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

A snowHead

Hi, we are in exactly the same boat, just coming from Chambery rather than Geneva so am very interested to see what peoples' thoughts are..!! We land late afternoon so hopefully the snow will be petering out and the roads have been cleared?
Once/if we make it to the resort, it looks like we'll have a great week skiing!

A snowHead

Kimpadoo - I think it fair to say 2 things, firstly they are extremely good at working hard to keep the road open and pre-empting it etc. Secondly I would think there is a decent chance the transfer will be drawn out and slow and delays but coming to Val in particular I would think you will get here - just might be slow going. But dont quote me on that! And yes snowhound you'll have a fantastic week.

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

@Steve Angus, what's your verdict on the snowangel? I've been using it all around Val D'Isere this little break. Had it hooked on to my pants and mainly used it for the altimeter and time. Gave me useful references on snow conditions e.g. la duille (powder Valley/lost valley) snow was wet and heavy at 2100m late morning today. Other features to be tested on a more serious trip.

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Hunt and though shall find

The winds had calmed down, the clouds began to part so it was all systems go from the off.... well that was after we had gotten the kids all sorted. And being the first time this season that both Clare and I had to get out for first lifts and sort the kids out it was a busy one. Well we made it - phew! Round 2 tomorrow!

The avalanche blasting didnt seem to be producing too much movement and ultimately most things opened on time... hurray!

Anyway I met my off pisters and we set off. We did lots of variations of the 'low hanging fruits' with easy access across the Bellevarde sector including some of my secret stashes and got plenty of good turns in. The best snow was sort of south east facing aspects but it was quite varied as we also found some good stuff on north facing too.... it was either wind compressed or soft pow for the most part (where not trashed by the wind).

So it was a fun morning!

Lunchtime slot was with a fun lady who needed some things subtly tweaked but we got some good changes in. This was all before the last session with my 'normal' group working on carving... so we mainly did options in the 'green triangle' and it was a really successful session with some good changes! Bravo!

After skiing it was all systems go but being a cold day I was quite happy to be getting to the warmth! So I had to get Ben from the creche and then go check both our post boxes and all in all it took quite a while to get back home... and then since Clare was out at art class for Olivia I was on kids dinner duty - arghh busy, busy, busy! Anyway all sorted now and kids in bed.

Tomorrow I have a full day off piste so I want to get a good sleep in.

TTFN

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

LittleBullet - hi.... I assume you mean the new one, the 'halo' as the old one (original one) I was not a massive fan off - far too simplistic and didnt really do much! I have not really explored it fully to be honest with you but I like the altimeter feature and the transceiver checker. It seems well made and has enough features to make it into my kit bag but I want to experiment with it more before making a final decision! Does that answer you?

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Thanks for replying and calming my nerves somewhat, been psyched about this trip since august and dont want to miss a second of skiing Cool

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

@LittleBullet, @Steve Angus, I love my gadgets but I'm still undecided about the halo. I have a phone and watch as altimeters, admittedly they both have to be fished out to see but I generally know what sort of height I'm at anyway, and if you're worried about +/- 30deg then a pole triangle will tell you in 20 seconds. The tranny check is nice but a normal tranny to tranny check isn't exactly an effort either, and the slope reader I've always thought is a bit late, seeing as you have to be on the slope in the first place to read it. That said, if I got one for Christmas I wouldn't complain.

After all it is free

@Steve Angus, you've seen right through my cunning ploy

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

A special day

I was a little apprehensive that the light was gonna be mega flat today and the weather move in but for a flat light day it was not too bad! I was also quite happy that the temps were milder too without wind as that would have made it a tricky one! Anyway with Olivia not going to school (no school on a Wednesday here!) our friend came around to babysit her for the morning (they have so much fun together doing some amazing craft) but Ben needed to get off to creche... so it was still a hectic start to the day. However like the last few days I was meeting my team at the bottom of the Tommeuse at 0915 and we were set just as soon as everyone was there and ready!

