Hello from Val Thorens

Yesterday

Today!

Big help I'm sure, but I'm trying for same time, give or take, each day!

Knackered.

Battered.

Feeling like I’ve gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.

Just when you thought it was safe, the sequel; Manflu 2, Return of the Killer Cold.

Ok, bit of an exaggeration, but I’m gutted to have missed a changeover day skiing in beautiful bright sunshine. Unfortunately I do feel rough, as last time it’s the racking cough that is wearing me out, stopping me sleeping, and is, I fear, a prelude to the streaming cold that I’m sure will follow. Having spent the last 4 days doing a Rudolph impression because I caught rather too much sun on Tuesday (a day with supposedly 100% cloud cover, yeah right), I’m guessing I could end up doing another 4 or more days with a nose blown red raw. Great.

So, not really too much to report, as I’ve been sensible and not skied the last 2 days. The onset of this cold may have been the reason for my lack of legs on Thursday; I certainly felt lacklustre on the slopes, and it was more tiring that usual walking up to the shops later on. That’s something I’ve noticed since I’ve been here though; on a usual day I’m fairly well acclimatised to the altitude now, but I only really noticed it when walking around the resort with my mate Ben last week. I’d march off without a second thought, but he struggled for breath keeping up with me, and I’m sure it was simply that he didn’t have time to properly adjust to the altitude on such a short trip.

On the weather front, I’m sorry to have to report it has been really warm the last couple of days; it clouded over yesterday afternoon but was still warm, and it’s been glorious all day today; lovely to ski in I’m sure, but probably not ideal for keeping the snow until you all arrive. Don’t get too worried though; there will still be loads when you all arrive, but obviously the colder it stays in the meantime, the better condition it will still be in for you all.

Anyway, that’s all for now folks; just plenty of vitamin C, plenty of fluids and taking it easy for a couple of days.

Ttfn

johnnyboy

PS photo is yesterday morning

This afternoon

Will the excitement never end; laundry day! Yep, even when doing a season you have to cope with the mundane as well, and, as it’s yet another day off the slopes today I thought I’d try to do something useful. Feeling a bit better today, I slept a bit better and at least I didn’t wake to a sweat soaked pillow, which is a marked improvement on the last few nights. Still coughing well, but what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right? Talk about making a drama out of a sniffle, but I’ve got nothing else to write about!

Anyway, moving swiftly along, at least I don’t feel as though I’ve missed two cracking days on the slopes as yesterday it was blowing an hoolie and nearly all the lifts were shut (huge queues at the couple open) and it’s been trying to snow all day with very poor visibility. I say trying, as the flakes are very small and are struggling to settle; it’s really not cold enough to amount to too much I’m afraid, but a proper dump is apparently forecast for later in the week. Having walked up to La Piscine to post though (couldn‘t face the treck right up to the Viking, I must still be off colour!), it’s fair to say that it has settled reasonably where undisturbed, but has been quick to turn to slush elsewhere.

I’ve been very thankful for littleblue’s dvd library the last few days; having become hooked on Grey’s Anatomy (seen 3 series of it in the last few weeks) and also enjoying The 4400, I’ve also been treated to series 1 of Prison Break (good, until a very weak series finale) and Supernatural (watchable but a bit cheesy) as well as a mixture of films as well. She and her friend John, who is staying with her for most of the rest of the season, drove up to VT for a Sunday afternoon mosey around the shops as most of the lifts in Les Menuires were shut as well yesterday, and popped in to visit the sick yesterday (that would be me, am I laying it on thick enough?).

So, apart from watching some dvd’s and doing the odd bit of housework nothing at all to report; I’ve been taking it really easy as I’ve got some friends coming out on Thursday and I want to make sure I’m OK to ski with them.

