The Edge of Reason

It’s always a bad sign when people start talking about the weather – it usually means that the quality of the chat has dropped, markedly. However, this particular topic has come to mind is because I’m sick of seeing pictures of people on beaches and enjoying sunshine.

Avignon

The first experience of snow in Europe took place this week in Avignon, in the south of France. It was not planned. I had been banking on the south of France being warmer. It was not. My seven merinos were not enough to ward of the cold. I had to buy more clothes and was still cold. I was pissed. 

Snow covered legumes 

Snow covered tables

Snow covered flowers

Val d’Iseres

My second experience of snow in Europe was planned. And this time it wasn’t a light dusting… I had decided that I deserved my own skiing mini-break. This reminded me of the scene from Bridget Jones’s Diary: The Edge of Reason – in which I played Bridget…

The original scene monologue is as follows:

Bridget: Told a tiny lie about being an extremely experienced skier – but honestly – how hard can it be?

My own version of this played out as follows:

Team leader: So, everyone has an avalanche pack and tracker* apart from Steph?

Me (internal monologue): Oh. oh. Alright. So it's like that is it? (The real version was only slightly more explicit)

Needless to say, I effectively fell down the avalanche prone off-piste, and managed got nice and friendly with a rather large boulder that I thought was looking lonely (when I finally saw it…). 

Nonetheless, I have lived to die another day.

A cold first day in paradise

A beautiful second day in paradise

Powder hunting: part i.

Powder hunting: part ii

A blue bird through and through for the third and final day of skiing

And now, I am happy again.

This is 007, signing out (like a boss… kind of… actually, really not at all).

*for those of you who don't know, avalanche packs and trackers are survival gear used to find your aid ones personal survival and to enable others to find you, should you be covered by an avalanche whilst skiing on fractured powder.