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

A snowHead

@Steve Angus, read about the big slide on Radio Val & the Pisteurs Secouristes de Val d'Isère. Huge, 3-400m wide, took the whole side off almost down to base. Do you know any more details? Skier triggered or natural, nationality of the injured?

I've only been off-piste once this season so far for an afternoon. Was nice-ish under Lanches chair but still going over hidden rocks. Had two friends who've crocked themselves so far, both hitting one rock and landing on another, both hospital jobs and one out of action for 2 months at least. Value my skis/knees/head/life too much to risk it again until a couple more significant dumps.

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

@vegas007,

If you use the skis you must have the bindings adjusted to fit his ski boots correctly and the DIN release settings adjusted for his height, weight & skiing ability.

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@vegas007, I'dd say a bit shorter better, eg 115-120cms. He'd grow into the 130s by next year probably.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@vegas007,
Hire him skis as per Steve's advice, but take the 130s in to the hire shop & ask them to fit the bindings for his boots/ din settings. Then towards the end of your trip he can try them out on a rock free (think of the bases!) piste he is comfortable on.

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@Dr John, see my post on the Offpiste thread for link to the pay desert avie.

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

Dr John - I dont really know any other details no.... although id imagine it was natural would be my guess but of course it could have been triggered from below but thats pure speculation from me. No other details im afraid! Yes know what you mean re the off piste - its touch and go!

Wacky races continue

It was a repeat weather wise of yesterday morning but the kids didnt seem as tired this morning so getting them sorted this morning was relatively easy thankfully. Ben has managed to work out how to get the tv controller from my hiding place so was happily engrossed in Netflix when I got up - doh - new hiding place needed!

Anyway I only had to cross over the road this morning to meet my team and the plan changed a little so we split the session in 2 x 1.5 hour slots... this means the kids can each get 1-1 attention from me - mainly its actually they dont squabble and I can keep a closer eye to make sure they are not being lazy when following me down slopes etc. Anyway It worked well actually.

One thing I really noticed though was the immense queues - for example with Santons / Epaule Charvet shut the public queue (there are not HUGE numbers of kids groups around this week surprisingly which helps the ski school line not be out of control!) for Fontaine Froid this morning was as big as I have ever seen it. It doesnt help when the chairs dont go up full thats for sure and groups all get to the front of the queue and then wait for one person meaning the chair ahead of them goes up with say 2 people on - grrrr!

The slopes were once again sooooo busy. The numbers of people hooning it around thinking they actually can ski is still huge - interesting interpretations as to what good skiing is.... it is very often young guys in their early 20's - a little experience coupled with large ego's never bodes well in skiing! Right enough old man moaning - haha!

So it was a good morning and then I took lunch under the Sun Bar (I do like getting away from the sun or the weather at break times as best I can!).

The afternoon was a change of scenery again with a really nice 12 year old boy. His parents have taken an appartment for the season here in town and he will be out several times over the course of the Winter to ski. He is pretty new to the sport but we had a lot in common on various fronts so it was nice chatting (even though he was 12) with someone who was on my wavelength. The skiing was good and about the trickiest part of the skiing was the descent down by the Folie as it was sheet ice! Conditions are tricky on the piste and not great off but I really have seen worse. As I said last night half the issue seems to be other instructors from other resorts that do not have skiing coming up to the EK making it much busier than it need be I would say!

After work Clare was doing the kids honour so I got home to sort a few things out ahead of them coming back. The kids seem tired this evening so we got them into bed nice at early - phew!

Not long after it got dark I was aware that the SAMU chopper was right outside the window.... it landed right on the snow front down here in La Daille.... in the dark. I am assuming by the location of the accident that someone might have been straight lining down across the flats at the bottom and someone else might have been trying to cut across to go over the little bridge towards the apartment blocks over there and a collision might have taken place... something like that is my sort of assumption. The chopper landed and was stationary for about 10 mins with engines off before restarting so that is never a good sign. Best wishes to whomever was involved in the incident over there.

And finally I was reading the reports from the residents Q&A session with the mairie yesterday. It looks like finally in Spring 2024 they will have the budget to replace the Vallon gondola up on the glacier! They are talking about having the departure station a tiny bit further up the hill from there it currently is (hmmmm that could be interesting connecting from the cable car coming from Fornet couldnt it!). There is also the possibility of the chairs and drag lifts on the glacier being redone too / moved... again not sure what they are thinking but IF the chair simply went higher then that could eliminate the need for the t bar up on the glacier - not sure what that will mean for Summer skiing up there but im sure they have a plan!

