 Poster: A snowHead
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Frosty the Snowman, ... oh that I could say he exaggerated .. alas totally accurate, maybe even understated ... the look on the waitress' faces was a sight to behold ( unlike my foot!) ..
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Agenterre, On the plus side, no repeat performance today!
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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?
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So, Wednesday evening I headed up to the Viking where I had arranged to meet Agenterre and BMF Skier, and we were also joined by Phil W, another early arrivee for the EOSB. We had a few beers before I headed home, the four of us having arranged to meet the next morning at 10am, although Phil W did say he would probably do a few runs beforehand. As it turned out, he didn’t quite manage that, as he had to make a pit stop to get some sun cream; unfortunately he had skied without using any cream the day before, and burnt his face so badly he couldn’t even put one side of it on his pillow to sleep. So, three applications of factor 60 later and 10am didn’t seem such a bad start time after all!
We headed up the gondola and found, to my delight, that Lac Blanc was finally open again; it had been shut for racing for at least 3 days, and I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms from not skiing my favourite run. It was in great shape, especially as the sky was clear blue and it was sunny at the time; it was a joy to ski down. From there we skied right down to Caron, hoping to carry on up Cime Caron, but there was a huge queue so we went straight to the Boismint lift instead and then took Haute Combe down. Unfortunately this proved a bit of a strain on BMF Skier’s dodgy knee, which had at least survived in tact until the second day of this trip, unlike his earlier visit this season when I crippled him on his first day!
We cruised down before taking the Moutiere lift back up, letting us stop off at the Knife and Fork for a drink, much to BMF Skier’s relief. He had been ready to call it a day there and then, but, after some anaesthetic in the form of a beer he decided to join us back up the gondola for a run down Tete Ronde. As we neared the top of the gondola I received a text from littleblue, saying she was also heading up on the same lift, so we waited a couple of minutes and she duly appeared. We headed off down the run, but the clouds closed in as we skied down and the light went rather flat; the wind had also picked up rather noticeably. We ran into admin on our way down, and then decided to head lower in the resort in search of better light. BMF Skier called it a day at this point, and the other 4 of us went up Boismint only to be met by a painful, snow filled wind blowing straight into our faces. A run down and we took Moutiere back up, skiing back towards the resort. littleblue and Phil W headed up the gondola for a couple of runs down Lac Blanc, Agenterre headed home, and I returned to my apartment for a helmet and goggles; my sunglasses really weren’t suitable given the deteriorating light, and, as conditions weren’t great, I had decided that it might be a suitable time for littleblue to attempt to turn me to the dark side. Yes, I was about to have the snowboard lesson that I had agreed to in a moment of weakness earlier in the season.
And so it was that littleblue and I headed down a very, very sticky glue road to Les Menuires where I was kitted out in snowboard boots and given a masochist’s tool for self infliction of pain; yes, a snowboard. We made our way up to the bottom of a piste, and I nervously strapped myself onto the board before being hoisted to my feet by littleblue. I must admit it felt completely unnatural, as I stood there swaying this way and that and not moving. I eventually shuffled down a little, and then we had reached a flat bit and I had to unhook one foot and paddle over to the lift; that was just plain weird, I thought I was going to put my hip out. It really didn’t help that initially I was told to put my free foot behind not in front of the board, but even the correct way round my progress was awkward to say the least.
We managed to get on the chair, a small, old two-seater, without too many problems, and I then had to worry about getting off it. As we approached the top it was a case of trying to get the board roughly parallel to the direction we were heading, and, although I did get a little bit of assistance from littleblue I managed to get off without either of us falling over, even if it did involve rather a lot of inelegant hopping rather than cruising smoothly off.
