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As some of you may or may not know, I went to Chamonix in December before the holidays for a little winter adventure. It turned out to be a very large adventure, but that is another story in and of itself. But as for the alps, the whole area is breathtakingly gorgeous, and I highly recommend it. It is so choice. Perhaps not so much for a ski novice like myself. In fact, I only had about a half day on the slopes, and that was much too much for me. I kind of thought the end was neigh for me at one point. How would get down? This whole "ski" thing was not working out, so I just figured I would take the chairlift back down to the base in reverse. Et voila! FIN. Of course, this does not typically happen, so we had to ask the "big boss". We were told to act injured, as my friend did have a broken pole with her. All of this from me pleading for help with some young ski guards in broken french to their broken english. Zut Alors. The trail sign read (en francais, mais oui) "Avalanche" ( ????!!??? ) with a threat of possible white out conditions . For crying out loud, yes, we were injured. Regardless, this was a typical day for everyone on the slopes. For everyone other than me, you see. I did get back down, eventually, and all in one piece. And thankfully, my lovely friends were very kind to teach me how to "ski" ( or, fall) down this rather LARGE and steep slope, otherwise knows as Le Brevent. Besides the fear and adrenaline rush that came with facing my own demise (okay, maybe it wasn't that bad), it was absolutely worth every minute of it.

Here are some visuals to help illustrate my downhill adventures.

Before: Excited for our adventure!



During: This part was painfully neglected , was I was too busy falling down some place up here.



After: The Return from Witch Mountain ( Le Brevent).





Closing Ceremony: D & L's Special Olympics!


Here I am pointing to the exact spot where I almost broke both kneecaps after throwing myself off of the ski lift. As for the medals? I won the bronze for tenacity. LA was awarded the gold for superior lifesaving skills. Le Brevent will now be officially known as "Dawn's Death Mountain," as dubbed by my very patient friend LeighAnn.

We are so going back next year.