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

A snowHead

Wet and windy but nice snow

The Saharan sand has been incoming again!

This photo does make you realise that when people think about 'resort' altitude they are always thinking about the actual town. Val d'Isere and Tignes have much of their skiing above 2500m and plenty above 3000m too. There are plenty of resorts at say 1500m altitude versus 1850m for Val BUT with not much above 2000m so the fact Val is at 1850m or 2100m say for Tignes means both offer large amounts of skiing at high altitude versus many resorts who seem on paper only slightly lower but are in practice much lower!

Looking out the window this morning and it was looking quite windy but not too wet / snowy / rainy! I got some laundry done and then headed to see my team. It was decided that I would just take the little one out for his skiing so off we went. The village was quite quiet and apart from being a little breezy it was lovely snow and we had a lot of fun. After about an hour the kid was feeling a little tired so we called it a day!

I then had to head to the top of the Olympic as the bigger boys were heading up the funi. So after we got together we decided on a plan and skied lots of nice laps on the Marmottes... the vis was tricky for the first hundred metres but got better and the snow was really nice! There was lots and lots of quick accumulations of nice snow falling! They even managed to get Fontaine Froid open and skiing that was a reversal in that you had the wind into your face going down but the back to the wind coming back up! Anyway we had a good time and had a quick hot choc at Bellevarde before doing some more skiing!

The rest of the family had decided that they were not going to ski anymore and it was going to be a family lunch down the mountain and then a swim so the boys decided that they wanted a ski down the Face to finish their holiday so I duly obliged and we had an excellent ski down there. It was deserted but the soft bumps were a lot of fun to ski!

Anyway by early afternoon I was back home and sorting my damp clothes out and having some lunch. It wasnt long before Clare was home too!

Meanwhile the kids had been skiing with club in the morning, then had lunch with their friends (thanks Fanny!) and were then off to do some snow scootering with one of their friends for his birthday so it was go, go, go! Anyway I was to head up at 1630 for when the kids got back in and had their cake etc and bring them home. The only issue was that the whole party was about 2 hours behind schedule (if that was ever a possible thing!). Anyway it all got very late and laboured and by the time I got the kids home they were over it, tired and damp themselves and lots and lots sleeping needing to be done! With all the party bags and sweets etc consumed I think we failed getting any goodness in the kids this evening before finally getting them into bed!

So tomorrow Clare is working, Ben is off to a friends for the day and im taking Olivia over to Tignes as she has a day with the Kandahar Ski Race Club in preparation for the British Junior Champs starting Monday with the GS. With the clocks changing it will be an early start!

TTFN

A snowHead

A nice alternative day

Well apart from the clocks changing and being a little worried about missing the alarm clock this morning I woke up feeling refreshed and excited about the day ahead! Both Clare and I were up much earlier than we needed to be and tomorrow will probably be the same.

Anyway I was not going to miss out on my Sunday treat of eggs on toast and as the kids were still sleeping I had them in peace before Olivia was woken and got ready. It was game on to get over to Tignes for Olivias days training with Kandahar in preparation for the British Champs this week. Mainly as both Clare and I are working tomorrow morning when the GS race is (its a long story as to why we couldnt not work tomorrow morning but i have Wednesday off) on we needed her to be embedded with another coaching set up and then race support for the morning for course inspection! So that meant today was all about enabling that.

However of course we needed to celebrate Easter so there was some chocolate eating at 0700 in the morning - well why not eh!

Anyway off I went to get the car and Ben was just out of bed as I was leaving the house so nice to say good morning to him before leaving!

On the way to get the car I bumped into a work colleague who was about to get the bus over for a days teaching over in Tignes so I saved him a lot of faff time and gave him a lift over! Anyway we made good time and the roads were fine and the weather not as bad as I had feared... all was going well and it got even better as there was space in the outdoor Grand Motte car park in Val Claret too - only 3 slots but I only need 1.

So I was parked up and ready way earlier than I thought I would be so Olivia and I stayed warm in the car before heading to meet her coach for the day and other little skiers. After a slow start and confusion they got going and I watched the action of the race training from the bottom and it was quite pleasant actually... could just switch off and be a parent for a few hours and watch her training happen and hear her feedback! Awesome! It was nice!

The weather really played ball too thankfully and at one point we had some sunshine too!

Anyway it was nice chatting to the coaches as well - turns out I used to race with one of them about 20 years back - wow time flies!

