The Rank Amateur Podcast
Rank Amateur MiniPod: Field Notes From The French Alps - Part 3
It's the final rank amateur mini pod field notes from the French Alps. My name is John joined as always by co host Ben Wyatt. And once again, by special guest, Jesse Kearns. Fellas, it has been an incredible trip. We've talked about skiing so far. We've talked about side trips and let's, let's put a bow on the whole thing. And talk about your final day skiing. Of course, as we've covered, I didn't get a chance to participate in the skiing itself, but it sounds especially like by day three, you fellas had it figured out. So why don't we start by backing up? Day one, if we'll recall, was just feeling it out. You didn't know what you were doing and where you were going. Maybe a little frustrating. Is that right?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:To say the least,
Track 1:Okay. Yeah. And warm.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:hot,
Track 1:yeah,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:beyond warm, hot.
Track 1:all right. And then day two, you change direction, go to another part of the trail system. And less frustrating, way more satisfying. You start to get a clue about where in the world you are and finally get oriented to this whole thing. Is that right?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah. You could say the gear started to click. Uh, we, we knew which direction to head on day three and, uh, and that's, that's the direction we went.
Track 1:Okay. Yeah. So day two, then there's a rest day that sets up day three, which to hear you all tell it, cause I've heard the story. Sounds like you guys got it figured out. You found, you found the good, good, uh, imports just so lay. So Ben, kick it off. Tell us about day three. What direction you go? Where'd you go? What were the objectives?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:So starts with obviously the, the gondola ride at the super more zine. So we, we went the opposite direction of day one, uh, you know, same direction as day two, took that lift up. And what was cool about this day and Jesse and I had kind of already planned it out, but we were, we were going to get to Switzerland. That was the objective, right? And so, uh, we, we, we embarked on the journey headed towards, uh, averia. And from there we. Basically hit a system of trails and lifts that allowed us to cross into Switzerland and experience, uh, a couple of runs on the Swiss Alps.
Track 1:Jesse, you want to chime in? Let's talk about early in day three. How'd you feel about things and, um, what was the breakthrough?
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, what I was trying feeling about things was, uh, hoping my legs were gonna work and being as optimistic as I could despite the lactic acid buildup in my thighs. So, uh, you know, we do ride the supermarine and, and that, uh, that trek over there, we had been familiarized ourself with it, uh, the second day of skiing. So it wasn't as large of a feat for us that day. We were skiing with less people. Sarah didn't ski with us that day, so on the third day we had a full house and a plan. Uh, that started with writing the super more zine and then you write down a short a hundred yard. You know, thoroughfare that goes right to another large lift that lift then takes you to a series of green runs that is still kind of like that highway that
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, Jesse, Jesse, let me stop you. I must, I'll be remiss if I don't own up to the humble pie that I was served in that small hundred yard run on day three. Jesse, you want to throw that into the story as well? From your perspective,
Track 1:This sounds good.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:well, it all has to do with the warmup and the stretching or total lack thereof, and just being a little sore after after a couple of days in the saddle.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:little loss of concentration.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah, as we all do, you dig in, you get ready to put your bindings in and you zig or you should have zagged and the left heel went one way and the right toe went the other. And then out of the corner of my eye, we see this snowboard slowly on a ghost tour all by itself.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Unstoppable. You just had to watch it. It was gone in front of a large crowd.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Everybody click it in. There was a few claps, a couple of gasps, everybody kind of laughed, but it, it slowly rode into an embankment right in front of the first little coffee shop, if you will. So, uh, Ben had a nice little stroll, a 35, 40 yard stroll down there, click back in again, and then I'm pretty sure if the, if my peripheral vision serves me correctly, scooted right back into a little, a little tail slap and, uh, and fell again. At the bottom of the
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:right. Two, two servings of humble pie, uh, on the warm up. Always stay focused, folks.
Track 1:Funny how this part got left out the first time you regaled me with stories of day three. Uh,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:We didn't, we didn't catch this one on camera.