TTFN

After all it is free

@Steve Angus, my Mrs lost a pole through a hole in the floor of the Vallon gondola 25 the yrs ago. It was a piece Eh oh!

f junk back then.

@Frosty the Snowman,

Yes those "ventilation" holes in the floor of the Vallon cabins are rather big, but not big enough for a person to evacuate the cabins when the lift keeps breaking down.

It will be interesting to see what replaces it.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Well getting a tad giddy

our March 2020 postponed trip is about to happen Smile

Got skis & all the gear out of the garage ready for 14th Jan....will it really happen this time?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Frosty the Snowman / welshflyer - yes 25 odd years ago I remember thinking myself it was old piece of junk but now it is really ancient. I think it will be a new gondola.

michaelbury17 - yippee - good things (forced) come to those who wait!

Power outage

I got a really nice wake up call this morning as my son decided he wanted a cuddle shortly before the alarm clock went off - so that was a nice start to the day!

Anyway the kids were sorted out and Clare took them to Village as she was starting a little later than me. I met the same kid as I had yesterday afternoon and we headed up the Bellevarde again... this was partly because there was a power cut up Solaise which meant that initially only the Solaise gondola and Madelaine and magic carpets were working up there.... it was going to be bedlam up that side.... of course the knock on effect was that the Bellevarde side was going to be even busier!

Anyway I played the tactical game against the traffic that was following us up the mountain... so after a warm up down 3J (had been beautifully pisted overnight which was good as yesterday it was horrendous moguls by the looks of things) we dropped into his first ever red run with a couple of laps of Fontaine Froide. The slope was in good condition but the light was a little hit and miss.... in fact the weather forecast for the day (it actually went the other way more or less) was for conditions to worsen and it to start snowing later in the day.

Anyway he coped really well on his first red run - I was most impressed. After the two laps we eased things up a little and did some blues and greens and also took a hot choc break at the Folie. Whilst at the Folie I checked the 4G speed there - could not believe it - see photo for pic evidence... it was nearly 200mbps - incredible!

I took lunch in my normal slot and was surprised that when I came out for the afternoon lesson that it was actually pretty warm and becoming sunny (not snowy) out there..... doh - forecast not quite right.

Anyway my afternoon session was with a lady who was very new to the sport - only 2nd lesson ever. She had done so well in her first session yesterday with my colleague and got turning on the magic carpet under her belt... the main issue (and this is SOOOOO common) was her confidence in her own abilities! She was worried so we took it easy again for a lap or two on the small carpet up Solaise (by now by the way the power cut issue had been sorted and all lifts up there were back up and running!) before tackling the big carpet. I knew that in the coming days her husband would be encouraging her to have a go and it made sense that having a go on the Village lift and learning the ropes of her first chair and where to go etc would be a good idea. So anyway we finished with a couple on the Village... unfortunately the path across the top is in AWFUL condition mainly due to the lack of snow I think... but it is wavey and has a bad camber on it... not easy at all for a beginner! Anyway I am not sure she will do much practicing on her own although she should. It will be a couple of days before I see her next so I hope she gets some practice in but I fear she won't! We shall see.

I was on Village kids pick up duty and ultimately both Clare and I both got back home at exactly the same time..... and since then - well the normal kids sorting and bed time etc.

So the weather forecast is for poor weather tomorrow but I dont think it will be horrendous - hmmm lets see. I then have my last day off skis for 14 consecutive days - eeek

TTFN

Hectic first thing this morning - just about everywhere

Yea prices at the new Italian in the Folie - somewhat on the high side eh!

But the 4G internet speed is good there eh!

snow reports

@Steve Angus, we can confirm that 3J did indeed have horrendous moguls on it yesterday. Mrs ST got stuck on it because as you know, she doesn't do moguls very well. It was pretty bumpy Tuesday afternoon when I was up there.

You know it makes sense.

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

A snowHead

A snowHead

Slightly surprised

It was very hard getting up this morning (now I am typing this in the evening I just CANT WAIT for my semi lie in tomorrow am!) but get up I must. Luckily I was meeting over the road so Clare did the drop and I could leave ever so slightly later than I normally would.

