No word from the cops for a month. As a result, we now have this:

October 16, 2009 Ceremony

October 16, 2009 proved to be a perfect day on the sandy beaches of Mexico.  Everything went perfectly…the bride and groom both showed up, friends and family were there to support us, we were all involved in the release of baby turtles into the ocean, food was delectable, and dancing was enjoyed by all!  Thank you to everyone for their support, whether it was in physical presence at the ceremony or for your thoughts.  We wouldn’t be the people we are today with out all of you.  More pictures to follow soon.

1 – Take a shuttle bus: make your way through the throng of people offering you free transportation (they want you to attend one of their gigs to buy into timeshares) and just before you exit the airport there is a bus, $11/$13 per person I think.  The shuttle is a greyhound-like bus that stops at all the resorts.  El Presidente is the 1st resort they stop at.

2- Get a taxi.  The taxi shouldn’t be much more than the bus per person.

We can’t wait to share this special event with you.  Travel safely and we will see you soon on the sandy beaches of Mexico!

Marie and Henri had recently announced they were to be married in November.  My heart and prayers go out to Marie and Henri’s family.  I feel honored to have known him.  From the few days Ed and I spent in France, a special bond and friendship was formed with both Henri and Marie.  I learned so much just from watching his technique and movement in the mountains.  He will never be forgotten.

Edward and Henri

Henri, Dan (on ground), Marie, Mark, Matt, Edward

After skiing Courmayer, Mark suggested we ski something steeper. He contacted a Chamonix Mountain Guide named Henri Bouilliet for some beta. Instead of simply telling us where to go, Henri said, “I ski with you tomorrow.” He picked us up at 7:30 am in his Audi A4 wagon and we jetted back through the Mont Blanc Tunnel into Italy. This ride was faster and smoother than the previous day’s bus ride. We took 3 funivies (small trams) to the top of the Italian side of Mont Blanc. From the summit plateau we hiked to the top of the Marbree Couloir, another 6000 ft couloir. The entrance was a no-fall 55 degree face that mellowed out into a 40 degree slope. The skiing was variable, from hardpack to powder, corn to slush.

That run took most of the morning. We had lunch at the funivie Cafe and decided to ski the Vallee Blanche back into Chamonix. Matt’s knee was sore so he opted to go back to Chamonix. Mark went with him for company. Henri, Amy and I rode the three cars back to the top of the Vallee Blanche. For many people, the Vallee Blanche is a once in a lifetime ski descent. We skied it twice in once trip to Chamonix!

Henri et Edward avec Mont Blanc

Skiing by many crevasses

After skiing the Vallee Blanche, we said goodbye to Henri. We invited him to dinner at the local brew pub. He said he would join us, along with his partner, Marie. He also invited us to ski with them the next day! We met the Ski Weekend posse at the pub, drank some beer, ate some wings and made plans to ski the Col D’Argentiere.

We met at Les Grands Montets for the early Tram. There were many guides with clients in tow. The pub was noisy and crowded the night before, so we didn’t really get a chance to meet Marie. After some re-introductions, we made our way to the top of the resort. Marie’s parents are from Argentina. She grew up in Canada and now works in Geneva. She speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian and Romansch. I was able to speak to her in French; She and Amy spoke Spanish.

at the Col D'Argentiere

From the top of the resort, we crossed the Argentiere glacier and hiked up toward the Col. The tour took us about 6 hours round trip. Everyone was a little tired, especially Matt. He’s a guy who can push a 1500 lb. sled for about 20 yards/metres. Asking him to hike several miles and climb 4000 feet is another story. I’ve never seen a meltdown like this before. We could tell he was mad by how little he spoke. Marie was in back, urging him to take a few more steps. “It’s just up there, Matt,” she said. Mark and I offered to ski down and carry his pack. He stubbornly refused and eventually made it to the top.

henri checks on Matt

Like everywhere else in the Alps, the views were amazing. We could see the Matterhorn in the distance. We were also near  Mt. Dolent, which is the corner of France, Italy and Switzerland.

on top of the world

After a quick lunch, we skied back to the glacier and into the resort. Skiing varied from crust to windbuff, powder to hardpack. I was tired and loved every minute of it.

some of the wind-blown powder

We made plans for dinner at Munchie, a swedish place in town. It was the best meal of our trip. Go there if you get the chance. Over dinner, Henri and Marie asked us our plans for tomorrow. We didn’t have any at that point. Marie said, “We will pick you up at 7pm and go to Switzerland.” Amy and I looked at each other and said, “Okay.” I was sure it would be another great adventure. Henri picked a great Cotes du Rhone for dinner. He paid for the wine; we paid for his dinner. It was the least we could do.