So we finished mid afternoon and I had not even put my skis on all day despite wearing my boots all morning! Haha.

So back home and its been turning the kids around on a Sunday evening, serving her skis for the GS tomorrow, get back and all that done and now they are in bed! Tomorrow she is being collected by the mother of a friend at 0700 as they need to be ready to upload on the Tichot lift at 0800! There are about 20 girls in the U12 category entered tomorrow which is not a huge number but it is all good experience thats for sure! Time will tell how she fairs! The prize giving I should be there for tomorrow as its schedule for 1300.. yay! Lets hope the weather plays ball which it should do!

Oh and on Wednesday when there is the combi race on and I had already planned to take the day off (it was supposed to be the GS that day but the schedule has shifted!) many many months ago they were short for helpers.... so yes yours truly has not only been drafted in as a fore-runner to the course but also the start marshal! Hmmm nothing like doing my bit. Not sure how I will fore-run it and then be start marshall at the same time but guess they have a plan!

TTFN

P.S. Happy Easter everyone... another 2 weeks left of my season!

When one current WC racer comes over for the autograph of a future one!!!! She was a little embarrassed as asked me after (as she was caught a little off guard when he was working his way down the line of kids having his photo taken with them!) in a whisper 'who was that'. When I told her she was very embarrassed as she totally knows who he is... maybe she's a bit more a Clement Noel fan! haha

Feedback time!

To say the lanes were tight was an understatement up there!

P.S. Back to teaching in the am then over to Tignes in the pm to bring her back!

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

Hope it all goes well over the next few days over in Tignes.
Tell Olivia it’s understandable to not recognise people in full ski gear.
Chris has bought new ski gear in the sales this week, I haven’t quite got used to it especially as his new jacket is the same colour as a snow gun so interesting in bad visibility.

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Well that was a blinder

The day started early again as Olivia needed to be at the bottom of the Tichot lift in Tignes at 0745 so she was picked up at 0720 which meant the alarm went off at 0600.... eeek!

I looked out the window and it was just about to start snowing but was not too snowy or windy... game on.

Anyway we did all the prep to get her ready and then the news came through that they were pulling the race for the day about 0730. This was really disappointing as 1) there was to be no PIDA on that sector of Tignes so lifts could open on time (as they did in that part), 2 all the racers and coaches etc were up and ready to slip and 3) they could have put it back an hour as there was a good solid base after a freeze last night. Even talking this afternoon to some of the coaches it was felt it was a weak decision.

Olivia was getting a lift over with another friend from club and her kids (also in club so it 5 kids in the car! Blimey).

Anyway Olivia and the kids were duly dropped as planned with the Kandahar coaches and they were to have a morning skiing powder instead - so not all was lost!

Meanwhile Clare and I got Ben ready as he was at Village kids club all day and Clare was on a 0930 start so could drop him first! Meanwhile I just needed to get to the meet point to meet my lesson for the morning - game on.

So it was a really nice teen boy whom Ive skied a lot with before - he is a member of the Hemel race club so can really hold his own. I always enjoy skiing with T as he is so mature for his age! Alas I new that the snow up high would be lovely and light dry powder so we queued for a 10 min late opening of the Olympic lift and then it was game on! Being pretty much the first up top I knew we could play tactics to get the best snow.... its amazing all the public go one way and all the guides, instructors and those in the know headed straight down Fontaine Froid - there was no way the snow would be all that good below the Folie; no way Borsat would be opening anytime soon and heading to Tignes would be a waste of time as would be joining the rush hour.... Fontaine Froid followed by Grand Pre would be the order and of course GP would NOT be busy as everyone would try and get there via Borsat! Anyway since the majority of the snow came late last night after much of the pisting had been done it meant that most of the pistes today were apparently 'un-pisted' - game on!

T and I had an amazing time skiing knee deep cold light powder (along with those others in the know!) on the FF piste over and over again and then when that was milked it was time to do the same on the GP... of course Borsat was not open yet either! Anyway it was an amazing couple of hours with the clouds parting nicely! The sun was out so it was a proper truely defined Bluebird day!

By the end of the lesson we changed focus as it all got more churned up and skied 'moguls' on piste... very fun bumps at that being soft powdery ones! Finally by the end he wanted a day one challenge so we skied the Face... of course it was very very bumpy but boy it was a lot of fun - we loved it!