So off we went... a warm up on the val side of the Campanules, then a route through the Jardins de Borsat, a trip down the Tour de Charvet (first time I have been down there pre-xmas!) which was amazing as we only saw one other group the whole time which is a feat in itself, a noodle in my secret stash near the Datcha, bus stop without Lievre Blanc part.... that was all before lunch. It was a good lunch at the Signal (very quiet in there) and then a trip through a disappointing Fornet trees (snow was too humid!)... bused back into town and an amazing descent through the spatule and almost the super spatule! Phew what a great day!

I did have to make an important phone call after skiing and after being on hold for 45 mins I finally got through and sorted out what I needed to... and finally got home to sort out the usual evening stuff.... altough Olivia managed to get Bens toe caught in a door so we had lots of tears to deal with - ahhh!

In other news:

They have swapped the slalom and the GS days over this weekend in response to the likely weather forecast - so slalom (Go Dave Ryding) on Saturday and GS Sunday! Talking of which we watched from the Olympique lift as we went up as they were injecting the piste - gosh its a slow and painstaking task!

The resort so far this season are reporting that they are 6% up on visitor numbers - that is a sign of the good snow so far! This weekend will be another busy weekend as they are forecasting 15000 visitors (virtually all of the them just come to watch the skiing and dont actually ski themselves) for the races... if the weather is awful then the roads could be interesting to put it mildly!

Finally folks I hate to mention the 'E' word but tomorrow is the big one. However you vote then please remember that whilst the outcome of the election may or may not have a massive impact on you / your family etc... for some of us the impacts could be earth shattering. Thats all I'm saying!

TTFN

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Steve Angus, ...
‘please remember that whilst the outcome of the election may or may not have a massive impact on you / your family etc... for some of us the impacts could be earth shattering’

+1

snow reports

@PeakyB, @Steve Angus, +2

You know it makes sense.

b]@Steve Angus[/b], yes it does. I saw you had one of the halo's too so was interested to hear your verdict. Thanks.

@Dr John, I agree. It's handy at times but not essential.

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

cold and windy

As we wait for the storm to arrive we had a jolly cold day... However there was about 10cm of fresh snow up there to get us started for a wonderful day... The clouds did clear quickly leaving wonderful conditions.

I met my snowboard lesson at the bottom of the Tommeuse. As is often he had taken a step backwards in the last couple of days (often happens at lower ends of the performance spectrum before muscle memory enters the 'acquired' phase of learning). So anyway I shaped his performance a little more and we had a good couple of hours and he was much happier by the end!

I had a trip back home after that to change into my ski stuff and grab a drink etc and then it was back out with a well known Snowhead for a good ski about... we worked on long and short turns and got some video footage but BOY it was chilly. The air temperature was not mega cold (relatively) at about -10 atop the mountains but with a punchy wind it was much folder than that in reality!

So anyway I am finishing up the last few things this end tonight then settling down to watch the results flow in - arghhh. Tomorrow I have some jobs to do at home and probably watching the storm raging outside!

TTFN

Some nice lines to be had with 10cm of fresh out there before....

.... the sun came out

A snowHead

Speechless

I had a very late night last night - watching the results flow in until about 4am when I gave up and went to bed. With the kids at school / creche Clare and I have had a duvet day - read that as being pretty miserable if I'm being honest.... I'm not wanting anyone trying to 'make it better' / rubbishing our worries, or anything but we feel as if the rug has been pulled from under our feet... living out here whilst still British passport holders and proud Brits at that we know how it will affect us for the negative and negative it will be there is no doubt that... a sad day! Enough said!

So forgive me for being brief and lacklustre tonight - a good sleep and hopefully life can move on tomorrow.

So anyway back to reality.... we woke this morning to strong winds and 30cms having fallen overnight and it got more and more intense as the day went on. In fact the storm has been raging all day and will continue all night.