We woke up late the next morning with no real plans. It was Matt’s last day to ski. He wanted to ski the Vallee Blanche, so we walked to the base of the Aiguille du Midi. There were a lot of tourists in line waiting to ascend the 7000 feet to the Aiguille. We made it to the top and took some pics of the bridge in Blizzard of Aahhs.  The skiing alone isn’t very challenging. The challenge lies in negotiating the crevasses, ice falls, cliffs and guided groups on the glacier. We watched a fat Italian man fall on his face while crossing a narrow snow bridge. We also watched a guide lower himself into a crevasse to retrieve a client’s ski which had fallen into said crevasse. We made it to the bottom of the glacier and rode the train into town.

matt cruising the vallee blanche

Henri and Marie picked us up around 7pm. We loaded the A4 and headed to Bourg St. Pierre, Switzerland. It’s near Verbier, which is also along the Haute Route. I stayed in Bourg St. Pierre in 2001 with Darrell, Noah and Jonah while on the Haute Route. I had a feeling this would be a little bit more comfortable.

We stayed at the Bivouac Napoleon, a small hotel in a small town. Henri told us that Napoleon had stayed here during the war and had promised to pay for his food and lodging. The locals are still waiting to be paid.

Our goal was to climb the Hannibal Couloir on Mt. Velan, ski the west aspect into Italy and then return to France that night. The couloir is named after Hannibal, the 3rd Century BC Carthaginian General who rode an elephant across the Alps to attack Rome. Apparently, Vin Diesel is directing the movie, so look for that soon in your local theater.

We woke up at 5am, had a light breakfast and drove to the ski area of Super St. Bernard, just up the road. The St. Bernard Monastery is also up the road. This is the monastery famous for the big furry dogs. The monks take the puppies into the lower valleys for the winter and return them to the monastery in the summer.

We hiked 4000 vertical feet from the parking lot to the base of the couloir. After putting on crampons, we hiked another 2000 feet up the couloir. It was colder and windier than the previous days, so we didn’t linger too long on top. The ski into Les Etroubles, Italy was long and very spring like. Henri had to belay us down the steepest part, which was about 55 degrees and icy. The rest of the descent was typical spring skiing. By my calculation, we climbed 6000 feet and descended over 7500 feet. At the end of the day, I was again very tired and very happy. I think Amy felt the same.

Hannibal Couloir

One Steep Mother

Mt. Velan, Italian side

En Les Etroubles

We ended our stay in Chamonix with a rest day, enjoyed some shopping for gifts and general relaxation. For dinner, we met Henri and Marie, Mark and Big Dan’s family at le Vieux Luge. We had a 15 minute snowshoe up the piste to an old cow barn before we would enjoy another fine meal. I can’t describe it other than you must try it for yourself. Visit Les Houches ski area when you drive in from Geneva.

So good, so tasty

Start to finish, we had an amazing trip to Chamonix. Thanks to Mark, Matt, Henri et Marie, Fatty Foster, Meredith, Big Dan, Little Dan, and all the Ski Weekend posse. We are already planning our return. but first we have a trip to the BVI and a wedding in October. Did I mention I asked Mark to be one of my groomsmen? I asked him, but the sonofabitch won’t get me his suit size.

In anticipation of her acceptance, we made plans to do some traveling this spring. Once school starts, she is out of commission for 2 years. First up was Mexico in February. (see last post.) In April we are sailing in the British Virgin Islands.

