 Poster: A snowHead
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Well i had a short notice week to use up before xmas, tried to gatecrash onto anarchicsaltire and another well known snowheads romantic week in Val D'Isere but being a billy no mates the single supplements were a killer. Time for a plan B - I thought I'll go back to les arcs where I did a season about 5 years ago, get an appartment cheap and then see who I can find to ski with. Then I looked at flight costs which were approaching 300 quid for LHR > GVA on a saturday, ok I need to look at costs in a little more detail. Perhaps a late notice chalet deal is the one - quick email chat with Anne of Ski Hame.co.uk and before you know it I've got a week booked Sun/Sun in Chalet Bouquetins in La Tania. I've travelled with Ski Hame before (including a couple of inside out clinics) and really rate them, excellent service, good food and they sort the transfers out for you, as they're a licensed transfer provider in their own right.
I wasn't overly fussed about travelling alone / potentially skiing alone as i've done it in the past and had some great trips - sure it's a bit less social than going as a big group but given I had about a weeks notice between book and fly, i couldn't imagine I'd find many other playmates to bring with me. Besides the 3v is the kind of place where you bump into people. I did have a nice pm from mogulski suggesting skiing some runs together but I'd made plans for the end of the week so couldn't fit it in unfortunately.
the chalet
Bouquetins is a nice chalet just up the hill a little from Pub Le Ski Lodge, and just along from their chalet tania and papillion. on the main floor is a nice lounge/dining/kitchen are and a twin bedroom with en-suite bathroom (my room for the week) upstairs is another relaxting/TV area with a large en-suite twin room just off it, and I guess there's an option if you take the whole chalet to have a bed in the tv-room if you need the extra sleeping space. On the lower level there is a big family room en-suite and 2x twin rooms with a shared (non-en-suite bathrooms). if you're being totally picky then there's not really enough room to 'boot-up' in the morning, but if you exit the chalet, turn left at the end there is a 'balcony' with a bench that 3 people can use provided the conditions are ok. Other chalet mates were 2x famililes with adult (student) kids so quite good fun and banter over the dinner table and for some apres.
the food
Without doubt the best food I have ever had on a skiing holiday (some 20+). The chef 'Tano' was a youngish Italian guy who was totally passionate about his cooking and the food reflected it - excellent stuff and fantastically presented. From roast duck through tartiflette everything was freshly made, tasted excellent and with some interesting combinations - every night we said 'they've raised the bar' then they did it again and again. Teriffic - indeed I did rib dave the owner of ski-hame that he'd lose a 'cook-off' against Tano. Rachel, the other half of the chalet duo was a great host and nothing was too much trouble for them.
the skiing
Well if you're reading this you'll know the 3v - so I don't need to focus on that. The snow all week was firm (hadn't been new snow for over 2 weeks) until it got a little freshened towards the end of my week. the downside was that some of the lifts were not running. Having been to 3v before early season I know this is likely, and the lift pass was reduced somewhat, but in 1650 only the Ariondaz bubble, Signal chair and Roc mugnier were the open lifts for most (if not all of the week). Quite a bit more in 1850 but still some of the marque runs were closed across the domain e.g Mont Vallon, 4th Valley top lifts. I guess this was probably the major disappointment of the trip and it did feel there was quite a bit of 'keep the snow for xmas week going on'
What was open
Sunday - early doors @ LHR - get skis on at 13:30 - buy a 1/2 day pass and spend the day solo skiing reminding myself of what C1850 looks like and how it hooks together. Check out the new Bouc Blanc chair lift and the lack of piste poles to mark the entry - nearly skied of the edge as it wan't marked - finally turned up on tuesday - not really good enough guys! Got my my head around what happens with the removal of col de fretes. Fun in an undemanding sort of way
Monday - leave chalet to be on first bubble, make the 2nd. Take Dou Des Lanches then Biollay heading for cable car/vizelle and head to VT. Hop into the Vizelle bubble and get chattting to Rob & Bekki a couple of ex- ski Dazzle seasonaires from a few years back, out on a weeks holiday in LT. Also heading to VT/Orelle so agree to ski a few runs together. Spent the rest of the day hacking around VT/Orelle together having huge fun on virtually empty pistes. Fun runs of the day included the drop into Orelle Valley - Mauriennaise, enjoyed so spun it a couple of times - only shame was new lift not open so couldn't get up to Pointe Du Bouchet. Other fave for me was Col De L'auzin - interesting fun red with quite some length to it. Lunch was a picnic slightly hors piste just down from the top of the Peclet Gondola c.2700m or thereabouts - amazing to sit in just a thermal top eating a buttie in the sunshine in December - felt more like April
Ended the day with a cheeky vin chaud in Bouc Blanc and bumped into an old mate I hadn't seen in years - arranged to meet in the pub wed night. Big thanks to Rob & Bekki for being fun company and good ski companions
view of the snow line in VT
Tue/Wed - Had remembered before I left that some mates had a place in Mottaret, so had been in touch and arrange to ski together. Group of 6 split into a faster and slower group but met up from time to time (those radios do have there uses). Became the tail gun charlie for the faster group - blimey trying to keep up with a 5 year seasonaire, even if I was a little younger was a challenge. Fuill on couple of days blasting pretty much all that was open - did a few runs for my first time on skis e.g. the Black from La Masse. Disappointed not many other blacks were opened as fancied a bit of box ticking. For reference meeting them at the top of Pas Du Lac @ 10am was pretty easy from LT @ 09:00 start.
