Dad’s first day skiing. I think a lot of people must be visiting for the weekend as the waiting time for the gondola was 25 minutes. We decide to take the nearby chairlift instead. It is bitterly cold but at least the sun is shining and the snow conditions are delightful.
We do a few runs before I venture slightly off piste to find some fresh untracked powder. Dad follows but rather than follow my route down he moves further across the hill and skis down a hill that no one has touched. The reason that no one has skied it before is that it ends in a massive uphill snow drift. Dad disappears for some time and I am calling him but he doesn’t answer. I call to two skiers who can see him and ask if he is OK, they explain in French that he is OK but he has fallen.
I then walk back up the hill and round the corner to see Dad digging himself out of the snowdrift. He has taken his skis off and is now exhausted. Dad announces he needs lunch. He then announces that he’s forgotten his wallet. We eat at a very expensive mountain restaurant where the only thing I can afford for us both is hot dogs!
After lunch we do a few runs to get us back to central Avoriaz to meet Abby before her first ever snowboard lesson. Abby is very excited and super enthusiastic.
Dad and I head home after two more runs as he is very tired and I’ve pulled a muscle in my back.
Abby arrives home after her first lesson and is buzzing. She LOVES snowboarding. She didn’t like button lifts but she perservered. Her excitement is infectious and makes me want to try again.
I make more power bars for taking skiing with us when I get in and then we all go out for dinner.
Abby, Dad and I go to La Chamade for dinner as I reckon Dad will really like the beef dish. We both order Beet Fillet with a Cep Cappucino and Spinach salad, Abby has Moules.
Although we are full we all order dessert too. My dessert ranks top of the list in the strangest sweet concoction I’ve ever had on a plate. I order Iles Flottante which essentially is soft meringue islands floating on a crème anglaise sauce. However this comes with a selection of other accompaniments. I was expecting ice-cream and requested lemon sorbet. However alongside this was:
- candied fennel
- lentils
- candied red cabbage
- curried rice pudding
- a shot of cucumber and spearmint juice
The merinque and sorbet was lovely but the other extras were all a bit too weird, even for me! A photo of the dessert is above.
Yum. I think Candied Fennel is possibly the oddest dessert combo I've heard of. Though Cucumber juice sounds quite revolting!! I love reading your adventures here - it makes for wonderfully compelling reading. Roger digging himself out of a snowdrift is the top image so far! I can proudly say that my first ski lesson was from you Gregorys, so every tumble I make, I think of you!
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