Trip Update #12: Chamonix

[Josh Seamon]

Hello everyone,

Here's the writeup for the last 5 days of the trip:

3/6/07: We woke up early and had another solid breakfast in the fancy hotel. Right after food we packed up the bus, which wasn't getting any easier due to the multiplying bags. Rocco managed to get every single bag packed but one, and I don't think he was happy about it ;) We then took a short bus ride to the small museum that houses David. Flo got us into the museum very quickly and soon we rounded the corner and saw David. What a sight. Not only is the statue impressive, the hallway leading up to David is full of 'tries' -- half finished sculptures that the artists abandoned. The museum also had many plaster molds of famous statues like the 'Rape of the Sabines' which we had seen the day before. There was actually one huge room filled with even more plaster molds. Neat stuff. After a bit in the gift shop, we got back on the bus and headed north towards Chamonix. On the way we watched the gorgeous Italian scenery pass us by. We also took in a couple movies which was also fun. Several hours into the drive we stopped at a small rest stop and got our first glimpse of snow in the Alps! At this point the road started getting really windy, and Rocco further impressed us with his mind-blowing driving skills. Since the Mont Blanc tunnel was closed we had to take the long way around to Chamonix which took us through a part of Switzerland and into France. We went through a bunch of tunnels and climbed higher into the Alps. As we climbed up and down the mountains we saw more and more snow and larger and larger switchbacks. We saw green valleys and towns from high above. We kept on climbing as night came in and soon we were high above a couple towns -- what a sight! At well past dark we arrive in Chamonix at our hotel -- The Maeva. We checked into our apartment-style rooms and then Flo led us into the center of the ski town for dinner. I had some excellent fondue which I was very happy about. After dinner we went back to the hotel and went to sleep very quickly.

3/7/07: We woke up early to the sigh of HUGE snow covered mountains. Even though the ground around the hotel was not covered in snow, we could see LOTS of snow up on the mountains. Flo walked us back to the same restaurant from the night before and we had yet another excellent breakfast. We then went back to the hotel to get dressed for skiing. While the kids got dressed Flo and I went to prep the rental store for the onslaught of kids. After a brief minor emergency when we found out that people don't wear helmets in France, and therefore helmets aren't available at rental stores, we figured out that the children's helmets that were available fit out kids fine. Flo picked up our ski passes, the rentals worked out fine, and we were soon on the bus to the Grand Montet ski area. We took the gondola up to the base lodge... and... WOW! WHAT A SIGHT! It was perfectly clear and we could see for forever! That day I took the Bochard gondola up to 2,765m many times and had the time of my life skiing the 3km run back to the base of the gondola... that had no wait line at all! We had a full, perfect day of skiing, met back up at 4;30, skied down to the lower base lodge, and took the bus back to the hotel. We had a 6pm check in then almost everyone cooked for themselves in groups in their rooms. It was super cute :) The chaperones had a great dinner together and then I got to bed early so I could get up early the next day.

3/8/07: I woke up early and met up with a group of eager skiers at 8am. We ate breakfast on our own and got to the bus at 8:30 and to the base of the Grand Montet by 9:30. But this time we had no blue skies.... it was a complete white out. We took the Bochard gondola up and skied pole to pole down the run. It was a surreal experience. Since we were up there early in the day, and there weren't too many skiers on the slopes, the trails were actually quite smooth and well groomed. It cleared up a little bit during the day, but overall it stayed rather cloudy. We met up at noon and then at 3, and left a little early because we were all very tired. We had another 6pm check in and then had another round of fantastic meals prepared in the apartments. The 10 or so students who did not ski during the day took a trip up the Augui di Midi cable car. For the second night in a row I passed out early in preparation for a full day of skiing.

3/9/07: We woke up even earlier and headed out to the bus at 7:30. We made it up to the Grand Montet base lodge on the first and second gondola runs of the day, checked everyone in, and then headed up the Lognan gondola to the very top of the Grand Montet, a run we hadn't done yet. It was another totally clear, calm day! We made it to the top of the Grand Montet (3,275m!), climbed a couple flight of stairs to the observation deck and were totally blown away by the view! We could see for miles and there was very little wind and a TON of sun. We could see the adjacent glacier. Wow. We then went down a bunch of steps to the top of the ski run. We broke into two groups and the first group took off in front of me. Ilana, Matt Grasso and I took a leisurely run down the 4km trail, stopping frequently to take in the sights! Wow! We made it down the run in about 30 minutes and I stopped to check everyone who had gone on the run. It was then that I found out that Nicole had fallen at that ski patrol was with her. Soon after that the rest of the chaperones arrived at the base lodge and 2 of them immediately took off for the hospital the Nicole was being taken to. I stayed the rest of the day with the 10 kids who were still skiing and we took in more powder and more run until 3:30 when we headed down for the day. After I got back to the hotel I talked to ski patrol and then had another apartment-cooked meal. At 8pm we had a dessert party and presented Flo with a signed picture of the group. It was a great dessert party. Mrs. Scavitto and I then went out to the hospital to visit Nicole and Mrs. Davis who was staying with her. We got back to the hotel around 10 and went back to packing.

3/10-11/07: The first group was up at 2:30am for their 3:30am departure. Everyone was down int the lobby with their bags early, and on the bus without a hitch. I went back to bed and got back up at 7am. At 8am I took the remaining half of the students to breakfast. Several warm croissants and some efficient packing later, we were all packed up in the lobby when our bus driver appeared. We loaded up and were heading out of Chamonix right on time at 10am. We said good bye to Chamonix as the bus headed for Geneva. A smooth 1.5 hours later we were at the airport where we met back up with Flo. We found out that the first group got off okay and then we checked our bags and waited 30 minutes for our gate information. Some kids bought some last minute chocolate and then we all said good bye to Flo who was next heading back to Rome to lead another group. We got through security and to our gate and then took a short flight to Frankfort. As I expected we got a thorough pat-down by security then had an hour before our flight left. We all got on the flight and 8.5 hours we were in DC. In DC we went through border patrol, picked up our bags, went through US customs, and then immediately rechecked our bags. We made it to our gate fine and got our boarding passes. 2 hours later we were in Boston. We got our bags (they were all there!), had a little trouble connecting with out bus, but found it right before midnight. We all had space to spread out on the bus, so everyone was asleep rather quickly. 3 hours (and a fourth due to day-light savings) we were back in St. Johnsbury at almost exactly 4am to a waiting train of cars. Everyone was picked up by 4:45am and I was home in my apartment a little before 5am.

What a trip. :)


- Mr. Seamon