After reattaching my free foot, it was then a matter of getting upright, and initially I accepted littleblue’s assistance in pulling me up; I didn’t have the ability to push myself up from my bum and balance on my heel edge, I didn’t have the confidence to push up and set straight off moving on my heel edge, and I didn’t have the control to roll onto my knees and start off on my toe edge. Once upright, she explained the “Falling Leaf” technique for getting down a slope; I certainly mastered half of that straight away! And so it began, gradually trying to get my way down the slope in fits and starts. I was really helped by the snow conditions; it was definitely on the slushy side, which meant I wasn’t just relying on my edges, but was able to use maybe a third of the board at any one time. I immediately discovered that I felt far more comfortable on my heel edge than my toe edge; every time I was on my toe edge the board just seemed to want to run away with me, whereas on my heel edge I could at least sideslip reasonably effectively.
littleblue had been carrying her board down, helping me up onto my heel edge every time I went over, which was pretty often, although I did manage to stay on my feet for longer and longer at a time as we got lower down the slope, meaning that I was getting further away from her each time. As we neared the bottom of the lift we had decided to head to the right of it, but I didn’t quite have the control to manage that, and went left instead! Then suddenly I caught a rather large toe edge and was catapulted forward; unfortunately I landed on the top of my right arm/right shoulder, which also bore the brunt of the impact in my high speed tumble on Sunday and has been rather sore ever since. I also partially winded myself, thanks mainly to my right elbow I think, and needed a few minutes to catch my breath; littleblue said it was quite spectacular to watch, as I definitely got some air when I dived headlong down the piste!
We headed back up again, and I again managed to get off the lift without falling; I really take this as a major achievement so early in my boarding career! However, I now had another problem; my right arm was no longer usable for being pulled to my feet by littleblue as it hurt too much, and so I decided there was nothing else for it but to try getting up by myself on my toe edge and attempting some control. Unfortunately I found it much more difficult to sideslip on my toe edge (the board seemed to like to just take off down the hill), so it was going to have to be up on the toe edge and then make a turn to get on my heel edge; the problem, similar to learning to turn on skis, is that a turn involves pointing the board down the slope which inevitably means picking up speed. I bottled out of my first few attempts; I was very concerned about picking up speed in an uncontrolled manner, so I kept bailing out rather than getting even faster. I did manage a couple of successful turns on that run down though, from my toe edge onto my heel edge which meant I was then in a position to sideslip down in a relatively safe manner.
On my next run down I managed to practice the start, turn, sideslip combination a number of times, and it did start to feel a bit more controlled, and on my final run of the day I successfully sideslipped on my toe edge from the top of the lift until there was enough room to turn, and then made my way all the way down the run without falling; only a short run and I was only sideslipping on my heel edge but still, I felt pretty pleased after only about an hour and a half. The only downside is that my arm really took a battering when I fell, and I also ended up with completely soaked gloves and ski pants. littleblue was complimentary about my progress, but I think she was just being kind; the conditions did make things as easy as they could be, although I don’t think I could have managed the slope tumble-free in my first 1½ hours on skis. I just hope I can move my arm tomorrow!
Ttfn
johnnyboy
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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johnnyboy, thanks for some entertaining posts. Been good fun reading them! Hope the arms OK - having wrecked a rotor cuff in the ol' shoulder a few times, I know how sometimes these things can freeze up.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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That's it, johnnyboy has turned to the dark-side. I can never read this thread again 
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It will be a grevious loss to the boarding world if he doesn't have another go, he made spectacular progress in the space of 1.5 hours! We got up the lift 4 times without any significant drama - i must admit to being rather alarmed when we came to disembark the chair the first time, I was chanting 'just go straight, just go straight' when i noticed that ski patrol had erected a net fence to stop us from 'just going straight' & had visions of an upside down johnnyboy entangled in the netting howling for assistance, however, it didn't happen and I could probably class him as more safe than me to sit next to on a chairlift... Mastering falling leaf, sideslips, traversing and managing to turn in both directions in the space of 1.5 hours was exceptionally good going for the first time on a board - if he keeps this up we'll see him on the Extreme Sports channel in no time...
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Well, it took until the last week of the season, but I actually managed to genuinely impress an ESF ski instructor. I wasn’t even in his class, but instead he skied across to me, complemented me, and asked for tips! Obviously it wasn’t a ski related matter; I had been juggling snowballs while I waited for littleblue to arrive, but you have to take what you can get, right?
It’s been a little while since my last post, but so much has been going on it will be hard to include everything that’s happened. Obviously the EOSB has been and gone, and amazingly my season is now almost over, with just a couple more days to go. It hardly seems true, but I’ll try to keep from reminiscing until I am actually back in the UK.
