Standing at the peak of the alps with the love of my life (Val Thorens, France)
Kenneth is crazy passionate about snowboarding since he first clipped on the snowboard & went down the slopes in 2008. Since then, he has always planned (or tried to) for snowboarding trips once a year.
A beautiful view with the sun hanging in the clear blue skies & Kenneth waiting for the much slower me.
Me, I didn't start out as a big fan of snowboarding, but because I wanted to be interested in what Kenneth loved, I decided to try so we could snowboard together. Kenneth always told me he wants to bring me up to the top of alps and snowboard resorts so we could enjoy the beautiful views together.
Sometime mid-dec 2014, Kenneth's snowboarding itch was too great & he started planning & researching on getting on a snowboarding trip. In a matter of days, we got our flight tickets, snowboard rentals & ski resort accommodation booked. Talk about being spontaneous & quick!
We had flights into Geneva & we had 2.5 weeks to spend in that area and up till the day we flew off, there was only one thing that was booked & certain, we would be at Val Thorens for 8 days & we would be snowboarding for 6 days.
To Ken, that meant 6 days of pure bliss, taking ski lifts, gondolas & whisking down the snow slopes on one of the top alps in France (as voted in 2013). To me, I was more hesitant & unsure if I would enjoy the trip as much.
Ken on a ski lift with his fellow classmates in Intermediate class
This was my fourth snowboard trip & I had never had any lessons before and unlike Ken, I was not a natural snowboarder. I had ALOT of falls, tumbles & injuries than I care for the past snowboard trips and was not looking forward to more bruises & sprains to bring back as souvenirs this trip.
Kenneth decided that we should sign up for snowboarding classes so that I could learn from a snowboard instructor in a structured manner as well as pick up the basics in the correct manner. I think that was one of the best decision made & I started to love snowboarding!
View of Val Thorens Ski resort from the slopes
We stayed at Val Thorens from 3-10 Jan 2015 and on the first day we arrived, there was a snow storm & it was an adventure on its own taking the bus from Geneva airport to the alps. Once we arrived at the resort, we checked into our apartment, bought our ski pass, picked up all the snowboard gear we had rented (Snowboard, snowboard boots, helmets) and arranged for our snowboarding lessons.
We signed up with ESF Ski School at Val Thorens for 5 days of lessons at 159 Euro per person and it was a very good investment. Kenneth was much more advanced and was placed in the Intermediate class and I was in Class 1 (between beginners & Intermediate). I felt much happier snowboarding this trip than the last 3 trips combined.
This is me, leaping for joy after a good day of snowboard lesson & snowboarding with Ken.
We then went to our apartment, unpacked & cooked dinner, prepared everything we needed for our first day of snowboard lessons, bathed & went (tried) to sleep early so we would be all ready in the morning. Well, we were certainly too excited to sleep that night and I had butterflies (nerves disguised as a beautiful insect), excited & worried about how the week of snowboarding would turn out for me.
Val Thorens was a beautiful place & there, we fell in love with the French alps, snowboarding and each other even more. There is so much to share about our snowboard trip, one blog post would not be enough so we'd continue part 2 of our trip - about Val Thorens, our snowboard classes & more pictures!
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