The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

A snowHead

Guess on the green run, Borsat or Fresse? We are of course Snowheads, and don't do green runs wink

The distant trees don't look quite right for that area though.

A snowHead

endoman - OK ill give it to you - it was Borsat - well done! Will have to make it harder next time!!!!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

BRRRRRRR - cold

We awoke to all of about 1cm and perhaps 3cm up top in places around town but the wind was moderately strong moving it around so in some places by this afternoon as it was one of those days when it was thinking and trying to snow but never really got going that we ended up with some 5cm's in places up top.... all better than nothing. But in reality there is minimal that has come down. The winds have meant that in some places it is blown to a hard crust and in other places it is quite soft and nice.

Anyway the freezing level has really dropped so even down in town it was some -12 out there and up top it was way colder than that even before you take into account the wind!

I headed up the Bellevarde to meet my morning lesson and we battled through a few laps on the 3J and then Fontaine Froid.... it was not hideous and I have done plenty of lessons in way worse conditions and certainly colder and certainly poorer visibility but it was hardly a nice one! After a few laps up top we decided that we had to get down a little lower and give ourselves a break... I skied the full length of the Orange for the first time this season and despite a few bare spots near the bottom I was really surprised how nice it was on the lower sections.. seriously lovely Winter snow!!! Bravo.

I took shelter in the Sun Bar at lunchtime and then this afternoon I was out with the same lady as yesterday afternoon and we continued to develop towards parallel turns atop the Solaise. For a couple of hours it was quite nice and 'improving' up there but by about 3pm the wind was picking up again and the clouds thickening and BOY IT WAS CHILLY.

This evening I have been making lots of phone calls about a whole host of things and then tomorrow evening I really should get going with calling the seasonnaires as our program and groups start next week!

Weather forecast for tomorrow is for the temperature to pick up a little and the sun to return so that was the 'dump' for now!

So in a day this lift can move an average sized football stadium full of people - pretty impresstive!

After a long night of grooming the bulley is cleaned down and put away in its shed for another day!

People taking shelter from the elements at the Lodge atop Solaise this afternoon!

And todays periscope!

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1vAxRdgXDXgGl?autoplay&t=27

Nothing else on my list today! Last day before a day off tomorrow after a LONG old run of work.... bring it on!

TTFN

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Back to the nice quiz: the lift must be Palafour and you look on the new Almes chairlift.
Love your daily postings and congratulation to 100 sides of great work!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

NOT quite as I had imagined it panning out

kpw Smile

So the temperatures plummeted overnight and it was minus lots at breakfast time.... On the mountain there had obviously been a few cm's to have fallen but the wind meant that in some places nothing whereas in other places a nice little (little being the operative word) accumulation! Talking of breakfast I was looking up the Solaise from our flat and could see that a piste basher was having some problems i.e. it was not moving and had not moved for a while!!!! At showtime I took my two ladies from the other morning up the solaise and I was planning some red run action up that way... Arcelle and Plan M to name a couple of runs. Anyway as we headed up Solaise it was obvious that not only was the piste basher still broken down but a bigger problem was that on steeper slopes (such as in the case of Plan M) the piste bashers are actually winchcats that winch themselves up and down the mountain from anchoring points at the tops of the steep pitches (you will see such anchor points all over runs such as Le Face such as at the top of the the 'wall'). Anyway the cable was still attached to the cat and there was some 200m of cable strewn down the mountain and due to the position the basher had stopped in was all the way diagonally across the piste..... as we headed over the top of Solaise and just before the new top lift station we could see the pisters frantically closing the run by putting signage etc up.... ALL hands to the deck.... anyone skiing down Plan M would have gotten a nasty surprise!

"OK so that is that run out of the equation" I thought. So anyway the next 'issue' was that the wind was howling (it didnt end up lasting that long in the end) which meant it was a REALLY chilly start to the day. After a lap on the Madelain to warm up I was about to head down Arcelle but something was telling me it was not a good idea.... now as long as the top is not netted off the lift does not need to running as I think it starts uplifting people (the Manchet Express) at 9.30.... the netting was away so I was going to head down there but decided a second run would be better of the Madelaine. A few people headed down there. When we got back to the top of the Madelaine Express I noticed that the pisteurs had now netted the run closed... so there were a few people down there that were going to have a nasty walk out on the Manchet Valley. So not sure what was happening but I think the pisteurs were so busy sorting the Plan M out that they had forgotten to 'open' the Manchet and black and yellow post it out.