So after all that excitement I made my way over to Tignes to collect Olivia and her friend from their morning of skiing powder... the weather was coming in and out but settled nicely when I was in VC and waiting for them to finish!

Anyway I got them both back and Olivia and I chilled at home for an hour and when Clare finished her booking she collected Ben from kids club and we have just managed to get 2 very tired kids into bed! Back to school tomorrow kids.

Then race day on Wednesday Olivia - lets hope it happens this time!

Tomorrow the weather should be OK before becoming more iffy on Wednesday!

TTFN

Spot where Chevallot, Le Grand Nord and Le Garage are (amongst others) in this photo from the 1940's!!!!!

Salivating!

We also had a decent freeze last night too!

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Another great day

Ive got to be quick this evening as im up about 0530 to get over to Tignes for Olivias race (well lets hope it actually happens this time eh!).

So this morning it was colder and there was some light snow falling but generally better than it has been of recent!

I started the lesson a little earlier than normal as I bumped into my team literally as I got off the bus so we were first in the line for the Olympic opening and it opened a couple of minutes early! There was another 15cm or so of fresh up high but the vis was pretty bad. Luckily this lovely dry cold snow was everywhere and predictable to ski in! Game on. Ultimately we skied over to Tignes and worked on carving and it was a very successful session. The teen wanted to try and see his friend racing in the U14 category at the British Juniors in Tignes but we didnt see him despite lapping Tichot a fair few times.... lots of kids putting it on the line and the SL U14 / 16 was cool too see - that age group have a Super G tomorrow! Meanwhile cool watching the U10/12 doing GS training - yes I was spying Olivias competition tomorrow! Haha!

Anyway we also managed to get some nice powder turns in as the weather got better and better although it was NOT warm out there thats for sure - chilly!

We finished with a ski down the Face which was not as bumpy or hard as it was yesterday thankfully.

Lunch was at the usual place under the Sun Bar although it seems like a long time since I was eating lunch there!

By the time the afternoon started there was not a cloud in the sky and it was getting quite warm. I had a one off booking this afternoon of a 19 and 15 year old brothers team from Bath and we set off looking for some powder and a general technique brush up! With the temps rising rapidly it made sense only to look for north options and so we did! The Jardin Borsat had some lovely stuff on north and it was once again knee deep light pow. The only downside was that one of the boys took a fall and managed (despite us all looking for quite some time!) to lose his pole randomly. I took his one remaining pole and he skied with my poles... always good fun skiing pole-less! Anyway we still found some lovely snow.

We finished the session by working on moguls for an hour and ultimately skied to La Daille.

So at home I have been getting ready for tomorrow, listening in to the Team Captains Meeting for tomorrow and cooking dinner. Clare had a REALLY tiring days teaching and she is tired in general at the moment so got the kids some dinner in them, I collected Ben from Judo club and we have gotten them both to bed. Phew!

So as I say a very early start tomorrow and then hopefully the race will happen. I was due to both fore-run AND be a start marshal tomorrow but now im just fore-running. The weather should be OK but maybe some wet snow around - hmmmm great!

TTFN

Mid Winter pistes...

...and powder!

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

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=804059605087172&set=a.455280163298453
https://www.facebook.com/pisteurval/videos/1100659661237009

After all it is free

British Female Under 10 Giant Slalom Champion 2024

Given it away with that headline eh!

So the day started about 0530 and by 0700 we on the road to Tignes. Getting a parking space at that time in the morning is easy enough - thank fully. However the ski boots freeze when in a cold car at that time of day - doh!

Anyway I had Olivia and her friend from CDS Val Roscoe both in the car with me. We got our bibs and off we went.

A warm up run followed and it was OK weather - sort of a mix of snow, rain, cloud, mist and glimpses of sun all rolled into one sort of day! Unfortunately they just could not get the Super G off for the U14 / 16 today sadly.

Anyway I was tagging with a friend who had 3 kids in the U12 category today so she and I was sorting out getting the kids in right place at right time and course inspecting etc! I get a message through to say they needed help setting the course so left her running the warm up and helped them set and then did the 'girls' inspection. After that I noticed that whoever had set the boys course had obviously been drinking as it was all over the shop - shocking set I thought (and most of the coaches too!). Anyway finally we got going.

