TIO IN MEGEVE: LUNCH ON THE MOUNTAIN

16 Jan TIO IN MEGEVE: LUNCH ON THE MOUNTAIN

Late morning, on a Colorado blue sky day in Megeve, we headed up the mountain to meet friends who had traveled by snow shoe up 2,000 gnarly (read, “icy in spots”) vertical feet to our rendezvous spot.

To get there, the rest of our party drove to town, where parking on the weekend is impossible. The underground garage was full (as it has been since Friday) and every available spot was taken. However, our intrepid host is a force of nature and a law unto himself. He parked illegally absolutely sure the gendarmes would be way too busy to notice or care. He was right of course. Not even a ticket at the end of the day.

From there, we made tracks for the gondola. Another rude awakening: unlike Telluride, Megeve does have lift lines. Gondola after gondola left the station packed with people shoe-horned in. Eventually we got on, reaching the aforementioned destination after two separate rides: l’Alpette, established in 1895. That’s two years after the post office changed the name of the town of “Columbia” to Telluride and four years before Butch Cassidy robbed the San Miguel Bank.

After a leisurely wine-soaked lunch out on the deck, we hiked back down the hill to return home, some of us on skis, most of us taking the gondola back to the car.

Tonight the chalet is quiet. Only two of us remain.

Tomorrow we hook up with the assistant mayor of Megeve for a series of activities in town.

Tuesday, we ski.

Meanwhile, for an overview of the town and surrounds, check out Clint Viebrock’s video: