As I peered over the edge of the 1300 meter cliff I wanted to scream “AIDEZ-MOI!” I think I overestimated my skiing abilities when I signed up for the Ski Trip to the French Alps provided by my program. We left Friday evening on a five hour bus trip from Montpellier to the Pelvoux-Valloise Sk Resort. We paid a flat rate of 200€ for the whole weekend which included all meals, ski rental fees, lodging and transportation. When we entered the chalet it was almost midnight so we settled into our quaint little room and hit the hay.

 Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a 7:30 am sharp petit déjeuner (bread, of course).  Stepping outside of the chalet to get onto the bus was like stepping into an alternate universe. It was pitch black outside when we arrived so I failed to notice the ENORMOUS mountains that surrounded us. They were absolutely breathe taking. Coming from Philadelphia, I’m not used to being in artic wonderlands often, so the first thing I did was whip out my phone and started taking pictures. Once we got all of our ski gear (boots, skis, poles, and helmet) I started getting a little nervous. 

“How hard could it be?”, I thought to myself as we headed towards the lift. Very, very hard I soon figured out. I thought I was going to have a heart attack as we ascended the largest mountain I’ve ever seen in my life.  The only thing I could think of on the way up was “How the hell am I going to get back down this thing without dying?” I was so consumed with fear about going down the actual slopes that I neglected to think about my first challenge: getting off the ski lift. I never thought of myself as a graceful person but I really solidified that theory when I tumbled off of the ski lift directly into an innocent bystander. “This is going to be a long day”.  Apparently skiing is a lot harder than it looks! I stood in terror at the top of the hill as I watched all my friends go down without me. I mustered up the courage and proceeded to go flying down the first stretch of the mountain at what felt like 100 mph until I fell flat on my back and skidded into the first bend.  Thankfully, one of the leaders of our program saw me struggling and gave me some pointers. One hour later, I was finally safe and sound at the bottom of the hill. I was really enjoying myself once I actually figured out how to ski properly.

 I went up the mountain a couple more times (keeping up with my friends this time), ate a nice lunch and then called it a day. Back at the chalet I was introduced to vin chaud. Hot wine is a delicacy in the south of France but I wasn’t really a fan. Before dinner was served, we were taken to the center of the little town we were staying it. There wasn’t much there except for a few gift shops and a very old church, but it was pretty cute.  At 8pm we had this amazing potato casserole dish that was literally just potatoes and cheese. It was the perfect meal to eat after a long day of skiing.  The next day everyone went skiing again but I stayed behind with my roommate Maddy. I was REALLY sore from the day before and wanted to catch up on some reading. Maddy and I hung out by the fire in the lobby of our chalet until everyone came back from skiing. It was such an eventful and relaxing weekend all at the same time.  I learned a new sport (slightly), made some new friends, and best of all conquered my fears of plummeting down a huge mountain. I honestly had an amazing time. Maybe I’ll make skiing a part of my winter endeavors…

À bientôt

Devon

Location: Montpellier, France