Bardonecchia

I got back last night from our ski trip to Bardonecchia! It was beautiful there. We stayed in the tiny mountainside town of Chateau, which is just across the border from France. The place that we stayed had been described as a B and B, but I would describe it more as a camp. It was not exactly luxurious. I shared a room of 8 bunk beds with the other women in the department. What you learn about your coworkers up close and personal: Amy shouts in Taiwanese in her sleep.

It was a fun weekend. We ate lots of delicious pizza and pasta. I only fell hard once although the conditions were not great. There is hardly any snow in the Alps this year due to global warming.

Here is the whole group:

Left to right: Farhad, his son Farzad, Farideh, Kasia (in the back), Amy, Amir, Rim, Sandrine, Frank, Rim's husband (I never caught his name), James, Manuella's son (name?), Cyril (with the hat) and Rayjean in front of him, me, Ellie, Jon, and Zoe, Paolo, Manuella's daughter Maria, Toni Boffetta, Manuella, and Amy.

Nationalities represented: Iranian, Polish, American, Nepali, Armenian, Dutch, Aussie, French, German, British, Canadian, Taiwanese, and Italian.

The town of Chateau, which at 1800 meters elevation should normally be full of snow this time of year.


Here was the view from our B and B. On the hill in the foreground wild mountain goats were roaming-- they were called chamois.


Here is my friend Jon with his daughter Ellie.

Jon and I boarded together on Sunday. I stopped to tighten my boots and he stopped ahead to wait for me-- here is a shot of him with the mountains behind. The snow in the foreground is all manmade-- a bunch of the runs were closed and there were plenty of spots where rocks and dirt showed through the snow. They should have put signs up that said, "Keep off the grass."

On Sunday Paolo and his wife Toni prepared a little feast for us on our way out of town, of cheeses, prosciutto, and little Italian pastries. I'm in the back talking to Frank and James, undoubtedly discussing this week's poker game. By this point, I was completely exhausted.