Kelly Holland

After several days of bad weather in Courmayeur we were never able to climb. But on the bright side, we had a lot of fun at Parco adventuro, the Roman spa, and conquering the professional eating tour…it was great! After Courmayeur, Rach and I finished off our little side trip with a day and a night in Chamonix. We hit up the Fete de Biere, and we had a wonderful dinner at the cute little restaurant in Argentiere that Aurelien’s girlfriend runs…it was magnifique.

Parco Adventuro…maybe not the best idea for someone with a fear of heights.

Team Parco Adventuro….Rach, Papa Burks, Jacapo, moi, and Fred Arne

A stop at the Italian butchers….for wine and sausage. Jacapo’s friend Geppo hooked us up…it pays to run the family business.

Some girls hope for diamonds on their birthday….but not Rachael. All it takes is a PBR to light up her face….a PBR smuggled all the way from the good US of A.

After five warm-up courses, the main plate of seafood finally arrived during Rachael’s b-day lunch. I thought the first one was our meal, but oh how I was wrong. It was a four hour feast. I thought our second course of shrimp was our dessert.

Italian toga party.

The Americans bringing sexy back with the Sprinkler…the Italians weren’t too receptive.

It’s not quite the same space as a fancy American SUV.

We left Chamonix, and after five more hours in the rental car, and few missed exits along the way, we made it back to Blancardy at one in the morning. It was nice to be back….our home away from home. It has been a good week of the usual….a little pool time, some wine bottling, some vineyard work, a glass of rose here and there, and a lot of really good food. To make it even better, yesterday was a full day of the moto through Cevenne, accomponied by a really cool swimming hole, the silk museum (the history in this region is really cool) and a surreal dinner….when I didn’t think it could get any better, it did.

Rachael and the Blancardy boys (Alain and David)…outside the Cevenne Musuem

Team Blancardy…sunning by the swimming hole

Our crystal clear pool….

Rachael and Kelly….American floaters…

pretty and bronzed…..

and graceful in the water…

The water at our swimming hole/picnic spot was ridiculously clear, and the temperature was such that even I’d swim. Nothing beats fresh french bread with a little pate for lunch….they even bought coke for me. Magical!!! The ride home was once again a beautiful tour that weaved through the mountains of Cevenne, one little village after another….the views were so mesmerizing that it almost hurt. I love the moto!

The summer in France only gets better and better by the day. Laure whips up a five-star gourmet meal every night in the time, and with the ease, that it takes me to nuke a frozen burrito, all while running her restaurant and caring for her two clueless Americans. A little work here and there, including that of the petite vineyard above, yields the wonders of Cevenne. I’ve been lazy on the updates, but some of the highlights from the past couple of weeks have included some impressive tractor driving by Rachael, a gorgeous tour of Cevenne via motorcycle, and a side trip to Paris/Radiohead concert….not too Shabby.

The wine cave….where magic happens…i.e. bottling wine.

The market in Ganges has a plethora of fresh French goodies….including olives. I look forward to fresh flowers every Friday.

The pool has been cleaned and is good to go…a little extra cool down during siest. Thank you Alain and David.

Alain made Rachael’s dreams come true by teaching her to drive the tractor. She drove, then hoisted me in the shovel to pick the prunes (plums) from the tree for the restaurant’s prune confiture and sorbet…it was pretty cool…we went pruning. The next day we sat cutting and pitting plums in the kitchen with Murielle….it was fun to see the fruit of our labor from tree to kitchen.

Rachael and Alain

Delphine and me…preparing to pick away at the plum tree.

 If that wasn’t cool enough, the boys at Blancardy took us for an afternoon cruise on their motos through the mountains of Cevenne. It was one cute village after another, winding through the mountains like a thread from an intricately woven tapestry….beautiful. Onion fields, farms, gorges, and rivers…it was breathtaking. At one point we stopped for an afternoon dip at the Cirque de Navacelle….a majestic swimming hole with waterfalls and crystal clear, blue-green water…could it get any better? A quick little pit stop on my dream ride….hum, okay. The Cirque de Navacelle, along the Vis River, is easily my new favorite swimming hole.