I must say that Snowsports GB have not exactly been great at organising a wee wee up in a brewery - the left arm doesnt know what the right arm are doing most of the time. Anyway I wont go on about that!

So I foreran the course - well there was 2 of us - a sub 200 pointer girl from Scotland who is on the way back from injury - she was all cat suited up and took it seriously. I was just out to make up the numbers - seriously as I was in my storm cape and on unsharpened twin tips! Anyway I fore-ran and watched the first few girls come down. Olivia had bib 13 so was planning to watch her then get back to the start and be ready to do the boys course fore-run! Anyway there was obviously some problems with the timing based on the fact that some girls got like 4 seconds to complete the course and others (most - in the mid 20 secs!). Doh! Anyway Olivia was held in the start gate for about 20 mins. Poor thing. At least Ali gave her a jacket to keep warm over her catsuit!

Anyway she finally had her run and id give it a 8/10 (I actually thought her second run was a 9/10) but it turned out to be ever so slightly slower. Doh!

So she was pleased with the first run. After that it was the boys run and that went well for Olivias friend Roscoe.

The weather was coming in and out all the time. But we got the schedule back on track.

Ultimately her 2nd run was good but poor old Roscoe prereleased on the Banana which was annoying!

Finally the prize giving took place at nearly 1400..... and she WON.... she was several tenths of a sec ahead of her nearest rival! Game on! Her friend Roscoe came 3rd! This was all in the GB U10 GS category for 2024! She got a lovely medal and a beautiful branded water bottle. Most importantly she got the title. SOOOOOO proud!

We got home and I also went to collect Ben from kids club (he had a LOVELY day with his friends!). Meanwhile Clare had been teaching all day and was also heading out for dinner with her client so she was pretty frantic all evening from getting in from work! Apart from boring stuff like laundry, drying out all our stuff from today I have been answering lots of congratulatory messages from people which has been nice. We spoke to some family members back home and I still think I am running on adrenaline.

We celebrated with a Jami Delivery takeaway - yum!

So that is that. The weather has not really got any better this evening but tomorrow is a new day and it will be back to the grindstone - just 10 days left of my season!

TTFN

Well done Olivia!
Fantastic!

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Well done Olivia! Very Happy

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Well Done Olivia ( and you Steve )

With the weather today I was doubtful if any racing was going to go ahead after yesterdays cancellations.

snow reports

@Steve Angus, brilliant, congratulations!

how awesome.
Well done Team Angus

You know it makes sense.

Well done Olivia and make sure you both take time to be proud parents as the time flies past far to quickly Smile

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

Fantastic, huge congrats!

A snowHead

Great result Olivia snowHead

A snowHead

Absolutely awesome result! Well done Olivia - and the family support team Very Happy

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

Well done Olivia. Lovely to hear about the family run-up prep and your success!

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Congrats to Olivia.
Who is she going to be racing for countrywise?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Big congrats to Olivia, her coaches and support crew!!

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Amazing - well tone Olivia and Team Angus! You must be so proud @Steve Angus.

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

Well done Olivia ! From another proud dad (my daugther was at Etoile d'Or for the 2nd time this year)

After all it is free

Well thanks everyone!

Far to many above to thank personally. Yes team effort all round. I shall savour it as much as possible. A couple of specific replies if I may:

Kenzie - well as there is a) funding in France b) she well settled into the Club des Sports here and c) her friends she skis with regularly are (and probably always will be) French.... she would ski for France yes..... well that is until she kicks butt at a high level and someone comes begging from Snowsports GB for her to put a GB cat suit on... but time will tell.
thierryd - wow a second time (guess she is 14 this year then?). My neighbour daughter went for first time this year. This Saturday she is off at the JB (Jean Baptiste Grange) Cup in Valloire for French U10/12 'Champs'. Is your daughter here at the Scara at the moment? If so how did she do today? Yes next year she goes up a level and will start meeting other Tarantaise Valley kids rather than upper Tarantaise Valley only. Actually she's looking maybe to go the Ski Etude route in Bourg S M this time next year - didnt suit you / yours?

Spring

I slept so well last night. As I am off really early again on Saturday morning (like 0400 or something) for the day out in Valloire for Olivias big French race I will be in bed early tomorrow night.

Anyway the weather was looking much more Spring like and I headed into town. The day started particularly nicely as Olivias coach had heard the news on the grapevine and made a special trip over at the meeting point to congratulate me.... so this was an ESF instructor (he obviously wears Club 'colours' when training the kids) coming up to me to shake my hand. Made my day!