For March, we planned a trip to France to see our friend Mark Truskett, who is living in and working as a ski-tour guide in Chamonix. We invited Matt Davy, a firefighter and DVSP friend to join us. He flew to Paris, took the TGV to Geneva and the Mont Blanc Express into Chamonix.

Amy and I originally planned to visit Chamonix 3 years ago. Unfortunately, she tore her ulnar collateral ligament (skier’s thumb) and was forced to wear a cast. This derailed our skiing plans, but didn’t stop us from riding our bikes to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. (another great trip).

I booked tickets in December to fly to Geneva in March. We left on the 12th at 6 am. Darrell was kind enough to take us to the airport at 4 am. We flew from SLC to Minneapolis to Newark to Geneva, Switzerland, which is about an hour from Chamonix by car. Mark was kind enough to pick us up at the airport at 7 am.

Mark drives a Short Bus

We spent the first day walking around Cham, booking our ski passes, eating french pastries, window shopping at the many ski and mountaineering shops, and drinking red wine which helped ease some of the jet lag. A valium also helped.

Chamonix is the birthplace of alpinism. But we didn’t come to climb; we came to ski these mountains. Toward the end of the day, the setting sun lit up the peaks in warm alpenglow.

Mont Blanc massif at sunset

On saturday, we skied at Les Grands Montets which translates to The Big Mountains ski area. From the top of the telepherique, you can ski 7000 feet into the town of Argentiere. For perspective, this would be comparable to stacking Jackson Hole on top of Snowbird and skiing them top to bottom. It’s unreal. And amazing. And beautiful.

Amy and Edward ready to ski.

We bought the 6-day Mont Blanc Unlimited ski pass for about the same price it costs to ski in the Cottonwood canyons. The MBU, however, gives you access to 20 times more terrain, vertical and acreage. It also allows you to ride a ski bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel into Italy. With that in mind, we decided to ski at Courmayer on Sunday. Mark took us to the train station/bus stop where we were lucky to get the last 3 seats on the 8:45 bus to Courmayer. The ride took about 45 minutes from Cham through the 11.6 kilometer tunnel into the Valle D’Aosta on the Italian side of Monte Bianco. Once off the bus, a rude, ugly British woman was kind enough to tell us to follow the other skiers to the base of the gondola. We had our passes validated for Italy and hopped on the gondola. It took us another hour or so to reach the top of the Arpa funivie. It was worth the wait.

In Utah, most of the ski areas are tracked out by noon on a bluebird powder day. In Italy, it might take a week. The last storm came in on Wednesday before we arrived. We skied fresh powder on Sunday. We noticed that 90 percent of the skiers at Courmayer and Les Grands Montets skied on-piste. That is, on the groomed, hard-packed runs. More snow for the Americans.

We met Mark for lunch at a rustic cow barn called La Maison Vieille, The Old House. The owner, Giacomo was a ski racer and has a way with the ladies. Rumor has it that Penelope Cruz took off her top and bra over the holidays at the bar. Her figure is chalk marked on a bar stool as evidence. We ate a delicious meal of antipasti, pizza and pasta, leaving us enough time for one last run from the Arpa all the way down to Courmayer. I calculated it at close to 6000 vertical. Viva Italia!

Lunch at La Maison Vieille

La Maison Vieille et Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc)

The food, the views, the skiing , the friends were all amazing! This was just the beginning of one of the best weeks ever! Stay tuned for more…

We took a little trip two weekends ago to the sunny beaches of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.  And we loved it!  (Thank goodness since we already sent out the save the date magnets with Cabo listed as the location) We met with the wedding coordinator, Jesus.  He showed us all the possible locations.

We’ve chosen the gazebo by the the estuary and on the beach for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Dinner and the reception will be held at a tiki-style restaurant by the beach with plenty of room to get your groove on!  We picked out the table settings and centerpieces (not shown in these pictures), sampled and chose the dinner menu, and met with the florist.  We still had plenty of time to check-out the multiple restaurants, lounge at the 4 pools, explore the beach, and sample plenty of cocktails.

We will keep everyone posted, but if you are interested, check out the El Presidente webpage (see link on the right).

Amy received her grades for fall 08 and got a 4.0!