The Rank Amateur Podcast
Rank Amateur Minipod: Field Notes from the French Alps - Part 1
This the French Alps. My name's John, riding co pilot, literally. His co host, Ben Wyatt. We have special guests in the back, Jesse Kearns. Ben, we are somewhere between Chamonix and Morzine on day what, five, six in country? That's right. Quick thoughts so far. Whoa.
Ben:So far, it's a place that you got to come see. It's it's one of the most majestic places I've laid eyes on. A lot of a lot of villages a lot of scenery in between villages, a lot of A lot of snow and a
John:lot of fun. It's pretty remarkable. This place is straight out of Disney animation, right? This is it's what all the pictures always told you it was, but you just cannot get, you cannot fully appreciate the scale of it until you lay your own eyes on it. And we, I don't think anyone here has been disappointed. But let's back up to the beginning. As we mentioned in the last episode, you and I and our wives spent the first couple of days of the trip in Paris. Your first time in Europe, period, obviously your first time in that city how'd Paris leave you feeling?
Ben:It left me wanting more. It was definitely an experience, right? So from the plane ride there, the airport was a non event. We moved through there very quickly got a taxi into the city. Now, that was, quite some time. But once we got into the neighborhood we were in, I believe we were what was the name of the town we were
John:in? We stayed in the Bastille neighborhood.
Ben:Bastille. Yeah. So really cool. Artsy up and coming not really the center of downtown. So it was a cool area to see. And then we've gotten a chance to take the. The subway across the different areas and really been impressed. Each area has got its own kind of vibe and culture and look to it.
John:Yeah. So we want to get to really the good stuff here in, in the mountains pretty quickly, but let's just talk about Paris again, really quick. So we just did the quick, quickest two days. Basically you can do, we saw the highlights, all the stuff that goes on everybody's Paris list. But I think what sticks out to me is that we took you guys over to the Champs Elysees to see the Arc de Triomphe. I had really that had never been a priority for me to see again after I had already seen it, but I was really glad that we got over there. It, even the most seasoned traveler every once in a while those things to see them again reminds you of just how impressive they are. One of the most noteworthy things is all the preparations going on for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. So that had the place, some of it blocked off when you were walking around some construction sites, but it's definitely a busy time in Paris, and of course, the summer's going to Be a big deal. You mentioned the neighborhoods. We really moved around, I would say the heart of Paris pretty well. At one point we went from the St. Germaine neighborhood and then took a train to Mon Mart. And you know that's really a a contrast in places is not,
Ben:it is different scenery, different. Different people walking around, quite honestly. But fun to see that what was the second spot that we visited? The Mont
John:Montmartre.
Ben:Montmartre. Great overview of Paris. You could really take it in and see how big the city was. Good
John:vantage point there. Yeah, and real touristy and a bit scruffy, to be honest. And we had just came from Saint Germain, which for those that don't know is probably the One of the toniest neighborhoods in Paris, think Upper East Side and and then put a Parisian spin on it and that's St. Germain. But it was good to reacquaint myself with the city see it, smell it, taste it again as one of my favorite places on this earth. I hope that I've always got more visits to Paris in front of me, but let's move on. Woke up Saturday morning. Perfectly uneventful morning in the train station, and then took the train over to Geneva and met up with the rest of our party. Had a short afternoon there and a lunch. Any quick thoughts about the very small slice of Geneva that we were able to see? It was fun
Ben:to see we were jumping ahead a bit. We were Jesse and I were sharing a gondola with a couple people from from the UK. It was funny, they said it was the most unimpressive city in Europe, and they had some supporting facts for that there's not a sports team, there's not a lot to do other than shop there, but it was a really nice, clean environment, you got to walk around, you didn't really feel unsafe, it was you had all of the major watch manufacturers represented there, and get a chance to walk around Lake Geneva, and it was something to see. But we were anxious to get to the mountain and Geneva really wasn't the pull.