This has already had an impact on the World Cup this weekend with the slalom tomorrow swapping from Sunday and the ESF have to go up at 4am tomorrow am to try and clear snow off the course in time for a planned 0930 start - hmmm somehow I think it won't happen but we shall see! The winds today were over 200km/h at the top of the mountain and down in town the winds were REALLY strong too! The pisteurs tried to get something open and apart from the Village and Savonettes lifts nothing opened.... they did manage to get some blasting done though to keep on top of things and I am led to believe that they are doing some more blasting TONIGHT and then of course loads tomorrow am! The road in and out of Tignes was shut for an hour this evening so they could blast the area above the road between Boisses and Lac which is very avalanche prone.

The amount of snow so far is difficult to calculate but it must be 40-50cm but with the effect of the wind it could be loading very deeply in some places!

Tomorrow am I am supposed to be giving an American journalist a resort tour for a few hours and then we have a ski school meeting for a few hours and then after that dinner out so a busy day all in all!

Anyway folks ill try and be more chipper tomorrow.

Oh and with the wind etc collecting Ben from creche this evening was somewhat interesting... ha ha.

About the best visibility of the day!

How your typical 2 year old commutes to and from creche in these parts...

... and waiting for his sisters school bus to get back!

TTFN

A snowHead

So sorry about Brexit. It was miserable in our house too. The photos of Ben have cheered us up.

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

Jehu - thanks.

Shut down again

The winds were still howling today and yet more snow fell so we have had a huge amount of both in the last 48 hours. In fact the pisteurs were up there again this evening doing clearance work.

I headed of this morning to ski with an american journalist and after we met there was little we could do apart from a couple of laps on the Village followed by a chat in the Gourmandine about where the best restaurants and runs etc were and lots of local tips! So not an ideal session but there you go.

Meanwhile the weather meant that the World Cup ski racing ultimately got cancelled from today. This is despite the pisteurs and instructors from the ESF pretty much working non stop the last 24 hours to try and get the race going - they were up at 5am on the mountain this am. However for today all in vein!

After a quick lunch we had our TDC season launch event - think lots of ski instructors in a room talking about policy / systems etc etc etc - rather heavy and boring but got to be done once a year! After that was all over I caught up with Clare and the kids who were having a play and cuppa with Snow Trax and this wife and dog and then it was back home to get the kids sorted for bed time etc.

And no sooner had that all been done but it was time to get ready for our TDC Ski School launch meal and evening. We went to La Source and the 15 of us have had a lovely evening..... and of course I'm now happily home and after writing this shall be too bed!

Ill leave you with some photos of today... the weather should finally improve tomorrow - yay!

TTFN

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Daddy day care

With down to teach all day then be out this evening at a function it was me all day for the kids... yikes!

So after breakfast and getting out of the house by 0900 (which I didnt think was too bad) we got to see the first run of the slalom. After the disappointment yesterday of the bad weather and cancellation etc the hard work that had been put in by the organisers and pisteurs etc had paid off. Anyway game on as they say. So we headed to the finish area viewing area and got a good spot being able to watch not only the racers but also see the big screen. It got even better as managed (Olivia had run off by this stage with a friend of hers so missed out on getting in the photo) to get a photo with Britains Dave Ryding in.

A shame that the second run didnt quite go as well as the first run - oh well next time Dave. Ben looks somewhat bemused doesnt he - he did enjoy it though really!

Much better weather today.

After the excitement of that with the kids it was off to the swimming pool (after the poor weather of the last few days everyone was on the hill which meant the pool was deserted!) for a fun splash about and we had a nice hour or so there before heading home for lunch and some down time.

The afternoon was a pretty chilled affair and despite Clare getting home for an hour or so it was good to get the kids in bed about 1900 allowing me time to watch SPOTY.

I was so happy that Ben Stokes and the England cricket team won so many awards this evening - totally well deserved - yay!

And that is about all there is to report from today - a busy day tomorrow coming up so ill get an early night I think.

TTFN

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Steve Angus, great pic with Dave Ryding. Family album classic that one Smile

Yes I agree Ben Stokes deserves his SPOTY award, even if he’s a very naughty boy off the pitch occasionally.