Anyway I had the same boy as earlier in the week and we set off hunting short turns, long turns and maybe some moguls but instead of going Bellevarde way we changed to go Solaise way... have been Bellevarde and Tignes way far too much recently!

The pistes were perfect first up and we tried a few turns in powder but as predicted there was a soft crust on the snow so it was not really worth it! We spent most of the lesson on a firm and hard (west facing) Arcelle working on laterals. Nice work. Later in the lesson we skied Plan M which was perfect timing but then we swapped to moguls on the Face as being East facing it was ripe! It was a good session - well done T.

I took lunch atop the Solaise as I was filming my weekly snow report up there in the Sun.

My afternoon guys ran late so did not start until about 1320 but it was a nice couple of kids (brother and sister) that I last taught a couple of years back! Game on. As often happens when (kids especially) have a year, 2 or 3 break between ski trips they grow loads (this happened a lot during Covid!) and therefore when they come back to skiing it takes them a while to re-find their co-ordination, balance etc. This afternoon was like that.

We worked a lot on technique on the Madeleine and I saw a lot of improvement but mainly confidence coming through in them... it was great to see! We are definately ready to move further afield tomorrow - the big question will be whether I ski them down the top of the Olympic to Verte or not tomorrow - we shall see!

Anyway after skiing it was all go - Olivias new ski race poles arrived so I was assembling the hand guards which took ages, Ben was doing his homework and Olivia had her gymnastics class before coming home! Clare was busy packing her (Olivia's) bag to get to the Club des Sport offices so the van can be packed tonight and then as she set off I made sure the kids were fed and in bed!

So thats another day ticked off but boy it finally felt like a really classic Spring day after what has seemed like an endless Winter. However the weather over the next few days will be warm and sunny but might change again early next week!

Anyway since we have our major building works starting in a few weeks and my season personally finishes at the end of next week the last daily update will be a week today.... I hang up my boots a week tomorrow and then it will be full steam ahead. I shall try and do a monthly update as always over the Summer.

Anyway back tomorrow but for today TTFN

It was a nice weather day

We have had a lot of snow this Winter!

Thanks to Adam Gosling for snapping this one of Olivia yesterday!

This was NOT in Val but its a GREAT illustrationg of 'skier creep' as I call it. One person skis off piste and its 'OK' avalanche wise, next person goes a bit further and ditto and so on. Someone gets bolder and goes high / further etc and hey presto sets an avalanche off as can be seen in this picture. I dont know what the outcome was but goes to show... looks can be deceptive!

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@Steve Angus,
An ESF instructor shook your hand? Were there 10 other people behind you whose hand he also shook, followed by 5 who he sort of waved his hand at - along the lines of the schools (apparent) official 'teaching' technique? Toofy Grin

snow reports

@thierryd - excellent thanks for the reply. Maybe we'll cross paths at a race one day supporting from the sidelines! Sounds like you guys have it well figured out - awesome!

@Kenzie - haha wasnt quite like that but I agree with @franga chapeau to him!

You know it makes sense.

Hot

I had the same set up today as yesterday and delisted skiing different places it was very similar. Hotter though!

In the am I headed to Tignes with my kid and we had a jolly good ski about although the pistes were firmer first thing cause of a harder freeze overnight and softened up way more! It was nice going around the world the wrong way!

A great morning.

Lunch I treated myself to one of their lovely chicken salad sandwiches from the Sun Bar and sat inside (I always prefer trying to shelter from the sun inside at this time of the year!). There was confusion where I was meeting for the afternoon lesson as my client had not told me but I took an educated guess and I was right but they actually were not going to be at the top of the Olympic lift as I had thought but instead eating inside the Marmottes so I skied down to them! Game on.

The afternoon was equally fun and the kids did really well and loved crocodile alley. Awesome. But boy it was hot!

I headed home and it felt strange as Olivia had already left for her adventure in Valloire and i have spent the evening packing my bag for the morning and doing some admin bits.

Sorry there was probably lots of things I wanted to mention this evening as it was a nice day but I really have loads to do and need a good sleep before the excitement (and driving) of tomorrow; 2.5 hours each way. I know the kids have arrived and are in bed and have eaten! Olivia has bib number 66. When they arrived there was a trip to collect their goodie bag and they all got a bag with their bib number, some sweets, a goggle cover and neck buff.... lucky kids having their best life!