So I met my team for the last time on their holiday at the bottom of the La Daille gondola and we got up away quickly before the crowds followed. It was the 2 lesson split set up once again as per the other day so could take the girl first and we made some great changes to her skiing initially before the boy made even better changes which was satisfying. The lift queues were once again quite big but I managed to negotiate them (even though I do say so myself) effectively so there was minimal hanging around in them!

They gave me a really lovely thank you card at the end - always nice getting things like that to say thank you - ill add it to my collection.

So I quickly downloaded under ever threatening skies at lunchtime to take lunch in my usual spot.

By the time I came out after lunch it was looking really threatening indeed... the main issue however is that the temps are still generally too high - even now its only just below 0 whereas at this time of the year we would expect it to be continuously well below 0.

Anyway 'I' for the afternoon was raring to go - apparently a lunch of champions of a white choc crepe - well that was his sugar high sorted. Anyway we headed up the Olympic and the plan was to take him 'around the World' as we say which basically is the 'normal' loop via Tichot, Grattalu and Grand Huit etc on the Tignes side with of course obligatory stop for a drink at The Corner. We worked on technique a fair bit and I am well impressed how quickly he is improving - good on him! The weather got worse and worse and by the time we were half way around it was absolutely dumping it down with wet but sticky snow. This will be excellent news for the piste and better than nothing for the off pisting thats for sure - could certainly be drier snow but hey ho.

By the time we got back to the top of the Toviere it was dumping it down and the wind was getting up... you really couldnt see a lot. I actually quite enjoy skiing in those conditions as (amongst other things) you get far fewer idiots around and everyone really has to try hard to ski well so shows up poor techniques thats for sure!

A really good session and he was totally knackered by the end - good on you son! As soon as he saw his parents he was asking if they could stop off by the takeaway on the way back to their appartment to get a takeaway. Good result I say!

I got home and Olivia was back with a spring in her step as she was off for a sleepover with a friend. Not wanting to let him be left out and me wanting to try the new takeaway in La Daille out (Jami its called and its over in the centre commercial) we got some takeaway pizzas in. Yummy - really good and especially the 'bambino' kids pizza for less than a €10.

Anyway the snow has eased a little now and tomorrow the weather might improve once again and with this little bit of fresh snow it will hopefully have refreshed the snow surface!

Tomorrow won't be a massive transfer day in the mountains but Sunday the roads are provision to be busy with some 27000 cars on the road... expect delays. Monday will also be a busy day so be prepared!

With Olivia still at her friends house for much of tomorrow Ben and I will have fun day and also doing some chores like taking down the Xmas decorations etc.

I need time out of ski boots tomorrow before back on it from Sunday.

TTFN

Gosh its pink outside the pink cabin of the Olympic eh!

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

We are heading out in a couple of days, to spend the month at our place in La Daille.
Reading the last couple of pages, it looks like we didn’t miss much snow/weather wise by skipping Christmas/New Year.
As we are driving down, we’ll be bringing epic dumps and traffic chaos just as we enter RA/Savoire. Laughing

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@bar shaker, it's generally not been too bad and above say the Folie line, it's been pretty good. Was up on the Solaise and Fornet earlier and had nothing to complain about. Reasonably quiet up there too with no queues.

Have a safe trip out and we might save a little bit of snow for you. snowHead

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Crikey those prices for basic Italian dishes are absolutely bonkers …. Seriously, it’s mind blowing and such cheap dishes to produce. Italian cuisine is simple and as such cheap, in Italy. Well, I suppose there are enough mugs that pay this type of money for lunch. Please tell me Chalet E’delweiss is still good value for great food !?

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

bar shaker / sno trax - yes conditions are pretty good all in all. It could be better but there is plenty to enjoy albeit the pistes being extra busy with people coming up from other resorts but the slopes are in decent enough condition.
Alex A / Judwin - yea I think prices have gone up somewhat this year in line with everything I suppose and everyones idea of value etc is different of course. But I think we all know Val is not a bargain basement resort - thats for sure.

A PROPER down day

I didnt have the best sleep of my life last night - well it was OK but Ben slept in my bed with Clare as a treat so I his bed which is not as comfy as our bed thats for sure. Anyway it was balanced up because I got a decent lie in this morning.

