 Poster: A snowHead
|
It's a beautiful sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky. The flying bogee and robthenav are off doing their thing up the mountain, and where am I? .....Holed up in bed with a box of tissues, a runny nose and at last, thanks to the generosity of a friendly french neigbour AN INTERNET CONNECTION....woohoo!!!
Having managed to sleep off the worst of the lurgy this morning I'm feeling a little more perky, so with a couple of hours of peace and quiet on my hands, it seemed like a good idea to start the story of 'A family season in the Alps'
We've been here nearly a month now and rather than try and recount a diary version of our adventure to date I'll go for the abridged version and a few of the highlights ......and lowlights so far.
Firstly, who are we? Well I'm annie I'm 46 and it has to be said that skiing is not something that comes particularly naturally but that doesn't mean I don't have a lot of fun anyway. Robthenav, 43, is pretty comfortable on pretty much all pistes and dabbles off pistes with plans to hone his dabbling skills a fair bit and then there's The flying bogee 11 who, as some of you have seen, is pretty handy for a nipper and is getting handier by the day. We decided to 'do' a season, well pretty much because we could! Robthenav and I can work from home with the odd trip back to Blightly andThe flying bogee is in his last year at primary school so 5 months practising for SAT's or 5 months skiing and learning french........hmmmm tough choice!
St Gervais was a bit of an accident really. We ended up here last february for a week after booking cheap sunday to sunday flights into Grenoble and being unable to find accommodation anywhere else. We arrived with pretty low expectations but were pleasantly suprised, not particularly by the skiing itself - though a month in and we're not bored yet, but the village and the practicality of access to Geneva, the reasonable town of Sallanches at an easy drive and sizeable number of other resorts withing striking distance. Anyway, something clicked and 10 months later we arrived laden down with all the essentials (Wii, ipod docks, pc's cuddly toy, french dictionary the size of a house!.........and that essential that one should never be without, the bag from the bottom of the wardrobe with all the odd socks in it! I'm sure it will come in handy, just haven't figured out how yet!
Right, I'll post this bit before the connection drops and be back in a minute
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Grrrrr Just lost it all as I was trying to add a picture of the view from kitchen window on first morning Double Grrrrrr
Throwing my toys out of the pram for now, will try again later!
Bogee just walked in the door announcing that he's been on the blacks all day. ..... "They're pips mum!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Ok, so I'm dosed up on paracetemol and tetley tea, time to give it another go:
December 8th was D day and 9am saw us squeezing and squashing the last bits and pieces into the Renault and wondering if the suspension was going to make it - It was the sock bag that did it I tell you! A last minute call for The Bogee to say a stiff lipped farewell to his best mate and we were off. For dramatic effect the journey should have been filled with wrong turns, car breakdowns and all manner of other calamities but as it was, the day passed without incident. Indeed the most excitement was finding that the restaurant next to the Formula 1 at Troyes sud had burnt down during the year and had been reincarnated as a rather nice little brasserie number. I can heartily recommend the creme brulee!
The following morning we were up with the larks not just because of the excitement but also because Chamonix meteo were forecasting snow later in the day. One of the compromises on the appartement we have rented was no designated parking which potentially meant a trek across the TMB car park - not wildly attractive anyway, but decidedly less so if the snow gods were doing their stuff. We also had not yet got winter tyres and the chains were buried 'somewhere' so had visions of our arrival being something more of a spectator sport that we would like.
In the event the worry was needless. Lunchtime saw the renault creaking gratefully into a parking spot right outside the front door where we were met by Steve and the key to our new life.
A quick peek through the door and the appartement was exactly as we remembered it from the fact finding mission in April. The only downside was, so were the stairs!!! 6 short flights hadn't been too bad when it was just a couple of cases but flipping 'eck 20 odd laden journeys up and down later and Mont Blanc seemed a little bit closer than the view! Ski? It seemed doubtful that we were ever going to be able to walk again!
