blacksheep - my pleasure glad you liked!
thelem and endoman - hmmm not sure why - no not set to anything.... sorry pass as to why - sorry! Go onto Radio Val website and you can find it that way!
michaelbury17 - as others have said either Altibus or a hire car would be the cheapest option when looking at 3 of you sharing.... transfers cost a lot mainly due to the legislation and high operating costs in this country!
HOT
The temperature was high all night and I went down a layer this morning - but ended up wishing I had gone more than that.
I have to admit that I was shattered and not as fresh as I could have been this morning but another day it was. I meant to say that the Corniche last night was very good - first time I have ever been there and can thoroughly recommend it!
Clare had the morning off so she did the honours with Olivia so it was a pretty chilled start to the day.
I headed to the meeting point and had the same off pisters as yesterday and I knew the snow would not be as good as yesterday but non the less by being clever and staying high and going for pure north facing we got some nice turns in!
I took lunch at Chevallot and then in the afternoon I head the last session with my seasonnaires (well one of my groups anyway).... this lot had never been off piste and I found some nice ambiance well away from the pistes but totally safe and fairly skiable for them all things considered and what a day they had.... they loved ever second of it!
In local news yesterday a British 47 year old bus driver from London was off piste alone on the Charvet with nowhere near enough kit (of any type) and got himself into a dead end whereby there is no way out as cliffs were below him. Despite the pisteurs trying to offer advice from afar with the help of a megaphone and the man attempting to walk his way back out again but in the deep snow not really able to make any progress at all but up the slope they had no choice but to call in a chopper rescue (as the daylight was fading)... queue a €3000 bill he has had to pay! Woops!
The traffic forecast this weekend is looking (surprisingly) quite heavy - I think everyone has booked a last minute break after the snow of the last week. So up to 31000 cats coming up the valley on Saturday... as a result (and as per my usual advice)... leave early or late and the same for arrivals if you want to avoid traffic jams!
Traffic forecast
Beautiful up there today!
And that is that for today I think.
TTFN
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Is bus driver liable for the bill, or would Carre Neige cover it ( assuming he has it) Can't imagine insurance being too chuffed at paying out either. Can't believe anyone would go to such an area without knowing it well, let alone on their own and without equipment.
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?
As ever a really informative blog.
However 31 000 cats is a bit concerning!
So he was off piste alone, had no kit and chose the wrong route, and the avi risk was 4. FFS what a numpty. Surely the insurance won't pay out in these circs as otherwise we'll all be paying for this through increased premiums?
On a similar note Steve, you've posted in the past about people having to be helicoptered out from the gorges near le fornet after they ignored the advice that they were inpassible, do they get the rescue reimbursed?
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
endoman / andy1234 - Carre Neige would not cover it - as that covers (being a french thing) the rescue cost in medical emergency situation (and other things like lost lift pass reimbrusements etc)... however whether a UK insurance company would pay out might be different if he said he needed rescueing - they would not know whether it was his stupidity or not I should think.... the Gorge du Malpasset you refer to - much the same thing really... not too much reimburseing going on I should hope not!
retsil - yea we have a mouse problem up here.... wooops should have read cars not cats!
Firstly before I go on I must apologise as I only realised an hour or so ago (too late) that I had forgotten to do my daily periscope video blog - woops sorry folks - totally forgot about it today!
Anyway there was no freeze last night and the temperatures were above zero right from the offset. There was one layer of annoying clouds hanging over the valley which soon cleared to leave us with the most amazing sunny day. I dropped Olivia off at creche and then went to meet my morning lesson. Unfortunately they ended up being quite late but it was a nice morning to be sunbathing!
It was a combo morning lessson with both skiers and boarders in it (I knew it was going to be and although people are told the limitations of doing lessons like this it can be tricky). This morning was no exception as the boarder was somewhat weaker than the skiers but anyway I chopped the lesson up a little and divided my time as we worked on the magic carpet / madelaine!
Anyway there was some good progress made - round 2 tomorrrow!
Lunch was once again taken in the office but I needed to get some off piste packs ready so it was not the most relaxed lunchtime ever but there you go!