log jam at top of saulire at 15:00 on the Tuesday afternoon - yes some of that was down to traffic going home from Ladies World Cup in C1850, but also with only this open as the link to Meribel
Thr - Bit more overcast. small snow flurries - arranged to meet @ Biollay for 10:30 with the old mate I met in the pub. Nice chilled day skiin with him and his other half, although the vis was a little variable at times. Took them to le Rasto in mottaret for lunch, earned lots of brownie points thanks skimottaret for the headsup. Mooched around a bit of Meribel in the arvo - still not lots open
Fri - Totally 0 visibility - couldn't see the Troika drag from the chalet when we had brekkie, cleared a bit and then went out for a few runs with one of the families from the chalet. Couple of laps of folyeres and then fumbling around 1850 in the gloop - really only useful for working on the visualisation drills - as in visualising where on earth the piste is. Lunch back in the Ski Lodger and another go in the afternoon, but sacked off early as Saturday was going to be bluebird
Name the Piste
Sat - 1st lift with the chalet crew - wow what a day - perfect bluebird conditions, empty pistes, quite a bit more open including Mont Vallon for the first time. Had a 'top 10 skiing day' giving it full tilt. I was 'tour guide' for the day so set quite a strong pace - flipped into Meribel first thing for a nice run down to les villages to show that to the team. Up and into Chaudanne, many laps aps of Tougnettes 2 doing various red/blue/back variations, and reminded me of many a day spent fiddling in the powder on those runs. Up and over into Les Menuires and skied pretty much every run on that face include a few allemands, beccas several trips down David Douillet which stared to chop up a little. Standout run was the blue from the top of Bruyeres 2 to the bottom - not hard, but quite long, wide and empty - charing was the order of the day. Straight onto La Masse and a run down the black for most of us, a couple deciding the red was more their thing. Back for a picnic lunch above Les M, and then a mooch towards St. Martin. Dropped back into Meribel and one of the dads wanted to take his kids to the folie and the ronnie, so the non-drikers amongst us did some more stuff in the Meribel valley - biche, mauduit etc, then a quick flick toward 1650 and tick of Chanrossa and PLan mugnier before heading back. Quick Vin Chaud in Bouc Blanc and home we went, sun burnt, knackered and with a smile on our faces
Tougnettes in the sunshine
So all in all a great trip - really enjoyable and whilst I was travelling 'billy-no-mates' never really felt that I needed to take the kindle out with me on the slopes or to the pub - more than enough people to talk too, altough I guess LT being so anglo-centric made it easier than say Alpe Du Grande Serre. It did help I guess having mates that I could ski with for a couple of days and randomly bumping into my buddy - but I find the 3v is like that.
big thanks for Ski Hame for being excellent as ever - especially the hosts Rachel & Tano - if you're booked into Bouquetins then you're in for a treat - if you havent' then check the availability quick and book it - they've got full availbility on the 9/16th March
PS - check out the chalet builing in LT - cute mini chalet sneaked in on 1/2 a plot - but totally killing most of the views from the main room of the chalet behind..
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 4-01-14 8:40; edited 1 time in total
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