On the piste...

Last night’s marathon efforts at fitting boots and skis was well appreciated this morning as it took us a surprisingly long time to actually get into them when we got up to the slopes this morning.  When finally ensconced in our boots, and with skis and poles in hand, we split into our groups and headed up the mountain (some of the beginners among the group somewhat surprised to being going so high so early on in the week and exhibiting some slight trepidation at the prospect).  Each group was assigned an instructor, and off we went. 

Two hours later, after plenty of snow ploughs, snow wipe outs, and lots of falling over, a lunch of pizzas was wolfishly devoured to replenish the energy levels, and then off we went again…

At three in the afternoon, it was a completely different group that came off the mountain: from zero to hero in terms of skiing ability (for the majority), tired but inwardly happy at their achievements.  What a fantastic day in terms of weather: the pictures show the sunshine, and the skiing conditions were perfect.  We’ll wait and see what the thighs are like in the morning…

A few of the groups took the opportunity before dinner to explore Courmayeur – if nothing else, the general consensus is that the hot chocolate is much  creamier here than experienced elsewhere.  After another filling four course dinner, it was time to stretch the vocal chords in the Tennis Bar for an evening of high calibre karaoke and caffeinated soft drinks!  Let it be said, the general quality of singing was high, but the king of the night, with his Rick Astley Never Gonna Give You Up was, by a country mile, Findlay Dyer.  The deadpan delivery style won over the screaming crowds, and he revisited the microphone several times during the evening.  The teachers closed the evening with a song of their own, and all we can say about that is that we left the venue very shortly afterwards.

Onwards and upwards tomorrow…