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

A snowHead

Unexpected amazingness!

It had snowed about 13cm overnight which in itself was slightly unexpected but the light looked awful up top... oh dear was my first thought!

The kids were NOT at school of course today being a Wednesday so Olivia was doing a flèche race and Ben was having a ski with Clare.

I headed into town and my team were spot on time so we headed up. Amazingly the vis up top was just about OK... enough to NOT need to go lower. there was also no wind and it was a decent temperature. Game on. But boy was it snowing hard up there - big fat flakes!

We worked on some great technique and given the conditions the team worked REALLY well today - I was most impressed! We saw some great changes and it was a fun morning!

The amount of snow that was falling and had fallen was incredible - even over the morning about 15cm must have fallen. Since I had an afternoon of admin and other things (more on that in a moment!) I skied some powder on / side of the piste on the way home - see my insta! It was SOOO deep and SOOO light - incredible!

Meanwhile Olivia at the race wore her new catsuit (skin tight suit the racers wear) for the first time... between you and I it should not make that much difference at those sort of GS speeds on a 45sec course but either way she smashed it. She beat some people training for their Eurotest that were doing it, she beat some boys that were a couple of years older than her! Anyway she was not that far off the gold time - totally amazing!

This afternoon she was down the valley and Clare was collecting a food shop and Olivia went to see the orthodontist and had some train tracks fitted!

At home I had some meetings. The first was with our builder and the person who will manufacture the windows but I also had a meeting in town with an associate about some potential business deal too - Ben came and was plugged into the iPad for an hour.

By the time that was over and I had helped Clare get the shopping put away it was time to get the kids into bed and here we are again!

The weather should continue to be a little up and down over the next few days and we are expecting a lot more snow to come! Easter is going to be crazy!

TTFN

Not my photo but my colleague snapped this pic of his client in the pow this morning!

The pisteurs had rather a lot of digging work to do to get the Signal poma open yesterday!

A snowHead

Stunning

It was just the most perfect day. The sun shone and the snow was perfect AND it was not too cold so the snow held up just perfectly.

The kids were off to school on time and I headed into town.

Given the fact that it was the first properly sunny day for a while, the link would open nicely, and the snow great AND the fact that the powder snow up at Fornet would finally be accessible it was a rush on. The train rouge was RAMMED totally.

Anyway my team were on time and I decided that we should go Solaise way for a change so off we went. Apart from a really rude guy on the gondola (in all fairness I think he was Bulgarian or something and his turn of phrase in English was about as rude as he could have possibly been so ill give him a break) basically telling me to shut up and not talk to my clients... we set off up the Solaise in perfect sunlight!

The glacier express for a warm up lap, the Datcha for more developmental work but we also did a lap down the Arcelle which was in excellent condition (im still waiting to actually see a decent skier ski that piste properly as so often they're open arc, skidded turns not steering out the fall line!). My team did themselves proud, incredible as only a few days ago they were doing the green triangle lap with me! So good - well done team!

We did some more development work then skied the Plan M down which was another success although they were tired by the bottom - amazing progress team!

At lunchtime I obviously ate my sarnie under the Sun Bar and then recorded the weekly snow report.

The afternoon I was back with the same guy I had the other day and it was time to work on some carving and in the sun it was such a lovely afternoon... some great fun and improvements actually and we did have a giggle. However I have never seen the queues in some places like it this afternoon - see the photo below of the Tommeuse queue - many of these people were just trying to get back to Tignes having tried to get to Fornet in the conditions!

I collected Olivia from her gym class and well the rest of the day is history!

Tomorrow evening we are all heading out for a family meal with some friends in town so I am not sure what time I will be posting.

Having a memory blank this evening of what I was going to say.

TTFN

That must surely be the longest queue I have ever seen at Tommeuse!

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

@Steve Angus thanks for your help the other day. Yesterday was the first day Denise got to use the new skills Dave gave her and she was tackling the steepest runs in total confidence.
A marked improvement.

In other news I’ve been booked to DJ, playing Deep House/chilled classics, on the terrace at Le Palet on sunny afternoons. If anyone is in the area, on a good day, come and say hi. I’ll be starting next week.

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@bar shaker,

Is that Le Palet in Tignes?

What days and times will you be DJ'ing?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Steve Angus, Nice to have a chairlift chat the other day. The broken Mont Blanc lift is definitely causing a few bottle necks, hopefully the spare part arrives soon.

@bar shaker, We’re you in Tontons for dinner earlier this week ?

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@muppet,

The Mont Blanc chairlift should have been replaced years ago. The only improvement they have made to that lift is putting foot rests on it.