Steve, is entry to the pool in Val D free with lift pass, the same as the Lagon in Tignes, do you know please? Just interested for future trip.
snowHead

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@Steve Angus, Love Ben’s reaction

@PeakyB, What type of pass do you have ? Over the past couple of years more pass types have been introduced to suit different types of skiers.

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

@Steve Angus, Fab photo with Dave Ryding....does he know who you are??

After all it is free

When I was there a few years ago my 6 day lift pass got me one free entry to the pool

@muppet, normally I have a regular 6 day pass. I may opt for one of these more flexible 5 days in 6, or 6 days in 7, passes in future, depending on travel arrangements.

@TommyJ, yes, for a long time, a lift pass of a couple of days or more got you 1 free entry to the pool in Val D.
Last week I was in Tignes and they’ve changed. You could get unlimited entries to the Lagon pool with my pass (6 days).

Handy in bad weather for a swim, or just for a soak and use of water jets, bubbles, etc to ease the aches.

I wondered if Val D had followed suit with unlimited entries?
snowHead

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PeakyB - yes indeed. Yea a multi day pass of more than 5 days I think it is gives you 1 free entry to the pool (only the pool).
holidayloverxx - "do you know who I am" - ummmm possibly - not sure really. He's too young to have overlapped with my racing days thats for sure!

Warm and windy

After the weather of yesterday it was a little disappointing to see the weather closed in - oh well.

It was all systems go first thing as needed to get Olivia on the school bus, take the bins out and then get Ben to creche and then myself to the meeting point all for 0930..... it was the first time this season that it was all at once with Clare teaching at 0900 too. Anyway it all went according to plan but the only issue was that when I got to the meeting point I tried to a live broadcast on Instagram but unfortunately it (the internet) would not work - so ill try again tomorrow instead!

I met my team of 3 teens and we were off. With a clear spec of a brush up we headed up the Bellevarde... knowing that I had 30 mins between sessions to get across from Val to Tignes Le Lac and eat my lunch it was no brainer to head Bellevarde way. So we worked on some general technique before I taught them some basic freestyle moves in the form of a 180 jump! They loved it.... I think. Teenagers ranging from 15 - 19 can be tricky to teach due to their ages and their often lack of engagement in the process of a ski lesson HOWEVER these guys really bought in which was welcome!

After a quick change at lunch time from Val over to Tignes I got to the meeting point to meet a mum, dad and 12 year old daughter for their lesson. We worked on a few important aspects of their technique but mainly tried to get the best visibility by staying low in the trees. At least the funi in Val is working again so we could get up high when we wanted too aswell! To be honest they are busy getting the Womens ski races all set up down to La Daille now so in this sector not that much is open. Roll on the race this weekend!

After skiing it was a mad dash back to Val in order to make sure I collected Ben on time then got back to La Daille to get Olivia off the school bus - all systems go! Then of course the norma evening routine with the kids!

However the main story of the day certainly is the warm temps (well above zero down here in La Daille) and the Foehn winds blowing hard! It is set to stay like this for a couple of days - hmm making the snow pack very interesting indeed! Ruining lots of the off piste - arghhh!

Unfortunately I totally forgot the picture taking stakes for photo of the day os will have to use Radio Val's pic instead!

Until tomorrow TTFN

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@holidayloverxx,
@Dave Ryding, Fab photo with Steve Angus....does he know who you are??

Much more snowHead

snow reports

Blooming wind

Yes this Foehn wind really did take hold today... it was very strong and very warm all day - even now this evening it is still well above zero out there - not great but hey ho at least there is plenty of coverage! Just a shame that the off piste in particular is being ruined by the weather!