John:Yeah. So we went from basically riding trains for the entire trip through either the Parisian subway and then cross country over to Geneva. And then finally they cut us loose with our own cars. And so a bit of freedom there and the really just the opportunity to make our own way over to more zine. And so the drive for leaving Geneva. And then getting into the mountains just the amount of anticipation that you have you're around every corner, you're wondering where you're going to see when the mountains are going to come into view and just that bit. drive and I had always been looking forward to driving in the Alps and it was really just magnificent and really just through that one gateway there because since that day we've seen so much more of these mountains but really that first day driving up that river into the Morzine area was just magnificent. What were your takeaways from Geneva to Morzine?
Ben:I'd say that the sheer contrast in landscape, right? As we're coming around each turn, that the valleys just get larger, deeper, more, that the views start getting more expansive. You can start seeing further and mountain peaks off in the distance. And I think that's where like you said, that eagerness is what are we going to see next? And if I recall correctly, there was It was a pretty nice river slash creek, if you want to call it. I would call it a river, but you know the winding through the valley, getting to Morzine was every term was great.
John:Okay. So Saturday is the day where we met up with the rest of our group, including the rank amateur podcasts first guests who is a man that just happens to be my own brother, but Jesse Kearns. So Jesse. We met you in Geneva and then you joined us for the drive over to Morzine. What were your takeaways from day one? Day
Jesse:one was definitely tiring in my first international flight, taking off from a chock full flight from Atlanta of over 230 people, flying over eight hours. Was the first for me for sure But all of that got wiped away when we entered over Lake Geneva and got to you know See all that snow melt fill that crystal clear Lake and to John's point I feel a lot of the same sentiment about Geneva. The thing that struck me about Geneva is it was I'll say eerily quiet It reminds me of one of the first couple of scenes of the Italian job, and I don't remember what city that was filmed in. But that illustration took me right to that place. The the cinematography with the quiet stair steps and the gentleman that was running up and down the stairs and all of those sounds and motions and all of those took me right back to that movie. And Geneva was very picturesque for my first time seeing it. And there was a lot of architecture and a lot of my first little taste of Europe, which I really enjoyed but I could observe that it was quiet and a little laid back and not really in a hurry to do much. And it was a good rendezvous point for us to to convene and head south deep into the mountains. Which is where we pick up our next part of our journey.
John:Yeah Geneva is nice and we saw just such a tiny fraction of it. I don't think that we were in the heart of the business district. I think we were in an old town, the historic district. Certainly chock full of watch manufacturers and their retail stores. Which was just a kind of something interesting to gawk at. But. for seeing just such a small part of Geneva, even on a Saturday afternoon, this was not a bustling place at all. Not even close. But Nonetheless and happy you spent the time there insofar as I'm drawn back to Geneva. I can't really say that I am except for as a landing spot to come back to the French Alps. So let's move into the French Alps as we've established before we Morzine and let's set the stage for that. Now, having seen. A small handful of the ski resorts and the resort towns and the tourist attractions in this area. Where would you place it? In, where would you place Morzine in context? Ben?
Ben:I'd say it's a, I'd say it's a good above average spot. I think it's, I think it gives you a lot. I think there's towns that have a little more. And I think Jesse and I have got a chance to explore some of the mountain on on snowboard and on skis. I think there's areas that offer quite a bit less. So I think it's a good happy medium. I think the town itself offers a lot of options for food and lodging and just to get out and do some shopping and sightseeing. So I think it's a great spot in, from what we've seen
John:thus far. Yeah, it's not an over the top place. At one point, Sarah and I spent an afternoon in a nearby town called Majev and this is the highest end of highest end kind of ski resort. So think Aspen, think Beverly Hills, think Nantucket, think Palm Beach, whatever. Copy paste. Those high end luxury towns don't have a lot of character to my eyes. You've seen one, you've seen them all. It's about as original as an American suburb at this point. But nice nonetheless. But Morsi has some character. It's it's The people seem more interesting. The folks that are in the shops and they're serving you in restaurants just feel more real and more friendly. And so I've really appreciated that. But let's move to the skiing. As we well established, I'm not skiing this trip and I can talk about some of the Side trips that I've been on and plan to be on, but let's start with Jesse. So your first time skiing outside the states. You have experienced the Rockies, but let's talk specifically. Let's start with day one on the slopes. Walk us through that day and what you found once you got up in the snow. Okay, so
Jesse:a couple of things to set the setting here. We're flying to Geneva. Check our phones. We're watching the weather. This is the 10 day forecast of between 45 and 35 degrees. We're not in the below temperatures. There's not a lot of forecast for snow. And overall, from what I've seen the sentiment of the town, they are skiing on about two thirds of the terrain available for the Port de Soleil vast territory. Which spans many different resorts and is considered the largest easy skiing terrain in the world. The largest amount of easy skiing terrain in the world. We are in a valley, in Morzine, looking at scenic vistas and the snow line is halfway up the mountain. Yeah. Where there may have been times where snow line, where the snow was on every roof, on every car. You might get drenched with a couple inches. Who knows, right? We're in the Alps. We don't know. What we know is what I'm looking at
John:today. Yeah. And
Jesse:and so it seemed to me that there was a couple of other factors I have to throw in here. A we learned in the gondola that this was one of the second largest winter breaks of all French schools. So there was which is great. There's a lot of youth learning, skiing, a lot of ski schools going a lot Youth and families on the mountain. Love it. But because of the two thirds terrain and the mountain not having snow down in the valley, you don't have these vast greens that ski in, ski out of your chalet, where you can learn skiing close. You have to go a little further up the mountain. You've got to get the, you've got to get into the elevation.
