 Poster: A snowHead
|
After yesterday’s adventure, I barely made it out to post last night; in fact, when Mark went out for a bite and to go online, I couldn’t raise the energy to join him. However, when he returned within the hour, having taken a laptop with a run down battery and no power lead, I felt just about able to join him when he went back out. Getting online was a priority for him as he had to sort out a ferry home; he has been getting a bit of grief from his other half, and decided to cut short his intended stay by a couple of days to keep her sweet. The effort of getting up to the bar was enough for me though, a pint and a quick post and I was back home for an early night.
I woke feeling slightly refreshed, but with a nose that was running faster than Ben Johnson on steroids. As it was Mark’s last day, I thought he might want to shoot off and whiz around all morning, so I suggested perhaps we meet for lunch and ski for the afternoon. However, he said he was quite happy to potter around with me, so we did a couple of runs in Val Thorens before heading back down to Les Menuires to take the lift up La Masse. We skied down and headed back up the other side of the valley, hoping to get high enough to head down to St Martin de Belleville, our intended location for lunch. Unfortunately the lift we needed stopped just before we reached it, and, when they closed off the entry and shuffled those already through the gate out of the side, we figured it would be a long wait, so we made our way back down to Les Menuires for a coffee. It really was very cold out there today; even in the sun and out of the wind it was quite bitter, and certainly cold enough for canons to be working at resort level in Les Menuires. Feeling warmed by the coffee, we also had a small beer each before heading back out.
We made our way back up the mountain, then took a couple of runs roughly in the direction of Val Thorens before stopping at a piste side restaurant for a spot of lunch (piccies of view to follow). When we emerged, one of our lift options was shut, so we headed back towards Val Thorens, intending to do a few more runs here, but, to be honest, by this time my legs were beginning to feel the exertions of the previous couple of days, and we decided it was time to call it a day. Mark then had to face packing, so he got straight into it, and then fetched his car from the car pack. I helped him load his car, bid him a safe journey and off he went at about 4pm, intent on catching an early morning ferry.
So now I am going to be faced with the reality of my situation here, alone in a foreign country, at least for the next 4 days until my next guest arrives! In all honesty though, as I will be returning home for a stag weekend in the middle of January, the wedding two weeks later, then have friends in the 3 Valleys in the middle of February and start of March, even now my winter is looking very sociable, regardless of any friends I make here or any as yet unplanned visits I get from family and friends from back home. I am also faced with the mundane side of life too, as I have just made my first visit to a laundrette since my student days!
The hall of residence I lived in when first at university had the washing machines directly below the bar, so it was never quite the chore it might otherwise have been, and the choice of laundrette we used when living out of university accommodation was always influenced by the proximity of a good pub close by; load the machine, pop next door, quick pint, load the dryer, another quick pint and it was all just about done. If only life was always that simple! Fortunately there are washing machines for the residents here, so I haven’t had to treck all round the resort looking for somewhere to wash my smalls, and I’ve been able to come back to the warmth of my apartment and compose this while the machine does its stuff. Unfortunately, being a man, I loaded the machine and put the powder in the drawer before reading the instructions; DO NOT USE POWDER! ALREADY PROVIDED! Damn, second day running with way too much powder! So I had to scoop as much of it back out to prevent a sud overload throughout the laundry room, which even has an ironing board! How bizarre. Who on earth would iron anything other than skis in a ski resort!
Oh my goodness, just back. The washer is fine, but the dryer; it would be quicker to hold a candle and ever so gently blow over it onto the clothes I’m sure! 2 hours of swapping clothes around, and still hardly any of it is remotely dry. I guess I know why there are only two dryers (and only one working!) and four washers; they are just so ineffective most people just don’t bother using them! I guess little and often will have to be my laundry policy from now on, as I currently have damp clothes strewn all about my apartment as if it were a Chinese laundry.
I’ve spent the last hour trying to get a pair of boxers dry; I’m really not a commando kinda guy, but I thought I’d live dangerously whilst doing the laundry without having to leave the apartment complex. Dangerously maybe, but not stupidly, because there was no way on earth I was stepping outside to go to the bar without everything suitably warm; even a brass monkey would need to wear something to catch anything that might drop off  . If the days are cold at the moment, the nights are absolutely freezing.
Anyway, I think that’s quite enough to be going on with.
