There are tantrums and nerves from Natasha mostly surrounding the prospect of riding the chair lift (the last time we rode it together we ended up on our bums or skiing on our knees - my fault obviously.
The pull of the lesson was to explore Morillon. The few runs we could do in Samoens had got old and far too many children getting in our way which would surely only get worse as the busy February period kicked in. A little pressure from Su added it our need to get up there, shut her up once and for all. But I was keen to kick on and become more proficient at this skiing lark and I know deep down Natasha was too.
Chucking our ski stuff in the back of the Polo we headed off, but before we could we had to extract the ever eager LuLu from her perch on the backseat of the car. For a cat so fat and lazy she is a sneak and suddenly appears in front of you. Or leaps through the tiny window above our bed and onto us for a night fright if we're lucky. As comical as the idea of taking her with us up the gondola she is turfed out and were off.
We she'll out €80 for the 2 hour lesson begrudgingly, even though it is half price for us seasonairs and park up at Morillon with time to spare. Midday so officially afternoon and enough time to sink a La Chouffe beer in the name of Dutch courage.
It turns out our instructor is Franck who we had at our previous lesson. At good thing surely? Yes, except that we are nervous he will not be impressed with our progress in the past month.
No fear, the ever cool and hairy nostriled Frenchman greets us warmly and eases us past the first hurdle of the chairlift with great ease. The particular chair lift takes us some 800 feet to the summit of Morillon. Spectacular views in the almost piercing sunlight make the trip worthwhile.
At the summit lies the run we have heard so much about, a green run that stretches some 5km, (mostly) gently through snow covered terrain, trees dusted, sunlight glinting through the gaps...sadly we were far too busy concentrating on our parallel turns which I am pleased to say we have somewhat mastered. Nearly. Favorite moments of the journey down marvel (the name of the run) are when we all stop and Franck makes us observe a ten second silence to observe the absolute silence on the mountain, the snow absorbing all sounds. It really is serene. A nice moment. Other memorable points were my spectacular fall; ski's too close together on my parallel turn, touched and propelled me clean out of the ski's. Actually it felt quite exhilarating. Not that I plan to do it all the time.
Franck took us briefly off piste through some trees which resulted in Natasha's fall, ski pole buried deep in the snow. She took it well.
We ran Marvel twice and the second time felt good, this was what it was all about surely! Two hours down we assured Franck that after a food and drink break we'd be back on it for one more run. But a beer, hot dog and sit down plus extensive post-lunch cues at the lift saw off that notion. We descended exhausted but proud and exhilarated. A night in, some home made tabbouleh, even a brief workout was managed before we collapsed. Day 60 would see a new group of guests and lead on to busy half-terms week, but for now we hold onto a good day, the likes of which we hope to have more of as the season eases off.
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