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

A snowHead

Unexpected

Not only did the temperature drop overnight but it also snowed quite a lot. I actually ended up having a late night as I was trying to get loads of pictures downloaded that I had been sent of the heli skiing from the other day... its not often that you get perfect powder, blue skies and first tracks and the heli part all in one but Wednesday was one of those days! So getting such amazing footage was a real treat! For those of you who follow me on Instagram I uploaded the best vids and pics today!

Anyway back to today... well after the rude awakening of the alarm clock after not enough sleep it was action stations as Clare was teaching at 0900 and me at 0930! Alas I dropped Ben off then got to the meet point! It was actually quite chilly out there and that caught me by surprise but what was more surprising was how quickly the sun came out and would you believe it today was one of the days that I forgot to take and / or put on suncream - doh!

Bang on time at 0930 we were all assembled and ready for some more powder work! Heading up the Olympic one of the first things that struck me was that it seemed there was a lot of powder out there - with the colder temps overnight the snow must have dried out and with relatively low winds it was set to be the deepest and lightest powder so far this year - especially the depth - much deeper than I had anticipated!

Local knowledge comes to the front once again and I knew that if I hung around the Fontaince Froid area long enough I could get the correct terrain for the team BUT also spot when the Grand Pre opened and would you believe it on the way down the piste to the Collette off piste area the Grand Pre opened so we made sure to get our fill just off the sides of the piste and boy was it good. The depth.....

Seeing untracked piste with powder sitting on the top is quite special knowing you are gonna be the first to attack it....

It was a good morning and everyone was chuffed to pieces!

I took lunch at the office and then in the afternoon I had my seasonnaires for their last session. We headed Solaise way and ultimately ended up at the Fornet glacier.... boy it got colder and colder this afternoon and ultimately was quite windy so it felt more like January than March - eek!

It was a fun session as we finished up by doing some basic freestyle at the end.

After collecting Olivia and heading home it has been a very lazy evening. Looking forward to a family day tomorrow.

Meanwhile some pieces of local news...

There was sad reports of a 33 year old seasonnaire (French) falling down some stairs over in Tignes and dieing last night which is incredibly sad! And of course the Corona Virus worries touch even the lofty heights of Val... some rumours of a case here - yes thats just the vicious rumour mill! However some accommodation clubs (french clubs that rent a whole hotel) have started monitoring peoples health this week - its all been taken seriously!

The roads forecast for tomorrow and Sunday is looking pretty decent but there might be some jams but all in all it should be OK out there!

yes I know it looks like Eleanor is puking but she was just getting herself up!

TTFN

A snowHead

Nice going girl

It was well after 7 before the kids woke us up this morning which was a nice surprise! It was also nice to see that there had been a little touch up of fresh snow overnight too and the temps had remained low. Was there or wasnt there blue sky up there - hard to tell really but I thought that it was probably going to be on balance a sunny day rather than a cloudy day and it was sort of both as the clouds came and went all day!

Alas when we were all ready it was time for Olivias first go on a snowboard and the plan was whilst I was doing that Clare would take Ben for a spin too! So we headed out (which is no mean feat getting all the kids sorted like that!) and I have to say a massive thank you to the team at Hors Limit in town (next to Victors) who were so good getting Olivia kitted out with a tiny board etc and ultimately letting us borrow the board for free... the Burton Rigglelit is such an awesome set up!

Anyway we headed up Solaise and the fresh snow was perfect for learning on - lucky thing she is! So little by little over the course of a few runs on the big magic carpet she totally blew me away and ultimately was able to side slip down on both heel and toe edges (to a fashion anyway)... so that was way better than I thought she would achieve... good girl!

A hot chocolate stop at the Lounge and then after Clare and Ben had headed home, lunch at Roxy burger bar in town capped off a perfect morning! It was a great daddy and daughter bonding morning! When I got her home she then took a long sleep and with Ben doing the same it was a relaxing afternoon!

The evening was spent watching the rugby and then grabbing a takeaway pizza from Val Pizza and settling down with a beer or two - yippee!

Meanwhile more hotels and tour ops are reporting problems with the Corona Virus and people changing plans etc - it is starting to cause problems - arghhh just what we needed - not!

