So here I am, in the ski town of Valloire for the BSM course. The 2REG runs a mountain outpost here, both for ski as well as for climbing. During the 7 hour bus ride, we stopped a couple times to stretch our legs and buy some snacks at roadside rest stations. The looks we got were rather entertaining, as we're in our tenue de combat, kepi's, and carrying our FAMAS assault rifle on our backs...probably not something most motorists or tourists expect to see, even in France. The town itself is near the Col du Galibier and Col Telegraphé, two mountain tops that I'm sure my cycling and triathlon friends recognize. Kinda cool to know I'm on some of the same roads that the Tour de France has and will pass on. No skiing today, just getting the ski boots and ski's adjusted, as well as settling into our rooms. Tomorrow I will be surrounded by white powder.
Day 4 – Friday, March 30th, 2007
The last three days have been a blur of activity. The result:...OK, I can ski...barely. I definitely do not have "mad skillz". And while I did make it all the down the mountain today without crashing too many times, there were definitely some "oh §"!*" moments. And ascending the mountain with climbing skins...definitely another skill I will need to develope some more. I believe the term in English is telemark skiing...and it's hard work with a 25lb backpack (they're taking it easy on us, seeing how it's the first week and all). And while I have no doubt that I will improve, it's always a bit tough starting out; especially when there's a language barrier of sorts. I'm quite sure I'm missing some of the technical . And it's not just skiing we're doing. We also went over transport of material and/or wounded in a sleigh, as well as searching for avalanche victims with a transmitter/receiver. Oh yeah, it's snowing right now...and the rumor is tomorrow we sleep outdoors, something about an igloo?!? Good times.
Day 5 – Saturday, March 31st, 2007
After ascending with the climbing skins about 600 meters vertical, we took the ski lift to almost the top of one of the nearby peaks for our "cours neige" (course snow). Today's topic is construction of an igloo. As you can see in the pictures, it turned out pretty well. Amazingly, it was also quite warm inside, especially with 12 people crammed into a sleeping area for 3-4 people. Highly recommended for your next foray into the high country...just be warned, it is a lot of work. And yes, the Eskimo igloo is different...they use ice/snow blocks and therefore their structure is a lot firmer. And this being the Foreign Legion, where we're never do things the easy way, we took the closed ski trail down the mountain. At least when I fell, the often knee-deep or hip-deep snow is quite soft. All in all; it's been quite a week. I'm exhausted, but we get to sleep in until 0715 tomorrow, and have permission to go into town in the afternoon for a bit. Always good to have a little break.
Day 6 – Sunday, April 1st, 2007
So I go into a bar here in town this afternoon, go up to the bar and order a beer (in French) for my friend, and the girl behind the bar replies (in English), "Anything else?" Huh? Turns out it wasn't just because my French is laced with a heavy English-speaker accent (which it is), but because the girl doesn't really speak much French either. The bar and the adjoining hotel is owned by Englishmen, and most if not all the employees are English, and as we observed and listened to the guests going in and out...pretty much all the guests are English speakers as well. Well, at least they're English...there was a group from Newcastle, whose spoken English even my English friend couldn't quite figure out all the time. And then there were the Scottish and Irish guests...I think they were speaking English, but I have NO idea. I keep running into English people here in France, which on the surface isn't that surprising; but the look on their face when they hear me speak English still amuses me every time. And I find myself starting to pick up slightly the English "accent" and phrases due to my English friend...so I just might end up speaking English with a mix of British and American/Texan accent, French with an American accent, Chinese also with a slight American accent, plus probably Russian or Polish or something with a French accent.