Track 1:right. All right, Jesse, pick it up where you left off.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah. So, uh, the, the series of just kind of riding down the highway, uh, you know, large groups of people moving down wide to narrow turns through, uh, for going from lift to lift that finally takes you to the large. Lift, which was a high speed six man lift called per clue, which I thought was really scenic and wrote through those large green areas that were barely skiable in some areas. And when we looked at, I thought was fascinating when we looked on the summer view, that was their 18 hole golf course. In Averia
Track 1:Okay.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:the summer months. Yeah. Which I thought was really neat. So you go up a series of, cause you're going up the mountain. You're actually ascending several thousand feet because, uh, more zine altitude in feet is 3, 200 feet. Averia is 5, 900 feet. So those series of lifts and of course the big super more zine gondola ride taking you out of the valley. You know, get you up several hundred, but the pro clue lift is, is, is an ascent for sure. And then right as you would ascend at the town level, you're just met with really scenic views of the town to the right, the, uh, architecture of the condos and apartments and hotels and chalets. And it's a average village that is basically. Uh, has no car transportation. Once you get there, you park your car and you ride around on your skis or horse drawn slates.
Track 1:All right.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:So that ProClue lift will drop you out at one of the large intersections of Averillia, where you could zig right. And, uh, head down to the Opry ski, uh, many other large highway, green areas where many kids and youth and, uh, and families are doing a fair bit of skiing to the left of that basically starts another Valley. that descends down a series of blue trails, uh, that intersect at a large intersection called the stash. If you were to ride the proclays and ride down through the stash is a large like obstacle course of, of. Places to grind and jumps and all this stuff that were absolutely avoided by Ben and I at all costs. Uh, you get down to the,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:while children were crushing it. Just so you
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:yes, yes, uh, that is also one of the intersections that was, was kind of flanked by a red that was, uh, that was roped off where we heard radio communication. So we ushered over to that area and they were, again, Youth kids in teenage years, uh, going down a series of slaloms and moguls that were flanked by flags and taking courses and being timed and exercising courses and, and doing feats of, uh, skiing. I've never seen actually in person, which is,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Leaving it all out there.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:which is really neat continuing on, uh, those series of blues. we found ourselves two days in a row down at what we'll call the Lindray area that had a series of lifts that went to several parts. of Switzerland and then also had three really great coffee shops and one of the best lasagna trays that we had down there for a mid ski lunch. Uh, the big slope and ski area we took from there was the Mose
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Whoa, whoa, Are you not going to tell these people about that lunch? Bring us to that lunch. Tell them about the lasagna, the pastries. Come on now.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, it was all about part about the day two scope. We scoped it out on day two when it was a mere cappuccino and Sudsy beverage stop once we took our rest there and, and assessed what our plan for day two and day three, we knew once we came down from Switzerland and had the, the, rigors of, of skiing in multiple. That the lasagna was going to be the spot
Track 1:Benny is saying you enjoyed the lunch.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:It was delicious. I got to give it to Jesse. He spotted it. He put it on the radar. We, we, and I wasn't disappointed. Uh, and I mean, we, we frequented this place day two and day three, right? So, uh, the, the ladies in there began, you know, they recognized us. They began to, uh, treat, treat us well. And especially Jesse, they, they wanted more of Jesse. So, um, it was a great atmosphere.
Track 1:All right. It's that little, it's that little gnome beard he's got going on. He fit right in.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:They loved him. Jesse, take us from there up. Take us to Switzerland.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, well, you'll have to help me a little bit because there was a couple of different, uh, lifts that we could have taken, but the main lift, I think is what we did was took a small lift. Up to the most say lift where we had the option of taking the most say or cassay or what we call cases. And we took the most say we took the
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:also known as Alanis Morissette, is what we were calling.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:we're fondly referring that to, and that's how you largely navigated these mountains were based on lifts. Uh, the names of trails really didn't help you. The only trail designations that helped you were the little circles that were green and the little circles that were blue. Any little circle that was were red were to be. Uh, hastily avoided.
Track 1:let's talk about that. Let's talk about the, the, the, the trail system. So we're used to green circles, blue squares, black diamonds, double black diamonds. Uh, and where I spend most of my time in quadruple back diamonds. Not so the case in France and Switzerland.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Uh, slightly different. Um, a little easier to understand, right? So I think they're going, they're going green circle, uh, blue circle. Yeah, very easy. Blue circle is going to be your intermediate, but palatable. Uh, the, the red is advanced and from what we saw in most instances, pretty steep, we would probably equate that to a black. Uh, and then your, your, your black is for expert. And we only, you know, saw those lifts going up from afar. We never ventured ventured anywhere near them.
