A home for my words.

Sometimes worlds collide and you find yourself in the same ski town at the same time as two old college friends! Here were the highlights:

Skiing at Mont Blanc

I was the only one in our larger group who didn’t know how to ski. I’d wanted to learn how to snowboard ever since the days of playing SSX3 on my PS2 as a child, but my friends stated it clearly: I could either attempt and fail at snowboarding by myself on my one day at Mont Blanc or I could ski with everyone else. I chose skiing.

Incredibly, one of my friends was dating a sponsored skiing athlete, and he was actually the person who gave me my first and only ever skiing lesson! Pretty cool. For someone whose body probably felt like skiing was as natural as walking, he was still amazing and clearly passionate about teaching a timid newbie. Although I never skied again, I am grateful to say that in the years that followed, I went on to take snowboarding lessons and learn the joys of carving through true powder.

Snowshoeing

My friends opted to do a day of snowshoeing to even the playing field for the three of us. Although I’m known for always being cold, by the end of our little excursion I’d built up so much heat that I was down to just my tank top and leggings. People who saw the photos thought I’d lost my mind, but I feel like every time I’ve ever snowshoed it feels more far more arduous than it’s made out to be!

Exploring

Chamonix was truly a magical place. Each day was filled with activity — from bike rides to walking nature paths — and we also ate and drank well. At some point, the two friends I visited got to call Chamonix home for an extended period of time, and what a marvelous privilege that is!

Lows Come with the Highs

Two events popped up during this trip:

One was that after my ski lesson, my girlfriends and I took off by ourselves. We saw a crowd gathered around one spot and went to see what the commotion was about. There was a meter for indicating the avalanche danger level…and it was listed as red: avalanche threat level high. I wondered if my family would feel upset that I ventured so far out of my comfort zone only to be killed in an avalanche. People began fretting in various languages, taking photos and videos, unsure of what to do next. A man emerged from the building behind the sign to see what the fuss was about. He started flailing his arms wildly and begging people not to take photos. It was simply a false alarm!

The other is that I was bitten by a very powerful dog. For the first time in my life, I realized how truly dangerous a dog attack would be. I have worked through some of the initial reactions I received that said I should just brush it off and it wasn’t a big deal. But in all honesty, I have struggled with various levels of anxiety around dog attacks ever since, and I can’t say that I am fully recovered. There have been times where I see that same breed of dog and feel my system go into a panic. I have come across others who cannot muster sympathy for the unfortunate trauma I still work through around it. Yes, I have met dogs since that I click with and adore, but I am still cautious when I meet dogs for the first time. It’s nice to have the pictures of all of the beautiful nature experiences that went well during the trip despite the anxieties that linger.

Food Musings

It’s been years since I did a “Food Musings” post, but France calling “Sour Patch Kids” “Very Bad Kids” deserves its moment!

Conclusion

My friends and I also had tons of time eating, drinking, and catching up. As much as I crave solo travel, sharing travel memories with friends is a special experience.