Ttfn

johnnyboy

PS Picture is yesterday, not worth posting one from today as it would just be white

Ah, the slopes again at last. I woke on Tuesday feeling a little better; the racking cough was at least abating, even if it meant the nose-running-like-a-tap stage was about to begin, and I eagerly approached the curtains to look out on what the day had in store for me. I was not disappointed; scorchio indeed. Beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine blazing down. Knowing I wouldn’t be up to a full day blasting around I took my time getting ready and hit the slopes at about 11am. The lifts were noticeably quieter and most of the pistes were pretty empty too, and I had a lovely time cruising around, which, given the fact that I definitely still wasn’t right (no legs yet) was all I was after doing.

littleblue joined me in the afternoon, and we had a great time in really good conditions. We skied down Plan de L’eau late in the afternoon, and admittedly it was starting to slush up, but that is as low as you can get in VT so it wasn’t too bad at all. However, on returning back to Les Menuires to let me borrow more DVD’s littleblue commented that the snow had definitely retreated noticeably even from that morning.

April already; it hardly seems possible. I was accused of an April Fool’s joke by a group of 5 or 6 South Africans in the Peclet gondola today; as they struggled to manoeuvre their toboggans within the gondola I said that I hoped they had better control of them on the course, before innocently adding that I hoped they had good insurance. A bit of banter followed as I explained that a friend of littleblue’s had broken a couple of ribs, his “Nintendo” thumb and split his lip on the course. Then one of them asked if a certain section of piste we were passing over was the course, and I jokingly said “No, they need better access for the ambulances than that”. The woman stood next to me then realised the date said “Haha, he didn’t hurt himself did he, April Fool is it?” to which I replied, “Nope, honest, it’s all true”. A few moments later another of their party asked if they were definitely taking the right lift. “Oh yes“, I explained, “Just turn right from the top, follow the track as if you were going to Tete Ronde or Christine and the toboggan run goes down the middle when they split. You can’t miss it…………………just follow the blood” I continued with suitable dramatic pause and, if I might say, perfect timing. I could hardly keep a straight face after that.

I did, however, do two slightly good deeds yesterday so I wasn’t entirely cruel; firstly, just as I met littleblue at the Deux Lacs lift I saw a woman taking a photo of a large group and I instantly offered to take it instead to let her get in the picture. Three or four pictures later, I even returned their camera! Then, just after teasing the South Africans who headed off on their toboggans and as I made my third run of the day down Lac Blanc (it was really great today, perfect for cruising down) I stopped to help a little girl of about 8 to her feet; she had fallen just above where littleblue had stopped and was struggling to get to her feet so I stopped and helped her up (fortunately she was English and understood my offer of assistance). It turned out, when a family friend skiing down the run with her arrived a couple of minutes later, that her brother who looked to be of a similar age, was actually skiing the run with a broken arm; now that’s keen. I think maybe those two things just about offset a bit of foreigner teasing, don’t they?

Today wasn’t nearly so appealing out there; overcast, trying to snow and very flat light, and not quite tempting enough to get me out there given a nose that was running faster than Ben Johnson on steroids. Quiet day instead, hoping I’ll be fighting fit for when my friends arrive Thursday night, especially as, with five of us in the apartment, there really won’t be room for any extras, especially germs! My record with guests injuring themselves is not good after Ben and flowa’s recent visits, so the last thing I want is to pass on a yucky cold to one of them. So, a couple of episodes of the latest series of Grey’s Anatomy, courtesy of littleblue and then I’ve popped out to post this.

Ttfn

johnnyboy

PS Photo is from top of Funitel Peclet yesterday, view from balcony this afternoon was just white.

RachelQ OK, sorted!

Had a good 6 inches of fresh snow last night, maybe a little more.

I've had friends out here since Thursday, and there's so much to report I haven't had time to compose anything. However, I thought I'd reassure you all with a picture taken at about 09.30 this morning; note the fresh tracks!

Will post properly tomorrow.

ttfn

johnnyboy

My weekend guests, Gareth, Dan, Anna and Martyn

So, where to start? I’ve not posted for a few days, as I’ve been too busy having a great time with my visitors here. They arrived on Thursday evening, a day I spent skiing mostly in Les Menuires. littleblue made her way up here Thursday afternoon, but the light, which had been variable all day thanks mainly to a very strong wind, really deteriorated as cloud closed in so we dropped down the valley in hope of better conditions. When we got down there, we found a window of blue sky, with a threatening bank of cloud to either side of us, but amazing we kept that window all afternoon down there, despite clouds both above and below us in the valley. We played around off piste a bit and made our way over to Jerusalem before heading back to littleblue’s where I received a quick lesson in waxing (of skis that is) before she gave me a lift back up to VT where she did a quick recon for gloves in advance of the sales which have generally just started now.