Pasta and some lurid sauce in a jar washed down by the red wine thoughtfully provided by our hosts and it was lights out - but not before a last glimpse out of the window proved that the weather men had got it right. It was snowing!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Annie, Good to hear from you, glad things are going well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
....and this is what we woke up to - the view at about 6am (excited - moi?) from my kitchen window......washing up has improved a little.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh! So it did post first or was it 2nd time after all - those paracetamol or was it the tea must have been good, I didn't notice. I'll get rid of that in a minute.
Thanks all for the good wishes both for our stay and the demise of the lurgy - Feeling much better today just a sore throat to get rid of now.
pam w, Anniepen, Yes, the New Year crowds were indeed a revelation......and not in a good way! It came as something of a shock after 2 weeks of nigh on empty slopes and zero lift queues, way worse than half term last year. However the 'Bogee report' was that yesterday normal service has been resumed - hence his playing on the blacks, as we wouldn't let him do it last week....though they were probably a fair sight safer than the blues and reds!
Anniepen, I think I went to look at something in that block in April - if it's just behind the fire station ( I saw about 18 places so details are now somewhat hazy). It was The Bogee's favourite as it had a tiny garden but was indeed a bit on the 'cosy' side for an extended stay.
Off to Geneva today to repatriate our New Year guests and a bit of a mooch around - Well we will be as soon as the plumber has been. It's all a bit whiffy chez Annie at the moment. Saturday evening Madame La guardienne came frantically knocking on the door to inform us that it was 'raining' in the appartement downstairs. Some franglais apologising, a manic search for the stopcock later and eventually it stopped. Being Sunday however Mr Bricolage was still in bed so the plumber was unable to get the part to stop the shower showering everywhere but where it should. At the moment we are restricted to a tiny sink in the second loo for water - it's an interesting challenge!
I'll get onto the snowy stuff soon - Promise!
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Annie, Looking forward to reading later chapters! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anniepen,
Just come back from a week staying at l'Grets....that piste/walk home nearly gave me a heart attack on new years eve 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Afternoon All - It's lovely to be back from the dead! - That's overstating it a bit but I did think I'd swallowed a fistful of razor blades for a while - why is it that colds always feel so much worse out here?
Anniepen, Definitely not the place I was thinking of then.
Straight to the abridged version then:
The good bits. The apartment is fab - and it's even better now that the plumber has come and fixed the taps! Water is one of those thing you just take for granted isn't it? A couple of days without it and boy did we notice, well the adults did, it probably completely passed over the head of the Bogee - life here had a distinct campsite feel. We still have slightly 'french ski appartement' electrics i.e more than two rings and the oven on together with the merest whiff of heating and it goes into cardiac arrest but not to the extent that we view it as more than 'the charm of a renovated building. I'm even quite enjoying the stairs now as my legs only burn on the last few these days. Even though we're on completely the other side of town to the telecabine the ski bus stops bang outside the door and drops us outside again on the way back ....it's actually easier than parking at the lift.
The other 'inmates' of the block are by and large lovely. There's a pooch that yaps half the night next door which may find itself on the BBQ soon but other than that pas mal. When we arrived we dropped a note through the doors and invited all for a drink and a taste of england to celebrate my birthday on 19th dec. In the event only 2 people turned up and neither could speak a word of English. OMG we thought! 3 hours and a number of glasses of wine later and we were not exactly firm friends certainly good enough acquaintances to share some skiing, another dinner and subsequently an exchange of e-mail addresses (They live in Amiens, so not quite locals, but at least not English) All occasions have been without question the most intensive and profitable french lessons I've had in my life!
People are starting to recognise that we're kicking around for more than a week (The lifties, madame in the Spar and in the boulangerie, office du tourisme etc) and are taking the time to let us speak french (It's a big thing for us, that we improve our french at least as much as we improve our skiing.) and are gently correcting the minor -and major! faux pas.