Anyway same procedure as yesterday am getting the kids off and Ben to creche etc before making my way to the meeting point. Luckily my tech did not let me down so was able to do a live broadcast from the slopes first up... however after that came a wait, a very long wait for my 3 teens - turns out they had been out for a big night out last night so not only were they about 30 mins later but they were also hungover! Alas we got going and did some pretty successful work considering they were not really on form as such! However they did want a hot choc break so the lesson ended up being somewhat shorter than it should have been if they had been on time - hey ho.

I made the mad dash across the valley to Tignes to meet my pm family and made it in good time. The family were spot on time and raring to go and we had a really fun 'around the world' ski. There are some really really good changes coming - bravo! Meanwhile on the weather front the retour and foehn wind dominated more and more and I was glad I was on the Tignes side as it closed in somewhat.

After picking up Ben from creche and getting dinner sorted out Clare got back with Olivia after her art class and no sooner had we gotten the kids in bed but it was time to head out for our seasonnaires program sign up evening at the Blue Note and in the couple of hours I was there there was a steady stream of people arriving to sign up... so that is looking promising for the season ahead - yay!

And that brings you up to date... there was a town council meeting yesterday but I dont think there was anything particularly interesting on the agenda so ill sign off for now.

Tomorrow the weather will be similar once again (not changing until the end of the week) and I dont think I am teaching tomorrow before getting back on the slopes on Thursday am!

So TTFN

That was rare

Its not often in the season that you get a full day off, without kids etc... but I used it to 'pre-load' energy saver wise for the next few weeks of crazynees and catch up on some jobs that need doing. I find that starting in late November the ability to actually get anything done outside direct family or mountain related stuff is really hard. So email clearing, filing paperwork and loads of other rubbish jobs got done (well sort of anyway).

However that was all after getting the kids to creche and the kids club which was quite a thing. But it worked out.

The weather was once again warm (totally unseasonably warm) and pretty windy. Much of the snow of last week especially down here in town has pretty much melted but luckily the coverage on the mountain is staying good. Meanwhile the preparations for the Womens World Cup racing to down here into La Daille are progressing well (I do my duty on Friday) and it is looking nearly set. There is the first training day tomorrow so lets hope that gets off OK. The only problem when the racing is on is that the options for skiing to La Daille are very limited - in fact limited to skiing the Raye. That makes it VERY busy but worse still there is no signposting at the Folie level telling people about the piste closures lower down which I think is pretty poor!

I did take a walk into town to sort a couple of things out too and then at the end of the day had to go and collect Ben from creche so I have done something semi active today! Ha ha.

Tomorrow I am teaching in the morning and then in the afternoon I have to head to Bourg to get in a food shop - go, go, go!

TTFN

You know it makes sense.

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

Steve I know that the Face will be icy after the men’s races. Is that from the top or just the lower half? And does the same apply to whichever run the ladies use in La Daille?
Am coming out with family for the Xmas week and am really excited though I can see the weather is mixed

A snowHead

@carfla7, lower half because it was only the slalom. OK/Orange will (normally) be tomato bottom, but they do a a decent job of churning the ice up after so isn't usually a big problem a day or two later.

A snowHead

Thanks! I really enjoy the top half of the Face and I can chicken out onto the red half way down

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

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Its still very warm

Firstly the above anderoo - thanks. The other regarding the ice and injecting etc - the runs down to La Daille normally stay OK - the only section that is generally hit and miss is the very last section down to the bottom of the gondola. The Face on the other hand is normally tricky the lower section but the warm temps have pretty much seen to any issues there might of been so it should come up OK!

All systems go first thing this morning as usual but today even more so as I had to get the first lifts up so I could get across to the Tommeuse to meet my am lesson who were skiing across from Tignes to meet me. Anyway it all worked out OK and I made good time - phew.

I met my team (same as a couple of days back) and we had a lovely ski around working on carving. The strong Foehn wind is still blowing so it made it a little nippy on the peaks and with the sun hidden for much of the morning it was chilly but the actual air temp is way higher than it should be for this time of the year. In fact we ended up having a warm up break at the Bellevarde. The restaurant was dominated by the racers and their coaches so it was quite cool seeing all the national races hanging out in there. Anyway we had a good session and heading down to the La Daille we even saw some of the training runs for the Womens DH which (having completed the training session today) means that they can now do the race on Saturday (weather permitting!). It was a good session.