Day 8 – Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007
Monday was a big challenge. After spending all day on the slopes (including level "red" slopes, which is just one level below the "black" slopes, which is highest here...I'm assuming it's like the "black diamond" slopes I heard before...can someone clarify?) working on skiing skills, at the end of the day the whole BSM crew climbed up to the top of one of the peaks at 2543m, of course with our backpacks (still at 25lbs or so!). After consuming our cold (ha!) rations, we waited around for the sun to go down. Yup...we skied down the mountain at night. It was quite exhilarating, not to mention at times quite disorienting, as the moon wasn't exactly bright. Not knowing where the sides of the trail is was also quite disconcerting, especially beyond was often a vertical drop. I managed to make it down without any incidents, which I attribute to both luck as well as my improving skills. Today we climbed 450 vertical meters to about 2500m, after hitching a ride/getting towed up some of the slope behind a Legion support tracked vehicle..like water skiing, but on snow. Worked on our shooting today on skies, standing, on one and two knees, as well as prone. At 2500m the air is a bit thinner compared to sea-level, so the ballistic qualities of the bullets are different. Being mountain troops, we have to learn and practice how to compensate for that, in addition to having to adjust to the frequently faster winds, the fact we frequently have to shoot up or down a slope, and the visually-disorienting all-white background. Never mind that the regiment is deployed to Africa on more missions than anywhere else. But it's always fun to shoot. And of course we skied down after shooting, being especially carefully not crash; not because the FAMAS assault rifle is fragile, but because landing on a hard metal and plastic object with some sharp edges isn't exactly fun.
Day 9 – Wednesday, April 4th, 2007
A pretty relaxed day...if you can count skiing in loose powder and 15-20m visibility as relaxing. At least we only skied until 1330, after which it was back to the chalet for a hot lunch and to prepare our backpacks for spending all of Thursday and Friday outdoors. Ah yes...living out of a backpack in the snow. More good times.
Day 12 – Saturday, April 7th, 2007
It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic, as the construction and sleeping in an igloo involves being in very small, tight spaces. With four people inside, and the temperature outside at -10°C, it was downright cozy, and even a bit too warm for me in my sleeping bag. When I woke up on Friday morning, my only complaint was that I had toToday we scouted the course for the BSM test on Monday. Together we ascended about 1200 vertical meters on snow, ice, and even rocks with ski's, and then a short and fast descent of about 20 minutes, it was back to the chalet. Very satisfying to and confidence-building, although it will still be a bit difficult on Monday for the actual test.
Day 14 – Monday, April 9th, 2007
An early wakeup at 0430, getting all the gear ready and eating a hearty breakfast, and started the BSM test at about 0710. A litttle under3 hours later, it was finished. And despite the quivering quadriceps and blood (I face-planted on the descent), I was well under the time-limit of 3 hours and 45 minutes. A quick weigh-in at the finish made sure our backpacks were definitely over the minimum weight (I was at only about 35lbs, including water and a FAMAS assault rifle...not too heavy really). The scouting we did on Saturday was definitely well worth it, as I was able to pace my efforts. Sometime later today we're supposed to have a ceremony where the captain of the compagnie will pin our BSM badge on our uniforms. I also realized also that besides the parachutists in the 2REP, no other brand-spankin' new legionnaires in ANY of the other mainland France combat regiments (2REI, 1REG, 1REC) undergo any specialists training like we just did. Definitely something I will wear with pride.
Day 15 – Tuesday, April 10th, 2007
We got to sleep in until 0445 today, and then climbed another 1200-1300m today...but the fat lady has sung, and the BSM course is definitely over. We went up to the Pont des Ratissieres, which at 2865m is about 200m higher than the Col du Galibiér. It was definitely hard work today, but a good ending for the course. It was definitely a side of the French Alps that most people don't get to see.
Day 16 – Wednesday, April 11th; 2007
A simple (and thankfully very fast) ceremony today for the officers to pin the brévet ski militairé onto our uniforms, after which we celebrated with a nice lunch. We were also informed that after our CP04 combat engineering course (which starts on April 23rd and finishes 4 weeks later) and MINEX course, we will be returning to Vallorie for the BAM (brévet alpinism militairé) course. After which we would be fully-certified (hah! Certifiable is more like it) as mountain-qualified combat engineers. It's a lot of training packed into a relatively short amount of time, but at least the excitement will never stop.
Photos below:
Do I look like I gained weight? Must be all the clothing I'm wearing!
Where are we going?
We're going THAT way?
Contact a gauche! (Contact left!)
http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=44g2c0w
Yup, I'm freezing. The smile is faked for you viewers. Trust me.
Before and after the BSM test.
There be some tired legionnaires there.
Me with my good Brazilian friend Socrates...yes, as in the Greek philosopher. How I got stuck with "Chin" I'll never know.
My eyes are normally not that slanty...it was BRIGHT that day!
I've ALWAYS wanted to wear a ski-mask in a menacing manner. This was the most menacing I could pull-off without laughing.