So anyway that was a change in plan again.

The only option to get some terrain to challenge my ladies was to head down Mattis. In all fairness that was not and issue and the run was in lovely conditions but the same cannot be said for the Table d'Orientation piste from the top of the Laisenant Express... it was horrendous.... I ended up doing (as instructors you invariably do it from time to time) an assisted controlled forced side slip on my client down the worst of it.

Anyway we headed to the Signal as they were both cold and we warmed up for 5 mins.

A final run from the Signal lift and ultimately down Mangard before heading back into town!

The afternoon I had the third and final lesson with the lady from the last couple of afternoons and we did some nice laps and options in the Zone Tranquille atop the Bellevarde and what a suitably beautiful afternoon for her to see that great part of the ski area - she loved it. Being her first ski holiday I think she is suitably impressed with what Val d'Isere has to offer.... she will be back!

I think BTW they got the piste and basher sorted on the Plan M by mid am as it was open again this afternoon at the latest!

Why would you get excited if you saw this (OK it is a cryptic clue but what the heck am I going on about here?)

On a sad note as we were going up the Borsat lift the SAMU chopper was being brought in to the saddle just below the Col de Fresse on the Val side of things (the route you take if heading to Tignes from the Borsat lift and just on the Val side before you drop towards Tignes). It obviously dropped a doctor then took off again and hovered (not sure why) over the top of the Borsat lift (area) before coming back in. However this evening I am hearing that a 69 year old man died at the scene... it sounds like he was perhaps walking back up the middle of the piste to retrieve a dropped pole and must have been crashed into.... that is what I am hearing and linking some news sources together! Sad!

Anyway back to the day this end.... after picking Olivia up Clare and I went for a drink with a couple of colleagues in the Fall Line and have just had a takeaway pizza.... now I am popping to the cinema to see Star Wars and then tomorrow after something like 20 out of 21 days non stop teaching I have not 1 but 2 days off in a row - that is EXTREMELY rare in the Winter season.... I cant wait to not having to set the alarm tomorrow morning!

So that is about all for today folks. Slightly less cold and sunny conditions are forecast for the next few days!!

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1OwxWnARAyRJQ?autoplay&t=3

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Sorry about the incident. These collisions if that's what it was are far too common.

re the piccie clue. Clouds over Mont Blanc rumoured to predict incoming snow. Here's hoping, two weeks and you'll have me terrorising you for 3 days wink

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Lentils on Mont Blanc = white stuff... (possibly)

After all it is free

Here's the sad details from Le Daub

http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie/2017/01/06/val-d-isere-il-glisse-mortellement-en-voulant-recuperer-son-baton-de-ski

He dropped a pole from the lift, took his skis off at the top and then tried to walk down the steep slope under the lift, slipped and hit some rocks, dying shortly afterwards.

RIP

Wow that's awful, RIP indeed.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I've just enquired with the guys in the office about my wife and I having an AM session with you @Steve Angus. I board / she skis.

We are both strong intermediates, we are just looking for some tips and pointers as it's been a while since we had any lessons.

You can either ski or board (we did the same a couple of years ago with 2 of my mates and I think it worked OK).

Hopefully you'll be free - WC 20 February ...

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

Oh my word, just read about the poor guy - RIP

That's terrible, poor chap. Lost his life over a ski pole - RIP indeed Sad

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Lenticular clouds on Mont Blanc. The second one could be from the wave in the turbulent air. Rare to see.

Very sad about the guy who died.

A snowHead

Yup lenticular clouds over Mt Blanc..... early warning signs of pressure change which in turn usually leads / means a front coming in which in turn usually means precipitation... we shall see.

franga - cool... am sessions are in very short supply that week although there are a few pm slots available! Sure the office will assist.

Yes it was sad news.... sorry my info at the time of writing last night was not totally correct.... but now it is clearer what happened..... slipped from the top of the ridge at the top of the Borsat having taken his skis off back at the top in order to go back to collect the dropped pole and slipped down and crashed into rocks etc! All a bit of a sad mess really!

A snowHead

A day out of ski boots!