Clare headed out to work whilst Ben and I had a really lazy morning... special eggs breakfast always proves popular. I got some laundry done, Ben watched some tv, lots of little chores and some playing games with him always proves popular. We had a really nice morning. Its not often that we get the chance to totally chill during the season but when we get the chance we grab it with two hands.

After a simple lunch we played some more before Clare got back from work early which is nice which meant we had a few fun hours just the three of us.

Olivia meanwhile had had a great sleep over and was now out skiing with her bestie (well the one that moved to Canada about a year ago and was now back with her family on holiday) so it was to be quiet all afternoon. For Xmas we got her this special watch that can track where she is as well as make / receive messages to a controlled list of people only etc. Perfect. So we could see where she was etc and message her. Pretty cool really.

Anyway the day finished with Olivia coming home knackered as you can imagine and dinner and some final tv time before getting the kids into bed. Yay

The weather outside all day meanwhile remains quite warm all in all and it was also pretty clear all day. The slopes were quieter by all accounts and tomorrow will be quieter still and Monday too.... the coming week should not be too busy I hope on the slopes but I think once again lots will flood up here as resorts elsewhere have less / no snow.

Back to work tomorrow.

TTFN

After all it is free

We got up here yesterday and against a decent queue of traffic ~3km by Aime.

Prices have definitely gone up, now €24.50 for a burger and €9 a pint in L’Escale Blanche in Le Lac!

I haven’t seen the off piste so bare in 10 years of coming to Tignes, looking up from Le Lac towards Glattier and also by what was Trolles lots of exposed mountain side! Easy piste week coming I think Smile

raino Yea that queue is the traffic regulation to go into the Sioux tunnel towards Moutiers - its frustrating but there isnt (at this time of the year) any way around that queue. Blimey basically £30 or a burger and pint... better of coming Val side for better value Laughing

Quiet slopes

So it was back to the ski boots this morning after a reasonable nights sleep. The most annoying thing was that the multiple sets of fireworks meant you could never settle before being woken up 10 mins later with yet another set going off. I can excuse a set at midnight but the fact people keep setting fireworks and fire crackers off non stop is a little anti-social when there are people that need to work in the morning! Arhhh!

Anyway the morning came around a little quickly but I had a clear head which is the main thing.

The kids were off to Village whilst Clare and I were both teaching.

I had a one off lesson that had been split into two sections... basically it was a 7 year old sweet little girl and her younger (5) brother.... they had both had some lessons earlier in the week with another instructor and had advanced at different rates so one (the 7 yr old) was first and she was now ripping around the Madeleine quite happily and was ready to go on the Glacier so thats what we did. It was SOOOO lovely and quiet with great pisted snow first thing - perfect. So we had a really nice hour and half before I had to change to the 5 yr old. He had progressed much slower so was still on the magic carpet. He was fun to ski with (in fact they both were) but it was a little tiring! But all good a nice session all in all.

It was nice to rest up in the usual spot before the pm. It was also nice to reflect on the really empty slopes from the morning and the fact that with so many people leaving today it was a quiet out there in general - yay! In fact there was no lift queues anywhere today.

The afternoon was spent with an old client of mine that I have been teaching on and off for a few years but with covid etc he has not been back for a while and had regressed a little so we spent the afternoon reconstructing his skiing! It was nice to catch up and look at how his fundamentals were affecting his performance. Nice work.

I collected the kids after skiing and we managed to get the evening chores ticked off... phew. Only another 13 days in a row in boots haha and tomorrow is another full day.

I rode the magic carpet a fair few times today and I have noticed a few interesting things.... firstly that people think that leaving NO gap between people on the carpet is OK - as when you get to the top (or more importantly when you have lesser mobile beginners and / or smaller kids) the carpet deposits you right into the backside of the person - doh! Also when the carpet stops the whole point is you DONT start walking up or trying to change carpets - it actually breaks the carpet or leads to a pile up. The other day the carpet on the freestyle park at Val Park stopped working as too many people got too close together so it was overloaded (read the traffic light system folks!) and then when the liftie did restart it so many people continued to walk up and along the swaying motion caused it to stop again... therefore everyone takes their skis off and starts walking and that caused more problems as everyone is then trying to jump back on the carpet when it started again causing pile ups and all sorts. I wish people were as keen to fill up every seat on every chair in the same way - BOY it would eliminate lift queues big time!

