Day 2
The next morning we piled into Dominique's Land Rover and drove east over a pass to Verbier, a resort town akin to Vail or Aspen. Verbier was an easy spot to get back onto our route without falling behind schedule.
Nick and I sat in back, getting high on diesel fumes leaking through the back door.
Here's a shot I took out the window of vineyards planted on the steep, south-facing hillsides above Martigny, which we passed through on our way to Verbier. Does the adage "the worse the soil, the better the wine" take into account exhaust fumes?
I was feeling pretty woozy by the time we reached Verbier. We stopped at a market to buy lunch, but I had a hard time finding gluten-free food, and wasn't feeling hungry anyway.
Me, Nick, Fern, and BruceThen we rode a little gondola over grassy hillsides, posh vacation homes, and crowded ski slopes...
Nick in Verbier Gondola...to the Cabane du Mont Fort, which served as both a hut for backcountry skiers in the evening, and as an outdoor restaurant for hundreds of resort skiers during the day. We ate our packed lunches on the edge of a ski run near the overcrowded hut, knowing that soon we'd have the mountains to ourselves. Nick feasted on bread with cheese and duck pate. I squirted packets of GU into my mouth, lamenting my gluten allergy and wishing I'd at least bought a carrot or something.
While Bruce and Fern rested at the hut, Dominique took Nick, Brad, Mark and I up the Col de la Chaux to get in some skiing. Despite the crowds on the groomed slopes, we had this little valley to ourselves.
Brad, a professional bike racer who isn't at ease unless he's breaking a sweat, climbed to the top of the col for some steeper skiing, while the rest of us waited for him lower. Brad spent most of this trip far ahead of us, either climbing or descending. On more than one occasion someone suggested we have him tow the rest of us. In this video, we tease Brad for being slow, which we did whenever we got the chance: Low (YouTube) or High quality.
And here's some footage of Brad, Dominique, Mark, and Nick skiing the col. I love watching the first bit. Brad is actually an excellent telemark skier--this was the only time I saw him fall. Low (YouTube) or High quality.
I also took some video while skiing. You can see I'm swaying a lot while I ski (put down your drink and hold on to something before watching this). Over the course of the trip, I got better at keeping my upper body still while turning with my legs. Low (YouTube) or High quality.
By the time we got back to the hut, the crowds had disappeared and we were able to move in and even get a hot shower before dinner. Wow, so far this trip is cake!