The temperatures were really soaring but the seasonnaires were desperate for me to do an introduction to off piste for them this afternoon so I ended up running, in effect, the same off piste session as I did yesterday afternoon and we had some fun that is for sure!
As soon as I finished skiing I quickly changed as I was meeting some friends and associates of mine in the Fall Line so Clare and Olivia joined us for an hour and we had some fun.
A takeaway pizza has finished the day off nicely.
So no video to show today but some amazing photos the Val pisteurs got in the form of a sequence of photos as they blasted the Pissallias side of the Signal mountain on Wednesday morning:
Drop...
Go.... here it comes... (note that areas around the side AWAY from where the explosive directly was dropped from have slide too!)
Beautiful!
Wow... but here it comes!
Oh yes this was my photo from today - I wanted you to see that the avalanche in the middle of the pic is signs of warm weather and 'sun wheelies' coming down the mountain in the days heat / sunshine and the fact that full depth warm avalanches were also happening today too!
TTFN (and I promise to Periscope tomorrow!)
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Hot again
After Olivia decided to come into our bedroom at 6am and turn the bedroom light on it was an early start to the day. But there was no rush as Clare was not working (she took Olivia skiing in the end) and I found that I had ages to kill.
Anyway I was on my snowboard this morning and I carried on where we finished up yesterday morning... heading up the Solaise to utilise the magic carpet run and little by little we made improvements before finally she linked her turns together - hooray! Just as I was finishing the morning too so could leave her to practice and develop the confidence!
I changed into my ski stuff and headed up Olympique to meet the afternoon lesson.... again the same people as yesterday.
We looped around the green triangle and made some really nice changes and improvements but more than anything it was confidence building.... well it was until one of the girls tripped over her ski pole right at the bottom of the Grand Pre run and about 30 yards before the netting for the lift queue. Anyway she was not feeling that good afterwards and felt a little confused and asked some strange questions so I ended up accompanying her to the doctors for a check up. When I left he was just keeping her there to monitor her.... but it put a dampener on the proceedings!
When I got back home all hell was breaking loose as Olivia had a play date over so the house was chaos... anyway it only lasted an hour before she went home and I could get on with watching the rugby! What a game in the end!
Clare had made an amazing spicy slow cooked (in the slow cooker) pork meal which when accompanied by rice and the trimmings was a real feast this evening.
After giving Olivia her bath it has been a pretty relaxing evening!
Not much else to report out there.
When you get bored of the sunny views of wonderful mountains (only joking) you have to get creative by taking pics of a colleague and his skis (for our sponsorts - Planks and PolePlant!)
Now that is a crown wall..... NOT in Val but in Le Tour at the end of the Chamonix Valley!
Not to be outdone.... the Val pisteurs get in on the action - the East Face of the Charvet in this case - heli bombed the other day!
It was THAT day of the week when I dont have to put ski boots on and it is nice to be able to free the feet for a full 24 hours! Not every weekend but every so often it comes around (when not teaching on a day off I / we (the wife and I) often take Olivia out for a ski) and today was one of those days!
Anyway amazingly it was gone 7.30 before we woke up just at the same time as Olivia was waking up. As is often the case on a Sunday it was family breakfast time and then I took Olivia swimming! Always fun to be there on a Sunday morning with lots of little'uns and their mums and dads - quite a social for the parents and the kids!
Clare was out skiing for a couple of hours with a friend so after swimming I took Olivia to pick up a few groceries (a job she has rarely experienced). However she was jolly helpful putting things in the basket etc.
I was rather laden down pushing her back home on the pushchair but at least the sun was shining (for the most part) today.
We all pretty much vegged out all afternoon in front of the TV / Olivia playing with her toys and it was real downtime!
This evening we had a lovely family meal and that brings the weekend to a close! Back to a full weeks teaching tomorrow - yay!
The classic "Truckdriver" driver with an impressive backdrop!
The conditions and conditions looking forward are pretty well summed up in my colleague Bens, TDC snow report here too:
The only main piece of local news is that a Speedrider took a big fall and crashed into some rocks in the Vallonet yesterday afternoon and severely damaged his back.... he needed an air evac! Fingers crossed he fulls through OK!
I did make myself useful in a couple of ways today... I DIY repaired Clares food blender AND then I fixed her work ski jacket after the zip got stuck last week (she has spent the last week having to step in and out of the jacket which was a pain in the ****).... so I did do something useful!