We have now experienced THE ZOO in all it's glory...though regrettably (I think) missed out on the ministrations of the KEEPER himself. The bogee was kitted out with a pair of Nordica Dobermans by Seb who was fantastic - especially seeing as the feet that I had requested be dunked in a bath that morning seemed to still have most of the football pitch from the previous weeks match back in England glued between their toes. For the benefit of the YOUNG ladies Seb is also very cute .... This is a purely academic and objective observation, as sadly I'm almost certainly old enough to be his grandmother
On around the 15th, we scurried over to Les Houches where James had a taster day with the BSA and an opportunity to try out all his new kit. It's always difficult to judge how good your own kids are I think, and more so if like me your not very good to start with. I had worried that with all these kids having spent time racing on plastic and god knows how many days on snow I had over stated the Bogee's ability and both he and I would be in for a bit of a shock. It didn't do anything to decrease my anxiety when the all waltzed out with full on race gear and all the extra 'protecty bits' and there was The Bogee in pretty much standard holiday gear (top to toe red so he does look a bit like an ESF instructor....from a distance if your eyes are as dodgy as mine, but that's another story)save the shiny new skis towering above his head ( OK a cm or two) AND it was a cruddy day, AND he'd been up half the night AND. and and... Mummy mode was on full alert all day! What a waste of emotional energy!!! Picked him up at 5pm in full twitter mode "How was it? Did you keep up? etc etc" "What do yoooou think?" came the reply in that tone that only children of a certain age can master/get away with " I've been skiing since I was 5, of course I can keep up...........and beat half of 'em too"
Oh yes and the snow has been fabulous, almost top to bottom good quality coverage - even the run back to St Gervais, while not open has been definitely skiable
!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
A few pictures from the early days including our apt, a bit of St Gervais architectural style .....oh yes and a couple of shots of snow!!!
- well it SHOULD all be there!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
OK Photo gurus, How do you post more than one pic on one post then? I'm all for upping the post count but.......
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
And the bad?
Well apart from the fact that we're horrified by the price of everything at the moment - though as this is a once in a lifetime trip we're trying not to worry about it too much
Here's a clue
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Annie wrote: |
| OK Photo gurus, How do you post more than one pic on one post then? I'm all for upping the post count but....... |
each one with a seperate line and tag
ie
[quote]
[img]http://firstimagehere[/img]
[img]http://2ndimagehere[/img]
[img]http://3rdimagehere[/img]
I really hope that pic of a helicopter is your family going heli skiing and not getting airlifted off the mountain due to an injury.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Nope, don't get it..........someone like to do the first you press this button then that button guide?
But this is what it looked like from the top of the piste ( Moutely) down towards Megeve on 14th December.....quite white isn't it?[/img]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ok, I'm just playing now, so you get what you get.....
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\St Gervais architecture on a snowy day (1712)\snowheads PC170002.jpg[/img]
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\St Gervais architecture on a snowy day (1712)\snowheads St G church.jpg[/img]
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\St Gervais architecture on a snowy day (1712)\Snowheads Outside view of our apt.jpg[/img]
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\17\snowheads kitchen.jpg[/img]
or possibly nothing at all in which case, drawing board here I come!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Oh bolognaise!!!!
Never mind, I'll get there in the end......just maybe not tonight.
Let's do the helicopter...
To add to the list of 'good things' we were delighted to welcome friends to St Gervais at both Xmas and New Year. New Year, delightful though it was failed miserably to reach the drama heights achieved at Christmas.......and to be honest both we and slimshady and jonesy1967 are eternally grateful.
At the beginning of this saga, I made a passing reference to an if not quite tearful, certainly painful farewell from The Bogee to his best pal at home. What The Bogee didn't know was that said pal and his family were springing a suprise visit for Christmas. So come 22nd december at 9pm or thereabouts unbeknown to The Bogee a family of 2 adults and 4 kids flew into Geneva with an eta of 10.45 or thereabouts in St Gervais. Since we arrived here every other night has been 'DVD night' as an antidote to french terrestrial telly, a medium to try and up the french ante if nothing else. So we dragged out dinner as far as we possibly could and about 8.30 settled down in front of some kiddie flick. Then we watched the outakes, then we watched the special features, then we played back the key scenes....where the heck were they????? Even the bogee whp can usually milk bedtime for all it's worth was suggesting he cleaned his teeth and went to bed. "No, let's just see what happened when....." we delayed. At last a text, they were on their way up the hill TFFT!