John:Jesse, am I hearing right that perhaps the skiing itself feels perhaps more crowded than it actually is just because you're working with less material? Yes,
Jesse:there's an element of defensive skiing. I register no complaints. I've seen some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen skiing in great conditions. But when you're working your way home, let's say, after you've went as far as you can go and you're working your way home. And you get further in elevation, there's not only the population density, that snow gets heavy. And we were going through a thaw on the first day. And as you, and as we well know, skiing in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, we've skied through some patches. We've skied through some mud. And on the first day, I'm about 100%, I skied through some cow manure, because we could smell it, and it was there. So as you get on down that's just, but that's how you get home, which was my first point. A lot of these places are just filled with the families and folks learning skiing, but that's not available right next to their cabin, so they have to go up the same gondola I did. Then they have to load up on a six person chair. and go another several thousand meters up to a nice green highway of decent snow to not twist your ankle on, to be quite honest. And there were some abrupt near misses spills with a couple of people of on our group because of the heaviness and the water content of the snow
John:in the lower elevations. Yeah let's talk just a little bit more about the weather before we move on. Look, sometimes you go skiing and the weather sucks. Them's the breaks, right? Sometimes you just don't have a good winter. The three of us have been spoiled and that the last couple of times we all enjoyed the slopes together. They were, it was pretty magnificent weather wise. Lots of snow, lots of deep snow, blue bird skies and the rest of that. But that's not what we have here. Nevertheless it seems as if you guys have figured out what is so special about this place and what makes this king. so great and why it's a place that you know, maybe we can Try and hope to frequent with some regularity. So ben, let me ask you about your thoughts on day one Walk us through that first day on the slopes and let's say that everyone in our group is a skier except for you ben You're a boarder. So tell me how did you find the boarding on day one?