After a quick tidy up before my guests arrived, I settled down to a couple of episodes of The 4400, and had a couple of phone calls from Martyn saying they had taken a slight detour, going very close to Geneva thanks to Gareth’s navigational abilities (or lack thereof) and so were going to be a little later that they had originally intended. They arrived at about 00.45, and, after quickly unloading the car, we popped into the Moo Bar for, what was for the at any rate, a much needed beer; they had, after all, spent 13 hours in the car apart from a couple of stops to stretch their legs.

A couple of drinks later and it was time to hit the sack, so we retired to my apartment which was going to be at full capacity for the first time this season; Dan and Anna, the newlyweds who I skied with when they were in Courchevel earlier in the season, in the lounge and Gareth, Martyn (my Xmas guest) and I in the bunks and single bed in the bedroom. Lights were out by about 02.15, and when I stirred just before 8am I looked out and saw bright blue skies. Martyn said the first word he heard that morning was “Scorchio”, and the prospect of a great day’s skiing, combined with the realisation that 5 of us had to get up and ready encouraged me to hot-foot it into the shower to set the ball rolling.

We had all breakfasted by about 09.30, and we headed down and out to the slopes. Although I had skied with Dan, Anna and Martyn both on my first ever ski trip, and earlier this season as well, Gareth hadn’t actually skied for 6 or 8 years, and nervously clicked into his skis and we all shot across the piste to the gondola station where they all bought their lift passes. From there we headed up, as I thought Tete Ronde would be a nice warm up run. Gareth was quickly back in the groove, and from there we dropped down to Moraine before moving onto a couple of reds, the second one being Lac Blanc. I followed Dan and Anna off the side to where Dan had spotted a little bit of untracked powder for Anna to try. He shot off down it back towards the piste, and I followed Anna after him, well, until she tried her first turn that is! Her exclamation as she lost control before tumbling had me laughing out loud (happens to me so often I didn’t feel too bad), which Gareth clearly heard from the piste.

We intended to try Cime Caron while it was quiet over lunch time, but unfortunately there was still a big queue and skied Boismint and Plan de L’eau right down instead; it did get a bit icy towards the bottom, and unfortunately Gareth took a tumble, popping a ski in the process. Three or four attempts to reattach the ski proved fruitless, and, as I was skiing behind him and had stopped to help him, I couldn’t help but notice that the binding had actually moved and there was no way on earth the boot was going to fit. Fortunately, between the two of us we re-adjusted the binding and finally we skied down and rejoined the others.

After a quick lunch at the top of the Moutiere lift, Dan suggested dropping down to Les Menuires as he wanted to try to ski as many different runs as possible, so we took Plein Sud and the triple gondola up, before dropping down Mont de la Chambre where we met up with littleblue, who acted as our guide for the afternoon. We skied around, generally working our way down the valley before finally skiing Jerusalem, the top ¾ of which was again in fantastic shape (slushy at the bottom unfortunately). From there we headed back up Granges before dropping down a mogully Alouettes, making Cote Brune with about 10 minutes to spare.

We decided to head to the Viking for a couple of apres ski pints, so we dropped down Gotshiel and Plein Sud before pealing off to the top of the resort. A short walk had us there, and after a pint in the sun we dropped inside for another few, making the most of the 2-4-1 on offer there. Eventually we decided it was time to make a move, so we headed back towards a path that we could ski down to the top of the pomas, the window-sill run as I call it as it seems to run right past a number of apartments. Anyway, from there we made our way back to the apartment, although I was a little concerned about littleblue who had to make it right down to Les Menuires along “glue road” well after the lifts had stopped running. Fortunately she made it without mishap, though she did fall three times walking back up to her apartment!