Ttfn
johnnyboy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
johnnyboy, great descriptions, have been reading some of it out to Sally.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
| Quote: |
Anyway, I think that’s quite enough to be going on with
|
Yes, I don't think we need to know about any more of your bits which might fall off! Once again, your saga brings it all brilliantly to life; there are not many people who could make an interesting story out of doing the laundry. It's very cold even here, on the mild south coast of England. Coming home tonight from my French language workshop (I'm trying!) I almost wished we were going to Barbados rather than the Alps. But if I'd been in the Alps I'd have been more warmly dressed. Sounds as though it was freezing out there today; I'd have gone for a vin chaud rather than a beer, I suspect. Hope the wet washing doesn't make your cold worse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
25 days til I am also in the wonderful place that is Val Thorens! Thank you for the agonising anticipation-building pics and the very well-written (and often quite funny) text. Buy you a pint when I'm over for your trouble if you like...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
johnnyboy, Keep posting. Its a great read, even your issues wih the laundrette are interesting (this must mean I lead a very dull life  )
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roger C, A lonely morning skiing on La Masse is almost worth the trip alone.
johnnyboy, I think you should consider the Tamsin Conditions of the site. This stuff could be a book in the making 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frosty the Snowman, agreed!!!!!! There was nobody around and the piste's were perfectly groomed 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
johnnyboy, great blog and am very very jealous of what is sounding like a brilliant season! For your info, if you can be arsed with the trek, the dryers in the games arcade, next to the Swimming Pool are pretty good and you've got the Eclipse bar above for a pint while you wait.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
johnnyboy, another alternative for washing is to use Loc Linge by O'Connells - they do it all for you for a reasonable price, with a 24 hour turnround. About €12 for a binliner's worth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I awoke yesterday morning after a very restless night; my nose had run a marathon, and I felt like I had too. I think the exertions of the previous couple of days had run me down a little, and allowed the bug still in my system to give my tired body a good kicking. I watched a couple of DVDs, then mustered what energy I could to get up, showered and dressed, thinking that in itself might make me feel a little better. I needed to pop out for some essentials, namely a big carton of orange juice, but I also picked up a baguette and some chicken in case I felt like some food later on.
The apartment was lovely and warm to return to, but as the day wore on I struggled to stay warm; the heating kept going up and up, I put on a thick fleece, and eventually snuggled down under a blanket all the while feeling cold, although I think my head was actually running a temperature. I finished watching another DVD about 7pm, didn’t have the energy to either go to bed or put another one on, and eventually dozed off for a couple of hours. I felt a bit better after that; my head felt a little cooler, my body a little warmer, and I managed to drag myself off to bed at the party animal time of 9pm!
I’ve not been hit so hard by a cold for ages; I wonder if the altitude or overdoing it a little for a couple of days may have played a part. It’s certainly not flu (apart from the man variety!), as that’s a whole new ball game; once you’ve had it you never complain of being “a bit fluey” every time you get a bad cold. There was obviously something going on in my body yesterday though; my pulse didn’t drop below 85-90bpm despite doing nothing all day, whereas my normal resting rate is about 65 (it is down under 60 when I’m fitter, but 65 is about right at the moment). Something clearly wasn’t right!
Anyway, today I feel much better; certainly not 100%, but a whole lot better. However, to be on the safe side I decided against skiing again today, just to try to really get right; after all, Christmas is coming and I’d rather miss another day now than a couple of days over the holiday when I’ll have friends here and partying to be done. It’s a shame, as the conditions today, as yesterday for that matter, seem lovely; bright sunshine again, but actually somewhat warmer if the constant drip drip drip of melting snow from the balcony above was anything to go by.
So, I’ve had two days in the company of, amongst others, Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman 2), Kate Beckinsale (Serendipity, Underworld Evolution), Kelly McGillis (Top Gun), Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice, OK, but not a patch on the 1990’s Andrew Davies adaptation that seemed to breath new life into period mini-dramas) and Scarlett Johannson (The Black Dahlia), so despite not skiing, things could have been worse!
Anyway, not really anything else to report, but hopefully I’ll be skiing again tomorrow.
Ttfn
johnnyboy
ps TheDT's Cheers guys, really put a smile on my face!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
johnnyboy, a really bad cold is a much underrated affliction. Bad luck. Better now than at Christmas, though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
johnnyboy, sympathies, I feel exactly like you do, at low altitude and without having had the compensation of skiing my socks off for three days! Get better soon. Your blog is a real treat.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
Roger C, Amazing, we were up on La Masse on Monday morning too!
nightshift, Cheers, will definitely check that out (right next to where I get free wifi too!). Hope you got your apartment let OK, I'm sure it would have been great, but opted for the bigger one in the end.
Alastair, Another option always welcome, thanks
Shallimus, Look forward to catching up with you when you're over here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
johnnyboy, hope you'll feel better soon.