While David’s driving in the car scares the hell out of me…he was a great driver on the moto, and a great guide of Cevenne. I think I was only scared once…maybe twice.

 Rach and I stripped down to our skimmies for a quick dip at Navacelle before jumping back on the motos….I’ve learned very quickly that the french are not modest folk. No one thought twice when I was running around in white undies before taking a plunge…c’est natural.

A good view into one of several valleys within Cevenne…there’s a river somewhere down there, and some crazy narrow, European roads that brought us to the top…on motos.

 At one point our bums were in dire need of a break, the moto seat gets a little rough after a few hours, so we took another small break at an itty bitty little village and had a beer with Alain’s friend Tony and his wife….he’s a flamenco guitarist and she’s a flamenco dancer…how cool’s that?!

The last few days have been spent on a side trip to Arras for a Radiohead concert, and now Paris for two days. I hit the Louvre yesterday, and Notre Dame and the Eiffle Tower today. It’s been a short trip through Paris, but sweet. The people have been surprisingly wonderful and kind, and Rach and I have had two nights of amazing dining. So far, I’m impressed! Anyone who bitches about the attitude of the Parisians haven’t met the right ones.

Where are we?

Mcdonalds in Valance…just like home! America!

Oh, the Louvre…I feel so sophisticated. I even managed to sneak in a quick nap in the corner, amongst some of histories greatest masterpieces…somewhere between the Mona Lisa and some famous sculpture.

What a view of the Seine…on my way to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame….the line to go inside was too much for me. But the outside was magnifique! I love creepy, deeky gargoyles.

And the Eiffle Tower….what would Paris be without the Tour Eiffle? 

Tomorrow we head to Chamonix and Italy for Rachael’s birthday extravaganza on Mount Blanc.  I’m looking forward to the mountains and can’t wait to see everyone…the Alps are always amazing!

Mcdonald’s cheeseburger….count it.

We did it, and we did it good! The Peak Performance Backcountry Tour for the Cure was awesome!!! Eleven of the coolest women around the Wasatch came together Saturday morning and headed into the backcountry…all in hopes of raising money and awareness for breast cancer. Okay, so we didn’t exactly make our intended destination, but the trip was so amazing that I could care less. It was a million laughs, a wonderful challenge, and 25 hours of pure adventure….and a little bit of pain. My body was definitely screaming by the end.

The final team consisted of me, Rachael Burks, Re Wikstrom, Vanessa Pierce, Jess Kunzer, Hannah Whitney, Molly Baker, Rebecca Selig, Quincy Young, Tanya Christensen, and Pip Hunt. We started at the White Pine trail head at 2 p.m. and skinned our way toward Hogum…slowly but surely. I managed to pack everything I could think of and dwarfed my incredibly large pack, so I was moving real slow. It was a miracle that I made it to camp all together. I appropriately acquired the name “Shorty Got Pack” and had everyone convinced that I was carrying a girl scout who could set up our camp and delve into all the needed survival skills for us…certainly not a bad idea for next time.

We had to skin up the Red Pine drainage, traverse the ridge into Maybird, and traverse one more ridge into the Hogum Fork drainage. The first third of the skin track was a uni-direction side hill skin…a complete pain in the ass, and I’m amazed that I didn’t loose my balance and eat it with the weight of my pack. I can’t tell you how relieved my left butt cheek was to climb uphill. In the midst of wondering if I’d even make it, I found relief in the company of my best friend in the whole world, Ms. Rachael Burks, who stuck by my side and kept me laughing…even when I reached the point of a death march.

