outdoors Archives

April 3, 2013April 9, 2018

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Finding liberation at Liberty Bowl

“We have always been dreamers in Montana”. – Brian Schweitzer

Big Sky trail map. Photo credit: bigskyresort.com

Day three skiing at Big Sky meant it was time to pick it up a notch and hit the bowls. There is nothing more liberating and invigorating than physically challenging your body. It was time to hit the blacks.

We traveled with another family to Montana and my friend and I rode the gondola up to the top to hit the back bowls. It was another sensational, postcard perfect day. I felt more alive than I had in months.

August 27, 2012October 5, 2017

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Tour de la Vanoise: Our starting point Pralognan-la-Vanoise

Author’s note: This post is a continuation of my series on trekking La Tour de la Vanoise in the French Alps. For previous post, click here.

Lovely, quaint Pralognan-la-Vanoise, a mountain town located in the heart of Savoie in the French Alps.

After our unexpected afternoon in Geneva (for post click here), we returned to the airport to meet our guide Mark along with the other two guests joining us on our trek through La Tour de la Vanoise. Our group would be small, only four trekkers along with our own, personal mountain guide, France-based Brit, Mark of Simply Savoie.

Isn’t this what you envision a French Alpine village to look like?

Adventure Travel France Tour de Vanoise TRAVEL BY REGION Trekking/Hiking

August 24, 2012October 5, 2017

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Sumptuous Savoie: The heart of Vanoise

Our week-long trek through the peaks and valleys of the French Alps took place in the beautiful eastern Rhône-Alpes region of France known as Savoie (pronounced “saw-vwa”).

Logo of Savoie (Wikipedia).

Savoie, along with neighboring Haute-Savoie, has a long, fascinating history as a prosperous kingdom known as Savoy that was annexed by France in 1860. Savoy existed as an autonomous country for almost a thousand years and its traditional boundaries have not changed since the annexation (placed at the crossroads of the Alps in the eastern part of France, west of Italy and south of Switzerland. See map below).