Anyway TTFN!
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.
Steve (or anyone else with a good idea),
See photo above - cant see how to embed in the post (maybe someone cleverer good do that for me)
Came across this in Charvet last Saturday (11 March), an unusual feature on snow that I haven't come across before and wondered if you may know the cause.
It was a rippled effect on the surface about 50 cm waves - circa SE facing
But on the slope next to it completely smooth - circa N to NW facing
I was wondering if it was perhaps warm (or cold) air having flowed down over it
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Looks like water runoff ? Has it rained recently?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@ajdetpwm, Due to sun exposure the snow has become very soft and partly melted and started to flow then refrozen. Quite a cool effect.
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.
Peter S wrote:
Looks like water runoff ? Has it rained recently?
No fairly certain that it hadn't been raining had been dry since the previous snow - it was at about 2,500m, also it was only on the slope facing one way, not the other
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Sarge McSarge wrote:
@ajdetpwm, Due to sun exposure the snow has become very soft and partly melted and started to flow then refrozen. Quite a cool effect.
Yes I think that makes more sense, I am fairly convinced that there must also have been a wind effect in the equation too.
It was like this for quite some way - like skiing over the skier induced bumps (at the frequency of leg suspension springs), but it was across the whole slope width of the slope - without any ski tracks at all
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
In French they are called "sillon" and can be formed by either rain falling on the snow or run off from melt water caused by the sun. In either case they are an indication of significant humidification of the snowpack, in turn an avalanche risk factor.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
chocksaway wrote:
In French they are called "sillon" and can be formed by either rain falling on the snow or run off from melt water caused by the sun. In either case they are an indication of significant humidification of the snowpack, in turn an avalanche risk factor.
cool, sounds convincing - thanks
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Well I think that has been suitable discussed above now... In either case it is not often you see the channelling but due to the amount of snow we had last week it was possible to get them... there was certainly no rain about!
The sun continues to shine
Well it was a hard freeze again overnight and the cycles are up and running to get the most out of the Spring snow and the pistes were welcoming to the cycles. Olivia was not on the best form this morning which meant for a rather stressful breakfast time but we got there in the end... I dropped her off at creche and made incredible time to get to the meeting point as early as I could ever remember being there.
I bumped into old clients on the way there which was nice to catch up with them and hear all their news before carrying on with the morning lessson and this morning it was another old client and we had a nice refresher / warm up morning recapping on everything from the last time they were skiing. It is incredible how the brain forgets the nuts and bolts that make up good skiing but after a recap and some drills they were all skiing nicely.... Thursday (the next session) we will push it a little more. We were just commenting that it was nice for them to be actually be able see where they were skiing as nearly always when they are out here the weather is dreadful! Ho hum!
Lunch was taken atop of the Bellevarde in the sun and it was glorious up there. I fitted in my periscope (2 actually) as the sound appeared not to work the first time so I ended up doing it again!
The afternoon was spent with a nice couple from London... and regular readers of the blogage I do! We had a great ski around and being strong skiers we could make lots of progress in terms of mileage working on various aspects of skiing. It had been well over 10 years since their last lesson but non the less there was lots of good things going on but as is often the case with people like that there was some changes that would take some time to make as it is so ground in. However getting the idea and feel of it is the main purpose of an afternoon like this and there was promising signs that is for sure! As they had not been to the Espace Killy before I showed them some of my home mountain and the sights and sounds and views and I think they were suitable impressed!
This afternoon after skiing I have managed to get a few things sorted out at home and filed some paperwork etc.
The weather is set fair for a few more days yet therefore I had better check I have enough suncream to last me a week or more - haha!
And I think that is about all for now!
TTFN
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@ajdetpwm, Sorry to throw my 3 pence worth in but I was assured by some young seasonaires that it was raining quite heavily at around 3am the night before we also spotted these "sillon" formations.
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?
