Back on the Board: Thur 4 February

Maybe I’m still drunk from the night before but my aches seem better today and I decide to get back on the snowboard and give it another go. Abby’s enthusiasm for boarding is infectious and we head up to Avoriaz together. The nursery slope has a button lift and I’ve not done one of these yet on a board. I fall the first time but manage to stay on the second time, although I am frozen with fear the whole way up. The photo Abby took is on my first button lift. We do this short run many times until we are quietly confident on the button lift. We are very dehydrated though from the night before and I drink my entire camelpak of Ribena within the first thirty minutes.

Abby and I then do the longer blue run, Proclou, a couple of times and I really start to feel like I’m getting it. It feels great! Edita and Lucy join us mid afternoon but Lucy really isn’t enjoying it and leaves to go drink vin chaud at one of the cafes. Edita stays and does the long blue with us on our final run of the day and then we head to the café to meet Lucy.

As we come down the slope to the café we hear banging techno music and then we see that the good Burger Bar has DJs on their decking and the deck is teaming with fluro kids all dancing madly. We meet Lucy there, drink Mutzig and join in the crazy dancing. Dad comes to meet us when he finishes his lesson and he even has a wee dance.

Abby takes a couple of videos, the funniest of which sees me engulfed by a giant fluro kid who gives me a kiss!

After the dancing we then have to board down the slope to the gondola which is a bit frightening as we are somewhat drunk, but my boarding is actually quite good as alcohol tends to eliminate all sense of fear.

That night Abby and I cook a made-up roast vegetable lasagne. We realise half-way through cooking it that Adam didn’t buy the tinned tomatoes which were on the list. He denies they were on the list but is amenable enough to knock on our neighbour’s door and ask for a tin. We top the lasagne with a mixture of ground breadcrumbs, nuts, parmesan and cayenne which works a treat.