I’m sure almost everybody who attended the EOSB had a great time, although obviously those that were unfortunate enough to hurt themselves may have a slightly different perspective. I myself was feeling a bit off colour on the day everyone arrived; I’d had a really bad night, and was feeling dizzy and nauseous (delayed concussion after my snowboarding mishaps according to Agenterre, but I’m not sure if there is any foundation to it or if he was just winding littleblue up) so I decided to stay in VT when the advance party of snowheads headed off on masse to Les Menuires. I spent a lovely day coaxing Megamum down gradually steeper runs before tiredness finally overcame her and I delivered her, safe and sound, back to the Oxalys. I confidently predicted she would be skiing reds by the end of the week, but she surpassed that by successfully negotiating Christine by Tuesday!
The weather was less than brilliant on the Monday and Tuesday, the ski test days, which hindered true evaluation of some of the skis, although I was mightily impressed by the Movement skis I tried. Tuesday evening also saw the group meal, which was conveniently in the restaurant within my apartment building, and littleblue and JohntheSwede stayed over to let them have a few beers; fortunately there were plenty of spare beds available this time and no-one had to sleep in the hall!
Wednesday evening I somehow managed to get dragged to the karaoke in the Eclipse bar; one minute I was having a quiet pint with Agenterre in the Viking, the next I was being dragged, kicking and screaming obviously, from the Frog where we had migrated to and had bumped into more snowheads there. So, a quiet Apres Ski pint eventually culminated in 3 or 4 rounds of Jaeger bombs at 03.30, not ideal preparation for the race at 10.00!
I awoke still feeling drunk, and it was little short of a miracle that I managed to get to the race start more or less on time. What was a still greater achievement was that I got down the course both on my feet and without vomiting, although I made such a mess of one gate I was practically stationary. Still, having been previously told we were having two runs I hoped for better on the second run, but alas there was not enough time and I had to settle for that.
The rest of the 3 Valleys closed at the weekend, so littleblue and I popped over there for the last chance to ski there this season. We made a point of skiing Manduit, the red run that was the course for the Derby run in the X Wing Rally we skied a few weeks ago, and where I had a rather high speed wipeout. Pictures don’t really do it justice; for a red the top is quite steep, certainly way too steep for me to ski without a turn once I had sighted the gate. We skied part way down, looked up and then down, and I proceeded to put in half a dozen more turns (where on race day there had been none) before reaching the dip and rise that sent me flying.
I’ve managed so much skiing in the last few days that it’s difficult to know where to begin, but I’ve been lucky to have some very patient ski buddies to try to broaden my off piste experience, which culminated today when I skied way more off piste than on. Topsmoke arrived here on Monday, and spent a couple of days skiing with his instructor friend including, as at the start of the season, skinning up La Masse now that the lifts there are closed (he‘s mad!). He was having a quieter day today before heading off for some more serious stuff in Val D’Isere tomorrow, and although I didn’t make first lift with him this morning, I eventually text him when I was ready to head out. We took the Peclet gondola up, and then the Glacier chair and skied the big bowl off to the left. As we were traversing across to it, I think he had second thoughts, perhaps remembering the last time he led me off piste back before Christmas (which resulted in a real struggle for me to ski to Meribel along a closed piste), but I managed to ski down without mishap and we then headed down and met up with littleblue and JohntheSwede. We took Tete Ronde and then the Moraine and Col chairs, the initial idea being to traverse the glacier and drop into Orelle, but the traverse looked long and heavy going for a boarder so instead we traversed back towards VT and skied off piste back down to the Portette chair. From there we skied down to the Funitel Grand Fond, and dropped off piste from the top of there towards Orelle; I’d skied that bit with littleblue and JohntheSwede earlier this week, but I think I made a better job of it this time. We dropped down to the chairs and up we went, expecting that perhaps JohntheSwede and Topsmoke would ski one of the couloirs while littleblue and I would take the easy drop out towards the bottom of the glacier. However, the others had a different idea, and said that I was up to trying the Guyon Couloir. I trusted them, and, although the entry was quite steep, I took my time sideslipping and safely negotiated it, although I did take a tumble once I was in the couloir proper when, having just made a turn, I didn’t quite manage to avoid a large lump of ice that rather threw me off balance.
When we headed back towards VT we skied even more off piste; I think it’s the first time this season I can honestly claim to have skied more off piste than on, and given the weather and company it made for a really good day’s skiing. I know I slowed the others down a bit, but at least I felt they could ski most places they wanted to without having to make too many allowances for me.
