always take the time to sit out on a patio and enjoy the sun and socialize and in general enjoy life.
Haute Route!
One of my dreams from reading about it when I was probably 12 years old was to do the Haute Route. It is one of the most famous ski traverses in the world. I should spend another 10 hours just writing one big huge trip report on the whole thing, but I am too busy riding bikes and climbing rocks to get that done! So all I will say is that it was unbelievable. It was humbling to do something on my “Things to do before you die” list, when I am only 22 years old.
Putting it simply, it is one big long ski traverse of over 50 miles from the two epicenters of the alps, in that you depart from Chamonix and Le Mont Blanc, and arrive 6 days later to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. It was rad because it was true ski mountaineering; we got to use ice axe’s, crampons, skins, ropes and anything else you can think of for high mountain routes. Rapelling down a 70 degree couloir with ski’s on your back is frikken awesome!
On the route you go from France to Switzerland to Italy to Switzerland to Italy and then end in Switzerland. Now you would think since you are in the middle of no-where that the provisions would be limited, WRONG. Wow was I in for a surprise. Yes, expensive, but it was nuts how nice these huts at 10,000ft (+) were. Check out the pics.
I want to do this again, with different variations though. There are so many damn huts in the alps that there are probably 10 times the variations to make your way from Cham to Zermatt.
Climbing up glacier du Chardonet, being the first day, fresh with energy, I decided to strap on the crampons and hero-line it up the face. What do you think of my EXTREME headband and glasses? I think they are quite fitting!!! (The sunglasses even say Extreme on the sides!)
This is Le Col du Chardonet, was rad! So steep, and rock hard ice because of melt thaw conditions(without the thaw) meant crampons and ice axe and a rope belay down the 300ft long beast. This is Paula. On the trip, it was me and my Ozzy buddy Jarrad and then two girls. The girls did awesome!
This is the view out the window of one of the huts, worth every penny!
Hows that for a backdrop! Glacier du Trient we just came off of, now with a 5,000ft descent ahead of us. (Jarrad et Paula)
Hut Life!
So here is an idea of food in the huts, not bad presentation! I knew the food had been good because on the last night of our trip, we were served our massive dinner, and I actually complained simply because the presentation wasn’t picture worthy!
And here I am, couldn't be any happier. In front of me is a MASSIVE plate of Rosti, which is a swiss german dish of grated potatoes. It is though, simply, one of my favorite foods on the planet. (Available hot and ready on the side of a cliff at 11,000ft.)
I love posting these pics of the huts, because as much as I want to claim the "rough extreme mountain man" image roughing it in the alps for 6 nights, I can't, and this is why.
Here is a pic of Prafleuri Hut from our third night
And a pic from the inside of Prafleuri, can you see why this was my favorite hut?
When you say alpes and mountains, everyone seems to think cold and snowy, when in fact most afternoons were so baking hot that you could walk around in a T-shirt at 10,000ft!
Every hut is perfectly designed(seriously) and has designated gear rooms when you walk in, and places to put all your ‘sharp’ toys, I mean tools. Thus everything stays nice in the dorms! Did I mention all the toys we got to use on the trek (Ice axes, crampons, harness, ropes, prussik loops, trancievers, shovels).
Jarrad took this of Paula, which again shows the views out the windows of the huts are unreal.
And of course the mandatory group shot at the last hut, thus us looking so beat and knackered... L to R: Jarrad(Australia), Paula(Australia), Sarah(Scotland), Me(USA)
Early starts
The traverse is a lot of work, but the fact that you are up and out of the hut by 5:30am means you get to see some pretty amazing things happen in the sky as you are starting that mornings trek…(PICS BELOW)
Day 5 Pigne d'arolla
Like I said, most of the journey is traversing, but there are 2 or 3 epicly long descents. These pics (below) are taken from the Pigne d’arolla which was the highest point (elevation) of the trip at 3,800meters which is around 13,000 feet I think. You could see the Matterhorn here, and look back and see Mont Blanc (Ending and start points of our trip). From here it was a few thousand foot descent to Cabane des Vignettes, epic.
Matterhorn centered
Jarrad and I chillin on the Pigne
The actual peak of Pigne d'arolla is what you see in the upper left of this pic, this was taken on our 2 hour skin up to the peak.
And the panorama of Pigne d'arolla centered in the pic. I think photo credit goes to Jarrad on this one. If you click on it and blow it up, you can actually see the groups skinning up the slope on the right.
And here is the hut from our last night, Cabane du Vignettes, defiantely the most intense hutt location just strapped onto the side of a cliff. This pic really gives you an idea to scale the shear immensity of these mountains.