A tiny dabble in the off piste
We woke this morning to find that Olivia was already up and had somehow managed to turn the TV on which was a little weird start to the day but there you go! The sun was shining and it had been another hard freeze overnight. However I was expecting the temperatures to rise sharply so I went down a layer (which ended up being the correct decision). So as Clare took Olivia to creche I headed to the meeting point and picked up an office piste pack for my lesson. Anyway I met my client and the plan was to work on piste technique and then is there was time, the snow conditions OK and if I thought she was good enough for it, to head off piste.
She turned out to be a solid skier with lots of correct things happening in her skiing and each thing I gave her to work on she was able to correct pretty much immediately which was great to see! Anyway after a couple of hours we decided to try our luck with some very gentle off piste. At this time of the year you have to get the timings right to find the best Spring snow out there and I thought we did pretty well with the timings and it was the simplest dabble ever but quite fun non the less!
I took lunch outside the Olympique lift in brilliant sunshine - it was very nice!
The afternoon I was back with a client I had not skied with a couple of years as each time she comes out and tries to book me I am always booked up. So it was nice to be able to ski with her. We opted to ski the Bellevarde side and had a nice potter around refreshing a couple of things that she had worked on previously but the soft afternoon snow meant that energy was being sapped pretty quickly. One thing we chatted about was the lack of many decent skiers and boarders on the mountain and the fact that standards seem to be going down and down and there was lots of idiots around. Despite this we survived but really sometimes I despair!
By about 3 we decided to stop for a drink and after that she decided that her legs were tired enough so we skied to the bottom and headed home for a slightly early finish - it was nice to get home and be able to collect Olivia nice and early before Clare got back in from teaching.
There is not too much else happening in local news..... they are busy building (starting) a jump at the bottom of the Face as there is some freestyle competitions coming up soon. Apart from that not too much else happening in resort at the moment - just lovely Spring weather!
Where is everyone... oh I know - up at the Folie (which you can see in the picture at the top of the slope) - lower down it was dead about 2.30 when we skied down here.
TTFN
P.S. Happy 10 year anniversary (of knowing her) to my wife... this time 10 years ago I had just given her a snowboarding lesson and we had headed out for a drink together... little would I know that 10 years later we would be married, with child and mortgage together etc..... wow home time flies!
@Steve Angus, happy 10th knowing anniversary to you both. All downhill from here!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Steve Angus, happy anniversary to you both as well.
I'm in Val d'Isere with a good friend next week on a late deal, does anyone have any suggestions for (inexpensive) bars and mountain restaurants? (we are late 40's men who enjoy beer and chat).
Apart from having a lesson with Steve Angus (booked for Monday pm) Are there any areas that we should ski, the weather is not looking so good for the first part of the week with rain in the resort, so what is the best way to get up high and at least into snow? We are both competent on piste skiers but have only really dabbled off piste.
thanks in advance
After all it is free
After all it is free
@pieman666, On the "hill" your best bets for a cheap lunch are the Marmottes restaurant near the Val snowpark and the Cascades over in Le Fornet. Run by the same family. Not bad prices considering where you are.
High skiing?..... take your pick. Easy to get up to both glacier areas. Fornet always holds snow well. Quickest ways up there are either Solaise Gondola, Glacier chair then ski down to the Up & Over chair into Fornet area. Then the drag lift or ski all the way down to the Signal gondola. Or jump on the frequent free bus from Val 'd and either get off at Laisenant chair or go straight to the Le Fornet Gondola. It's all well linked.
Cheap beer in Val 'd? ....... good luck Best bet probably happy hour offers. when I stayed there a while back we found a trail of bars with different h/hour timings so it wasn't too bad.
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.
Thanks GeorgeVII, sounds great. We are lightweight drinkers now so a couple of happy hours sounds just the ticket at the end of the day. Looking at the latest early forecasts for next week there could be an epic amount of snow falling...
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@GeorgeVII, Cocorico 241 happy hour daily 2-4pm
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
pieman666 wrote:
I'm in Val d'Isere with a good friend next week on a late deal, does anyone have any suggestions for (inexpensive) bars and mountain restaurants?
Other than the Spar/Casino supermarkets, cheap beers are rarer than marmottes.
That said, Cascades is reasonable, so is Lac Ouillette but the deck of the old Solais is still my favourite. There are also some cheap options if you walk past the restaurants on the bridge at Brevieres and head left into the town. The further you walk, the cheaper they get and, arguably, the better they get.