As soon as the session was over I made a mad dash home to change into normal clothes, grab the car and head to Bourg to collect a click and collect shop and also pop into Super U to get more stuff and then head home. It was a mad dash! I did manage to get it all done and got most of it put away before frantically heading into town to collect Ben and Olivia and getting them home whilst Clare finished her days teaching up.

By the time it got to the evening and bath and bed time etc it was a piece of cake!

At school Clare had a great day and was so excited to tell me that Papa Noel had come to visit and given her a present - she was most excited - bless!

So with todays training day on the Womens World Cup DownHill completed that takes some of the pressure off. I have my day on duty tomorrow so that means a 7am meet at the bottom of the funi - boo and I am guessing that we will get there and be told to bug off as there will not be much to do UNLESS it has snowed hard overnight. With the temps remaining high there is unlikely to be a solid freeze so the course should be in good nick from the off. HOWEVER the weather is supposed to crap out pretty much from first light so who knows what the day will entail in the end. And by the end of the day and for the next few days it could get very fruity once again. I think finally the Foehn will give way and allow the winds to sweep in with moisture from the atlantic and since things have been backed up for quite a while it will be a big influx of weather for several days.... hmmm lets hope it binds well with the existing snow otherwise the risk will be really high!

Anyway early start so will heading to bed now.

TTFN

One of the best spots to view from - just above or at the Folie

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi Steve
Quick question why did they open OK today? Was it because they decided to shorten the course?

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

@Steve Angus,

"One of the best spots to view from - just above or at the Folie"

My favourite spot to watch the Women's Downhill is from the balcony of the Triffollet Restaurant because you can sit on a real chair and enjoy a chocolat chaud!

The warm weather appears to have had a major effect on the snow. It looks lke rain on the Webcam.

After all it is free

brovert - yes sort of. So for DH races they have 'normal' and 'lower' possible start positions (bearing in mind the criteria for the races in terms of vertical drop, number of gates etc is tightly controlled). Yesterday they got the one mandatory training run off from the lower start position and because today they could not get a training run from the normal (higher) start position it means they can only use the lower start tomorrow no matter what the weather... so for that reason they could take away the netting at the top down to the lower position!

Kenzie - whopps!

welshflyer - yes another good spot indeed. Tomorrow could be interesting for the race - we shall see.

Waiting for nothing

My early start for my day of duty ultimately came to nothing - arghh!

So yes the alarm clock went off early and I made it to the bottom of the funi on time. We headed up just after 7 and got our 'lisseur' bib and did just the one slip of the course getting snow off the course and as far to the side as possible. The snow is fragile and being warm we pretty much had to stay off the race line. Anyway more waiting about followed before we were finally told that the training day was cancelled so we had to pull the B red netting up 30cm or so which should aid any snow clearance tonight (piste basher) or tomorrow am (tomorrows slip team!)

By this stage it was nearly lunchtime so we headed to the tent for our workers lunch - being France it was a 3 course feast of course! And shortly after that the decision was made that there was nothing more we could do on the course today so we were all sent home - yay major bonus!

However it was blessing in disguise really as about an hour after I got home the phone call came through to say that Ben had a temperature and I needed to collect him from the creche! Oh no! Anyway I got him and he was in good spirits but the timing was not good as papa noel was there to give out presents and there was certainly cake floating about - anyway he got home and settled easily enough although this evening he has already woken up a couple of times screaming so lets hope he is now dosed up well enough that he will sleep through the night!

Meanwhile I also collected Olivia at 1730 after her extended stay at school and then it was the usual bath and bed time routine!

Tomorrow it is Clare on her WC duty so I am on daddy day care duties all day and with Olivia knackered now term is over and Ben under the weather and the weather hit and miss out there (and of course a grandstand view of the finish area for the World Cup) I think we will be spending most of the day inside!