Track 1:Okay. All right. So, so, okay. From departing the gondola, Super Morzine, to realizing that you have crossed an international boundary into ally European Union country, how many lifts is, lifts is it taking you to move from France to Switzerland? So
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Jesse, you got the map. I can guess, uh,
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Give me a quick count. Give a moment for a count. Super Morzine to Zor to, to Proclu. Ski down. Went up Lachey. And then up Mose,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:I'm going to say, yep, five, five lifts,
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:it was five lift rides up to the point of Pointe des Mose, which is 2277 meters. One of the most special things about that ascent as it was a little cloudy that day in the valley and cloudy pretty much in all of Averillia, actually dense fog in places. So as we ski down to the next Lendre Valley and connected to the large Mose Lift we ascended beyond the cloud line and up to a set of peaks and a scenic vista at the cookie cafe That was my highlight of the trip. I'm starting to Condense down to I'm really starting to hone in on I think those those peaks and that carpet Of clouds with very small, distinct, individualized peaks was one of the prettiest things I saw there
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:agreed. It's a shame you couldn't join us, John, because the, it was breathtaking. Right. And, and. It was, it was such a great view, a vast view, and there were several peaks that came up through the clouds. I mean, we took a lot of pictures. Hopefully, we pop a couple up at some point.
Track 1:A couple, a couple of, uh, random questions here. A ski run, you get off of a lift. And I know that the answer is different from time to time. Can you give me an average? How long are you on board or on ski from lift to lift line?
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:enough times to get tired and, uh, rest on your knees and pant furiously
Track 1:Well, so what are we, are we skiing 20 minutes at a time? 40 minutes at a time. I mean, I think about Montana. If you string them together correctly by using greens to. crisscross that mountain. You can be on your skis a good 40 minutes plus if you plan it correctly. So where, where is, how long did you guys pull off?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah, I'd say, you know, the shortest run, right, right at the top of Super Morzine down to, uh, that, the second lift that you get on, um, 100 yards, right? Uh, all the way up to probably on average, I would say 10 to 15 minutes. Um, you know, you gotta keep in mind you're, you're skiing mostly blues to get to, uh, the different lifts. So fairly good pace of play, you know, Jesse, I mean, what are your thoughts? 10, 15, maybe 20 minutes tops.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah. I think it, it varied about every time. If it was more of those interconnecting runs to get you from lift to lift. Uh, reminds me of the, when we were on top of the, uh, the DeMossais point and we were making our way back to Averillia, that was a very well defined wide area that wasn't riding over the spine of a mountain. It was taking you down these long blues. And actually some places where you met flats, right? Where it was a little bit tougher for snowboarders to go. And those runs were long and those were, those were joyful, enjoyable and, and often, but I will say I found myself skiing 90 seconds to two to three minutes. Uh, being plenty tired and wanting to rest and check the map and know exactly where I was going. When you ski down from Averillia down to the first valley into Ladre toward the stash, there's a lot of blues and a lot of turns and a lot of intersections right there. So, the good thing about skiing with Ben is he was a beacon in white snow and being an all Orange outfit that the man had on. It was, it was top notch for a visual aid.
Track 1:yeah, that was impressive.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:It was the perfect Pantone.
Track 1:Yeah, we, we all needed shades indoors after Ben got dressed, it was something to behold. Um,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:you weren't going to lose me.
Track 1:No, cool. Cool. Threads been. Um, all right. So we've well established in the field notes that where we're staying in more zine, when we visited Chamonix, we visited, um, Anna see it is, was not very winter. Like, obviously you go, you know, you ascend a thousand meters or so you're going to find something different, but. Talk to me about snow conditions. How was it up there? Icy, slushy, powdery,
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Okay. Well, we're all start is, is a couple of statistics to get back in. We started in more zine in 3, 200 feet of altitude. Averia was right around 6, 000 at 5, 900. So we're skiing from 6, 000 down into valleys of the four thousands. And then. Peaked out at the Swiss peak of Chavonnet that I looked up at about 7, 000 feet from there, skied into Switzerland and into blustery conditions. Um, of course, above the clouds, a lot more sunshine, a lot more thermal and solar warmth there. Uh, but the wind was blowing a little bit and it was. Noticeably colder, I would say in the low 30s where the, uh, valley was 15 degrees in the 45s. Probably 45 degrees warmer.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah, more snow. So, made for better conditions. There were more trails in that system, right? So, I think that helped with some of the crowding. Uh, so, with less crowding, there's better conditions, obviously. So, we didn't hit many patchy spots. Matter of fact, there were no patchy spots from Averillia on. So, good, good snow depth. Um, You know, and this is the type of snow that fills in the trees. You're not running that Southeast Tennessee where there's, you know, fake snow down the run and it looks like springtime and the, you know, just off the side. So it was, it was enjoyable. That's what we saw day two. That's why we knew we had to go back that direction. Day three.
