After a prolonged and failed second attempt by my rebellious right leg to disable me (never trust your own limbs), I managed to engage automatic in all the relevant bits of our all-electric world-saving car (more of this later), shove multiple bags of stuff into an interestingly limited space (including two sweet children aka the two little monsters) thus finding ourselves, once more, far away, in our retreat from reality, in the depths of the Pyrenees.
However, reality had retreated less far than hoped, and indeed had already caught up with us.
As the clouds released their damp contents all around us, we sheltered indoors for that first afternoon. It turns out that all those years in university playing table football (cutely called babyfoot in French) had not been wasted. I had, after all, also learned a little snooker...
The following morning, once the clouds had released their cold embrace, the slopes were revealed, void of all but the smallest remnants of snow.
We are witness to the death of an industry. It's the end of skiing as we know it.
However, fear not! In order to single-handedly save the planet, I have selflessly invested in electrifying our car and, most important of all, recycling our coffee pods.
Phew. That was a close one for planet Earth...
And so, after a walk around the block, we headed for the denuded slopes with our trusty sledges, stopping on the way to fall off a conveniently placed log.
Of course, the two little monsters are quite capable of falling off all manner of things.
Falling, as an art form, is more adapted to the young than to us older creatures,
as Annick was soon to find out...
It's the end of the slope as we know it.
Incoming...
After a 'small dish' (you have to be kidding me!) at our favourite local...
... we made our way right to the top of the mountain.
Despite my handicapped limb, the ascent was simple. We used the otherwise useless defunct ski-lift. The descent, unfortunately was more tricky, mostly due to Annick's discovery of the force of gravity.
This is the last picture of my most beloved-one before that fateful event...
Meanwhile, the two monsters attempted posing for the camera.
Kaïly tried nonchalant,
while Lyzëa attempted the sullen look...
Lacking skis, our return trip down the mountainside involved trusting to that same ski-lift whose design was more orientated to lifting up than to descending down. To get onto that precarious perch, we had first to launch ourselves upwards whilst carrying multiple bags and, critically, two little monsters.
Lyzëa managed to cling on with little help from me. Annick & Kaïly however, fared less well. As I was passing over their heads and disappearing downhill, I regretted our lack of readily available video equipment to record this interesting and exceedingly dangerous event.
Instead of original footage, we have had to reenact their misadventure using two available stand-ins.
___
Annick lept for the chair-lift, failed to place bottom on bench, and slipped towards a vertiginous drop.
Kaïly fell before her, skidding towards the yawning chasm.
Thankfully Kaïly managed to cling on by the tips of her fingers, giggling hysterically.
A second attempt, aided this time by a stationary seat, was more successful.
Arriving finally at base camp with all limbs intact and only a few additional aches and pains to add to life's long list.
It may be the end of the world as we know it...
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But I feel fine...
...apart from <insert various aches and pains here>...