We had a relatively quiet night, popping out for a meal and a quick drink, but back home by not much after 11pm, the exertions of the previous couple of days taking their toll I think. Fortunately Saturday dawned exactly as Friday had; clear blue skies and bright sunshine. We had decided to head over to Courchevel to make the most of the quiet lift queues of changeover day, and, having made a picnic we set off just after 10am. Conditions were great, and, having skied down Lac de la Chambre, I suggested Mont Vallon, which turned out to be a great idea and was, I think, everyone’s favourite run of the trip. From there we took Plan des Mains up and skied down the boarder-cross track in the park before running down into Mottaret and up Pas de Lac to Courchevel.

We skied right over to 1650 and eventually had a picnic at the top of the Chapelets chair. On our way back we met up with littleblue and skied down to Meribel before heading home. We were a bit earlier stopping than the day before; two full days on the slopes having an effect, and we had a drink in the sun on a terrace at the top of the pomas. When the sun when in, we decided to move on, and, as the lifts were still just running, we actually dropped down to the Plein Sud chair to let us ski down to the Viking; well, better than walking back up through the resort. After another couple of beers we again braved the window-sill run on the way home before again getting ready and hitting the town.

We had a nice meal and then littleblue joined us for a few drinks in the Shamrock, having made her way back up to VT. A few turned into a few more, although the lighter-weights in the group did wander back in time, leaving just littleblue, Martyn and myself. We left the bar around 2am for the walk home, littleblue intending to phone for a taxi from our reception to get her back home to Les Menuires. Unfortunately despite trying half a dozen different companies, the receptionist couldn’t get a taxi, and so the three of us eventually returned to the apartment. The only spare space at all was in the hallway, and, although Martyn and I were both willing to give up our beds and sleep there, it really didn’t seem fair as the fondue Gareth had eaten that evening meant he was far from the ideal room-mate; the hall was definitely the nicer option! Grabbing a mattress off the top bunk gave littleblue something to sleep on, with Martyn making up a bed with the (fortunately plentiful) blankets in the apartment. And so, only for one night, 5 became 6 in the apartment.

Hardly surprisingly we had woken Dan and Anna when we had returned, but Dan did say he was amazed I managed to move all the ski boots from the hall into the bath (well, there really was nowhere else for them) without him hearing, so I can’t have been that far gone. littleblue was absolutely mortified the next morning, and I did wonder whether I would ever see her again, but she joined us on Sunday afternoon again, and again for a quiet drink back at the apartment afterwards, so I don’t think she has been permanently scarred!

Visibility was pretty dreadful on Sunday morning, but we hit the slopes anyway, intending to ski a bit of Meribel if we could. Anna had been keen on another run down Mont Vallon, but the light on the bottom part of Lac de la Chambre was appalling and we decided to carry on straight down. Things did improve a little lower down, but the snow wasn’t as good; we were going to have to compromise somewhere. We skied Combe de Tougnete and then stopped for a coffee, and, amazingly, when we came back out the light had improved dramatically, with blue skies now dominating and only a few fluffy white clouds; what a difference 20 minutes had made.

This caused a rethink, and we decided Mont Vallon was back on the agenda, so we headed back up and had another lovely run back down. We almost stopped for lunch at the restaurant at the bottom, but, rather than take out second mortgages, we headed back towards VT and the restaurant at the top of Plein Sud for a quick bite. littleblue joined us there, and although Martyn and Gareth decided to head straight home afterwards, the other 4 of us stayed out for some more time on the slopes. I’m afraid to report that Plein Sud really was cut up when we dropped down, as was the section down past Deux Lacs towards Caron. Unfortunately there was a big queue for Cime Caron again, so we headed up to the Col instead, which Dan had previously said he’d like to try. We made our way up and down OK, apart from my attempted assist of a push for littleblue on the flat section which unfortunately spun her and over she went; oops! We eventually went back up the gondola and Christine proved to be a lovely last run of the trip for Dan and Anna, and, amazingly, the skiing for their trip was over and done already.

We had a meal in that night, courtesy mainly of Gareth and Martyn, before heading out for a couple of quiet drinks as the snow started to fall thick and fast. Anna had treated herself to a pair of skis, and the fresh was making her want to try them out even more the next day, but unfortunately for her they were all packed up and on their way before 10am on Monday. I’d had a really great time with them, and I think they all had fun too; it was fantastic having them all here.

