Val Thorens: Skiing in May

The last week of April and first week of May were school vacation weeks. From April 27th-May 6th I was on a skiing vacation with a group of friends from school.

We traveled (by bus) with a local ski club. I was able to borrow everything except the skis and poles (which I rented for a cool 70 Euro). We traveled 14hrs to Val Thorens, the highest European skiing village. It's 2300 meters (7546ft) high in the French Alps, with the summit being 3420 meters (11,220ft) high. For this week Val Thorens was hosting a Dutch themed event, with Dutch music and food readily available around the mountain. Basically everybody skiing was Dutch, which I found really funny. Even though I was in France I was still surrounded by Dutch culture. 

The six of us stayed in a small apartment with 2 bedrooms and a pull out couch. It was the first time I had ever gone skiing for a whole week. Usually I just schlep up to Bristol Mountain, ski for less than a day, and come home. I thought that skiing 6 hours a day for 7 days would be way too intense for me, but I was surprised by how well my body managed. The first day was definitely a lot for my legs, which were burning after just the first slope. But I learned to take breaks during long runs.

The weather in the beginning of the week was right around freezing, though the last two days were around 45 degrees (which I found too hot. I was skiing with my jacket open and no gloves, though I kept my face completely covered because I was afraid of sun burn. I got a bit of color on my cheeks my first day and learned my lesson. Some of my friends, however, did not seem to learn their lesson and are still sporting red cheeks and necks).

The snow conditions weren't always ideal, but always better than what I was used to. We were at a level 3 avalanche warning most of the week (considerable on a scale of 1-5). On Friday, however, the warning increased to level 4 (high) due to increased temperatures. As a result we couldn't go to the summit any more, which was fine considering that it was in the clouds most of the time. 

It was Wednesday when the clouds were really bad. They were so low that they restricted visibility. I only skied two hours that day because I found it too scary/dangerous to ski without seeing where I was going. To put it in perspective: here is the same place on Sunday v Wednesday

But when the weather was nice everything was absolutely gorgeous. You're high above the tree line, so you can see mountains on the other side of the valley. My favorite was watching the shadows of the clouds project themselves over the mountain. It looked a bit like when you're underwater looking up, and you can see the sun and waves moving over you. Sometimes I had the urge to race the clouds when they would pass over me, but it would be an impossible fight. They move quickly, and look like a shimmer across the mountain. 

I saw a lot of cool things. I saw a woman skiing with her dog, with the dog running before her down the mountain. I wonder how that works. I imagine she is restricted to using gondels, no chair lifts. The dog was an Australian Shepherd, and a bit distracting. I have no complaints though. We also saw many, many groundhogs living in the mountain. They would sit at the mouth of their little snow tunnels. I'm not sure what their hibernation schedules are, but it was definitively a surprise to see them. 

The views were incredible. Seeing the moss covered rocks peaking through the white snow was just incredible. There were even flowing waterfalls that would empty into frozen pools. The pools were always an incredibly light blue, almost electric. It was also surprising how quickly the environment changed depending on your height.  The summit was shrouded in clouds, with wind blowing away the packed snow to reveal a layer of ice. Half way between the summit and the village was less ice, with less wind and less clouds. At the village it was warm and sunny, with snow that turned to slush from the heat. And if you went further below the village, you were quickly surrounded by a lush, deeply green environment. 

I wasn't sure if I was going to go on this trip because of it's price (it was about 700 Euro in total). I am so glad that I decided to go though. I worked all summer for a reason and it was definitely a good use of that time and energy. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen, so far at least. No regrets.