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bar shaker - cool re the gig - amazing! Back in the day I was well into my house and trance music (believe it or not I might have been spotted on the dance floors of Ibiza in my younger days!). Anyway no worries glad she enjoyed it and has come on in leaps and bounds! Nice!
muppet - yes it was - meant to say that! Snow is lovely it really is - lets hope the MB is fixed soon but its taking long than they hoped.
welshflyer - yes it should but there is a large battle going on as they are contemplating either continuing the La Daille gondola up towards that area and perhaps even further towards Fresse ridge before they decided to replace the chair or not. Another option is apparently taking the gondola onwards towards Toviere and taking the Tommeuse out. Something is rumbling but not sure what!

After all it is free

Cold

Im feeling tired this evening so it will be a short one.

This morning I had a nice young chap here with some work colleagues who was pretty new to the sport but also pretty cautious but keen to learn so we initially started on the magic carpet before the Madeleine. The snow was really excellent and the slopes pretty quiet too! However I suspect the reason for it was that it was pretty overcast and there was a very punchy southerly wind blowing.... another retour is definitely on its way! Yay!

We even did a lap on the Glacier before heading back to town.

I treated myself to a Friday Chevallot lunch before meeting for the pm lesson which was a couple of friends in their 30's who had had a really bad experience with another ski school this week. Im not naming names but it sounds like the instructor concerned could not care less and did not teach his group anything all week... they felt demotivated, unhappy and their skiing had regressed this week. Poor things!

So my job was to get them back in the zone. We basically did the green triangle and the weather this afternoon was much worse with thick clouds moving in although it did get a little better the last hour but still really cold.

So this evening we have all been out for dinner with a long time friend / client of mine ive had on my books since back in 2007 when I started with their, then, young kids. They are both now into their 20's. Time flies. Anyway we popped around to the appartment they are renting for the season in town and it was a really lovely evening catching up and laughing. Its SOOOOOOOOOO rare that we head to a dinner party. Looking forward to having our place redone so we can host a dinner party or two in years to come. Anyway the kids did us proud and we ate a yummy roast dinner which went down a treat!

So tomorrow the weather is closing in and I am on piste in the morning and off piste in the afternoon - lets hope for decent conditions!

TTFN

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@welshflyer Yes, top of Tichot. We are going to agree afternoons based on the weather. Mid week looks very likely. Come and say Hi if I’m there.

@muppet yes we were, you should have come over. Hope you are both well. Are you still at Toviere?

@Steve Angus ha, we all have a secret raver inside.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@jimjim,

I couldn't work out where that photo was taken but yes you're right, it's been taken from the Tignes side. Has it been taken from the air or using a very long telephoto lens?

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@jimjim - welcome to SH's and welshflyer - you should have gone to specsavers... its not Borsat no... its taken from the top of Solaise looking over towards the top of the Laisennant Express chair! I like your thinking though it could possibly have been yes!

Most tiring day of the season so far

Well it was looking pretty horrible out there first thing this morning and the kids were only at Club this afternoon and Clare was on kid duty! So it was only me getting up and going. I headed off into the abyss - eeeek! Olivia had a (planned but she didnt know) surprise visit from one of her besties - a girl she used to be at school with here but has now moved to Canada. So it sounds like that was a nice morning for her.

Anyway the meeting area was deserted mainly because it was a Saturday but also it was not the nicest of days!

My morning session was quite unique as I had a couple for 4 hours and they wanted to split it 2 hours each! So first up was a guy who was self taught from YouTube but to be honest was one of the best self taught persons I have ever seen in my life. OK his short radius turns were not that great but his carving was pretty amazing! We worked on the Glacier Express and the Arcelle before skiing down to town to swap persons! Pretty successful first session but it was COLD and WINDY for sure - brrrr!

The second half of the session was with his wife (note to muppet - the lady has the same name as you and also from Ayrshire - what are the chances of that in Val d I wonder!?) and we went Belvevarde way and worked on her technique but mainly introduced her to carving! The weather was moving in more!

So the morning I covered a LOT of miles!

It also didnt help that I was not to have enough time to get to the office at lunchtime today to get off piste gear for the PM which meant I had to carry a second off piste back pack within my pack around all morning - tiring and tricky when you are carving!

I took refuge at the Sun Bar for a warm up at lunchtime and then the afternoon I was with a client who ive skied with a lot over the years on and off. He's a strong off piste skier. We do have a laugh we really do when we ski together!