Anyway will be back very late tomorrow night so not sure will post tomorrow night as will be shattered as doing all the driving. We shall see.

TTFN

Where is everyone?

One little girl waiting for her school bus (look closely) peering longingly at the U16 Scara kids warming up! Think she knows what she wants from life at the moment!

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

Similar story in Italy.

Gone very quiet in recent days.

High temps, perhaps, funneling folks to the beach, not the mountains.

A snowHead

My little champion!

WHAT an incredible but long day it was yesterday. Apologies for not posting. In short it started at 0345 and finished at 2300 and it was pretty much go, go, go all that time!

So having slept on the sofa so as not to wake Clare up I hit the road with the mother of a friend of Olivias for club and we were off! Getting to Valloire is / was easy enough - basically to Alberville and turn left... go up the Maurienne for 30 mins and then turn right and climb a road that makes the road between Val and Bourg the straightest motorway imaginable! Doh! Anyway we made it finally and got to the parking lot and the best way of describing the scene was hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of U8, 10 and 12 racers and coaches and equal numbers of people working on the race and plenty of parents. Carnage!

After getting the lift passes and briefly seeing the kids getting ready to upload from a distance, we got in a queue that made the Queens Lying in State queue last year look small we finally loaded the lift. Often the issue is that all the kids have 2 sets of skis and massive kit bags so a 6 seater chair is a 3 seater chair - doh! Also down low in the loading area there was NO snow - I mean no snow and it was only when we got to the top there was snow!

So after course inspecting with the kids and finding our bearings and the location to base ourself for the day, and also hooking up with the various other Val parents etc it was race time! So broadly speaking there was an U12 course for Super G, same for the U10 but a different course and then the U8's had a GS area but all three courses ultimately finished in the same broad area of the mountain next to a huge restaurant. By this restaurant there was the main race sponsors stalls set up (Rossignol as well as Beaufort cheese!) and said restaurant also had a BBQ etc going outside as well as timing hut and results boards etc... quite a set up!

So anyway there as 92 U10 girls entered and to be honest not quite the numbers and broad spectrum of clubs I had hoped there would be but still decent! About 130 U10 boys... not sure U12's and U8's as Val did not send anyone in those categories! Anyway we had a nice base area set up with the various SL / GS skis already to use etc and kit bags - this was a major operation with 8 boy racers and 6 girls!

The bib numbers were randomly drawn and Olivia had bib 66. I decided to leave her coach and her friends to it at the top and went to the finish area... I was popular as I had brought enough salami / huge block of Cheddar cut up AND our cow bell for ringing for support.

With about 45 secs between the runners and a few fallers it took about an hour before it was Olivias run! The race course was north facing and was boiler plate so would hold up really well but boy I was glad Olivia had very sharp edges! Anyway she got down the course which was more to be said for others and by the time all 92 had run she was in 2nd place - BLIMEY what a result! Unfortunately one of the 6 girls took a bad crash and although did not need medical attention her knee was sore so that was her day over! Poor thing - the girls were very supportive although there were tears! In fact a few of the girls skied out the courses over the day so within the Val contingency only 2 of the 6 girls got a time as the format for the race was 1 SG run and 1 SL run with times combined together to give total time! So there were a fair few tears amongst the girls over the day!

Then it was lunch time and with the sun shining hard the girls did some chatting and sunbathing before it was time to head up for the SL run. However they salted the course so even though it was 1400 when the SL started it held up very well!

One by one the girls came down at 20 sec intervals and with her lying in 2nd place out of 92 starters after the SG and about 0.75 secs (quite a lot) to make up on the girl from Serre Chevalier who was leading it was going to be nail biting. Would she complete the course, would there be tears, would she make a mistake and drop down the order or up the order, time would tell!

So I went up to the start area so help her warm up and help her prepare - get her boots tight and make sure her cat suit was not flapping about etc. I watched the girl who was leading the race do her SL run and it looked good... gulp I thought!

Anyway I was in the finish area when it was Olivias turn to race - I could barely watch... she needed to go fast but remember a couple of gates that were tricky and of course not overcook it and crash out.... nail biting!