Well Clare was up early as she was teaching this am but I had a leisurely start to the day. Although I was shattered last night I didnt manage to get an early night as I went to the cinema in town to watch the new Star Wars film.... it was VO so the original hollywood version. The place was packed out which is great for the cinema and indeed Radio Val had a piece on their website today saying that this show how popular English language films are and that they should show more - I totally agree! It is also pretty good value for money which is a nice thing to be able to say about an activity in Val as often things are quite pricey.... anyway a ticket (OK with a locals pass it is slightly cheaper anyway but still the 'full' price is not too bad), with a bag of sweets and a drink was only just over €12 which is pretty good I think. The film - well I thought it was good!

So anyway back to today.... Olivia and I had a lazy couple of hours as Clare headed off to work.... we watched as much of the ski racing on Eurosport as I could take before my enjoyment was tainted by Olivias demand that I now take her swimming - we had mentioned it at breakfast time so it was only a matter of time before I had to follow through!

So anyway the pool was lovely and quiet and there were not to many exciting things for a small child to do in there today as there were no floats about but we had a fun time splashing about etc.... she loves her weekend swim with me and I enjoy it too although getting all the gear on to go out in the cold to undress fully to put it all back on again and then off again is rather a lot of faffing!

Clare was home at lunchtime and after a chilled hour or two we headed out for a family sledge and took Olivias skis with her but she decided that she didnt want to sledge in the end so she slid about on the Savonnettes with us for an hour or so with a nice long hot choc break thrown in as well!

I fitted in my periscope too (but for some reason the screen did not show any comments or anything - weird) but I think the broadcast went out OK nontheless...

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1lDGLVjgmDkxm?autoplay&t=1

Anyway it varied between warm and sunny and colder and overcast today and there is a chance of some snow on the way in the next couple of days - so fingers crossed for that. Not too much else to report from today although there was some downhill mountain biking nutters doing their thing in La Daille today (thanks to Radio Val for this photo!).

Right I REALLY am going to sign off now and call it an early night as I REALLY do need an early one...

TTFN

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Steve, thanks for your blogging "live from the scene". I'm out in Tignes next week (for the first time) and admit to being a tad nervous about the conditions.

That being said, I learnt to ski and did an entire season in the 2010/11 season which, if I recall correctly, was a record-setting year for all the wrong reasons!

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Astraeus, if snow is scarce in the French Alps, I can't think of a better place to go than Tignes. Great choice of pistes, excellent snow management, very good lift system to keep everyone moving.
Having once had a week there where it snowed so much we could hardly leave the hotel, be careful what you wish for. Very Happy

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Astraeus - I really wouldnt get nervous about the conditions - there will be plenty and although there are some sparse areas and the off piste needs a complete overhaul of snow it really is pretty good out there. Fear not!

After all it is free

If its not one thing....

I actually got woken up at a decent time this am as Olivia jumped on me.... Clare had woken up at about 7.30 and it was gone 8 when Olivia woke me up so I cant complain. We had a slow couple of hours getting ready and having some breakfast before we all went up the Solaise for a nice family ski together. Now with a 2.5 year old that mainly constitutes a little bit of skiing and plenty of hot chocolate! So indeed that is what we did!

Now I was just outside sorting the skis out still and then in the loo but Clare tells me that she had a rather unfortunate incident with a certain member of a certain ski school... I am sure people might be able to guess but no names mentioned. Anyway in the Lounge building atop the Solaise Olivia was rather keen to press the button for the lift and being only 2.5 years old might have come across as a little jumpy to get in the lift which annoyed I gather this certain instructor. Anyway as Clare and Olivia went up in the lift Olivia was talking about the hot chocolate she was about to get. 5 minutes later as I was queuing to get the chocolate and Clare and Olivia were sitting at the table waiting the same instructor came up to the table and dangled a hot chocolate under Olivias nose saying 'would you like a hot chocolate' to which of course a youngster says yes please.... to which he replied 'in your dreams' and firmly clenched it and walked off.... how rude... I was fuming when I heard this from Clare when I got back a couple of minutes later.... she is only 2.5 for goodness sake and nontheless how unprofessional and rude. Clare was not in uniform whereas I was and I dont think he put 2 and 2 together until later on when he walked past the table and saw us all sitting together. But anyway nothing seems to amaze me sometimes about the way a certain ski school conducts themselves. Now I should say that there are a fair few great instructors at said ski school and I know the new young director is fantastic and if I see him on the hill I would say hi to him but there are a fair number of older instructors who really let the side down and this guy is one of them!

Anyway I did my daily periscope...

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1YqKDARllezGV?autoplay&t=5

... and then headed down the mountain.