Track 1:Guys, if I understand it, Ben almost had the opportunity to use his Garmin InReach Mini, uh, in the service of another. Walk us through whatever that was.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, we all found ourselves at the, uh, at our most fatigued after a long day of skiing in France and making our way to Averillia and coming all the way back down, uh, into the Lindre Valley, which was the long blue coming from the top of Switzerland, So we're, we're flanked with we're in the valley. We're flanked with. What I'll call 45 degree soil, sediments and sand snow with some exposed rocks. And then about a hundred to 200 foot cliff. And then you're kind of up on the top of a next mountain where there's like lifts and people skiing. Right where there's other lifts. So we had come down from there and other people ski from there Well again caught in my peripheral vision and because I have some buddies that are active gliders and like to ride paramotor I saw a glider in my peripheral vision and then I saw another one flanked to my right and they kind of what I noticed Was it like kind of like a corkscrew a pigtail or two figure eights? and then one guy landed. The second was not so lucky. who ended up being a female, performed the first loop, and when she came down, when gravity took her down on that first loop, she narrowly avoided the bluff and screamed because of it. The second time she went up and came back down again, she struck the 45 degree embankment. On what we saw was And what we came to notice and observe, thankfully, was a gal that clearly got the wind knocked out of her, was still for over a minute, slowly gathered her breath, and slowly gathered her spirit. Uh, pack up and down the mountain.
Track 1:Walked away?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, John, you know, wait a second now. You know. Uh, you know.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:and I'm trying to get her phone number.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, you should, because I, I heard the scream, so I didn't see it the same time Jesse did, but I heard the scream and I saw the impact, and she didn't move for a while, and we stood there and we thought we needed to get help, and really nobody looked alarmed, as alarmed as we were. We were the most alarmed people at Port du Soleil. Uh, and
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:What I was sure of that I was the closest human being to her direct point. So at least I had my eyes fixed on her because if you put your head down and click back into your skis and looked up, she's still a couple hundred yards from me. And you have to go over a creek and, and like you, you'd lose her because she was being so still.
Track 1:Okay.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:There was an element of camouflage too. She was still a speck no bigger than my finger as you hold it out. It's very small on the side of this mountain.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah, we're talking about a sheer face that has mostly rock showing with a little snow mixed in and You know, she was in darker colors, you know to jesse's point We saw her moving around we we made contact with some people in our party and they they had her on the phone they you know, so we we we didn't activate the inreach button, but You know, when we saw that she was a couple hundred yards up and she's got all this gear and how do you get down? There was no just put your skis back on and ski out of it and you're in ski boots So not exactly ideal for mountaineering just incredible. It took I mean we observed it for an hour We went and got a coffee and watched it. I mean she eventually got down. We didn't see a helicopter come in but It was unbelievable.
Track 1:That's crazy. That is crazy. She paraglided into a sheer rock face and I don't know, I guess, oozed her way down and, and then got, lived to tell the story. Unbelievable.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah, we never saw her get down, but as we were having our coffee in our, uh, pre run suds, uh, we could see her with the skis kind of, you know, over her shoulder and her pack and kind of, you know, traversing sideways across on both feet. So, you know, she, she, she got lucky.