Anyway the weather was not getting any better and we tried to find good wind blown snow at altitude and it was pretty good but could we see it - could we heck! We changed tactics and went lower towards Laisenant and also did a lap in the Tete Arollay but it was obvious lower still was needed so we went to the bus stop and P5 and it was better but heavier down there. I must say by mid afternoon my legs were getting a little tired!

We finally did a elongated version of the Fornet trees from the top of the Laisenant Express but even his legs were tiring so after that we called it a day!

I collected Ben from Club and we swung past the Christiana Hotel to have a drink with M+M - lovely seeing you guys as always! Ben was an inquisitive boy as always but ice cream got his attention. Spoiling treats indeed! But thanks so much to M+M for restocking our Hellmans Mayo larder too - phew we will survive a few months longer!

After all that I got home and was starving but first thing before getting a naughty takeaway was getting the kids into bed. So with that all done and the bag packed for tomorrow it has been takeaway time! Tomorrow I hear you ask - well yes Olivia has another race (tomorrow it is slalom) down in St Foy so I am one of the helping parents - cant wait - should be good! Early start so im off to bed.

Meanwhile the storm is raging and it'll be interesting to see how much snow we have by the morning!

TTFN

You'll have to know the off piste really well to tell me where this is! Bonus point for naming the couloir you can see!

Found this on the net (its NOT Val) but I thought it was a nice photo!

Totally NOT ski related but this made me chuckle!

You know it makes sense.

@Steve Angus, Lavancher?

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

A snowHead

The off-piste photo?

A snowHead

Dr John, are you the same Dr John who used to stay in Richard Finlay's chalets? If so then wonderful to hear you are still there and eternally grateful to your kindness (particularly with some obnoxious blokes in the chalet who thought they were the best skiers and ice divers on the planet). If you're not, then no worries but you sound like a cool guy anyroad!

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

It looks like Couloir de Gerthoffer in Fornet?

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Hi @Steve Angus, forgive the "radio silence" on the topic, but wondering if you are still thinking of Bonneval this week or next...? Last we chatted you'd pencilled in 14th March or 21st as a fallback.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

The PROUDEST day

Firstly the weather... well the wind blew hard all night long and the snow coming out the sky all night as well meant it looked like carnage out there first thing!

Anyway it was an early start as needed to get Olivia and myself to the rond pont as we were heading to St Foy for a days racing! So after 2 x GS races, 1 SG today was St Foy and the Slalom (well small stubby gates to be precise actually!).

I was excited (I did this race last year with Olivia as accompanying parent to the team along with a handful of other parents!) to be heading down with Olivia and even though the train rouge was snarled up and we (along with others) were late to the meet point we were off.

A bus full of kids, coaches and the parents... game on. Getting to the dam itself was tricky with stranded cars etc everywhere but once past it the road was OK and it brightened up (well sort of).

Anyway after getting sorted at the car park and boots on we headed up to the stade.... slipping, course inspection and all the other formalities then we were ready to race. In the first run Olivia had bib number 97 out of 115 so the ruts etc were forming by the time it was her turn to race.... anyway she laid down an amazing run and ended up winning it for the girls. Yes the fastest girl (and 6th fastest overall). Incredible run!

More sliding, more getting all the kids ready for their second run e.g. helping them warm up etc! A quick picnic lunch as the weather worsened was not ideal but needed.... they decided that with the weather getting worse they would cancel the 3rd run of the day. Anyway the order was reversed for this second run which meant Olivia was about 20th down the course and therefore the course was pretty clean.....

.... well it showed as she smoked it.... she ended up winning by 1.5s and again was 6th fastest overall. Just the most incredible result. 1st girl twice! Not only that but her result helped lift Val d'Isere as a team (top 5 results from each CDS count) to the top of the podium.

Just incredible!

A very happy little girl, a pretty chuffed Dad (can you tell!) and a happy coach load of 8 and 9 year old kids on the drive back to a now less snowy Val for cake and celebrations!

... and it didnt finish there as Harold her coach had a surprise for the team.... Val d'Isere had decided (since the cohort of kids are doing so well this year) that they would like to pay / take the top 8 kids to Valloire in April for the National Champs for this age group. Val have NOT sent a delegation since 2018 for some reason but the results this year are looking so good they want to give the kids exposure and off they are going. (Now I should say Olivia is a little apprehensive and was very tired this evening about going but im sure she will come around to the idea soon after a good sleep about going away for a nights racing at the age of 9!).

So blimey...

Anyway the weather cleared up this evening and its back to work tomorrow.

TTFN

P.S. Ben was at Village all day with his mates and Clare worked all day!
P.P.S No one guessed the location yesterday - anyone?