As you can see the weather today was interesting with a persistant band of clouds hovering around about the 2400 - 2800m altitude mark all day long... sometimes it was a little higher and sometimes a little lower in altitude but at that annoying altitude in this resort!

So after lunch together and watching some of the ski racing (tough conditions for Dave Rydings first run today eh!) we tried to get Olivia to have a rest but she was having non of it.... darn it. Anyway I still managed to get a few phone calls made to the seasonnaires... looks like am going to end up running 3 seasonnaire groups this Winter and also did a few odd jobs around the place!

The annoying thing that happened this afternoon was that for some reason and I am still trying to fix it, our Sky TV box just seemed to stop receiving a signal... I dont know what happened but I have tried all sorts of resets and lots of things but it just wont pick up a signal. I really dont think it (the dish) has moved and I am convinced it is box itself but for the life of me I cant seem to get it working again. Going to try a few more things then give up I think.... try again tomorrow - grrrr!

This evening we went along to the Pacific Bar en famille to a friends 40th birthday party. She had intentionally scheduled it so that kids were welcome and we all had a wonderful time - Olivia danced around like a crazy thing whilst the adults had a drink or two!

And that pretty much brings you all up to date for another day.

Back to a full weeks teaching starting tomorrow so off to bed after trying the ski box again!

TTFN

What a complete knobhead. Who cares what colour of coat you have on it was a 2.5 year old!

I guess relations are still a little fragile but I couldn't let that go by the wayside @Steve Angus, and would have to say something to the director. It wouldn't have to be full out war but just enough so that he knows some of the behaviours his staff are displaying whilst in the uniform.

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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Unbelievable behaviour, well done for keeping calm, I doubt I would have! Bet he's great at teaching a kids group!!

snow reports

I guess he can't have been listening at the (insert name of ski school) AGM when the Val director of tourism reminded them that the British are by far and away the most important foreign clients by numbers. Knowing the director's reputation he probably wouldn't care - he is far from being an anglophile - so I guess it comes from the top.

Steve just want to say thanks for all your amazing updates. Love the Periscopes as well, so informative; feel like im there.

You know it makes sense.

Wow, please tell me he wasn't wearing ski instructors uniform. If so then that is just insane (it would be bad enough from a random person) My daughters skiing at that age revolved around hot chocolate, in fact one of the best photos of her I have is tucking in to a hot chocolate with all the trimmings that was about the size of her head. I actually thought you were going to say he gave it to your daughter with out checking with your wife first that it was ok....

May I say Steve that I have really enjoyed reading the last couple of weeks of your season in this thread (I dare not go back any further at the moment as it could take a long time), really interesting to hear it from the other side and so well written. Thanks for sharing, and if I am ever in the area I know who I will try and get to give me a few lessons.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Terrible behaviour by the ski instructor - I agree with @intermediate, if one my team behaved like this I'd like to know.

Re the SKY box @Steve Angus - try disconnecting / reconnecting the dish input cables from both the box (and the input socket if you have one). It did the trick for me on Christmas morning when at one point we thought we were going to have to watch the Queen's speech on Freeview ...

Your office have been great and booked an AM session for my wife and I with your good self on Friday 24 February - see you then.

A snowHead

Wow, that is incredible behaviour from that instructor, unbelievable.

A snowHead

Our Sky box stopped receiving a signal, in the end it was the cable from the dish to the box, seems it had got a small pin prick hole in the outer plastic cable, water had got in and the end was nigh.
New length of cable and all sorted, the engineer thought it had chaffed in the wind.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

It can also be damp or water getting into the connection of the cable to the LNB (the bit in the center of the dish) if this wasn't weatherproofed too well.

As Timbobaggins suggested, a new length of cable would also fix this.

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Well as my Sky stops working every time it rains I've learned something here. New cable needed. I think I'll get a man in as when I've been up on the ladder the weatherproofing on the dish is none existent, so something needs doing there as well.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Sunshine81, intermediate, endoman, chocksaway, pieman666, franga and Minion1980 - yes I will mentioned something to my contact when I see him next but it is pretty poor behaviour and yes he was in uniform! Many of the 'inner circle' of said ski school can choose what lessons they take and cherry pick what they want to do most of the time. I am glad (in a way) I was not present when it happened otherwise he might have been wearing the hot chocolate by now!

neslot and pieman66 - thanks - I try my best!

franga - GREAT - ill be seeing you then!

franga, snow trax, endoman and Timbobaggins - have tried a few things... have given up to some extent and whilst I am pretty practical with most things I think ill just go the easy route and get a local contact who does all things Sky to pop round tomorrow and try and fix it. God knows what is wrong and I have plenty on my plate at the moment so an expert it is. If it was the Summer id have more time to really get all possible solutions tried myself first before getting help in but not at the moment!