The fresh overnight meant the snow was great on Monday, and it held up far better than it had done the previous day, despite the clear blue skies again. I was out till about 4pm, and was making my way home on the flat section to the right of the restaurant at the bottom of the Moraine run when I saw something in the middle of the run. As I got closer I realised it was a little girl of only about 4 or 5 who had fallen and was too tired to get back to her feet. Fortunately she was English and understood when I asked her if she was OK, “No” came her muffled reply. I picked her up and set her on her way, skiing back with her the 300 yards back to the rest of her ski school class where I got a heartfelt “Merci” from her teacher who hadn’t had to make her way back up the piste for her lost duckling.

Anyway, that’s a mammoth post, so I’ll call it a day there.

Ttfn

johnnyboy

It’s been a mixed bag of weather the last few days, from scorchio clear blue skies yesterday morning to, wait for it, a serious attempt at a dump at the moment. The most consistent thing though is that it has been fairly warm, regardless of what the weather has been doing. I’ve had a relatively quiet week on the slopes, picking and choosing when I’ve been out there after a busy week and the remnants of my cold (all together now “Ah, bless”). I woke this morning to very poor visibility, and then the snow started, and it’s looking good so far.

Snow report-wise it’s good news, bad news, good news and wait-and-see news. Good news is that the snow on the pistes is holding up really well; coverage is excellent and condition is good through most of the day, with just a tendency to slush in the mid to late afternoon. Bad news is that this is a photo for one of the exits of my building yesterday; I skied from that door only 6 days earlier and don’t forget we had 6 inches or so of snow on Sunday night. As I say, it’s generally been pretty warm recently, and snow in the resort has been disappearing fast (yeah, I know, who needs it there, but just trying to give you guys an impression of what’s going on here). Good news, obviously, is that it’s snowing now, nice big flakes, fairly heavy, and undoubtedly settling nicely on the slopes. Wait-and-see news is how much more will fall, and how good the coverage will be on already exposed areas; it’s really struggling to settle on my balcony (ok, so I’ve only skied on my balcony a couple of times this season……….), but seems to be doing better down on the ground (note the improved coverage from the door now, but, in all honesty, I’m not sure how long it will last there if Sunday’s fresh is anything to go by).

Only a week now till you all get here, although I know two, Agenterre and BMF Skier who will be out before the herd, and I’m suspect admin will be out a bit early too.

Well, the snow stopped and the light improved, and I was just about to go out but the cloud has closed in and the snow has started up again! Not looking hopeful (for a fair weather skier like me) for getting out there today, so I’ve decided to pop up and post now.

Ttfn

johnnyboy

PS Photos not working ATM no idea why, will ry to post them later

I’m afraid today’s post may seem a bit tame after the excitement of the 3 Valleys Rally, but I’ve had a great few days nonetheless. I’d arranged to meet Agenterre at 10am on Monday; he had arrived with so a week’s skiing before the EOSB and I met up with him and Missus A for a drink on Saturday evening. I was too tired to even think about seeing them on Sunday evening, but we met up as agreed on Monday morning. It was just Agenterre and myself; Missus A was only paying a flying visit, though will be back on Thursday evening.

We took the gondola up and skied down Tete Ronde; the snow was wonderful with a topping of fresh snow over a beautifully flat piste, but the light varied from bad to awful. The piste was good enough to give confidence even without the visibility, and it was a very enjoyable run, as it almost invariably is. We headed down to the Boismint lift in search of better light, but certainly didn’t find it there, and so headed back up and stopped for a coffee in the hope that the light would improve. Instead the falling snow seemed to get thicker and it wasn’t looking too promising. We headed up Moraine and came back down Genepi, but the light had got even worse, so we decided to call it a day, hoping for better light later. It did brighten up a bit, but quickly closed in again and, after the exertions of Sunday, I was happy enough to settle for a quiet day anyway.