These cold frozen areas capture our imagination- what is it about inhospitable places that draws us to them? Is it because it requires us to adapt to survive in them? Is it because they are so outside of our realm of day to day experience that we can’t help but be inspired by such natural beauty. Or, in the words of one famous mountaineer, because “it is there”.
Or is it because it might not be there much longer….
For me its because you get to wear tons of crap and always questioning if you're going to fall in a crevass!
Me, Paula, with Jarrad leading
Desolation
Being out in these mountains is amazing, but you never feel alone. Even on our first day we only saw a couple other groups, but when we turned up to the hut there were at least 50 people. There were a couple days when we had the traverse to ourselves, on the less troden paths. I love looking at the pictures as well, because at the time, we are just baking in sweat with high heartrates, looking for the crests and signs of breaks. But now looking back on them, everything looks so peaceful, easy, and tranquile.
Panorama climbing Pigne d'arolla
Climb after Lac Des Dix
Jarrad snapped this one of me, in Gods country...
Not exactly a crowded ski run, with just the four of us on an aspect the size of Squaw Valley. This was a 5,000ft vert run down to the quaint village of Champex en Suisse.
And lastly some random shots and notes:
The days were not all sunny and bluebird. We had 2 snow days on the trip, and they were pretty intense. Up for debate was us doing our trek without a high mountain guide. I am proud to say that between Jarrad's experience in the mountains and with maps etc coupled with my general mountain knowledge and GPS, we were able to navigate the route without problems. Though it isn't the most assuring feeling following a GPS down a crevassed glacier in a white-out...properly naviagted with caution and triple checking maps and waypoints we didn't once have to use any of our rescue equipment.
This is my favorite pic of the trip. Jarrad took it of me skiing. It was when we were skiiing off the Pigne d'arolla and we saw some open pow, so I pushed over to it. Looking at the pic, you can't tell how heavy and sun baked the snow was. I remember skiing it, and being alllll over the place, almost crashed a couple times, and just felt off. But somehow Jarrad snapped it at just the right moment and it is awesome. The other big thing on this trip that was enlightening to me was skiing with a pack. When skinning or climbing up the mountains, you were wearing everything thus a light load, but when it came time to skiing down, everything got strapped onto you pack like here, and it is a whole new story skiing with that much weight on your back. Your ski's handle differently, your legs react slower, you get tired quicker, etc.
Panorama from Dix Hut (click to enlarge)
And lastly, an update on life now...
Once finished with the Haute Route, it was back to home sweet home in Bourg. At this point, I had a week left in our studio, and then I would be homeless. I really started to stress and couldn’t seem to find anything. Searching for a flat in the Chamonix valley, for just 3 months, and wanting it cheap, makes it tough to line something up. But as with everything in my very blessed life, it always has a way of working out. I found a place that the landlord refers to as ‘The Bat-Cave’! It is awesome and cozy though. It is in the top floor of an apartment building and is basically a room with a bathroom, kitchenette, then a loft above it with a big queen mattress. It’s the little things that I like more about it than my place I left in Bourg: it has a gas burning stove, TV DVD, huge bed, more counter space, and best of all, it is all my space opposed to my little bunk-bed which was all that was mine in Bourg.
Anyways, after a few weeks here, I still like the flat, but the fact that it is in Argentiere (a small village about 5 miles from Chamonix) has made it tough to meet people or do anything. And although my DAILY hitch-hiking adventures down the valley have been fun, I am getting tired of it. So I am moving to Chamonix! I found someone to lease out a REALLY nice flat in the center of Chamonix until middle of July, so I will be moving into town in a couple weeks.
Chamonix is a funny place, I came to the conclusion that I needed to move here through my job actually! That’s right, my last week of work was absolutely amazing. I was lucky enough to get a family that made a booking in Chamonix and got paid to spend the week there with them. My main responsibility was looking after a mellow but energetic girl named Tilly (check out the pic and you will get an idea!). The week was amazing. They were an overly generous family that stuffed me full of amazing food everyday, gave me my own daily ski time, and just in general nice people to spend 8 days with.
Here is Tilly, sometimes hard to keep control of, but no doubt in my mind that she will be the next British olympic downhill champion, Ie. no fear of speed or falling!
And a pic of me 'working'...
And lastly, this pic defines the 15 pounds of weight I put on that week and don't regret! I think in this pic, you can see the glass from the Vin Chaud(mold wine) starter, then the regular wine colendar during the meal, then the grappa glass off to the right, and I think the dessert wine glass is out of view! On easter we went through the tunnel and skiing in Italy for the day, but I think the food beat the skiing that day...And I am still a believer that Italy has my heart for the best food in europe.