"Suddenly" .....yeah right! a ring on the bell and in waltzed Josh, soon to be christened 'liability' B..........i! How it had been kept a secret I don't know but a secret it certainly was - the look on The Bogee face was priceless
Now, Josh has been here with us before. He had his first skiing experience in february last year on these very slopes. He is actually a very natural skier with great balance and no fear......and therein lies the problem. He also has a bit of a history here. Last year he managed to get himself stretchered of the mountain with a 'broken thigh' as diagnosed by the piste patrol.....Thankfully that turned out to be just a whacking great bruise and the following day he was back on the mountain a little chastened but as it's transpired not quite sufficiently so.
The following morning off we trotted up the mountain armed to the teeth with carte neige. The 3 other kids and mum went to ski school but Josh and dad, himself pretty handy having grown up in Milan came with us. A jaunt down the green - no problem, sensible speed, 110% in control. Ok, this time we'll go right and down the bottom of the blue - 800m or so. The bogee led, then came dad then Josh with robthenav and me bringing up the rear as sweepers - we were expecting to possibly pick Josh up at some point. A nano second later and he'd overtaken dad, too fast but was looking good, another moment and he was on The bogee tails and then past. "Slow down" 3 adults cried in unison. "You're going to fast!" shouted The Bogee ..........Josh braked and braked again as the bottom of the chair came into sight, he turned - he should have made it into the 'approach lane' It was empty. But no, whether it was a slide and flop or a caught edge or he just plain overcooked the turn, the post at the end of the approach lane "jumped out and crashed into him" Being 4ft nothing tall he collided at chest height with the ring bolt through which the ropes are fed to extend the queue..........OUCH!
Now he's normally a pretty tough cookie, so when he didn't get up pretty quickly, we knew he was hurt. Piste patrol turned up in droves, Josh was getting paler,breathing was laboured, they got and lost, got and lost his pulse..... S**t, this could be serious!!! Out came the oxygen and an emergency call made to the doctor. "It's a child? I'm coming up" ...well obviously that was in french but. 15 minutes later and down came the jellywopter and like marines the medical team poured out (it was actually one doc, a gendarme and a pisteur but seemed like lots) By this stage, some 40 minutes or so after the crash josh had rallied somewhat and the pisteurs mood lightened. Ok said the doc, we're all right here let's get him moved. Back came to chopper and 5 minutes later he and dad were winging (or rotoring) their way to sallanches hospital in Josh's taxi.
It was fairly swiftly confirmed that he had a fractured rib - apparently he'd impacted on this chest but the fracture was just off his spine, though not scarily so. They were more worried about kidney damage. Thankfully 24 hrs later he was confirmed Ok and the following day, Christmas morning he was discharged
But of course his skiing days were over!
In the end, I think we all learnt something from this: carte neige is worth its weight in gold, if only for the simplicity. We will never again assume that people will look after themselves and theirs ‘on our mountain’ and I hope that somewhere in the back of his mind Josh realises that a couple of minutes of insufficiently controlled yeeeehaaa! Can get you into serious trouble and spoilt not only his holiday but that of his family and to an extent the Bogee’s too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Annie wrote: |
Ok, I'm just playing now, so you get what you get.....
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\St Gervais architecture on a snowy day (1712)\snowheads PC170002.jpg[/img]
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\St Gervais architecture on a snowy day (1712)\snowheads St G church.jpg[/img]
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\St Gervais architecture on a snowy day (1712)\Snowheads Outside view of our apt.jpg[/img]
[img]C:\Users\Anne\Pictures\OLYMPUS Master 2\2008\12\17\snowheads kitchen.jpg[/img]
or possibly nothing at all in which case, drawing board here I come! |
Your almost there, but you've put a link to files on your local PC, you just need to upload them to the snowheads image server, and then use that link, as you did with the single photos!!
regards,
Greg
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
Annie, what an awful story; poor kid. Daft kid. Typical kid. Hope that's your last chopper evacuation of the season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
Annie, wow. You tell a good story, ma'am. Thank goodness it all turned out OKish.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Iwas on the edge of my sofa reading that!
BTW, how did you manage to get your child out of school for 5 months?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| Quote: |
how did you manage to get your child out of school for 5 months?
|
parents who go to live in another country for a while are not obliged to leave their small children behind!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
Hurtle, It did indeed turn out fairly ok ...news just in, is that he played football on Saturday! Actually he was sledging 5 days after the smash.....personally, hell would have frozen over before I stuck him on a sledge - I'd rather have put him back on skis.........although on second thoughts!