So tomorrow I think we are going for a family swim in the am and then probably a chilled afternoon at home after that!

Stand by for more updates,

TTFN

Dudette!

Not to be left out... trying to upstage his big sis!

Prime posing position A!

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

A nice family day

Again the kids were not awake too early and it was again nice to have a family breakfast and chill a little! I enjoyed my favourite treat of eggs (poached today) on toast. When we had sorted ourselves out we headed to the swimming pool. It was a jolly fun couple of hours although nearly as bag a faff as going skiing / boarding with them yesterday - ha!

But it was nice and with the sun shining it is beginning to feel a lot like Spring has taken hold! After a snack lunch and with the kids sleeping I caught up on some paperwork and then we played some games etc this afternoon when the kids were awake. Olivia was rather tired so took herself off for another sleep and then we had a family roast!

With the weather supposed to be going up and down non stop the next few days temp and snow / rain etc wise it could be rather interesting however the prospect of the Corona Virus problems starting the wreak havoc on bookings we are all hoping it doesn't get to the stage where they have to shut resorts down like they are doing over in Italy. Bearing in mind the Aosta Valley is just over the boarder from here and connected to La Rosiere down the road it is close but of course a million miles in reality (at this time of the year!).

Not much else to report but I should probably get another good nights sleep as this week is looking like it is gonna be a busy one! Ha ha! In fact with the good snow LOADS of weekend warriors and non family groups are coming up so the resort is going to be semi busy once again this week but nothing to worry about in terms of queues I dont think!

TTFN

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I’m hoping my hol in two week’s time doesn’t get cancelled, I’m so looking forward to it!!

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Roof box is on. Skis serviced ( arms killing me! ) Leave Friday, let’s hope it still happens.

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For now, PSG just announced CL game to be played behind closed doors

For now, PSG just announced CL game to be played behind closed doors

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Cold

It once again felt like a January morning with about 10cm of fresh snow on the ground BUT no sign of the sun shining it was Winter once again! Olivia was on top form getting up this morning which was a nice change and Ben was happy to go to creche! So with Clare not working until the afternoon she took Olivia to the bus and then Ben to creche which made a nice change for me not really being on duty this am - yay!

Anyway it was nice to catch up with colleagues at the meeting point before starting the days teaching! So I had a client who I ski with about once a year and I had totally forgotten his level until he turned up... its funny how you forget people unintentionally (you see faces all the time and its only when you've seen people 2 / 3 times that it sticks (well thats me anyway)). It took me a couple of minutes to remember the back story and that he was a break from the norm as he was only in his 20's etc and that he had started with me as a beginner a couple of years back... ah yes it all comes flooding back - ha ha!

So with the weather windows drifting about I decided that Solaise side would be the better side and after a warm up on Madelaine we dived into some laps on the various blues up Solaise but the aim was to try a ski down Plan M which is a tricky red run. Anyway after some work we took a trip down and he responded well - bravo! Just the one (spectacular) fall after the narrow section so he did rather well - congrats!

I took lunch under the Sun Bar before heading up the Olympic to meet my pm team. The pm was a father and his 2 grown up sons who were regulars to Val and solid skiers - just looking to make the next break through in their technique! So with the wind starting to get up and the clouds and snow moving in once again we decided to head Tignes way! We got in some really good runs working through the fundamentals of what they all needed to work on and saw some good improvements but with the choppy pm snow the legs got tired so we ended up finishing about 10 mins earlier!

I collected the kids from creche / school and headed home for the evening chores.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is similar to today before we get a few days of sunshine!

Thankfully all seems to be OK on the CoronaVirus front here folks so fear not it is business as usual and until anything changes everything seems just fine here thankfully!

Rather a lot of snow means the magic carpet atop Solaise is totally buried at the moment!

Pesky clouds moving in and out all day!

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Just spent 5 days in Tignes Le Lac, our first time there. Very impressed by the area, huge amount of terrain and we hit the jackpot with the snow. Some great powder over the weekend although strangely it stayed crusty until about 12 o'clock each day then softened up until the sun disappeared. I did bash a rib off the glacier, the off-piste was a bit icy there, but I'll survive. No sign of any Corona virus impacts, my flights to Geneva were full and everything seemed quite normal. Will definitely come back next year, might try and stay in Val D'Isere next time though, accommodation permitting, as we felt Tignes Le Lac was a bit limited as a "town" other than the very nice pool...