Track 1:Wow. No kidding. No kidding. Um, in a minute I want to talk about the Epreski scene, which was bananas, but Final thoughts on day three skiing. Sounds like you found the magic. Finally, I'm properly jealous and, uh, I've already gone in to see my knee doctor to talk about next year. So final thoughts on skiing day three ports to Soleil. Would you go back?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yes,
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:I'd absolutely go back. I have a plan in my head. Of long runs that we want to take when there's a lot more snow and a lot more able bodies to be able to see this mountain in, uh, and its full potential. And I do want to talk a little bit more about, uh, the, the skiing in Switzerland, because leaving the end of that lift and starting toward, uh, lacrosse say. Was one of the largest feats of adversity I've overcome in a while. I'll say, um, we were within a couple of hundred yards of what they call the Swiss wall, and we only really traversed the blue. That turned down through it and kind of rode along the spine of that bowl that you could drop into at any time, which was a red or a sheer black diamond, uh, that blue at times because it had been skied so much was kind of hollowed out and very high on the right and left. And there was really. Because of how narrow it was and how you would want to have to ski from right or left or just be comfortable going way faster than I wanted to be. You either had to snow plow and pizza or just constantly ski sliding to the right with your right boot facing down in your tips to the left. Well, that would constantly ski you into the bank of snow away from the sheer cliff. There was one time that my body just. Would not let me put my skis forward and I skied just a very short distance and turned again and my tips hit the bank and I did my closest fall of any time on the mountain. my knees knocked a little bit when I got up and I just said, okay, when, when you go up and momentum is going to start taking the skis down, like just, you're going to have to pick your right foot up and, and point it. To a place. You don't not want to point it, but you have to take it that far to then be able to turn right again, turn left again. And it was, it was like, you just, I just said, Jesse, you've got to go faster and, uh, and got through it and, and ski down to much wider ground and much, uh, cause it was a little, it was a little crunchy right there because it was narrow.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:packed down and frozen. Um, and, and john, you know, as you described it in the last episode, it was very similar to, uh, what I envisioned based on your description of, of your, your, you know, your adventure, you went on that sheer cliff. That's, I mean, in some instances, this trail or this run that we were on got, what would you say, Jesse, maybe 15 feet wide, 20 feet wide max. And that's, that's given it some.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah. And there was for a while it was flanked on the sheer cliff side by like just one. Vinyl rope and some stakes, which was basically the part of the bowl that didn't have enough snow. And then it opened up around where it started to curve around and people were dropping in there and skiing it. But you could just hear the sheerness of the skis against the pack and hitting those moguls and getting that audio sound and hearing how fast they had to go to traverse those moguls and just knowing that. that. I was just trying to make it down the blue that rode the spine that then got into a much nicer ski down to La Crosse, which got down to the bottom. Well, into Switzerland, into that next Valley, which was another non distinguishable from France, no more zine or any other Valley there. Quaint little coffee shops ready for you to sit down and have have a beverage and rest a little bit. And by gosh, we took another rest there. Didn't we?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Sure did.
Track 1:I can tell you this, as dicey as it might have seemed to you, if you had a small piece of vinyl tape separating you from certain death, that was a far safer situation than I had experienced the day before in my rental car.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:we had better visibility to, you know, it's fun driving cars. You're not familiar with in tight places.
Track 1:Alright, alright. Let's talk about apres ski, please. Because, uh, Jesse doesn't want to move to the party yet.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:no, I was just going to, as this. And we can edit this into a sidebar as it was a common debate for Ben and I, and the weather was varied from place to place, but never was truly cold. The wind was never truly cutting or frigid. So we talked a lot about, about what clothes we wore, how we dressed, how we navigated the cold weather, how we ran vented and how we didn't. I found myself not ever needing any more than a pair of light long John bottoms. The thinnest socks I had. And my insulated bibs, uh, multiple sweat pants or anything like that. The one day I tried, it got me way too hot, uh, on the top. I wore the same long sleeve free fly bamboo shirt. I wore most of the weekend. I wore a small, uh, mid layer by Kuyu. That's a real lightweight mid layer and my, and my jacket and never really needed any more than that. Uh, and at times actually me and Ben both, uh, ran without the mid layer jacket for a while. What were your, uh, what'd you think, Ben?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah. Uh, so similar scenario, too much stuff, too many layers. Day one, we talked about that sweating, sweating hard. So Big sauna. in, in action. So, so the, uh, Moving forward, the non need for the dual layers on, on the bottom, uh, running vents. Basically, I, I wore a base layer on top and bottom and then my, my, I had some dope snow. Uh, tops and bottoms, uh, that were, you know, insulated, but that was it. That's all I needed. And that was the, that was the real fun part of not, you know, walking around like Ralphie from the Christmas story. Right. Not being able to move and, you know, being able to have some fun and not sweat to death.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, coming from the guy that brought the heated vest, it was never turned on. I don't think one time or nor more.