Anyway, that’s about it for now, I’m not sure if I’ll manage another post before I head back, but, just in case I don’t, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for following my adventures this season; your interest in what I’ve been up to has really added to what I have got out of my season.
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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.
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johnnyboy, was good to finally meet you at the karaoke, enjoy the last couple of days of the season. Any plans for next year yet?
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johnnyboy, great stuff, thansk for taking the trouble to post so many entertaining stories 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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johnnyboy, three more of those jaegerbombs and you would not have even made the race !!
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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.
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johnnyboy, Thanks for all your post through out the season. Hope to meet you in the UK at some point when you get back as I'm sure still have a great many untold stories to tell.
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johnnyboy, Hope to meet up at sometime in the future. You're a real gent! TTFN
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You know it makes sense.
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johnnyboy, Thanks for everything 
Your season helped make mine and many other's too, I'm sure.
Hope to see you back in Blighty soon.
Travel safely,
F xx
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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So, back home safe and sound, I really can’t believe that my season has been and gone already. I will try to put together a post in a week or two to try to sum things up a bit and things I could or should have done differently, but I’ve still got one last day’s skiing to report on. Having done some off piste earlier in the week with littleblue, JohntheSwede and Topsmoke, we decided that the run to Lac du Lou from Cime Caron would be a nice way to end the season. It used to be a listed itinerary route, and it certainly wasn’t as demanding as some of my previous off piste experience, but it was a lovely long run from 3200m right down to 1800m. I even skied across the melting ice on the lake, following in JohntheSwede’s path while littleblue and Topsmoke opted to simply traverse around it instead.
The weather was great, and although the snow condition was a little variable, it was mostly pretty good once we figured out which slopes were sun softened, and it only started to get a little sparse just above the Plan de L’eau chair right down at 1800m. All in all the snow has lasted really well, and in my opinion the resort could easily have stayed open another week or two; coverage on the higher slopes is still superb, and it’s condition generally pretty good still through much of the day.
I seem to have omitted telling about my second and final snowboarding lesson of the season; perhaps I developed a mental block about it after the traumas of the first lesson! Actually, this time round I managed to avoid serious injury, although I did have my fair share of caught edges and tumbles. It was another late afternoon session, once the snow had started to soften, and this time I was on my home turf of VT rather than down in littleblue’s Les Menuires, so at least I knew the territory. First off she insisted we took the Caron gondola up and came down the long, flat but very busy run back; with hindsight this wasn’t a great choice, as I’m very cautious around other people and found it difficult to get any rhythm as I made my way down the slope in fits and starts.
Next we took the Moutiere chair up, and, in my attempt (I was under strict instructions not to put a foot down and pad away) to glide off the chairlift I had my first chair dismount related fall of the season, but once I managed to get out of the way we set off again. My initial preference was to head for the beginner area below the Deux Lacs chair, but that would have involved the very flat bit between the two chairs, and so littleblue suggested Hermione instead, which, as a blue, also had a steeper gradient which, she assured me, was a plus point. It turned out to be an inspired choice, as there was hardly another soul on it in the whole time it took me to get down. The lack of potential casualties in the event of a mishap instantly gave me confidence, and I made decent progress down the run in my own version of falling leaf. I would turn down the hill, pick up some speed, then heel edge brake and sideslip a touch in the other direction which kept me going pretty much straight down the slope; littleblue described it as the fastest falling leaf she had ever seen.
I even managed the steeper, bumper section with reasonable control, and once we got along the tracky bit the piste widens out again and gets a bit flatter. It was here that she insisted I worked on actually linking turns; almost from the start I was OK turning toe edge to heel edge, but the other way around was always a bit of an issue, as, once I was making the turn I was on my toe edge and very likely to run completely out of control. Still, I surprised myself and, after a dodgy first attempt, I actually managed to link a number of turns, with even a semblance of control once I got on my toe edge.
I’d only managed two runs in the hour or so we were out, but at least I felt I made some progress on the second of them, and after a total of about 2½ hours on a board I think I am definitely ahead of where I was with a similar amount of experience on skis. Whether that is because it is easier to learn on a board, or that the second discipline on snow is always easier to learn than the first I honestly can’t say, but I would definitely have another go should I get a reasonable amount of snow time next season. One thing that is similar to when I first started on skis is how tiring it is as a complete beginner; being tense and constantly concentrating on even the simplest thing just wears you out, and I think it will be a while before I am confident enough to relax and manage a whole day on a board.