I'll be in Les Menuires with a group of 6 for the New Year week. Perhaps we can do some turns together.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
johnnyboy, I hope you're better soon in time for your friends visiting. We'll have a wee toast to you on Christmas Day when we're having a beer in La Rascard in La Thuile! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
johnnyboy, Not that i'm at all jealous but are you going to get a job soon? [mutter]it's so unfair[/mutter]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
johnnyboy,Hi from all the family sounds like u are having a great time (matt)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ckralc, may I just jump into johnnyboy's thread here, to welcome you to
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
johnnyboy,
Hope you feel better soon. Nothing worse than a bad cold. (except proper man flu).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
johnnyboy, Buy yourself a hot water bottle to snuggle up to! Works for me on the occasions when I just can't get warm. (Do they have them in French ski resort shops?)
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| Quote: |
a hot water bottle to snuggle up to
|
just the job. C'est "une bouillotte" I think.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
Michelle, thank you. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
every one (i know johnnyboy, just to let you know)
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
ckralc, welcome to snowHeads
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
How you make there name bold?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
ckralc, you click on the name! Welcome to !
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Julieanne, Thank you very much
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
For the first time in days I woke after a relatively good night’s sleep and without feeling like I had been run over by a bus. I eagerly rushed into the sejour to check for clear skies, and there they were! The sun had yet to illuminate the peaks opposite, and the sky was pale rather than blue, but it was enough to promise much, even if it was quite windy.
I didn’t make it back out yesterday evening after posting in the afternoon; I am playing things a little cautiously to make sure I’m fighting fit for Christmas, and was instead treated to a massive fireworks display from my balcony. I tried my best to get some photos, but none of them do any justice to it so I won’t bother posting them.
So, a quick breakfast, then cautiously made my way down to the ski lockers, before emerging into bright sunlight on the edge of the piste. Skis on, and 10 yards later the previous two days had been wiped away by the pure exhilaration of sliding on snow. It really is as simple as that; my first two days alone here I had been feeling rough (thinking about it though, I’d rather be under the weather alone than when I have company!) and could easily have been feeling a bit down, but as soon as I was out there the reason I’m here was as clear as always. There really is nothing quite like it.
Even so, I decided to take it easy out there today to maintain my return to full vitality, and I did feel a little ragged on my first couple of runs. Also my knees, well, in particular the ligaments (I think?) outside my right knee in particular which had borne the brunt of the cross country treck with Mark as it was the downhill ski as we traversed our way back to the beloved groomedness of the piste on our 3 Valleys expedition, is still a bit sore, so the ibuprofen gel was back out on my return to the apartment.
A huge plus of my apartment is its location right on the piste. It meant I could come back to the apartment after a couple of hours skiing this morning, knowing it was no big deal to get back out there this afternoon, so after a bit of a rest and a spot of lunch, I skied a bit more before calling it a day, even though the conditions were improving as the wind dropped as the day went on. I didn’t cover huge amounts of ground today as I was wary of overdoing things, but it was great to be back out there, which is, after all, the reason I’m here!
Hopefully I’ll feel even more like my usual self tomorrow; I’ll need to practice my technique as much as possible as I know my mate Martyn will be expecting improvements from the last he saw when he arrives on Sunday. I skied more with him than anyone else on my two previous holidays, and it is great for me that he has passed the instructor’s course; it means I get a weeks free tuition! Seriously though, we will have lots of fun bombing around, but equally he will, I’m sure, give me pointers as we go along as well as making me practice drills down some runs. He always says I ski much better when I hold my poles horizontally in front of me; a good drill I’m sure but I think he just likes making me look silly!
The wind is really picking up again as I write this; I might try to have a look on met check to see what the forecast is. Maybe flowa’s snow dance is reaping rewards as I think she wants a big dump of snow before her arrival on Saturday morning. We’ve been without snow for over a week now, and apart from the pistes looking all neat and tidy, some of the roads are even clear! It wasn’t too bad when they were covered in fresh snow, but they have been horribly icy the last few days; it’s a relief to be able to walk with a little confidence on them now rather than the “penguin with diarrhea” shuffle that I’ve been adopting the last few days, it’s been really treacherous out there.
A lovely note to end with as usual!
Ttfn johnnyboy
Ps ckralc welcome to , hope you are all enjoying the story so far.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
johnnyboy, Thank you and your mum has read it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
johnnyboy, Along with many others, I've been reading with great interest about your season so far. To say I (and most others I guess) are jealous is an understatement.
Are you planning to work at all, or are you in the fortunate position to be able to fund the trip completey without the need to get a 'job' to get in the way?
Anyway, enjoy the season, keep posting and keep healthy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
So, yesterday came and went without anything particularly noteworthy happening; I really don’t want to post every day just for the sake of it, so I thought I’d give you all a day off. Today, however, is another matter! flowa was due today, on either the 7.00 or the 7.45 coach up from Moutiers, providing all her transport worked out OK. We were in regular contact by text and PM thanks to her blackberry yesterday evening, and I knew that she had, at least, made her night train out of Paris having safely negotiated the Metro (after her ordeals on the tube to get the Eurostar). Just thinking about it makes me so grateful to Topsmoke and his spacious car for the ease with which I managed to get all my gear down here.