The weather continues to be mild and the threat of snow comes closer then slips away again so hopefully we might get something at some point.

TTFN

So lovely and quiet this morning

Val did a good show last night too apparently on the snow front but I quite liked this photo from the Tignes one

And if you are local then this is a really good deal!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Conditions seem quite ok, especially if you compare them with the lower resorts.

But apparently some of the, for me, interesting slopes/areas (Sache, Col des Ves, Génépy/Cairn, Epaule Charvet/Santons, Piste L, Tunnel/3000, Table d'Orientation, ...) are still closed.

I'm assuming that's because of lack of snow and/or avalanche risk?

Any thoughts on the chance that some of these might be opening anytime soon?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Skiwi222,

They won't open until there is a lot of new snow.

They will have been closed for safety reasons.

snow reports

Skiwi222 - yea as welshflyer says its for safety reasons like lack of snow thus rocks / stones etc showing. Again I doubt anything will open anytime soon until we have lots of new snow. Its a real issue for things like Fontaine Froid!

Strange snow

With the temps bouncing / the age of the snow / the thin base etc the snow that is out there on piste is very weird at the moment... it really reminds of snow dome articifical snow. With the underlying ice and stones etc it is certainly an interesting snow texture to ski on thats for sure! The advice still remains to get up early / stay high and download at the end of the day.... its a little bonkers to think that moguls are forming with such little snow out there - of course due to the granular snow on the mountain!

Anyway the kids were off to village one more time before schools go back tomorrow and Clare was on a late start again so she took them.

My morning lesson was a delightful couple who had not been back to Val for many many years. We had a few boot issues to sort at the start and then made some good progress between showing them around (things have changed a fair bit in the last few years in terms of lifts etc) and working on technique. It was a really fun session actually and we had a few chuckles!

The weather was the normal as it has been mix of sun and cloud but warm non the less. Really hoping we get a break in the weather and snow soon but not much chance of that as it stands at the moment unfortunately.

Lunch was in there normal spot and I had a really nice chat with an Oxygene instructor whom has been working here for 10 years but I have never actually chatted to - so that was nice.

The afternoon was back with a kid I had taught the other day and his dad and we had a really good session heading over to Tignes and incorporating a stop for tea at The Corner before having a slide on the Double M.... its a good run but it got a little bumpy and icy at the bottom unfortunately! Anyway some good homework for them both to take away and work on before we meet again later in the season.

After work it was all systems go as Clare took Ben to his swim lesson and I then I changed to go collect him and check the post box etc. But we also needed to get the kids sorted quickly before school tomorrow so lots to sort.

Phew.

TTFN

P.S. I won't reveal who / etc just to know that this ski in the photo was brand new this morning.... doh!

There is some nice snow out there if you know where to find it

Hopefully things are looking up! Forecast looks good on Sunday. [url=https://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Tignes/6day/mid][/url]

Next 4-6 days weather summary:
A heavy fall of snow, heaviest during Sun
afternoon. Freeze-thaw conditions (max 1°C on
Fri morning, min -6°C on Sun night). Wind will be
generally light.

You know it makes sense.

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

@Steve Angus,

Glad you have finally seen the Italian at Folie , whilst agree pricey the quality and quantity is good .
The fish soup starter is a gem .
We left Val the 27th and drove up through the tunnel to Cormeyeur, the resorts on the way there that are fairly low were stunningly bare , Cormeyeur itself was icy as hell with sprinkles of artificial snow on top .
They do out class Val on stylish ski shops though , and eatery prices .

Got home yesterday after 3 weeks of hotels , sleeping in the ( ok fully heated very comfortable) van .

Back at some point in March .

A snowHead

JGSKI - well that would be nice wouldnt it! Fingers crossed!
mwhalber - it would be nice that!
harvsurrey - we can do stylish shops but generally they are functional! Haha! Glad it was a successful trip all round though - bring on your Spring trip eh!

A nice day

It was a little shock to the system getting the kids up and out the door for the school bus this morning but such is the joy. At least with them back at school Clare does not have to do packed lunches for them all the time which she is happy about.