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Ground hog day

The weather was pretty much the same today as yesterday but the main difference was the increase in temperatures! For some reason I was in a rush this am as I seemed to sleep through my alarm clock... so I was on continual catch up!

Anyway Clare did the honours with the kids once again and I headed to the meet point. I had the honour of teaching a good client of one of my colleagues who is away working elsewhere this week. It was nice to meet a nice client who skies with TDC a lot and had actually learnt with us - a really nice guy and his grown up daughter! Anyway we headed up the Bellevarde and spent most of the am staying low to improve visibility and indeed it was OK. However I think lots of people decided to stay in bed given the weather as it was pretty quiet out there. We worked on some general technique development and covered quite a lot ground so it was a good morning!

Lunch was taken back at the Sun Bar loo's area and then I met the same team as yesterday pm and we again lapped up and down to the La Daille but this time working on moguls! It was a good session but they got tired again!

I headed home after skiing and enjoyed a cuppa and catching up with a few things before heading into town to collect Olivia from her art class!

So tomorrow it should be nice weather - thankfully as we could do with some sun as it has been a few days since we last saw it and it is Spring time of course so we should be getting plenty of it at the moment - ha ha! The temps are really going to spike though and will be warm the whole of the next few days really so the wet heavy snow will only get wet and heavier. However the pistes will stay in good condition I think. Of piste however it might get more interesting - hmmm lets hope it doesn't get totally ruined eh!

TTFN

You know it makes sense.

Hot... oh did I mention it was hot!

I wasnt quite expecting to see thick clouds when I opened this curtains this morning but it was warm all night and it was supposed to be sunny so I trusted the forecast! Anyway I headed to take Ben to creche - boy its tricky work with skis, sledge etc etc - I do it every day but pretty much every day I surprise myself with how tricky it was but today was nice as someone (sorry didnt get your name) had a nice chat with me on the bus saying that he reads this blog each day - so hope you are enjoying your trip here!

So after dropping Ben I got to the meeting point and it was all a little rushed this morning... sun cream, replying to a couple of messages, popping to the loo - all had to be done at the meeting point and the clients were 5 mins early - arghhh all such a rush!

After taking a layer off (thankfully as it was gonna be a scorching hot day!) we headed up the Bellevarde side and almost immediately burst through the clouds! It was glorious up there and we enjoyed some lovely pistes and aimed to stay on quiet pistes as much as possible. After a couple of days of poor weather there was a lot of demand to maximise slope time today so there were the usual queues and pinch points!

We ended up having a really lovely time over in Tignes and working on some moguls stuff and had tea break at The Corner - I managed to restrain myself from a sausage roll but boy they looked good (they are good!)

I had a rushed lunch but mainly because I got a call from Clare (she had been skiing with Olivia in the morning) to say that Olivia wanted to have a go at the Face (she has been ready for it for a while!). Anyway we did a quick lap with her (me, Clare and her) and it was amazing 30 mins... taking my daughter down the Face (from the Peau de Vache) for the first time. Apart from a couple of sit downs due to fatigue she did so really well. I was a very proud father thats for sure!

So by 1230 it was a quick sandwich and loo stop before meeting the pm lot and we headed towards the Val glacier working on carving and apart from a slightly strong breeze up there it was lovely! The only issue was that the Cascades lift was having problems - argh! So a few plan 'a', 'b' and 'c' ensued!

After skiing it was a quick trip to the Garage to catch up with a colleague and her new born baby - congrats she is a cutey before heading home for the normal evening repertoire!

Tomorrow the weather will be similar and I am up on the Val glacier again in the morning working on carving with my team and then taking some seasonnaires heli skiing in the pm!

Until tomorrow...

TTFN

Ummmmmm never seen one of those before - a snow blade mono ski - arghhh whatever next - have you no shame man!

Name that piste!

Stunning shot of the valley cloud!

Nuff said!

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

Wild guess on the piste, Signal off Col du Palet?

A snowHead

@Steve Angus, Cairn coming down from Motte, Genepy on skier’s right

A snowHead

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

endoman and Grinning - thats correct!

