Snow!

October 28, 2012 by Alpine Mummy 17 Comments

Oh my goodness, it has just hit home that we’re spending the entire winter in the Alps… What have I done?!

The summer has been fantastic – it felt like the first ‘real’ summer for ages (we don’t get them much in the UK anymore).  A few rainy spells, which really weren’t fun, but my memories of this summer do principally consist of blue skies, ice cream and shorts.  Like a silly old woman, I’m already reminiscing about the last few months with a touch of nostalgia – Alpine Boy jumping in and out of the paddling pool; countless walks up mountains and swims in the lake;  Alpine Girl asleep in the shade, exhausted from a day doing nothing.

Summer walks…

…blue, blue skies…

…and trips to the lake

And so, because it’s been so great here, I hadn’t really stopped to think what it’s going to be like when it’s cold and snowy.  I have flippantly joked to my new French friends that I’m a ‘little bit nervous’ about the winter up here, not being used to it and all.  And I have explained to them that in England when there’s more than about 5cm of snow the entire country grinds to a halt and it’s impossible to get to work.  (They laughed at that.  I think they thought I was joking.)  But I don’t think I’ve really thought about exactly what it’s going to be like, stuck here in the mountains, all winter…

So I’m delighted to have my first taster of an Alpine winter!  A week ago we were walking in the mountains in our T-shirts, marvelling at the fact that summer seemed to be sticking around forever.  Today it was a different story – we’ve been walking in the village in our thermals and ski jackets, marvelling at the fact that winter has come before autumn has even had its chance to say goodbye.  The snow started yesterday and has steadily fallen all night – like the little boy in ‘The Snowman’ the first thing I did when I awoke this morning was to rush to the window to see how white the world was.  I was not disappointed – the ground is thick with snow, the wind is blowing, and the birds are hopping around in confusion, as if they’re not quite sure whether this is the apocalypse that crazy bird round the corner has been warning them about for years…

Alpine Boy was out sledging down the driveway first thing this morning (very pleased to be finally allowed to wear his new hat), blissfully unaware and totally not caring that the clocks had gone back and that everyone else in the neighbourhood would be enjoying their extra hour in bed.  We have had a friend from the UK staying for the weekend, who seemed mightily pleased that the snow had made an appearance on the days she chose to be here.  Last night we ate (too much) raclette, in front of the (too hot) roaring fire, in our (very wooden) Alpine chalet, and it really did feel like we must be on a ski holiday.  Perfect, I thought, this is the life.

But our friend has just left, Alpine Papa’s out driving her to the airport, and the kids are worn out from tramping in the snow so are taking an extra-long nap.  I’m therefore all alone in front of that roaring log fire (stuffing my face with Milka).  And as I watch the wind blowing clouds of snow past the window, I realise that this is real.  This isn’t a week-long skiing holiday, in a resort where everything you might need is on tap.  This is for the whole winter.  And we’re in a village in the middle of nowhere.  And I have two kids under four who need bundling into ski-suits (and thermals and hats and gloves and boots…) every time we leave the house.  I think I might have mentioned that leaving the house often takes me three hours.  In mid-winter, there aren’t many more daylight hours each day than that!  I’m either going to have to get more organised (unlikely), or we’re just not going to leave the house (tempting).  Or perhaps I could eschew all forms of heating and just make the children live in their ski gear so they’re permanently ready to go out…

So yes, I’m no longer joking when I say I’m a ‘little bit nervous’ about experiencing a true Alpine winter.  But having seen Alpine Boy’s overwhelming excitement today, and heard him giggling as he slid down that slope, I am more excited than ever.  Having dodged snowballs, and explained to Alpine Boy why he should never eat yellow snow, I can’t wait for autumn to bid its very final farewell.  Winter’s on its way, and hopefully it will be a long one.  In the meantime, throw another log on that fire, and pass the Milka…

(You do realise I’ve totally jinxed this now, of course.  Apologies to anyone coming to Europe on a ski-trip this year:  if there’s no snow then it’s no doubt down to me wishing too damn hard for that perfect ski-season…)