Verbier Deux!

Last year, on this very weekend, we took a trip with a bunch of friends to the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. It was one of those weekends that, among other things, became legendary for a variety of reasons. Part of it was the lodging we had, affectionately known as “The Bunker”. Another aspect was the skiing, which saw us have to deal with inclines that seemed more like cliffs than ski slopes. There was also the party scene, where a handful of us stayed out well past 4:00 in the morning, which is something that just doesn’t happen more than once every couple of years. As a result, there was a lot of hype that had to be lived up to, and this time we had an even larger crew along for the ride!

First, let me revisit The Bunker. The Bunker is, without any doubt in my mind, the single worst place to sleep in continental Europe. I would even go so far as to extend this distinction to the entire Western Hemisphere, as well as Asia and Australia. It’s literally an old World War II bomb shelter, with no windows, a set of air-lock doors, and a descent of about fifty yards into something that, if you were faced with it in a horror movie, you know there would be some kind of zombie or man-eating alien creature at the end of it. Oh, also there are no locks on any doors, it’s co-ed, and there are about 16 beds per room, and they are laid out so that every bed touches at least one other bed on either the right or left (and they’re all bunkbeds).

The other thing about The Bunker is, it’s not cheap. I mean, you expect to have bad accommodations when you’re paying hostel prices, but The Bunker runs about $50 per person, which is more than most Holiday Inns. Luckily this year, the trip organizer was able to score a deal with another hostel, which seemed like a palace in comparison. Thus, with lodging taken care of, things were looking good.

We’ve been lucky up to now in that we’ve generally had good weather for skiing. As I’ve said before, it’s hard to beat going out to the mountains and seeing not a single cloud in the sky. This weekend, however, we were caught in a raging blizzard. It was probably the hardest snowfall I’ve ever been outside in, but that being said, it was awesome. Most people left the slopes (due to extremely low visibility), but a couple of us stayed on, and were rewarded with excellent powder and tons of wide-open space. The visibility did make it a bit dangerous, as you couldn’t see bumps or small changes in elevation, but that also made it kind of exciting. All in all, it was a good day for skiing, and again, no major injuries were sustained.

Lastly, there was the nightlife that we had to live up to. This time, everybody was ready, and we headed out to a lounge, and then a club. It’s odd being in a club anymore, as I always expect to feel like the old guy in the corner; but in Verbier, there were plenty of other old people (in club years, which means you have to multiply every birthday by 5 after the age of 21). And as far as the whole 4am thing…well, there were about eight of us who made it! Was actually a lot easier than it should have been, although it kind of sucked when the hostel came in and told us to get out at 10am the next morning. Leave it to the Swiss to be sticklers on their check-out times!

Next weekend: Lyon!