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Crazy

Well today could have been the last sunny day for a few days and what a lovely day it was... the sun shone all day and it felt semi warm at times.

I did the creche run then I jumped on the funival in order to get over to Tommeuse to meet my morning lesson. I was in the funival with Sarah Bonnevie and we were talking about the chaotic skiers and snowboarders that seem to be everywhere at the moment... in fact it turned into one of those days... I saw a couple of people WAY out of their depth on the slopes and winging it down.... one was a UK army lad so far in the back seat he might as well be on a sofa.... skiing down on GS skis and unable to turn the things so he just go fast and faster. This afternoon I saw someone 'death wedging' which is whereby you snowplough in a straight line down a relatively steep slope but unable to control your speed (normally the remit of young children it has to be said)... anyway on the Madelaine this afternoon I saw a fairly large middle aged man doing it and he just got faster and faster and faster. Clare reports that she offered her perspective on a collision on the mountain this afternoon whereby the uphill skier and perpetrator was adamant that he was not in the wrong as the skier in front had turned in front of him... well of course the downhill user has right of way.... full stop! I also overheard a snowboarder moaning at a skier saying that he could not tell the skier was behind him as they have a blind spot.... well if the boarder had probably had some more lessons he would probably have been taught that you look when you make your toe turn - you can glance up the hill and then when you make your heel turn you can glance down the hill. However that is academic if you cant make a rounded turn in the first place and just let gravity take you.

... anyway Sarah was telling me that the pisteurs had 19 incidents on the Face the other afternoon... so many that they effectively became unable to cope with everything that was coming in.

So where is 'breaking point' - when is someone out of their depth, when is someone out of control? Well it is quite subjective of course and not readily defineable but consider this... if a slope user is exiting their turn faster than they go into it and assuming they are not intentionally racing then gravity / speed is getting away from them. The point at which someone is unable to utilise turn shape to control their speed and the point at which more time is spent skidding than 'gripping' the snow is the point that being 'out of control is reached'. This is the point when we have to look at ourselves and throw bravado and personal bests to one side and understand that your personal limits etc have been reached. However it is also not just 'performance' or lack of that defines how controlled we are but our attitude, our positing on the slopes, how we set off and stop, where we position our self and how much 'slack' we give other slope users (how much space) and things like skiing in 'packs' down the mountain that effectively creates a large series of moving obsticles. A super high level of personal awareness and those around us is vital and at the end of the day ALL slope users are equal.

Anyway the morning was very succesful and some great changes were made... manipulation of edge control and speed of use of the edges coupled with pressure were in store and there was also some focus on creating a platform from which to steer from too. A good morning I thought.

At lunchtime I had some phone calls to make back to the UK (still trying to sort a few things out for my mothers care) and also chase yet more seasonnaires up (our program starts this coming Friday) so it was a busy lunchtime.

The afternoon was a fun one working on some core technique... in fact it was more of a refresher than anything and it was nice and relaxed as we enjoyed the sun atop Solaise. A good refresher afternoon I thought.

After skiing it was one manic couple of hours.... I got back home and fitted in my daily broadcast...

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1YpKkqWywAdJj?t=11s

... then I got the car out, drove down and picked up Olivia from creche and took her home... then Clare got in from her all day private she was teaching today. I jumped back in the car and headed to Les Boisses for our annual SAF helicopters training session. Each year we do an evenings refresher on how to work with the helicopter in terms of mountain rescue but more practically how we can run heliski trips. The protocol has to be run through each year and upon completion we are able to assist with mountain rescues involving the helicopter but also take people on one of the various heli skiing routes we have available to us out here. It pretty fun really!

I got back to give Olivia a bath and put her to bed before sitting down to dinner and piling my way through the evening chores!

In local news the local prefecture of the Savoie are currently decreeing that no more snow making can take place after this weekend as the water levels are being disturbed so much by the demand for water to make snow with and besides the energy consumption to make artificial snow is not very good for the environment. Many snow making reservoirs are running very low. Although there is snow forecast supplies are very low so I dont think we are going to be seeing much more snowmaking for a while!