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Late posting

Sorry folks yesterday was a bit of a rush! So am posting later!

Basically it was overcast and a little windy at altitude yesterday but the temps were quite high still! I had my same team as previous days in the am yesterday and we headed to the Val glacier to work on carving and had a really good session! I finished at lunchtime and dashed to the office to get off piste gear ready for the pm seasonnaires heli trip to Chevril!

Anyway everyone got there on time and with the heli sured up we set off. The snow off piste was really quite horrible it must be said but as it often is with seasonnaires its 'all about the heli home!'. We took the nicest route via the Familliale then boot packed up and got the OK from the pilot. However dropping down in altitude all the time the snow got heavier and heavier and nastier and nastier! Without going into details we got down by hook or by crook! It wasnt pretty but everyone got down - oh well even if it did take much longer than planned!

The pilot gave us a really good flight and threw the chopper about which was fun! When we got to the top of Solaise everyone was knackered! I certainly was tired thats for sure!

Anyway we headed home and I had a really long shower and then Clare and I headed out for dinner with some friends! We went to Tuffs and had the most amazing steak - awesome stuff! However it was pissing with rain from about 6pm onwards but that was falling as snow at altitude (high altitude admittedly!). Arghhh what next!

Anyway the other big thing on the agenda was keeping an eye on what is happening with Corona Virus and listening to what Macron and the French government are saying. Of course with schools etc now closing on Monday we spent the time after we got in from dinner talking about what we do next and trying to work out a plan! There are multiple options but we have come up with a plan!

So there we are folks that was yesterdays update!

I was not planned to teach today hence doing the write up now. Will report more later this evening!

Loved this photo from Radio Val of the view from a couple of days ago!

TTFN

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi Steve, whats the info if any are you instructors getting re closing of resorts in France, Due out on 28th March.

Thanks

Tim B

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@Steve Angus,

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On the brink

It was all systems go first thing this am as I was up to get Olivia ready for school and ben for creche before dashing into town for a ski school meeting at 0800. We wanted to have a good chat about the CoronaVirus in terms of chatting about how to drum up more business etc etc etc in the short period we have before the Easter hols... But we also wanted to chat about the likelihood of resort shut down and all that! Anyway it was a good meeting!

I picked up some supplies on the way home and although it was certainly not panic buying, I got some things like extra cartons of UHT milk etc. I also noticed that they were out of hand sanitiser too - Vals take on panic buying!

I got home and pretty much spent the most of the day monitoring what is happening on the Corona Virus front and doing a few odd jobs around the house! Clare was out teaching all day so it was a quiet one!

At the day end it was a sad one collecting Ben and then Olivia from school / creche as we just dont know where we go from here... saying buy to their friends and teachers etc - it was a foreboding moment!

And there you have it folks! I was never down to teach this weekend so I am not really sure what we will do this weekend - take the kids swimming I am guessing one day - a walk another.... not really sure!

Meanwhile the snow on the mountain was better today off piste after it dried out a little (I believe) and the pistes were still in excellent condition!

The season rumbles on!

TTFN

My colleague Nicko got some good shots up there today!

Panic buying Val style!

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Thanks Steve. Stay safe and virus free

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Best wishes to you and your family. Huge well done to Olivia for her descent down La face!!!!

We’re heading home from Colorado 10 days early. Strange times. Hope the season continues for as long as possible.

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Arrived in Val today. My first time. Staying with UCPA.
Weather seems fine, equal bits of sun and cloud. Will start skiing tomorrow. Crowds look a bit less than I expected, but I am not complaining. All lifts, shops and bars seem to be open.

Flying out tomorrow with YSE hope all is okay BD VAL remains virus free

You know it makes sense.

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

Cocorico (Val d’Isere and Tignes) have announced they are closing for the rest of the season.

A snowHead

Resort slowdown is a disaster for the new, palace-grade Hotel Mademoiselle in Val.

A snowHead

Unsurprising. I expect the Folie will be as well, and all the big apres bars in France.

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

Well, that’s that then. Tignes closed and Val will have to be as well. Sad news indeed.

It all happened much faster than I expected.

This situation has become very serious indeed.

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And Val is done. So sad..

