Verbier in December

We packed up for Verbier, Valais, on Monday to hook up with Brenna's friend Noor, who was visiting from Jordan on a school ski trip. We found a relatively nice 2 star hotel, close to the lifts and spent 3 days enjoying the wonderful weather. The down side was that the snow Verbier usually gets, has all landed in Colorado, so conditions were pretty bad for the down-hill crowd.

Monday night we saw Noor and it was great seeing her with our girls.They just took off as if they had parted just yesterday. That's Noor, at the end of the table, opposite Brenna and next to Aubrey.

Tuesday morning Brenna and Aubrey took snowboarding lessons, Dedi hiked with the dogs, and I decided to try out my new x-country ski boots. I put on my 'skins' and skied up from Verbier to Les Ruinettes. This was a long climb that took me about 4 hours. Gained about 2,500 vertical feet. After going hypothermic several years ago on a trip to Eiseman hut, I worked hard to regulate my body temperature, drink often, and eat along the way. This worked great and I was feeling great at the top. Got some great photos including a few shots of para gliders. (If you click on picture you will get a bigger version..or if you want the original resolution, let me know and I'll send you the original photos....)






The village you see below the glider is where I started my climb.
Here's a shot of the start of the x-country trail after 'skinning' up the slope...
This is the end of the trail...I was curious to hike around, my fear of heights and a bit of common sense kept me safe!
The run down was pretty fun. Non-stop downhill run for 1 hour 2o minutes. However, the last 1km or so was a nightmare. I definitely need some telemarking lessons as I was unable to handle the icy slopes near the base. With legs a bit tired and no snow to help my snow plow, I tumbled numerous times. It didn't help either to be in the mix of hundreds of infants on ski's who seemed too young to walk but much more adept at skiing than me!

That evening Dedi and I treated ourselves to deep tissue massages. This was absolutely wonderful. While we enjoyed the massage, Brenna met up with her boyfriend who happened to also be in Verbier at the same time...

That night we experienced the downside of restaurants that don't turn tables. We tried 5 or 6 places and all informed us they were totally booked...Feeling deep pangs of hunger we finally found a place that was relatively empty. After the meal, we understood why it was empty! ...But at least the beer was cold, the room was warm and the food was hot.

Today, we took the ski lift up to Les Ruinettes and the 6 of us enjoyed a wonderful hike that paralleled the last part of my x-country ski run. Dedi enjoyed this immensely and Tigger and Telly were in Dog heaven, running freely through the snow.

On our way out, we ran into a friends from Lausanne whose children go to school with ours. They were there with their Aussie puppy. We met them several months ago and they were debating on what breed of dog to purchase. After meeting Tigger and Telly they decided on an Aussie and are absolutely thrilled with their new family addition. She is adorable!

The train ride home was also nice though we had a 2 minute train to bus connection in Renens ...somehow, despite ski's, dogs, and luggage we made it...2 hours 20 minutes door to door..not bad!