Ben:Number one, it was hot. A lot of flat spots. It's not this is not a trail system made for snowboarding. So I have never had to come out of my bindings and completely, and just walk so many times in one day. And that brings you back to the rank amateur versus the pro learning how to regulate your body temperature. And that is something we failed on day one. You have on too many layers, you're then presented with too much walking too much uphill and it's a sweat factory, right? And so that nothing about the mountain did that to me. That was just my rank amateur showing, right? But at the end of the day, I could see how this would be a skiers haven versus a snowboarders. I will say this Even though it's warm, right? 30 to 50 fluctuating throughout the day. There was still snow everywhere we everywhere we wanted to go outside of a few lifts being closed or a few runs being closed. But I can tell you right now, if you're a skier, this is for you. If you're a snowboarder, you may need to venture over to Avoria. Averia, yeah. Averia. Am I saying that right? Averia. Still having a hard time with these French words. But, Averia is the highest elevation resort in the Porte du Soleil area. And that right there was different, but that's getting into day two. I'll hold back just a little bit until
John:we get there. Yeah, so let's set the stage. Because Porte du Soleil is a series of resorts that are Connected via the slopes when I say resorts are really saying these are cities and Villages right and so all of these various villages that kind of touch this these series of pieces all have you know ski from one lift ticket And so when you can access one, you can access them all and you can do it all through a series of gondolas and lifts. And Port de Soleil just happens to be the largest such system in Europe and perhaps maybe even the world. So that's the way that works. You don't, whereas we're staying in Morzine and you guys have been able to enjoy skiing in Averia. That's essentially one village over. And you access that village through a gondola and a couple of lifts, and then you were able to ski down to there. If I described that correctly, because you shouldn't let me tell the story because I wasn't there. Yeah. That's spot
Jesse:on. A lot of these villages will have a gondola that will take you to a higher elevation. And one of the first times I've ever skied that we all were looking at the weather and can see that it's going to be in the forties that day. But once you take that gondola ride and you get out, it's noticeably cooler up there and there's a lot more snow around and you can, and the other thing I'll say is it's a lot of what I would call highway skiing. You're just skiing with a bunch of other people trying to get somewhere else or to another lift or another small bottleneck that can then distribute you two or three other places, whether you take the six lift. further along the mountain into the next valley or you stay around there and do greens. You have several options about everywhere you go, but you absolutely can ski down into valleys to the west, valleys to the east that are just something that I've never really experienced before and really go into the hospitality that I've noticed about this area. And of course the opportunity for commerce. is every coffee shop and every good place you can get up a little sandwich or a bagel. And these are places that look unaccessible by vehicles for months, but it's a, but they serve pizzas and they serve great pizzas.
John:These are all slope side sheds for food, cocktails, coffees, et cetera. Yeah. And
Ben:really there's at the, almost at the top of every lift, certainly at every gondola that you take, there's. There's a little township there. There's a little, at least a couple of outlets in terms of like restaurants or bars. You can grab a coffee, you can grab a beer. It's really a unique experience.
John:Yeah, that, that sounds fascinating and I'm getting properly jealous at this point, but I guess if anyone's listened so far, you might get the impression that we're dissatisfied with the skiing and the conditions of this trip, but whatever it is you guys may have experienced on day one was eclipsed as I understand it. by day two. So whoever wants to go first, walk us through the difference between day one and day two.
Jesse:Day two, skiing out of Morzine, if you picture Morzine as a valley, with mountains on the right and the left the first day we went it to the right, it could ski in the immediate Morzine area. The gondolas that took you to the left, or to the west, was much more of a distance traverse toward Avere. We it was almost like the mountain peak teed into Morzine, so we take a large gondola and just, and then ski away from Morzine and ski further away and catch another quad and ski further away to where you got into that every area and seeking that less populated
John:terrain. All right, Ben. Day two.
Ben:Yeah. No, I think you hit the nail on the head, right? So we went right first day because that's all we knew. And then day two, we wanted to see something different. So we actually took a gondola that I'd never been in, right? You put your skis and snowboards on the outside of it. You sit in there. I've only ridden chair lifts before. And it takes you up. You've got a short, once you get to the top, it's a real easy on easy off experience. And then you ski down to start your way further up. So from there, it's what, Jesse, I'd say it was maybe a hundred yards down to the base of the next lift. And then once you take that lift up now you're up on the, we'll call it the left ridge as we looked at it from our, from the, from our balcony. And now we can actually ski places. We have a couple of options. And so once we got over there, here's what I noticed. Number one, more snow. As we approached that direction we're now encountering some of the higher altitude resorts. So the snow line it just looked like there was more snow and the snow thickness on every run was better. There were very few runs that had patchy spots except for that last run we'll talk about here in a bit. But it was night and day and the runs themselves were a lot wider, oftentimes. So even though there may have been a, let's say, a similar population on the mountain, it didn't feel as cramped or as crowded or that you were skiing defensively to Jesse's point. So it was a different experience, I think, and Jesse, correct me if I'm wrong, but Going that direction makes us want to go that direction even further. We haven't tapped that resource fully. There's we were only two lifts away from getting into Switzerland and we know there's more stuff to do there as well.
John:So For context, the three of us are used to Three of us are used to Montana. We're used to Big Sky, which is this ultra modern very cutting edge technology ski resorts Look, and it's not like we're going back in time here. We're not, we didn't all of a sudden find ourselves skiing in 1975. But I mean how is the tech here? How are the lifts and the gondolas? Did that leave any impressions with you fellows?