The cheapest beers are probably in the Morris Pub, the Bluenote and XV. The Morris Pub is very proud of the fact that as of Feb this year, it is no longer at the bottom of the Val d'Isere Trip Advisor ranking. All of these places are actually good fun.
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.
The happy hour at XV is from 5 till 7 - 5 euros for a large beer.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
john2 wrote:
The happy hour at XV is from 5 till 7 - 5 euros for a large beer.
Best bar in town for watching the rugby, too.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Thanks @bar shaker and @Dr John very useful.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
bar shaker wrote:
john2 wrote:
The happy hour at XV is from 5 till 7 - 5 euros for a large beer.
Best bar in town for watching the rugby, too.
Don't suppose they show rugby league do they ? Stuff I'd like to see at Easter.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Missed your post @john2, 5 euros for a large beer sounds pretty good to me
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@Steve Angus congratulations on your 10 years together, that snowboard lesson turned out quite well for both of you then!
We are heading out there on Sunday, any updates on the snow forecast for next week?
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?
@Sack the Juggler, SC have Sunday and Monday have light snow high up and then getting colder and heavier snow on Tuesday. Then the next two days are cold with light snow. I'm there on Sunday as well....
@thefatcontroller, thanks, I signed up for this, great tip.
@PBJ, that seemed to be the general concensus, car hire
@Steve Angus, as above, thanks.
Update: what we got was just awesome, we have booked with Mountainsun , staying in Tignes Les Boisses, fully catered chalet, including pick up from Geneva & lift passes & they have a hot tub...
Arrive late Saturday evening - result
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@michaelbury17, good choice. I stayed there last April. Be interested in what you think of it this season.
@intermediate, will post a review, it came recommended from another SNHD
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
pieman666 - look forward to meeting you next week - as far as eats and drinks are concerned then really what GeorgeVII and bar shaker suggests make sense....
endoman - no they dont seem show league there - just Pacific!
Sack the Juggler - whatever the forecast says I would stay away from any predictions more than about 3/4 days in advance... but we shall see... there are certainly a couple of weak fronts in the mix for the weekend.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Thanks Steve, Pacific it shall be.
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.
Spring snow
It was a day of 2 halves really. As has been the way the last week or so Olivia was in our bedroom and turning the bedroom light on slightly earlier than we would wish (must get her a glow clock for her birthday next month!) but hey the sun was shining and it gave me extra time to enjoy a cuppa!
I headed to the meeting point and I met up with my am lesson... the mother of one of my seasonnaires. A pleasant lady who hadnt skied for many years (until this week) who actually originated from the US but anyway it sounded like she had been taken for a long 'ride' by friends yesterday so her confidence was a little knocked. We headed up the Bellevarde and after a shakey start she got into it and made some fast changes... it is amazing how a couple of key things can make such a big difference. Anyway it turned out to be a great morning and she was chuffed to make it to the Fruitiere for lunchtime where I dropped her off.
I fitted in my periscope (trying to find time to fit it in is not always easy I can assure you)...
I picked up a couple of packs at lunchtime at then met my afternoon seasonnaires. The weather for the last few sessions with them has been anything other than perfect so with the weather as it was I decided to fit in a maximum turns type afternoon and hunt the Spring snow. After a few pitches we moved further afield. We needed some testers (it had been slightly cloudy (very thin) for most of the morning) so we found some nice aspects that gave all sorts of different snow types but the west facing slopes were in great condition. So finally we dropped over the back of Cugnai and got some LOVELY views and snow and continued our blast all afternoon and up towards the Fornet before heading back down. I had a couple of meetings back down in town (one at the bank and the other was a ski school meeting) before Olivia arrived back from her playdate and that brings you up to date.
Tomorrow promises more sunshine although we are hoping for some sunshine over the weekend.... although not to much 'weather' I hope as I am supposed to be doing a Bonneval heli trip on Sunday - fingers crossed!
Anyway TTFN
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@pieman666, @Steve Angus, cheers just packing now, I'm going to risk packing light as stopping off on the way for a mate's wedding and need space for my suit et al.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
Best bet probably happy hour offers. when I stayed there a while back we found a trail of bars with different h/hour timings so it wasn't too bad.