So down she came and mentally every gate she completed I breathed a sigh of relief. She made one mistake at the end and crossed the line shaking her head - uh no I thought. A little old school at the venue meant there was no digital timing board etc up therefore I needed I consult the hand written results being written up (you can imagine the hundreds of people looking at the results after their runs!).... well it looked like she had done it - she had SMASHED the SL time and moved from 2nd to 1st.... in fact she was over a second faster than ANY other girl in the SL run. So waiting for the protocol of any disqualifications for missing a gate etc to come out was the only thing standing between her and victory incredibly!

One great thing about the whole day is that it is called the JB Cup. So Jean Baptiste Grange was a multi time French / World / Olympian etc etc etc and is a local boy and hero from Valloire and in all fairness to him he was around all day signing autographs, posing for selfies and even fore-running the courses which was of great entertainment and awe to the little kids - inspirational as he took it (semi) seriously! Showing how its really done! He was also there to present all the prizes later!

Anyway we shipped down to town on the lift, headed to the kids hotel as they changed and help them load the van.... I took more than one layer off and took my boots off!

Whilst they calculated the results there was sweets and cakes and drinks for the kids in the town centre and a very cool freestyle stunt push bike show which was ace. This kept the kids entertained!

Then the results started and they had the top 10 kids for each age category boys and girls up on the stage. So in the boys two Val boys made the top 10 (10th and 8th)... but then the girls and Alice who is Olivias big rival and from Val came third and then the big moment when Olivia was crowned CHAMPION. OMG! The Serre Chevalier girl came 2nd!

The prizes were insane... Alice got a lovely Rossignol kit bag and Olivia won a VERY VERY generous Rossignol voucher. Well thats a pair of new race skis sorted then for next year - blimey! Of course being France and the race being sponsored by a cheese she also got a KG of Beaufort cheese! Some lovely little bits like a google cover but a huge wooden plaque too! Gosh I was proud! On a stage like that with hundreds of people clapping etc and of course I was ringing the cowbell! She was very happy that JB Grange presented the prize too!

OMG!

So after all that excitement she headed home in the minibus (she was very excited that they stopped at Burger King in Albertville for dinner) and G and I hit the road. I was so thirsty and hungry I grabbed some grub and a huge bottle of water to eat and drink on the go!

By the time we got home, got all my stuff in, all Olivias stuff in, unwound a little etc etc etc it was nearly 2300.... EXHAUSTED doesnt even cover it!

I slept well! Olivia slept even better! We all slept well! Luckily the weather could not have been better yesterday - what a day!

Turning to today.... well it was a VERY lazy morning and Sunday eggs. Kids did some homework, called a couple of family members etc. Clare and the kids headed out at lunchtime for a drink and bite to eat with an old school friend of Clares who is here on holiday today. They both had Club this afternoon - oh yes back to the training grindstone.

I headed to work and had the same kids as the other afternoons and we enjoyed a fun afternoon including croc alley and the snowpack (yes Mont Blanc chair is working again) and a good fun ski about - awesome work kids! The only downside was the weather - the sand in the atmosphere (sorry forgot to snap a picture) was so thick it was very yellow out there today even though you could see OK and the snow was soft and yellow tinged but otherwise all good!

This evening has been a rush to get the kids bathed and in bed although Ben had a friend around for an hour after skiing.

So tomorrow back to the normal grindstone and normality!

Last week of updates and week of teaching!

TTFN and back to dailies tomorrow!

Rather a lot of kids and people to get up the lift yesterday morning and this was after queueing for about 20 mins!

SG course

Inspection time

Ready to race

Free cheese anyone!

SL skis ready to roll

Coach Harold giving final few instructions before she raced!

Cool freestyle bike show

Crowd assembles

With JB Grange

Love, love, love!

She was very excited to meet him!

Top 10 podium!

A snowHead

This is so wonderful, what a fabulous boost to her self confidence and self belief. You must have been grinning from ear to ear snowHead

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

Wow, just wow! Brilliant result for Olivia and her support team. Congratulations all round!

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

I'm almost in tears reading that. Your pride and joy comes across well Steve.

Well done again Team Angus

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Steve - I know you are chuffed, but please change the opening sentence/title of your post - you're giving away the ending before we've read the story of the day!!!!

And a fantastic well done to Olivia.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Fantastic. I hope the building work includes space for a trophy cabinet snowHead

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

After all it is free

What a fantastic day. I really enjoyed the read. Well done Olivia. Well done her parents.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Massive congratulations!

Help!!

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

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