Anyway, that’s about it for my season’s adventures on snow, although I will, as I said, probably post a wrap up in a week or two’s time. I’d just like to say thanks to everyone that I met, drank or skied with while I was away, and maybe I’ll catch you all again next season………
Ttfn
johnnyboy
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Poster: A snowHead
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johnnyboy, Great review of the season, good to hear you feel more comfortable on the planks. Although I did not make it out for the EOSB, or have a pint with you this season there is always next year.
Thanks for the updates throughout the season.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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johnnyboy thanks for keeping us entertained online over the winter
also it was good to share a few beers in dec/jan when i was over in VT and also to ski a few slopes together
are you planning another season or is it back to the real world now?
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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?
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| johnnyboy wrote: |
I even skied across the melting ice on the lake, following in JohntheSwede’s path while littleblue and Topsmoke opted to simply traverse around it instead.
Ttfn
johnnyboy |
Are you suggesting there was a streak of yellow running down my back that fine sunny morning ?
I have a lovely picture too post of you falling John well I dont know what your doing actually but it dont alf look stylish (not) shall I ?
Have you got my phone charger by the way ?
Regards Mark
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Topsmoke Post the picture! 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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johnnyboy, I'm glad you made it back safe and well - you sound as though you had a great time doing your season, something that I'm sure many of us can only ever wonder being able to do. I had a great time that first Saturday and as you know the week surpassed my wildest expectations - the foundation you gave me on that first day gave me a great starting point for the rest of the week - many thanks for your time and hope to meet up again some day.
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Hi there,
Great Story!. I am doing a season in Val Thorens next season but i am finding it very difficult to find accommodation for myself and my friend. Your description of your apartment sounds like exactly what i am looking for and i was wondering if you could give me any tips on finding accommodation or pass on any details of people you used.
thanks
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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.
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chiper1990, not sure that johnnyboy is posting at the moment so he may nto spot this. you coudl send him a Private Message (send/read messages at teh top of the page). Hope you have a great season, maybe we'll all see you there next April
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Hi there
Not my promised "end of season" summary I'm afraid, just a quick note to say hi and let you know that, despite not posting, I'm still dreaming of the white stuff. When I got back to the UK I took myself back to Essex to catch up with my mum, and my sister and her family. I was back for 3 weeks, and unfortunately mum has no internet access  . On my return to Bristol I was desperately trying to catch up with everything, especially considering I am selling my apartment, and then, as if three weeks of me was not enough, my mum went to the drastic level of breaking her tib and fib in a really nasty fall, so I'm back in internetless Essex again until her plaster is off - about another 3 weeks or so.
I will get around to posting properly as soon as I'm able, just thought I'd let you all know I haven't disappeared down a hole or something.
ttfn
johnnyboy
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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johnnyboy, What bit of Essex? - if its within striking distance of Maldon why don't you drop by and say 'Hi' - PM me if you fancy a day out and I will send an address
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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.
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johnnyboy, Wishing your mum a speedy recovery.
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johnnyboy, Good to hear from you. Hope you mums feeling better soon.
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You know it makes sense.
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Where has the last year gone? Into October already, summer been and gone, well, gone anyway (not sure it was ever here in the first place), the falling leaves of autumn are already here, and I’m drawn back to this time last year when I was still trying to finalise details for my season away. Which resort to stay in? How to find accommodation? These were my main two concerns, and I was sort of flipflopping between the Three Valleys, the Paradiski and Serre Chevalier. In the end I was swayed by the quantity and quality of the piste available in the Three Valleys, though finding accommodation was far from easy, especially as I was after an apartment rather than just a bed; the prospect of sharing with 3 or 4 18 year old seasonnaires at my advanced years was not something I could readily face.
October obviously brought the PSB, and my first chance to meet Snowheads in significant numbers, having had a gentle introduction to Easiski. Little Tiger and a few others on a fact-finding trip to LDA in August. The PSB only served to further whet my appetite for my upcoming season, especially as I received confirmation of accommodation in VT whilst I was there, which was cause for a mini-celebration in itself. I remember chatting excitedly about my upcoming season while I was away, probably boring everyone senseless, but there did seem to be a lot of genuine interest as well as a bit of good-natured envy of the fact that I was going to be spending 5 months in Val Thorens. I particularly remember chatting with Mrs A(genterre) on the afternoon of my departure from LDA up at the restaurant at the foot of the glacier, and she was quite insistent that I post lots of pictures and reports while I was away, so a new camera was added to my shopping list for the season.