And I think that brings you all up to date for today.

TTFN

Better make some snow whilst we can!

Three people slide down the middle of the slope on the Plan M on Solaise.... not that they fell over but they were unable to ski / snowboard down. Ummmmm you are creating a HUGE danger to yourselves lieing in the middle of the slope and more importantly have they never heard of either downloading or when they get into this actual position using their brains and keeping to the sides!

OK tricky one this - which LIFT is this? Small clue in the picture to help.

Playing with the chopper this evening!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I've heard a lift in Val referred to as Bonnevies drag, but have no idea why.? Semanmille? I have no idea who Sarah Bonnevie is but this is my fault and not hers! But from you periscope that might be Combe Folle.

After all it is free

1800 Durham students in Tignes this week. Be careful out there Toofy Grin

Finally

I opened the curtains this morning with baited breath.... not expecting snow on the ground but more like how grey / cloudy and poor visibility might be in store for us and even more (potentially) worrying - how windy might it be out there. I was pleasantly surprised... It looked reasonable up there although there was no snow on the ground it was looking threatening and I can now confidently say that we have our very first low pressure system passing through the area since...... well November I think! Yee haa!

endoman - well yes good detective work - it is the Combe Folle indeed.... the lift station in the corner (Tommeuse) gives it away too and what I said on my Periscope too. Bonnevies drag is the race stade next to the Val Snowpark aka a button drag lift and it is called Stade Bonnevie after Gerard Bonnevie who was gifted the land there many a year ago after he won a World Cup slalom race... he is married to Sarah who is a Brit and they live year round in Val and together they run the stade (and collect your €2 for having a go at the timed race!). That is also why a British and a French flag fly on the stade too!

[b]halfhand/b] - and hundreds of other students here in Val too this week!

Anyway I headed to the Tommeuse to meet my am lesson and all this week it is a couple of fellow SH's and we decided to head for a change in teaching scenery over to Tignes and I had my eye on the Double M. Anyway we did a few laps on there continuing our work on shorter piste performance style turns... moving onto carving (probably if the snow and weather allows it) tomorrow. It was a very pleasant morning indeed and some good changes are now starting to 'stick' in their skiing. Bravo!

I headed back to Val at lunchtime to catch up on some phone calls and emails. I also fitted in my periscope just as the weather started to close in and the flakes loomed large. The snow had been falling lightly all morning and the cloud pretty thick (although strangely there was the odd glimpse of the sun from time to time)... anyway by lunchtime it was coming down thick and fast and the weather continued to be wintry. Luckily no wind as such though thank goodness.

The afternoon I was back with the same lady whom I taught a couple of sessions with last week... they decided at the last minute on Friday last to extend their stay by another week and also book a couple more lessons. So it was a decision based on where the visibility looked better (Solaise) for the afternoon.

It was a rather interesting lesson as since we last saw each other she had totally changed her hire boots BUT also (crucially) had some footbeds made and put in which had totally 'reset' how she was standing on her skis... the pro-prioception had totally gone so effectively the lesson I delivered was the same lesson I had given her last week but she had to relearn the feelings now she was standing in her boots better!

The weather was really quite intense snow wise by the end of the day and I was pleasantly surprised walking home to find that there was a good 10cms of snow all the way through town too..... as I write this the snow had abated a little and I think we will have a nice sunny morning tomorrow before the weather really moves in again for a few days.... Winter has finally arrived!

I have had a frantic evening doing various things such as checking the post box to find a pile of post much of which needs replying too... giving Olivia a bath, calling home and speaking with the staff in the care home and plenty of other things! Ready for bed but a few more things need doing first!

Anyway I think that is all for now.... must dash!

TTFN

Didnt look much like a ski resort this morning!

Looking better

DIY lift passes - avoid the queues. In the loo area under the Sun Bar at the bottom of the Olympique they have put this machine whereby you can basically get a lift pass DIY style!

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1YqxoEaWVnMGv?t=4s

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Hi Steve(or anyone else who could help),
Three of us are in resort from Sunday for one week. We are looking to book some lessons but dont want a full weeks worth, we have seen one company offering three mornings which sounds good.

Do you know what options we have. We are a mixed group so will end up in seperate classes but all want only 2-3 days lessons, not the full week. We have one beginner snowboarder, one intermediate snowboarder and one intermediate skiier.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks

Help!!

The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

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