As we reached the top of the ridge we had a clear view into Maybird. I was beat, but Vanessa was a driving motivation and kept us charging with the little light that we had left in the day. We charged on another hour before deciding to make camp at the base of the Pfeifer Horn. It was one ridge short of our intended camp spot, but it was a great location, and I was stoked to pitch a tent and give ‘er a rest.

Five tents sat under Pfeifer’s shadow with incredibly clear skies on a windless night. A fire was built–with Rebecca diligently on fire wood duty–and we managed to scrap together some pad thai. We then topped the evening off with a well deserved bottle of champagne and cookies…thank you girl scout.

I think we all froze that night, so we were stoked to see the sun in the morning. Unfortunately we got a late start, and when we skinned to the pass and saw the remaining distance to the Hypodermic Needle….we pulled the plug. Hogum revealed a bigger drainage than anyone pictured and a lot longer boot pack to the top of the Needle than the warming snow would permit. Our spirits were so high and enjoying the day regardless that I don’t think anyone was devastated…we opted for plan B and skied topless down “Pfeifer Pass”. We shralped a solid four turns and called it good before gathering our gear and heading down.

If hiking up wasn’t hard enough, skiing down with the “girl scout” was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My legs and knee just didn’t have it in ‘em, so I took beaterdom to a whole new level. It was miraculous I made it off Red Pine ridge in one piece, and it certainly wasn’t done graciously. Luckily I was with some really rad chicks who saved my ass. Vanessa was nice enough to trade me packs…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it otherwise. Yeah, she rocks.

 The Parking lot was sweet salvation and topped with extra awesomeness thanks to Adam Clark who dropped off a 12 pack of PBR…just waiting for our arrival. I don’t even like beer, but that PBR tasted great. The trip was awesome and worth every ounce of pain.  We topped the day off with some nachos and wings at the Porcupine…a beautiful ending.  I woke up today and still can’t walk quite normal, but I love it! Thank you to all the girls for making The Backcountry Tour for the Cure an amazing trip!

I also want to thank my mother for her inspiration and support for this event. Her strength and courage through her battle with breast cancer left an ineffable impression upon me, one that I hold dear to my heart. She is a survivor.

 Thank you to all those who gave pledges and support to our tour, especially Peak Performance, Backcountry.com, and Black Diamond. I appreciate the support greatly…thank you!

Trip Nicknames

Kelly “Shorty Got Pack” Holland
Vanessa “VD” Pierce
Vanessa “Bobsled” Pierce
Hannah “Pro Camper” Whitney
Rachael “The Lost Tourist” Burks
Rachael “R2D2″ Burks
Rachael “I swear I’m dex and you’re TJ” Burks
Rebecca “Fire Killer” Selig
Molly “5 Star” Baker
Jess “Loves the Jack” Kunzer
Jess “Theater Major” Kunzer
Quincy “The Hot Water Saved My Life” Young
Tanya “The Tiger” Christensen
Tanya “Sleepwalker” Christensen
Pip “I Didn’t Like These Boots Anyway” Hunt

I will be at the base of Alta on Saturday the 19th with a pledge table for The Backcountry Tour for the Cure. I plan to post up outside Goldminer’s Daughter, on the patio if the weather is nice, and have information on The Backcountry Tour for the Cure with pledge forms. There will also be a raffle for a Black Diamond lantern, which was kindly donated from Black Diamond. Every pledge will get a raffle ticket. I hope to see everyone there……come and pledge your support!

To my disappointment, I have to change the name of our fundraiser. It would appear that Passionately Pink is too close to another Komen event, so it looks like our event will change to The Backcountry Tour for the Cure. As much as I loved the Passionately Pink name, I’ll take The Backcountry Tour for the Cure….it doesn’t change the fact that our event will rock…I just like pink, especially passionately pink. Other than that, nothing else has changed. The details and mission are still the same. Pledges can still be made to Komen SLC and mailed to my address. Peak Performance is continuing to support our event, and all the girls at Shejumps are still kicking ass with all their insight and help…thanks guys! Here is more information and the pledge form (pdf).