Anyway I headed to the meet point to start my day long booking. It was a really nice guy here with his young family over from Singapore. Originally from Australia he is taking a sabbatical from work and taking lots of family holidays and ticking things off his bucket list... he is trekking to Everest Base Camp in a few weeks time he was telling me. So starting cautiously on the Madelaine we layered up the technique and understanding bit by bit but we could see the blanket of clouds creeping up from below and it wasnt long until everywhere was becoming totally socked in!

I gambled and headed on the up and over hoping we might break through the clouds and knowing full well that often the weather in the Fornet sector can be very different from that in the Solaise sector. Unfortunately it wasn't to be and it was just as bad on that side as the Solaise side. It didnt matter too much as we could still work on technique and to be honest bad weather like that makes piste skiing overall safer as everyone is forced to take a chill pill and slow down etc anyway! We made it up to the glacier and promptly broke through into better conditions which was very welcome indeed... we could see. Obviously by now so many people had decided to call it a day so it was largely empty up there thankfully. With the smattering of soft snow (a few cms) that had fallen we could enjoy the wonderful piste conditions on the various pistes up top.

We took lunch at Cascades and it was the usual great value for money and it wasn't too busy either. After lunch we had virtually perfect blue skis and sun so lapped the various Val glacier runs over and over before finally coming back to Fornet and heading home.... dropping down into the cloud and gloom and fading light was not easy and certainly with the icy lower slopes it was tricky going. It was great to be back and a tiring long day.

It was a quick turnaround before I headed back into town to get Olivia after her judo class. This evening it has been a lot of rushing and sorting getting ready for tomorrow. Talking of tomorrow it will be a mad start to the day as I am teaching boarding in the morning and skiing in the afternoon so need to get my ski stuff to Snowberry so I can change at lunchtime.

Anyway folks another day passes and we continue to hope for some snow - no sign of any imminently so hope some will come soon.

TTFN

Some strange layering of the cloud here whereby we are under it having skied from above it earlier!

It was both MUCH better at times today than this AND MUCH worse than this at times!

A snowHead

@Steve Angus,

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

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Go, go, go

What a busy day it has been.

I woke probably a little too early for my liking (why is it that when you need your sleep you can still wake up before the alarm goes off!) but thats the way it goes.

Clare was in charge of sorting the kids and getting them to kids club (for those that dont know there is no school in Val d'Isere on a Wednesday so we generally have the kids in one of the kid clubs) whilst I had some logistics to sort. I was teaching both skiing and boarding today so I needed to get my ski stuff to snowberry so I could head there at lunchtime to swap gear.

It always adds time on to the day when you have to swing by twice a day to Snowberry with gear. Anyway I left home at 0815 and by the time I dropped the gear off and got to the meeting point I was tired and thats before the day started - doh! Anyway by the time the team for the morning had assembled and we worked out who was taking who, lift passes etc had been purchased it was about 0930. So I had a near beginner (he had done a few lessons over his day) boarder and we headed to the magic carpet up Solaise. He really liked the length and gradient of the carpet and it was perfect for him at his level. The carpet was certainly busy this morning and there were so many lessons going on. Anyway running through plenty of progressions he got to the point of being able to link his turns which was awesome to see.

Lunch hour was a mad rush of changing kit at Snowberry and getting to meet the afternoon lesson. This was a lady from the far east who was pretty scared of skiing because of a collision a few years back so needed building back up. It wasnt really a technical lesson but more tactics and tips. Ive got her again tomorrow with her family so that will be nice.

I dropped them off at the Folie at the end of the day - I dont think she was quite expecting the Folie to be as it was so she was quite amazed by it all.

Its interesting that they had changed from Megeve to Val d'Isere for their holiday because of the lack of snow but they were very happy with what they had found in Val so hopefully they will be back again!

After skiing Clare was getting ready for a massage she was doing in town so I changed and headed into town to get the kids as well as my board stuff from Snowberry and then home and do the various jobs like getting the kids fed!

So no wonder im knackered now.

I was saddened to hear, and my / our thoughts go out to him and his family, that Jock of Snowberry fame had a large Stroke yesterday. He was actually in the shop at that time but it looks like they got him early and he is now being cared for in Grenoble hospital so fingers crossed he pulls through well and makes a full recovery!