Tuesday dawned to poor light again, with it still trying to snow. Agenterre delayed our skiing, and instead I headed out with littleblue just before noon. We tried Moraine but the light was truly appalling; for most of the run you could barely see one piste marker from the next. We quickly decided to head lower in search of better light, and made our way down a rather sticky glue road before heading up to Roc de 3 Marches. We had been intending working our way down to Jerusalem, and decided that going via the Meribel valley might be better, and so it proved.

We dropped down, a run I’d not yet done this season (although the light was so bad I’d never have recognised it anyway!), and as we neared the bottom littleblue said we just had to follow a track round to the right. Now, having skied with her a lot this season, I’ve discovered it’s definitely safer to follow her, as there is far less opportunity for her to cut you up if you can see what she’s doing! Anyway, she suddenly put a big turn in, making it far easier for me to go straight past her than keep behind her; with hindsight I really should have been a bit suspicious!

As I made my way down the track, I was suddenly having to deal with drifts almost right across the narrow track, and, having missed one that narrowed it own to barely more than a yard, I scooted through another couple before face planting into another one! I had more snow in my goggles than had been in resort in February; it was everywhere! littleblue carried on past me, and, glutton for punishment that I am, I followed her again, this time missing the piste and ending up in a drift over knee high with a big drop just a yard to my left. I’m not adverse to trying off piste, but I do like it to be a conscious decision rather than just getting lost! Fortunately the light decided to clear a little at this point, and we spotted where the piste actually was and worked our way back to it. We headed straight back up, intending to try to make the most of the break in the clouds, and skied back down the run again, this time playing off the edges in the fresh, untracked snow there.

I did manage one spectacular tumble, which, when I pushed myself upright, resulted in one ski horizontal in knee deep snow, and the other one, amazingly, completely vertical (and still attached) but down in the snow to the binding. After a couple of minutes of puffing and panting I still hadn’t managed to move either ski; I wasn’t particularly easy with one leg bent at the knee still attached to a ski well and truly planted in the snow. Eventually I reached behind myself and popped the binding on the ski before righting myself and finally carrying on. We managed a few more runs before the light closed in again, but I think we managed to make the most of what light there was.

Today dawned in complete contrast to the last couple of days; scorchio! I’d arranged to meet both Agenterre and BMF Skier, who arrived in VT last night, for a ski today, and I was confident they would both turn up in the great conditions. And so it turned out, as they were both waiting at the gondola for me when I arrived. We headed up, having decided Tete Ronde was as good a place to start as any, and, arriving at the top, noticed that Lac Blanc was closed for racing. We watched a couple of racers go down the run, which started near the top of the Glacier lift before running down Lac Blanc, and then watched one narrowly avoiding the ski of a marshal who had been smoothing the course before tumbling right by a gate. It really was a near miss.

Tete Ronde was in great shape; it was the third time Agenterre had skied it since he’s been here, but the first time he’s actually seen any of it! After a couple of runs both the others were ready for a stop, Agenterre for a boot faff as one was playing him up, and BMF Skier because we had already skied straight past two restaurants! While Agenterre attempted to resolve his boot issues it became apparent that without Missus A around, he can’t even dress himself properly; his sock was inside out. Unfortunately he nearly cleared the restaurant when he took it off to put it on correctly; it was not a pretty sight!

We skied a few more runs before BMF Skier called it a day and, in my efforts to show Agenterre as much of the resort as possible, we took Funitel Grand Fond up to drop down into Orelle. We stopped at the restaurant for a drink, and where I received a text from littleblue, coincidentally saying that she was heading for Orelle as well. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a signal down there, although I did think I spotted her getting on the Peyron lift up the side of the valley. We were sort of trapped at the restaurant though, as the only lift back up to VT was out of order for three quarters of an hour, and eventually I spotted littleblue again. She and JohntheSwede then joined us for a quick break at the restaurant, from where we saw someone get thrown off the Peyron chair, scene of the bent German pole incident earlier in the season; it really is lethal. The lift to VT finally started up again and, as Agenterre was suffering a bit of knee pain, we decided to make our way back towards VT while the other two, having only just emerged for the day, went off to find a couloir somewhere!

The snow conditions for the last few days have been amazing for the time of year; I’m sure you’ll all be really pleased when you arrive.

Ttfn

johnnyboy