[INFO COVID-19]
Suite à l'allocution du Premier Ministre, la station sera probablement contrainte de fermer demain matin, et jusqu'à la fin de la saison.
-
Following Prime Minister speech, the resort will probably close tomorrow morning, until the end of the season.
#valdisere

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Timbobaggins - thanks you 2!
lynnecha - thanks also.... yes its crazy - like something out of a movie. Its so multifaceted the whole thing - the impact on tourism / family life etc - you name it. We were so proud of Olivia!
auliski - welcome to Val... its all changed in the last few hours so hope you have a safe and 'enjoyable' week and whatever happens your week and experiences dont put you off coming back again!
vipul - darn it - guess you won't be coming anymore! Hope that YSE have made that call!
HoneyBunny - its gone crazy hasn't it and getting really serious! Well lets meet on the other side shall we!
muppet - along with quite a few too and that was before the PM made the announcement this evening!
Whitegold - agreed!

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Locking down

Well folks this whole thing is moving mighty fast isnt it...........

So lets roll back to the morning shall we.... I woke early (not sure why) and enjoyed a lie in (Clare was fast asleep still!) until Olivia came in for a cuddle then Ben started shouting that it was time to get up (it had gone 0730 so that'll do me!!!!).

So after a chilled start we headed for a family ski day... Ben skiing with Clare and Olivia wanting to give snowboarding a go! So anyway once again Hors Limities in town helped get Olivia set up with a small Burton Riglett board and we were off! There was a few clouds about and a breeze but nothing serious and it was a lovely few hours up the mountain! Olivia did SOOO well and happily sliding on her heels by the end totally by herself and her toes are getting there too! Being a Saturday and in light of what is happening everyone was up there so it was quite social seeing her friends and parents about the place etc! A hot choc in the Lounge before heading back for lunch!

I took an afternoon trip into town to see the Planks sale that has now started and did a little food shopping before heading home!

Most of the evening was spent with the kids and having a family dinner!

To be honest MOST of the day was peeping through our fingers to see what was happening in the world with regards Corona Virus etc. Also considering ways in which we can entertain 2 small / young kids for the next 9878937349874 days! As long as we dont get TOTAL isolation order and all we dont ALL get it then we can cope I hope. I have decided to allow Olivia to chose a country and then together we can find out all about the country on the internet etc! Could be a nice way to pass the time and get academic progress for her!

With the kids in bed the news that we are 99% sure to close tomorrow am - they are waiting for a couple of technical clarifications tomorrow am - filtered through! So we assume everyone (holiday makers) will empty out the resort little by little over the next few days and that will leave just the locals mainly and that will keep things quiet! After that projection - who knows whats next!

So tomorrow is the main local elections for the new major so it will be interesting to see who wins that - as and when Val gets back on its feet the new mayor and his vision will be vital!

I do plan to keep on reporting but it might get to the point where it is pointless so for the time being I am planning on keeping these daily updates.

I also wish to say 'good luck' to everyone... it feels very weird being out here as now it has gone midnight we have entered this 'semi' lockdown - fingers crossed this is not as bad as it could get! I have to admit that my biggest fear is for my elderly mother - she is in a care home in the UK (a good one at that!) but as I am an only child and her Power of Attorney I feel totally helpless and in the hands of the gods and luck! I hope the care home manage to implement their policies they have just announced which is basically to shut the front door!

So until tomorrow I guess (hope) everyone ill leave you with this little photo selection!

TTFN

Lots of people left this morning BUT I didnt really notice that many new people coming up the hill! Hmm wonder if that was wishful thinking or not!

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@Steve Angus,
We left town last night at 6pm to return to the UK for our daughters 18th birthday this week and never expected everything to escalate so quickly. We keep thinking about everyone in town that have had to shut businesses down it must be devastating.

After all it is free

YSE messaged me just over an hr ago ,asked if my party still wanted to travel offering us their excellent food and wine ,saying we could enjoy a walking holiday !! But we might get stuck out there in quarantine, covering themselves re reimbursement ???
I declined to travel I wanted to skiing not walking ..

@muppet, yes terrible for all the businesses and ski instructors in Val , the bigger boys will be able to take the hit ,I suspect many will not . I wonder how many chalet operations will survive this and potential Brexit ramifications.

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

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