Meanwhile there now looks like there will be a change in the weather early next week, and about time too. So lets hope there really is snow coming.

Haha.

TTFN

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Gosh sorry to hear about Jock, he was my gaffer at Precision and a great man , fingers crossed.

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orange - Precision - now that really is going back a long time. Doesnt even exist anymore. Yes fingers crossed he has a good recovery.

Chapters for my memoir!

Being later in the week getting the tired kids out the door to the school bus this morning was tough work. But alas we did it. I headed to the meet point and it felt so easy compared to yesterday just being able to go direct. haha!

So my morning lesson was an amazing one (few more to come) with a lovely 7 year old kid but this was different from normal as she was from Brazil, spoke basically no English but luckily she came with her Dad (who spoke broken English). After establishing the parameters of the lesson and how experienced she was etc we set off. After a few fun laps on the small carpet and me sussing them out we headed to the big carpet before finally Madeline. Despite being rather jet lagged and needing a break for chocolate and coffee (the dad) half way through we had a really nice session. Looking forward to skiing with them again tomorrow and improving my Portuguese - the 7 year old spent most of the lesson trying to teach me it. I just dont know how I am going to teach when the Dads english is broken and it gets more technical the content. Luckily the Dad seems to be a reasonable skier so dont need to worry about him. I know that as long as he (the Dad) sees his daughter enjoying the skiing and having fun he is relishing the holiday with her (the mum and younger brother are sticking back in Brazil).

I jumped on the bus to La Daille and started my afternoon session. It was the same lady (initially) as yesterday afternoon but she had to dash after the first hour so moved on to teaching the husband and teen son after that. They love seeing different parts of the resort so today it was a chance to ski the Johann Clarey piste and head off towards the Boisses sector. One thing that stood out was how warm it was today which meant the Bluets piste back from Boisses towards Lac was one big mogul field... in fact it felt as if it was March time skiing back down there - just can't believe its early January - bonkers.

Lets hope the bad weather that is forecast and brings snow early next week materialises! If nothing else a drop in temperatures will do.

My mind was drifting today and I have spent so many years fantasising and imagining what I might put in a memoir style book reflecting on my time in this industry and some of my experiences and stories. I have some funny stories, I have sentimental ones, incredible tales of teaching teenagers in Japan decades ago (gosh that is several chapters in one go) and everything in between. One thing I have seen though is how the skiing industry in general is often entering a negative spiral of responding (amongst other things) to marketing and hype and in some respects failing to meet expectations. Its always changing but there are some weird things you notice - like how you can sometimes have trends that never make sense e.g. a few years ago (without naming names) everyone was talking about a certain brand of skis and type of skis as if they were the be all and end all - but they skied really really badly and it was only because the company concerned threw so much at marketing them that they were 'popular' but in becoming popular all that was really won was deeper pockets for the company concerned as everyone believed 'these skis will change your skiing' hype - it just wasnt true!

Anyway I think its sleep time. TTFN

The clouds parted for much of the day

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

Thanks for another very interesting post. I ought to replace my boots, bought at Precision in Val a long time ago, but they still seem fine to me.

After all it is free

jehu - thanks all good.

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In other news I forgot to add to my update today the latest visitor numbers published for the resort. There were 91850 skier days last week which is 33% more than the same week last year but of course Brits werent allowed in town this same week last year were they! Interestingly the resort is (surprisingly) announcing a 20% REDUCTION in visitors compared to the 2018/19 season in 'season to date figures'. However last Wednesday there were 16,000 trips on the Marmots lift alone - blimey!

Oh and also the British Army finish up today I believe too so it will be quieter now on that front too.

Loved your comments on marketing.

As a mere skiing peasant it all seems very forbidding. x and x ski is so much better. You have to wear y and y..... So sad for the industry on a wider view as actually skiing to an intermediate level is not that hard and all a lot of people strive for - reds acceptable and most reasonable blacks...... After that all the offpiste stuff etc is beyond comprehension - just hoon around and enjoy the views the food and the beer. As a 30 something I would have loved to challenge myself - as a 60 something I just enjoy the experience without any marketing hassle and whatever I am supposed to be skiing on or wearing....

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@Jehu,

If your boots are fine why replace them?

I'm now re-using old perfectly useable ski gear instead of buying new gear.

Help!!

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

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