Track 1:All right. Um, well, speaking for myself, I hope next year you have an entirely different experience to the tune of 20 or 30 degrees below, uh, what, what you had this year, because I intend to be there and writing those gondolas with you. And, uh, I'm hoping for, for just all of the winter, uh, at Porto. Ports de Soleil next year. Okay. Aez Ski. So I got to experience this. I went up there and met you fellas in Ahe. First of all, let me tell you, the drive from INE to AEA is insane. So, uh, it, it has to be 20 or 30 switchbacks on, on, on the, uh, on the oh shit side was very rarely a guardrail. Um, it, it, it was just unbelievable and I really thought that. I was leaving Morzine and just gonna take a leisurely mountain road to this other village that was just up the way a bit. It was absolutely not that. Uh, anyway, I finally get there and you're, you know, I see for the first time all week that, you know, I actually saw wintry conditions for the first time. So finally find my way to this base camp bar where you all told me to meet you. And just as soon as I showed up, that party kicked off. I've never seen anything like it. Now, look, I haven't spent a lot of time in clubs in my life, so I may be easily impressed. That damn thing was insane. Pure bananas. Ben describe. The Apres ski scene in Averillia. Yeah.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, uh, the first word that comes to mind would be, uh, an outdoor rave. Um, it, it was an unbelievable vibe, but the energy was. It was unmatched. Everyone was there to have a good time. There, there, you know, people were standing on the tables. Several people were standing on the tables. Hopefully we'll roll some video in or, uh, you can check out our, our Instagram real it's. It's a different level. It's, it's, it's what we envision bars are or clubs. And then you get there and it's really just too many people in a box and it's hot and sweaty. This is, uh, this is, this is a club evolved, if you will.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Yeah, I'll agree. There, there was a lot of moving parts that went into the production of this. And that's something that the French do well. They know how to have a good time. They like to do it outside So, you know, uh, one of the first things I noticed was the, uh, there's a lot of symmetry and there's a lot of, uh, visual cues in this building. It is pretty much a dome flanked by two flat decks on the top of the shorter deck is the DJ. And the large speaker wall, the DJ has plenty of area to the left and the right where the singers can, uh, can sing. The guy can play saxophone. They can do a lot of their production
Track 1:Let's talk about the entertainment because this is a, you know, this starts out with just like, you know, house music. You got a DJ doing thing. Then you realize the vocals. I didn't even notice that, that there were singers at first and they stood out just dancing and singing on the bar itself. All of a sudden you realize like these are two very talented singers that are providing the vocals for this, this rave. And then at some point. The act kind of moves upstairs to this roof overlooking the entire deck. This is no small deck. This is a huge bar full of people. I mean, just absolutely raging Europeans. And so the entertainment moves up to this stage. That's essentially a roof slash stage. You realize there's a couple singers, there's a DJ, there's a saxophone player, there's a violin player. Absolutely, bananas had a ball. I mean, I didn't, I have never in my life thought that I, no one's ever said to me, John, would you like to go to a rave? And I've said, yes, but. That was fun.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, and, and, and don't, don't, you know, give the people what they want. John, did you, or did you not get up on the table and dance with some Englishman
Track 1:Well, my, um, pride in my, uh, American heritage was challenged. And, uh, basically I, uh, basically had to, um, had to do it, you know? Um, basically they talked a lot of shit. I took it as long as I could and I got up there and, uh, we're probably going to cut this out of the podcast.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Well, there was a lot of production going into it, into the, the whole. Planning of the party and a lot of engineering. One of the first things that I noticed was being the rank amateur woodworker that I am was the engineering that went into the tables and chairs, because boys, an American picnic table would not have lasted a fortnight at this party. These tables were made out of four by fours and four by six timbers that were impressively fashioned together, not a deck screw or wood glue stuck out of any of these, these wooden. Uh, tables that were, that were erected all around this deck area. It was quite
Track 1:You are the only single man in this room, in this podcast right now. Jesse, you could have started a family at that party. And you're looking at the damn woodwork. There's something wrong with you, son.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:That's not all I was looking at, son.
Track 1:Well, anyway.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:But to Jesse's point, I mean, every table had what eight to 10 adults on their dancing. Uh, one thing that we should also point out that I, you know, pointed out multiple times, but it was a real safe atmosphere. There weren't any fist fighting. There wasn't a, let me tell you something that security that was there. You didn't want to mess up that they were serious. You could tell they were some sort of X, uh, military or, or law enforcement, but, but specifically military. And, uh, it was a real, you know, you go to a bar here in the United States and somebody gets on a table, you're going to jail in most, in most scenarios. Right. So it was, it was nice how they let people have fun, but everybody kind of, you know, was just happy to be there.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:The security was ample and efficient.