The weather is really coming in pretty heavily over the next few hours and days so lets see how things pan out!

On the roads tomorrow they are forecasting 30000 cars coming up the valley which is a pretty high number but it should not be a mega problematic day I hope! But as my usual advice leave early or arrive late is the best course of action!

I also have a funny story to share that I heard from one of Olivias teachers today regarding father christmases visit to her school yesterday. Apparently one of the kids asked Papa Noel where his sled and reindeer were, a little stumped he replied that he had parked up in La Daille and taken the bus into the school.... to which the kid replied that he lived in La Daille and would be asking his parents if they had seen the sled and reindeer or not - if no then father christmas would be in trouble for telling fibs! Ha ha!

Oh and I heard today about a new sushi restaurant that has opened in the tourist office square - its called Bamboo - must go and try and locate and try it out - sounds exciting!

I think that is all for today! I wonder how much fresh snow we will have by the morning - could be interesting!

TTFN

My colleague Colin and the other inmates take the first funi up at 0700 to the top of the mountain ready for the days work

Standing around and waiting again!

Heavy snowfall this evening

Cheers Steve. Leaving tomorrow from Val d’Isère after a school trip but have really enjoyed your updates. Staying in La Daille, the WC closing the runs down has been a pain but c’est la vie I suppose. Have become a real convert to Coco Rico this week...far more fun than Folie. Back to Val Claret at Easter but with family rather than 40 teenage boys...hoping the Tignes Coco is just as good.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

snowhound - cheers! The Tignes one is newer than the Val one but it certainly seems to have the same sort of vibe. Glad you enjoyed the updates and your trips - enjoy the next one.

After the heavy snow of last night it eased off in the dead of the night but then started again in earnest at first light. Those on the WC duties (including Clare) had a staggered start and luckily Clare got the latest possible start of 0800 (although work had started at about 6am on the course). Meanwhile I had the kids and we enjoyed a relaxed few hours at home (in fact it was a very relaxing all day at home with the kids for the most part - having a down day for the kids who will have a very hectic few weeks what with ski lessons, days at the kids clubs, Xmas itself and so on and so forth).

Unfortunately they kept on putting the start time of the race back and back some more. Hundreds of people were working non stop to get all signs of the soft snow away from the race course but with the return of the heavy snow it was never going to be and by mid morning they had called time on the race - a shame as the sun came out later in the afternoon but you have to make the call at some point!

Ben had a sleep at lunchtime and Olivia dozed off on the sofa (me too but dont tell anyone!) before Clare got back home mid afternoon. The rest of the day has involved a lot more family time, making some Xmas decorations, a family dinner, listening to Christmas music etc. So not to much to report from today really.

They are going to have another go at running the Womens DH tomorrow but the weather forecast is not looking too good - heck they can but try I suppose! In fact the weather forecast is calling for LOTS AND LOTS of snow and wind for the next few days leading up to Xmas itself - hmmm could be interesting!

Meanwhile they are calling for an occupancy rate of 84% for this week which is high and certainly makes the coming week one of the busier weeks of the season - hold on to your hats!

A few photos from various sources of todays antics (mainly on the slopes of the WC) follow.

Tomorrow Im back on full time teaching now for the next 3 weeks or so bar Xmas day off... so thats the morning whilst Clare teaches in the afternoon so it will be a child swap at lunchtime and probably at the Blue Note as Santa is coming to visit in the BN at lunchtime!

TTFN

Rather snowy view from our balcony this morning (well for much of the day actually!

Piste bashers are not normally used in the clearing of the snow unless there is a lot to get rid of! PS this was this PM after the race today was cancelled but all eyes on for tomorrows rescheduled race now.

Not that glamorous at crack of dawn though! Thanks to Didier Laroche of Ski-lesson.com for the use of this photo

Thanks to my wife for this pic....

Clare lugging pipes down the slope

Sneeky standing in the start gate!

Not for real alas!

Help!!

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

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