Jesse:Absolutely. I think it's some of the most impressive engineering I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot in my in my previous career. The lifts, the gondolas, those well oiled machines and maintenance programs are awe inspiring and go to show why those watches are so good. Yeah. And why the, attention to detail and yeah, we may not have the trickest Montana might have a little bit more technology because it was bought a little bit more sooner But they come here to figure that out. This is where they go lay the template down and see how it's done, right? Because these people are utilizing architecture and buildings that have been on a very long time, and they're still operating a very
John:high level. Ben Wyatt.
Ben:Yeah, I mean the fact that it works is the most important thing, right? But from it from the end user perspective, right? Like walking up. What do you see? How does it get on? I think most of the lifts were fast. I think You know, it was pretty standard, right? The lifts that we rode. I think the difference between Big Sky and here At least what we've experienced mostly is that Big Sky had it's the fancy lifts with the shells that close I haven't seen one of those here, but what we didn't, maybe we haven't found it yet, but what we had, what I haven't written at Big Sky is a gondola, right? That more carriage style with the doors that open, you're completely it's one thing to have a super six that has the shell that comes down to keep the wind out. That's great. and keep them coming. It should be standard, right? But the gondola experience where you literally take everything off and just ride, it's unique and everybody should try it. Yeah
John:Big sky is such a strange mountain because it only has one gondola is at the top and that is only for connecting skiers and riders to that very small, very extreme series of trails from loan. Lone Mountain. Whereas in most other mountains, certainly the resorts here, you start with the gondola in order to leave town and get to the trail system, right? Whereas Big Sky is very much the opposite. Scenery on the slopes. How is it up there?
Jesse:sheer. raw. And that's about it. That's what we've commonly talk about is some of the rock formations and some of the mountainous peaks that we've seen. Of course, nothing compared to what we've seen in the States. And they're right up on you. They're close. It almost looks like you can be on a lift and reach out and touch some of these places and then also Get a little spooky when you ride on a, when you ski. a green and go down and everything looks okay because they have fences and they have plenty of snow around and then you get on the lift that's a 60 or 80 foot higher and then you look to your left and realize there is a sheer straight down crevasse valley That did not stop for hundreds and hundreds of feet. And it just, some of the most, it
John:was just amazing. Yeah, the landscape is certainly very dramatic. Ben
Ben:Wyatt? If we're going with adjectives, then then I, what would come to mind would be vast. I think I used the word multiple times. Majestic epic. I mean, just. So much. You can't take it in. You got to turn your head. There's not, you can't just look at it. There's too much to look at and that's what's different. I think we're one of the major differences between coming here to have this type of experience versus maybe what we're more used to, like back home sugar mountain, right? Beach mountain. These while they're fun, that this is something that's a little different.
John:Yeah. Dramatic is a word that These mountains make it look like Bob Ross lacked creativity. sometimes you can't believe you're taking all this in with your very own eyes. Listen, we are very nearly home to our destination, so we're going to need to wrap this up. Final thoughts from you guys, I think we're going to probably have the opportunity to check in a couple. More times with some more field notes from the French Alps. I certainly have a story or two to share from my excursions One of which I think you guys are gonna get a kick out of but final thoughts as we wrap up the first couple of days in Morzine
Ben:Yeah,
Jesse:just trying to do my best to be a sponge to take all of it in The scenery, the food, the wine all of that comes with the experience, but also with a heavy tangent on staying healthy and keeping my joints and ligaments intact, because I have a lot of golf to play this year.
John:Well said.
Ben:Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. is going to be my priority. I think it's we're in an environment and, with the right company, right? We're all having fun. It's easy to maybe push yourself a little bit too hard. And I think making it through the day is not only get through this trip, but also play as much golf as we all want to play moving forward this year. is one of my big takeaways as well. Well,
John:we are all Rank Amateurs after all, so fellas, don't get ahead of yourselves out there. My name is John. My co host name has been our special guest this week is Jesse. This has been a Rank Amateur Minipod Field Notes from Morzine. Until next time.