Track 1:And that really kind of puts a bow on the French Alps for us. Unfortunately, let me say this, you too, your French is much improved, but you're still absolutely rubbish. I need you to practice before next year. Uh, get that single account going, please. Oh,
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:back to Spanish. Well, you know, we'll flip it back.
Track 1:all right. All right. Uh, gentlemen, I just want to say thank you. It has been just a brilliant week. It's been so fun. Uh, I've just, I'll just, we'll go around the room. Jesse, final thoughts, Jesse, your first time in Europe, first time with that sort of international travel, how did it lead you
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:I had never been that far from home base and it left me looking for a lot of statistics and a lot of comparisons that I could draw in the states. And one thing I thought about was elevation, thinking of the French Alps of all the videos in the, in the, in the movies I've seen in the past. Yeah. You know, you're up North, but I really thought the elevation would be much, much higher than comparable to Mount Leconte and Klingsman Klingman's dome, which are 6, 600 feet of elevation. Uh, and we're skiing below that. I found that fascinating. Um, you know, how far North were we in latitude? It was about 45 to 46 degrees. That's pretty good. That's comparable to where we skied before in big sky. And that's comparable to the Montreal and Quebec in that area of Canada. And we weren't really as high as the highest elevations I'd ever been in or where I really ever pictured. Was I disappointed? No, I was fascinated about how much ground you could travel from valley to. Really great ski area to Valley, to above a cloud line, to a total new area and total new townships or communes that they call them in France, being able to go from one area to the other was what really, uh, what I thought was special, uh, because they all looked a little different, but, uh, not being too far away as far as latitude and altitude of where I've been before.
Track 1:there? There are a lot of optical illusions out there. So you're right. So both of you have been at elevations higher. Then anything you touched in Europe, because you've been to big sky resort that can take you to on average about 9, 000 feet, sometimes up to 11, you get a lone peak. Um, but without question, the mountains that we were on in the Alps seem much, much, much more massive. Um, and I don't, I don't know the degree to which that's an optical illusion, or this is all just relativism here, but. You're right, Jesse. You can find yourself surprised by exactly where on the globe you are, what that means compared to where you live, um, you know, I guess what we've learned is the earth is not flat.
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:At least in that area. Um,
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:Ben, what were your final thoughts?
ben_2_03-06-2024_201340:yeah. Well, I think this whole experience going to Europe, right? There's a lot of new exposure to new things. The food, the water, the wine. These are things that we just don't experience. So, that was a real Big takeaway, and I'm kind of upset and, uh, my palate is upset with what we've come back to, but, um, you know, as far as the skiing goes, the biggest difference that I think between like a big sky or places like that and, you know, my limited experience, um. This was unique because there was kind of community around it. Every, every lift had a shop or a cafe, uh, every lift, right? And that's, that's different than a lot of places. And then every, every little valley had a different village and they all kind of, you know. Treated you the same, acted the same. Um, you know, maybe when we went to the Switzerland side, we heard a little Dutch, but for the most part, being able to kind of ski in and ski out of communities, see different things. That was, that was super unique. Uh, and you know, we didn't see it all. I think, you know, I'd have to check my Garmin stats, but we only went a handful of miles, maybe 10 to 15 miles. Of the vast 350 plus mile system. So there's definitely reasons to go back. There's plenty of more food to eat and wine to drink. So, um, you know, I'm game. We just need to book it.
jesse_2_03-06-2024_201340:More to do.
Track 1:Absolutely. Absolutely. Gentlemen, thank you for being such great companions on just a Just a life trip, you know, something we're never going to forget, uh, even as we intend to go back and I'm ready to book it. my takeaways are, pretty simple. I do want to go back. I want to get this knee rehabbed and I, and I'm not giving up on skiing. You guys had so much. Fun that I'm just kind of making it a personal mission to get back on skis, because I got to tell you in the last couple of months, it's been pondered whether or not I'd ever ski again, and I haven't really owned up to that. But, um, but, but I think I can get back out there and I want to, and I want to do it with the two of you, uh, and our wives and our friends and I want to do it in France. So let's get back out there. Second, biggest takeaway is, uh, no more. Trash California wine ever, No California wine. We're, we're, we're going old world from now on because that's far superior. Fellas. Thank you. This puts a bow on filled notes from the French Alps. This is the rank amateur podcast. My name is John Ben Wyatt's the co host. Big thanks to Jesse for joining us for these filled notes. I have a feeling we're going to see him again. And finally, thanks to our sponsor hop passport until next time.