Snowboarding in the Alps

[snoop1130]

 

This article is about how the concept of ‘bornagaintriathlete’ came to be. Firstly, that’s what it’s supposed to be, it’s not. Secondly, it was not my intention to write an article about this. It was the editor of “Expat Life in Thailand” who suggested I write a second article for the Feb/March edition, about how I ended up in Chiang Mai. I was there in 2016/17 which is when I started triathlon.

 

And so I set out to do just that, and failed miserably. As you will read below I start the article with my time in the Army and by the time the article ends, I’m still in the Army. So, mission failed. But, I’ve tried to explain a paradigm shift that was happening during my time in the Army. A paradigm shift that led me to Chiang Mai and the concept ’bornagaintriathlete’.

 

“Bornagaintriathlete” is about making a mental paradigm shift from aspiring for ‘greatness’ to aspiring for ‘happiness’. Life up to early 2015 had been about aspirations of ‘greatness’. I then left the Army and took a different path. A path towards a life ‘stress-free’. This does not mean a life of comfort, but one of ‘happy struggles’.

 

Story

While in the Army, as a squaddie with no dependents, I had spare cash, and it all went into snowboarding. I had a van and on two separate occasions I drove myself to the Alps, lived in the van and snowboarded the pistes. Never spoke to anyone, never went to any bars, just me, in my van, on my roll matt, cooking with my small portable army cooker that I used on outdoor exercises, and a tarpaulin to keep the van warm, that I had ‘borrowed’ from the Signals Department stores, hahaha, sshhhh, don’t tell anyone (I gave it back).

 

One time, it was late October, we were all in camp, but “heads-hed” (people in charge with lots of stripes or pips) had nothing for us to do. So they said to us, ‘lads, you have a week off, enjoy’. This was the best thing about the Army, “leave!” (the word we use for paid holiday). No exaggeration, the very next day I jumped in my van, and drove to the Alps – it took me all day – I love long drives.

 

You may think, how did you get organised so quick? Well, My van was well used. Anywhere I went, I would always have it ready for sleeping purposes, just in case. If I was at a friend’s house and there was no room, or the van was more comfortable than their floor. If I got too drunk and didn’t want to drive home. There were a multitude of reasons. This time, it would be to save on hotel charges. And, if I was being honest, it added to the adventure, because that’s what I was doing. I was on an adventure, an arduous one.

 

The same night we got told about leave, before locking up the stores, I chucked out a tarpaulin and a ‘donkey-dick’ (what we called an exhaust extension) outside to pick it up later in my van. Got my snowboard kit packed, sleeping and cooking essentials, booked a ferry online, just about enough sleep, left with the sun cresting the horizon, luke warm mild coffee with too much sugar to compensate, all for little over 3GBP on route to Dover, yes! I knew I was alive, and had myself to myself for the next few days.

 

I got to ‘Les Deux Alps’ in the evening. I don’t know why I picked that one. I remember a friend telling me about going there on holiday one time. And it sounded cool. translation: ‘The Two Alps’ – it doesn’t really make sense, but it kind of does, because you kind of imagine a valley with two mountains on either side. Its poetic. A lot of poetry doesn’t really make sense to me. Maybe I’m stupid or maybe artists write in a way that leaves the imagination to work out what they meant.

 

In any case, I picked out ‘Les Deux Alps’ and there I was. But it was pitch black by the time I got there. I parked in an empty car park. That should have been my first warning! I had nothing to do but wander into town and see what’s what, to see “what may be a cooking’…”. The only thing open was a bar. I went in. Got chatting with some guy. Very French. A ‘Savoyard’. He owned one of the ski rental shops. He got me very very drunk on Genepi, apparently a local delicacy, I was expecting saucisson or some such, ‘when in Rome…’

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/snowboarding-in-the-alps/

 

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