I think it was the countless nights I spent walking around town, and runs I took on the mountains that I realized I couldn’t take my eyes off of the surroundings of Chamonix. The mountains literally shoot out of the valley. Chamonix is around 3300feet, and you can take 2 trams to the Aiguille du Midi and sit around 12,500ft. That’s an elevation difference of over 9,000 vertical feet, simply unreal. The mountains are spires, cliffs, gorged out valleys, and glaciers falling to the valley floor. The weather was also beautiful that week I worked here, im talking easily 70 degrees in the valley, T-shirt and flip flop weather which meant I was able to check out a couple of the climbing spots in the valley where the snow had melted off. All of the above made me realize that Cham is a special place and I needed to spend a couple months staring in awe at these mountains and climbing and riding all over them.
Some of the spires of Chamonix, pic taken February when I was there with Dave
And here is a more recent picture taken May 1st on a hike up to climb with Paula and Jarrad.
This pic from May 1st as well, climbing with an amazing backdrop...
And this is a picture of Chamonix town. I like to call it the Paris of the Alps. Nowhere else do you have such a black and white crossed culture of fur coats, cafe's, and fine dining mixing with ice axes, skis, and climbing gear, than on the streets of Chamonix.
Getting back to the beginning of this ridiculously long blog, everything has been going incredibly fast. I felt like I had just moved into my flat in Bourg as I was packing to move out of it a couple weeks ago, and now sitting here in Chamonix I don’t even know what to think, I already miss quaint little Bourg St Maurice and everything it gave me!!! I really love that I had the chance to live there, it is a special place. And I really do believe in the saying that time flies when you’re having fun, and I can only feel like I live the life of a rockstar because it is moving even faster than flying, like I cannot even put into words its rate of speed.
One of my last nights in Paris I had the chance to take Jess out to dinner
at a café overlooking the Eiffel Tower. We were sitting there enticed in deep conversation with a bottle of wine or 2, and both couldn’t help but laugh at how ferry-tale perfect the moment was, and how lucky we were at 22 years old to be sharing the moment. I feel like we are among the most blessed people on the planet. Apart from fame and fortune (which I do not desire), we are able to trot along the globe more than most of the free world could ever dream of. We live in a country that possesses a currency that is stronger than almost all the countries of the world. Most people think that because the dollar is “soooo weak” right now that life is tough, when in fact it really only means it is not stronger than the Euro, Great Britian Pound, and a handful of other currencies. Imagine being from 95% of the other countries of the world where changing their money into anything is near impossible as is the idea to travel around like we can.
Although the dollar isn’t magically strong right now, I have been able to swing a budgeted year of traveling in Central America last fall, skiing in the highest alps of Europe all winter, and now climbing in the alpine climbing center of the world for the summer. Life is good and I am blessed. Now the days will be spent road biking in the mornings, and climbing and hiking in the afternoons.
Upcoming projects
Living here is an eye opening experience. You learn of a new route or climb or tour every day, and I feel like I want to do it all! I am lucky enough to live in these mountains and want to take full advantage of what I am given because I know in the blink of an eye I will be back in Chico at school. It has been a rainy spring here though so the days outside have thus far been limited (I know poor me...). but what that does mean is the sunny days are amazing and taken full advantage of, and time can be spent reseraching things.
Some of the things that I am planning on doing, but may very well not happen for a multitude of reasons are climbing Mont Blanc (both on skis in the coming weeks, and on foot in June), walking the Haute Route, cycling the Tour du Mont Blanc (A 4 night, 5 day itenerary that I want to train and do in 1 night 2 days of riding!), finding work, WWOOFing around france, Le Alpe d’huez hillclimb, Cycling into the Italian Riviera, climbing the Midi, and following the Tour de France for however long I can, wish me luck!
Shane was extremely carefull in what he did, but he mixed 3 of the most dangerous things possible and it only takes one accident to end your life. He was ski wing-suit base jumping, which is skiing down a dangerous line, skiing off a cliff, ejecting your skis, flying away in a wing-suit, and then pulling a parachute. He was in the dolomites of Italy, and his ski's didn't release. He spent most of his time in freefall getting the ski's off, and by the time he did, it was too late to pull his chute.
Shane was only 39y/o, but I don't think it has alot of merit to say he died young. All lives last different amounts of time. The quality of ones life cannot be measured in time. You can't say anyone died early, or late for that matter. Quality of life can be measured in happiness. Happiness shared with others, given to others, and had by ones self. Happiness that one creates during their lifetime. People like Shane either die young or live to a hundred. There is no middle for special people like these. Almost like they live a life of divine and perfect hypocrisy; whereas most people believe life molds us, others like Shane molded life, challenge it with a smile, buck convention and find happiness far beyond anything that the hesitant, calculated, "realistic" person could obtain.
That is what I saw in Shane. RIP dude. I never cared if you were the best skier I saw in the movies, or read about in Freeze, you were the best at life.
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