Getting serious black looks from flowa at the moment when I suggested things might go a bit quiet on her MP3 player if she introduced a quality filter; she was not amused!
Anyway, that sort of gives the game away, as she has obviously arrived, safe and sound in fact, having just managed to get on the 7.45 coach. Her train had been due in Moutiers at 7.03, so the 7.00 was conceivable just about had things really gone her way, but due to delays in Albertville even the 7.45 connection was looking in serious doubt. Further complications arose from the fact that the coach was practically full, and had refused entry to a couple of families, but flowa batted her eyelids, used her feminine wiles and managed to gain passage as a single traveller. She text me to confirm her ETA, and I headed up to meet the coach just before 9.00am. When I got to the drop off point I was a little surprised to see an empty coach already there, but I can only surmise that must have been the earlier one, and a couple of minutes later another coach pulled in. Having just text I was waiting, wearing black ski pants and a grey jacket, she quickly spotted me as she excitedly jumped off the coach, and a quick hug later we were off to my apartment.
It’s probably fair to say she was a little like a kid at Christmas, and it was great to see someone obviously really looking forward to hitting the slopes. It was only when she was given Christmas Eve off a couple of weeks ago that this trip became a possibility for her, neatly joining the weekend and the Christmas Day/Boxing Day bank holidays into a 5 day long, skiable, block. We safely made it through the remnants of the university ski trip in the reception of the hotel, and into the compact but bijou apartment that I currently call home. A quick sit down, croissant and coffee for breakfast, and we were contemplating hitting the slopes. flowa had, in a very organised manner, already charged the ski pass from last season’s EOSB with 5days to cover her stay, so it was simply a matter of her getting herself, and her brand new skis, unpacked and ready to venture out on the slopes.
And so, out through the ski lockers, and there we were, on the edge of the piste. We decided to pop down to take the Plein Sud lift up and come back down through town to keep our next options open while giving flowa a relatively gentle reintroduction into sliding. Perhaps not quite so gentle as it may have been though, as it really is quite hard packed there at the moment, the area seeming to attract whatever wind there is which is keeping it very well swept of anything loose. What a contrast to only 2 weeks ago, when, as my gentle reintroduction I skied the same slope but with a foot of powder on it! It was either that day, or perhaps the following that I saw a guy stuck in the middle of the slope struggling for 10 minutes trying to reattach a ski. Although I’m hardly in a position to offer help or advice to anyone on the slopes, equally I could sympathise greatly with someone struggling away. I skied down below him, and instantly realised that, 10 more minutes or 10 more hours, he was never getting his ski back on without cocking the binding first! Wow, a chance to help someone! I did my best in French, German, English and mime to get the guy to understand, before eventually sidestepping back up to him, grabbing the ski off him, cocking the binding and handing it back to him. He gratefully took the ski, put it back on, and managed about 5 yards before tumbling another 20! Ah well, I certainly couldn’t pretend to help him with that.
So, back to today, and the hard pack; not flowa’s favourite conditions, and she did have a moment or two while she tried to get used, both to skiing again to and her new babies. The hard pack not being to her liking, we set off in search of slightly softer conditions, and took the Cascades lift up before finding our way down to a pisteside restaurant for a coffee to plan our assault on the mountain! We took the funitel peclet up and explored more of the mountain before stopping for a well earned lunch of lasagne (flowa) and Tartiflette (moi).
Suitably restored, we skied right down to the Moutiers lift before getting the Funitel Grand Fond up to Breche de Rosael and my first taste of the fourth valley. We skied down and, after a final coffee of the day, we got the lift back up before taking the Chamois down. By that point I could tell flowa was starting to flag a little; I was VERY familiar with the feeling after my adventures with Mark, and tried to encourage her to just take her time down the run rather than risk spoiling the next couple of days with a late-in-the-day tumble. The Chamois behind us, we cruised down the bottom of Fond and back into town, safe and sound and with, what was for me at any rate, a great day’s skiing behind us. I think flowa quite enjoyed herself too!
Cheers Topsmoke, great having you out here. I would just like to clarify one small point though; the “lift you offered me down” was AFTER, rather than INSTEAD OF the horrendous, death defying cross country treck you took me on, and was in fact very insultingly offered as an alternative to a simple green run down into Meribel after nearly killing me off piste, just in case anyone was wondering!
ttfn
johnnyboy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
I don't think my snow dance is working very well 
I did offer you the lift down though Lol Hope your legs have recovered now,I'm sure they have.