November was mostly spent making final preparations, and I was also lucky enough to organise a lift down to Val Thorens, courtesy of Topsmoke, and it seems like only yesterday that I was sat in a bar on the evening prior to my 1AM departure trying to convince friends that my lift to the slopes was not going to be with an axe wielding serial killer.
I think I sort of covered the next five or so months earlier in this thread, but I did say I’d post again with a few final thoughts. Well, finally I’m getting round to it, and I’ll try to remember all the things I was going to say when they were much fresher in my mind, but there are a number of things that so well ingrained that only the onset of Alzheimer’s will dislodge.
After only a couple of days back in Bristol I headed to Essex to spend some time with my mum and my sister and her family, and so it was the start of June before I really got back to Bristol, supposedly to empty my apartment which I had “sold”, or at least accepted a price on, back in the middle of March. Unfortunately the buyer was less that co-operative , and constantly gave me, my solicitors and estate agent the run-around for months to come before everything was finally settled. I was also starting to turn my mind to the future, and the decisions that my seasonal sabbatical had enabled me to postpone; nothing important, just things like a job, somewhere to live, stuff like that. Unfortunately my mum had a really nasty fall and broke her leg pretty badly, and was told that she couldn’t put any weight on her leg at all for the 6 or 7 weeks her leg was going to be in plaster.
So it was back to Essex to look after mum until the middle of August, by which time her cast was off, she was gradually getting a little mobility, and completion on my apartment was actually imminent. I returned to Bristol and, with the help of my mates, I put all my furniture in storage and crashed with some friends till I got myself somewhere to stay. Something came up very quickly in fact, and, now that I’ve sorted internet access out, you’re stuck with me again.
So, back to the reason for this post I suppose, which will be a highs-and-lows-what-I-would-change-if-I could sort of thing. I’ve got to say, there aren’t too many things that I would have changed, the only real thing was the lack of lessons, but that was unfortunately brought on by financial restrictions; the original sale of my apartment fell through within days of arriving in Val Thorens, and, bearing in mind I intended to finance my season with the proceeds, rather than have to carry on paying a mortgage, money was going to be tight from the word go. I’m the first to admit that technique really isn’t my strong suit, but despite that my enjoyment from skiing isn’t diminished in the slightest. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t realise I have the need for lessons, just that unfortunately circumstances conspired to prevent them this time.
So, lessons, in an ideal world, I would have had, but what did I get right? Well, choice of resort was a .definite plus. One of my reasons for picking VT, apart from it’s obvious advantages, was that I knew that some friends were going to be Courchevel for a week, and others in Meribel for a week, as well as it also being the choice for the EOSB. At least I was going to be guaranteed some company for 3 of my weeks away. In reality, VT proved a superb choice, with so many of you visiting the Three Valleys as well as the chance meeting of some guys from my hockey club in January and a later and bigger trip by them to La Tania later in the season.
My blog was another thing I got right, judging by the feedback I’ve got. It also meant that you all knew I was out here, and prompted so many of you to make contact for a drink and/or a ski while you were on holiday. I was so lucky to meet some lovely people throughout the season, and a special mention must go to littleblue. She actually Pmed me when I was “missing in action” mid-season; my slight break from posting following the embarrassment of my dreadful skiing with Incogskisno, the daily trek over to Courchevel 1650 to visit my friends there the following week, and getting engrossed in the epic and weighty tomb Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. The next time I logged on I had a PM waiting for me, and we arranged to meet up shortly afterwards; I discovered she had seen my thread and, as she was in Les Menuires for the season, she made contact. What I didn’t realise till much, much later in the season, was that when she came across Snowheads on a google search, it was my thread that appeared in the search, so it’s conceivable that if I hadn’t been sharing my adventures here, she might never have come across Snowheads and we‘d never have met.
