Monkey Bean-Sprouts: Middle School Ski Week in Verbier

We just returned from our 4 days, 3 nights in Verbier for the MS ski week. It's been 3 years since I last went to ski week, and of course back then it was the HS one. Last year James went on his own, because we weren't sure it would work with the kids, but this year we decided to give it a go and see what happened. Over all we had a good time, and Liam especially, LOVED all the time playing in the snow.

Unfortunately the organizational side of things and the living arrangements were not great, but given it was just 3 nights, we made it work. The Millers came as well, so we at least had their company pretty much the whole time, and I think that it helped our kids enjoy their time a lot. The middle school was set up in two different big Swiss Chalets which are part of Les Elfes organization. We ended up in the boys dorm, and for some unknown reason we were right of the stairs in the middle of a floor, so at night there was a fair bit of noise for the kids to contend with. Naturally, bedtime was a little on the later side as a result. We also were not in the main building for hanging out and eating, so when we put the kids to bed, we couldn't do much else but sit outside the room on the floor and watch a show - which wasn't super comfortable. But besides those few things, we had a good time with some great weather.

Eowyn thinking deep thoughts

Liam diving in the snow

Eowyn definitely takes after me and is a bit less enthusiastic about the cold and the snow. She definitely played in it, but wasn't diving in the snow the way Liam was, and would often shout "Oh NO!" when she got snow on her hands or saw it stuck on her clothes. Liam, on the other hand, never seemed to feel cold, and could stay out for hours and not mind. He loved basically swimming in the snow, or climbing up the big piles and throwing snow around.

The place we stayed was about 10 mins outside of town, so we took a walk in on the first day, and the kids tried hot chocolate for the first time. (we actually had the cafe use half hot chocolate and half warm milk to dilute the sweetness, but they had no idea, of course!)
We went up the mountain for lunch, because the weather was so beautiful. The gondola ride was pretty exciting for the kids, though Eowyn did ask to get off midway! It was lovely to sit up on the mountain and have some lunch, and we made it back in time for the kids' naps.

Where we stayed (well we were in the same thing but the building behind this one!)

Good Morning Alps!

Excited about his first cup of hot chocolate

Eowyn's tongue licking up the chocolate around her mouth!

Playing in the snow with Daddy

The boys on top of a giant parking lot mound of snow!

We hoped for a better picture on the mountain, but Liam wasn't in a photo shoot mood

Oliver, Liam and Calvin all stopped in their gleeful playing to watch snow get sprayed into a dump truck!

A serious game of chess - Eowyn meets her match in Margarita (another faculty kid)

Liam making his first snow angel

Liam and Oliver way more than knee deep in snow

On our second day we kept it low key and caught a ride into the main area of downtown after the kids had some time to play in the snow. We ended up having hot chocolate at the W hotel's cafe, which was quite lovely. And after warming up, James and Josh took the kids on a gondola ride (like literally staying on the gondolas and riding it up and down twice!) Shan and I got a chance to walk through town and scope out a dinner location before we all headed back to the chalet for lunch. The good thing about the lack of sleep at night and all the playing in the cold was that the kids actually took good naps, so I had a chance to rest a bit then.

We went out for an early dinner at a very crowded pub with a very expensive burger (25ch) - welcome to Switzerland. The saving grace was the crepe that followed in a very quiet and empty creperie (though equally as expensive, at least it was absolutely delicious. Apple filled and with salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. mmmm)

W cafe

Enjoying my pain au chocolat and hot chocolate

The whole gang - we were actually pretty civilized despite the look of things!

The last morning came with a bunch of fresh snow, so we grabbed some sleds and the kids had a wild time going down the little hill right by the chalet. Eowyn even went for it a few times before she told me she was cold and wanted to go inside. We had a safe and fairly uneventful journey home, except for the near rear ending of the bus in front of us on one occasion, and a missed exit. Thankfully the kids were great, and the weather held up so there were no major delays. We even had a few glimmerings of a blue sky!

Overall it was a decent trip, though if we are here next year, I doubt we'll all go again. The logistics aren't the best. I'm glad the kids got a chance to really enjoy the snow this time around though, and at least we can say we've been to Verbier!