CHAMONIX, PART DEUX

Yesterday was another game of paintball with Teddy. The boys were on such a high- they love it. Teddy has won some European paintball matches and he also professionally referees paintball tournaments, so their mutual enthusiasm for the sport was contagious. He brought out his pro-level gun to let us have a try at shooting it. It's like a machine gun and would definitely inflict a lot of pain. He even joined the boys in a match against Buz and I (we lost). Great fun!

Our visit here also coincides with the 2018 Chamonix Mount Blanc marathon and ultra-marathon. Hundreds of superfit athletes have arrived. Yesterday was the 91km ultra through the mountains. Unreal! They started off at 4am, and at 7pm we were out lining the streets with the rest of the town to cheer them on as they trickled in to cross the finish. It has motivated me to dust off my running shoes. It even inspired Jesse to join the Kids Mini Cross 2km event this morning! I was super impressed with his effort!!! These European kids don't seem to get the idea of a 'fun run.' They sprint like the wind as soon as the buzzer goes off and sprint right on through to the finish! A few of the less fortunate even got tripped over and jumped over after the starting gun. Jesse did great!! He didn't finish first, but he wasn't last either! I was so proud he gave it a go.

TUESDAY
Hmmm..... let's see. Since the last entry... We tried white water rafting with our guide, Tom/Bradley (2 personalities: safety Tom / fun Bradley). That was BRILLIANT! We all loved it! I was a bit nervous after the safety briefing- thinking of everything that could go wrong and how I would prefer not to die by drowning in freezing glacier water. We carried the rafts over a rocky embankment that was filled with large bright red/yellow signs warning us in French about Danger and Do Not Enter! The water was churning about (Tom Bradley referred to it as the washing machine). We got in and paddled hard. Within minutes he was yelling 'Bonsai!' -our cue to grab the rope and duck down in the boat. So exciting! The boys got front seat and loved getting splashed and churned. When it got a bit calmer, he let us take turns jumping in to the water and trying to climb back in the boat. We practiced 'crashes' (boys loved that), and went over 3 little waterfalls. At the very end, we got to try swimming in the rapids, trying to reach our boat by swimming hard at just the right time before grabbing the 'rescue paddle of shame.' We all tried it and made it! And perhaps equally fun on the van ride back, Tom Bradley let the boys sit in the front of the van. He turned the French music up loud and drove crazy around the gravel roads.

Then yesterday morning Buz decided to paraglide! I wasn't worried (much) as it was tandem, but still v glad when he landed safely. We had fun watching from ground level. I don't know if I will be able to watch when he does solo paramotoring!! However, we will cross that bridge later.

Did a little alpine hike yesterday arvo (Le Petite Balcon Sud). The boys changed into togs so they could take turn pouring jugs of freezing waterfall water over themselves in various challenges, one of them was called the Nut Challenge, which doesn't require further description. No brain, no pain.

Today we went up Brevent for another mini-hike and play in the snow. I think we could easily spend a whole summer here- soooo much to do!

FRIDAY
Tomorrow we leave this wonderland. Sigh. Had another great 4-hour hike from Flegere to Chamonix- most of it was descent, so pretty easy. To make it more challenging (of course you can't just enjoy the silence of an alpine forest) the 3 males devised a 'pine cone fight' so much of the steep descent was spent dodging prickly cones. The weather has now turned and there were some spectacular rain showers and fog yesterday. Of course, we are finishing up our Chamonix days with a paintball match tonight!Read more