As much as I had a great time just disappearing off for a day’s skiing, there is no doubt that skiing is a very sociable pastime, and the second half of the season, skiing with littleblue almost every day, encompassed the real enjoyment that came be had from this wonderful sport we all adore. One of the first runs we skied was my favourite run in VT, Lac Blanc. Arriving at the bottom after a great run down, she said “I’ve not skied that yet this season, can we do it again?” Fantastic. A kindred spirit.
She was a great guide as well, gently coaxing me off piste as the season progressed, from gentle forays just off the edge of the groomed stuff to proper, if not very taxing, stuff as I made a little, if very slow, progress. We shared a lot of laughs throughout the season, and chairlifts are so much more fun chatting away than just sitting there as billy-no-mates. The lift we shared with the pole wielding Germans in Aurelle and the “arthritic horse impressions” lift while her friends Andrew and Sarah were visiting both caused aching sides from way too much laughing but they were just the tip of the iceberg; skiing with littleblue was fun.
Individual highlights were so numerous it’s hard to know where to begin, and I could be here until the new season starts if I list them all, but special mention must go to a couple of them. The Xwing Rally was just a fantastic day, spent trekking around the Three Valleys with littleblue and JohntheSwede in glorious weather whilst trying various styles of racing was just brilliant, and the trip of 4 of my friends out to see me late on in the season was really, really enjoyable. I had already skied with three of them earlier in the season, Martyn when he came out for a week at Christmas, and Dan and Anna when they were over in Courchevel with Dan’s parents and sister’s family in February. The fourth member of the party though, Gareth, hadn’t skied for about 7 or 8 years and had since married and become a father twice over. A weeks skiing wouldn’t have entered his head, but a long weekend away once he knew the other three were planning to come out, well, it would have been rude not to. In all fairness, his better half Sharon really encouraged him to get away as he had been working extremely hard and was well in need of a break, but what pleases me is that he would never have got away if I hadn’t been in VT. The other three all ski most years and had done so once already last season, but with Gareth, who knows how long it would have been till his next trip and I feel glad that I was partly responsible for him getting to ski again. Much fun was had all weekend, from their arrival late on Thursday after a detour to Geneva, which, of course, Gareth was never able to live down (he still can’t actually).
Cost is something that a few of you have asked about, and I guess I’d rather not consider the actual amount I spent, but whatever it added up to it was money well spent; life is for living and I simply had the best time. My accommodation wasn’t cheap, as I had a superbly situated apartment in a top resort, and just being in a big resort can be more expensive than some smaller resorts I’m sure. However, as long as you don’t treat a season as a 5 month long holiday, going out all night every night, it doesn’t have to be ridiculously expensive. If anyone want’s to know any specifics, I’ll try to PM back quickly as I’m online again now.
So, what next? Back in Bristol after my mum’s incapacitation, there was, of course, still the matter of a job and somewhere to live once I’d sold my apartment, and, of course, my longing to get back to the slopes after my fantastic time last season to deal with. Well, a temporary job has come my way, filling in looking after the books for my mate Martyn while he recruits a new accountant, and, even more surprising, some temporary accommodation as Martyn’s sister is decorating a flat before putting it on the market, and I’ve been able to stay there. I’ve even had an offer of accommodation from littleblue, and a lift down from Topsmoke should I be heading that way again, so it’s almost as thought the universe is conspiring to make it easy for me to get back out there for another season.
Watch this space…………
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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johnnyboy,
I'll be there late Jan for a few days 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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?
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johnnyboy, 4 words, get back out there (you sod)!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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johnnyboy, So how much did this cost you?
I'm self employed but take 80%+ of my yearly takings April - October so I can afford to be away from November till March but like you don't fancy rooming with a couple of teenagers. So a bedsit whould be ideal - No debts- no morgage - but not a huge amount of savings.
Not thinking about this year but maybe next year....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I have spent the past two days enthralled by this thread - what a wonderful read! It's got me thinking about doing the same thing, not the coming season though (already have 6 weeks planned) but the one after.
So, thank you johnnyboy you've given me enough of a taste to pull finger and start planning for the 2009/2010 season.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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II, bedsit? But where will you accommodate your many visitors? 
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johnnyboy what can ia say....brilliant, captivating & funny, i've ready this thread all evening & just couldnt stop so i feel for those who where actually reading it 'live' & couldnt get the updates from the 'cliffhangers' that John left, remarkable, i hope to meet johnnyboy one day for a beer & hopefully in '09. 
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FAQ
look after yourself 