As its a team event she climbed that podium to the top step! Too cool for school with the rock star sunnies on!

With one of her coaches preparing to start!

About the best weather of the day!

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Well done Olivia!

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Allez Olivia snowHead

After all it is free

Congratulations.

Well done Olivia!

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^^^ thanks everyone. Still buzzing.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

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You know it makes sense.

That’s fantastic - we are in Ste Foy and happened to be by the finish area as the results were being announced- I heard them say that that the val d’Isere team had come first and the list of winners started with “Olivia “ and, having followed your blog hoped it was her - so really well done!

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

@Steve Angus,
Chapeau Olivia!

A snowHead

No worries @Steve Angus, if it's already full - might have been tight for me to squeeze in anyway, as heading back to London the day after for a few days, including next Thursday.

A snowHead

@Steve Angus - Was chatting to a friend who is out to Tignes for easter and they were asking if there is a way to get between Tignes / Val Disere other than the bus? I don't think you can down lift on the Tommeusus lift can you?

They mentioned the bus only runs 3 times a day which means she would be stuck in Val-D for most of the day if she met up there for lunch.

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

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As @Kenzie, has suggested. If you're in the centre of Val d'Isere, get the free bus to Rosee's/La Daille terminus. Then get a taxi to Tignes 1800 and jump the free navette from there back to Le Lac bus station.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Loganberry - how funny.... you should have popped over and said hi! Anyway thanks yes pretty cool! Thanks for following the thread!
@Origen - haha yes I know! Thanks
@PeakyB - love that phrase!
@bobski62 - sorry - next time eh!

@Rob_Quads - yes as others have correctly said taxi or hitch unfortunately but you could check out the paid bus options with altibus! Possibly might work!

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@Rich71, no, not me, although your assessment of me is (almost) spot on....

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A contrast in more than one way

I woke really early this morning for some reason so that coupled with a pretty tiring one means I can hardly keep my eyes open this evening!

Anyway the sun was shining and Olivia was off to school with a Spring in her step having seen the write up on Radio Val as well as hearing her name too! It was chilly so the snow that fell yesterday will have gotten a nice dry out im sure.

At the meeting point it was not too hectic and for the most part today there were no lift queues about - yay!

I had a really fun couple in the morning I taught last year and we took off where we were last time and worked a mix of greens, blues and reds. It was a combination of a refresher as well as pushing them slightly harder today and introducing some new elements to their skiing. With the sun shining it was glorious out there.

At lunchtime I dashed to the office to collect off piste packs as well as checked out the latest conditions and weather etc. Checked the altitude markers etc etc as I met my pm session. It was a young, recently married Australian couple who are here for a few weeks and they had a booked an intro to touring session. Getting going took longer than planned mainly because one of them had never worn a transceiver etc despite having done a fair bit of off piste - pretty bonkers really.

Anyway we set off towards Bellevarde, Grand Pre and off the back of there towards the Tour du Charvet and Mont Roup. We set off trying to stay high and the snow had taken some morning heat on the way down but nothing too severe as very skiable! Anyway we got our skins on and set off up Mont Roup... however the clouds were starting to roll in which was making the light a little flat but initially it was not an issue as the clouds were high enough but it did get worse and it was slow going anyway on the soft snow despite a skin track already in. We got about 2/3 the way up but ran out of time and skied a combination of north and north west before north east facing slopes on the way home via Manchet Express.

It was a pretty tiring day!

However back at home (I was late back as I was 30 mins or so late finishing - whoops!) it was a quick turnaround as needed to get back into town to collect more packs for my off piste tomorrow morning as well as have a meeting with the team that I am taking down to Bonneval on Thursday.

Anyway I got home, have had dinner (one of my favourites Clare makes) of Fajitas. The kids are in bed and ill be following soon.

There is some more snow about tonight but I dont think it will be enough to change things up yet again but the next few days are a mix of sun and snow.

TTFN

HAHA.... this is Graham Bell (from Ski Sunday fame) taking a client (he does loads of freelance teaching work around the place!) into the comb under Pisteurs... but without the local knowledge he takes a wrong turn here taking his client (well attempting to anyway) too high in.... it ends up at a cliff so he was about to turn around after this photo was taken - doh

After all it is free

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I imagine how I would feel, an expert in my local field, many years of experience, and some famous bloke comes in stealing my work, based on fame rather than knowledge.

I'd be smiling.

Don't see many giving back and sharing his knowledge like he does.

Thankfully the navigational error didn't finish with Bell end

Help!!

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

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