An Afternoon at Super Besse
Getting my feet "wet" at a ski resort in Auvergne, France.
Having arrived in France just before winter, I asked myself what sort of new activities I could try out.. my colleagues were all encouraging me to try skiing as they’re big fans of the sport. Personally I saw it as an opportunity to see loads of snow and takes photos of the winter landscape, … but only until that. I’m not the most sporty person, and I could only imagine myself fumbling over the long skis or falling face-first on the snow. Still, it was worth trying anyway.
One afternoon, I decided to go with a few friends, before the snow melts. We decided to head to Super Besse, a ski resort in the Auvergne region. The region is found in Central France, and it is known for its mountain ranges and volcanoes. It snows quite heavily at the top of the mountains, which makes for conducive grounds for winter sports.
Every cell in my body is only ever accustomed to the tropical landscape, so putting on my skiing gear proved first of the multiple challenges I had on that afternoon. Not to mention all the kilograms of clothes you had to get into!
Behold my fat pants:
Needless to say, I fell the moment I headed out into the snow. I lost count of how many times I fell that day. Why can’t we just enjoy the sight of snow on the trees and take photos instead?
Here is a photo of me at the peak enjoying the winter wonderland. Sadly there are no photos of me falling :P
I guess one of the highlights of this trip was the tyrolienne (zipline). I’ve never done the zipline before so I was both nervous and excited. The ziplines back in the Philippines are set atop trees in a tropical forest or above the beaches, so getting to experience this in a whole different setting excited me.
You get to be suspended at the peak of one of the mountains, 240 meters high, and the view was breathtaking. So breathtaking that I told myself I could admire the view from here just fine, and we don’t need to be suspended up in the air to do so :P
–but alas, the zipline crew strapped me up to the line head-first, then propped my legs up and strapped my feet to the line (wait, what?? No!!!! Release me!)
A few seconds more suspended in the air while manong tyrolienne did some last safety checks, and hop I go!!
That wasn’t so bad.
Riding a collercoaster was even more intense. I had to kick myself for getting nervous in the first place.
The zipline was 1600 meters long, but it was so swift and the fun was short-lived. I was going really fast that my face was prickly from the icy wind. The experience was concluded with a swift glide over a lake.
Though dommage, because I wasn’t able to take a video of the whole thing!
But in summer when my good friend visits me, I’ll definitely try it again, and this time, with video!
Here’s a video I found on YouTube though, if you guys want to check it out :)