On the slopes

Our first morning on the slopes was a little chaotic. Eric went alone to get the the daily lift passes and it ended up being a workout in itself as they wanted to see the girls before they would issue children's passes for them. So Jean-Marc and he quickly carried the girls over to the booth and brought them back to the lift area. 

Then the mini-gondola that runs across the hill to the ski school area broke down, so we thought we had to hike up a portion of the hill to get to the ski school; however, the teachers were also where we were at, so the girls were able to stay with them. Emmie went in one direction to catch a bus and Adeline stayed near us as we waited for the mini-gondola to start operating again. We finally were on the mini-gondola 15 minutes late and I was able to join my class and Adeline was with her teacher meeting up with the rest of their class. 

Adeline first boarded the gondola that went half way up the mountain and I followed her with my class. Our classes were both going to the beginner hill at the top of this lift. Heading up the mountain the view was very nice as it was clear and the sun was out. 

We put our skis on and went to the hill to start our day of skiing. While Adeline and I were practicing, Eric, Jean-Marc, and Katerina stopped by to see how we were doing.  They then continued on their path and eventually went above the treeline. At this height, they had an awesome view of Mont Blanc.

After a few rounds on the beginner hill, my class continued down the hill. The class moved at a good pace for me. The unfortunate part was there were numerous icy spots because it was through the woods as well. A little while later, Adeline's class caught up to our class. Adeline was holding onto the teacher's lead as she was not comfortable doing these slopes by herself yet. 

At the end of the session, Adeline and I ended up at the bottom of the hill where Emmie's class was and two of the four boys' sessions ended as well. Since it was so nice out, we all took a trip back up the gondola for a break at the restaurant to enjoy the atmosphere. The girls then went for a few more runs on the beginner hill with Eric and Jean-Marc before us girls took the gondola back down the hill.

Afterwards, I took the girls back to the room for lunch and to rest while Eric went with the Kopp family to the top of the mountain again for some great skiing.

In the afternoon, I took the girls sledding. They had a blast and the little ramps added fun to the outing.

At the end of the day, Eric returned with the youngest two Kopp brothers at which time I learned that Katerina fell while trying to help Christopher, the youngest boy, in an icy area and could not ski. They went to get help for her, but by that time, Jean-Marc assisted her in getting down the hill and then carried her to the apartment with the help of the two older boys.

We convinced her to go for medical help since her knee was quickly swelling up. While she was away, I made dinner as everyone was hungry from the days activities. When she returned, she told us nothing was broken and she had a brace to stabilize her leg along with some medication. We helped Katerina get comfortable and had a low key evening as we all had enough excitement for one day.