When the Circus comes to town.

Living in a foreign country you sometimes find that you're wanting some hometown companionship. Last week I was lucky enough to have some hometown friends come and enjoy the French Alps with me. All of them also made big sacrifices to make it here. Heidi was delayed almost 48 hours (what a shitshow), Mikey, Devit, and Charlie changed their flights to avoid another shitshow, then Rob and Kelly drove 10 hours from Italy to make it there. Devit was also traveling with a severely sprained ankle. I was sure glad they all made it for a beautiful weekend of sun and snow.

The weekend started in true French fashion with a couple great runs off the Glacier followed with wine, cheese and jambon. The skiing was better than we expected. The night before the wind had scoured the snow and I wasn't sure any of the goods were left. There was. After our first run I think everyone was happy with the powdery conditions.

After a few bottles of wine and hanging out with the patrollers on duty, we met up with Mikey Hovey and Gretchen. They had skied a very nice couloir a few runs before and thought it'd be a good spot to end the day. Boy were they right. The snow was amazing and the lines were even better. Everyone skied well and enjoyed the elevated heart rate. Once Mikey Hovey skied his line with a 30 foot cliff to exit his couloir we headed for dinner in Plagne Center. The first day was a huge success and everyone was excited to be in France. I still couldn't believe they were all here to enjoy this great experience with me.

The next couple of days the sun stayed out for us and the snow stayed soft. I was stoked that everyone got to push themselves a bit and enjoy some of the great skiing La Plagne has to offer. The picture below is of an area we skied a couple times over the weekend. I think the biggest reason we skied these lines was to get to the Borseliers. Which could have turned into Heidi's new favorite restaurant.





I had to put this picture of Mikey in the blog because it's a classic. The first night the little guy wouldn't stop snoring. So we put him in the kitchen/toilet/shower hallway so we could sleep. It didn't matter how he was sleeping, he just kept sawing logs. Big logs. This was his new bedroom for the week.

Devito was a real trooper for this trip. I would guess he was in pain the entire time he had his snowboard on. He tried and tried but the ankle wouldn't let him ski off piste. He made the absolute best out of the trip and I was stoked he had a good time. Nice work Devit!!

The stories from the week could fill a book, but those stories will forever stay with me and the friends I shared the good times with. I'm sure many of these stories will be told for years to come. Like drinking Genepi form a wooden statue. Take a close look above.

After everyone left I came home to empty flat and realized that only after one day of work I already missed everyone dearly. Can y'all come back please?

In a few weeks Jeff Rogish is coming out to visit for a while. I'm stoked! The snow keeps falling so the skiing should be great when he arrives. I'm not sure he's bringing skis, so we'll probably just do some shopping and sight seeing. There is a chance that if things go right I'll hopefully run into Kurt Kincel in Chamonix. Can't imagine that would be much fun. Mikey Hovey has said he still can't find the word to describe Chamonix.

Heidi is also coming back out for her third trip of the year a few days after Brogish. Her last trip seemed pretty short, but this trip will be for ten days and should be a blast. She's become familiar with La Plagne and has become comfortable with "French" way of skiing. I just hope all the good travel karma she built up on the last trip gets her here without any worries.

All is well. Thanks to everyone who came out for making my trip here more memorable. Words, or at least my words, can't explain how much it meant to me that you all came to France.