Seriously though, Josh is the kind of kid for whom a bump and a bruise and any amount of lecturing wouldn't be enough to teach him how dangerous this sport CAN be. He did at some point need to 'be put out of action' in order to learn the lesson. In a way, I'm glad it's now at relatively low speed and a relatively low grade injury rather than a couple of years on and God knows what.
Call me stupid, but I'm in the process of booking flights for another bout of liability B......i in February - this time sans parents. Hang on in there for the next roller coaster ride!!
Tim Sawyer, The conversation went something like:
ME " What are the academic implications of taking James out of school for 5 months next year?"
HEAD " The educational welfare office might be after your blood"
ME " What if I was taking him to the French Alps to ski and learn some French?"
HEAD " Wow! what a fantastic opportunity, grab it with both hands and go!........he will be back in time to sit SAT's won't he? "
ME " OK, thanks, I will then"
Job done!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Annie, Sorry to hear about Josh, but from what you've told me and reading this it probably was a good thing in the long run. However you might need some sort of self braking skis for Feb! Good on James - see - I told you he was pretty handy!!!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Annie, good luck for Feb! Daredevil kids with guardian angels aside, it sounds like you're having a great time. I may be in your neck of the woods sometime this season, if so I'll drop you a line for a drink so I get to hear the next instalment first-hand! In the meantime, keep posting, and don't give up on the photos...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Evening All.
The problem with starting this report/diary/blog (if you're younger than me!) or whatever else you may call it ...purposeless drivel springs to mind, is not that there is nothing to say, rather that come this time of night I've completely run out out of energy to say it. How the gents in Les Menuires and Les Arcs manage it is beyond me!
But nevertheless here goes: - Please throw me some slack for the fact that most of this is being typed scrunched up over the steering wheel in the Prairion car park at Les Houches waiting for the sun to come up!
On the 29th dec, 'liability' and his family headed home. A frantic day of sheet washing and drying in a tumble dryer that seemed to take 2 hrs to dry a sock ......until I sussed that the water condenser thingy probably hadn’t been emptied for months, before the arrival of slimshady and his good lady Jonesy1967. Christmas week had suprised me. I had read on here and looking at the tour operator brochures had confirmed that it was one of the peak weeks .....so where were all the punters then? Saving themselves for New Year, that's where! Jeeez what a difference! Who told all these people they could come to MY mountain and play idiot on MY slopes???? ....and boy don't you see some idiots! I can't even begin to count how many times some teenage (usually) thug did heir level best to shorten my skis by 10cm....and tbh they're not that long to start with! Grrrrr.
Anyway other than the crowds (Jonesy1967 asked me at one point "What is the the worst lift queue you've been in?" to which the reply was "This one!!!" as we spent the best part of 45 minutes milling around at the bottom of the Mont d'arbois gondola!) the week passed entirely pleasantly with no dramas save the decisions about where/what we might eat that night.
Monday saw them winging their way back to the UK, vowing (and if you're reading this guys i very much hope so) to return. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the sights of Geneva – not many it has to be said, although it was that cold it would be that we didn’t look too hard! We did enjoy a very nice lunch in Les Brasseurs, where as you walk in the door you are assailed with the aroma of hops from the brewing process as the brew their own beers. We also discovered that it is not difficult, though slightly more long winded to get to GVA airport without using the autoroute – a satnav that doesn’t try to skim off every spare cm or road would have made it even easier! Another result, as while we don’t mind buying one vignette, purchasing two (one to end of Jan and one for the rest of the season), was less appealing in our cash strapped circumstances…..you can subsitute cheapskates if you like!)
Then started a frenetic week mainly on behalf of the bogee but equally after a month which had been pretty much all holiday the beginnings of our ‘real’ life as among other things Robthenav officially signed back on for work on Wednesday
Tuesday, having 'stalked' the St Gervais ski club for most of the summer to no avail, now that we were in situ, it was time to go knocking on the door. What a difference turning up and asking face to face makes! Ok, so we didn’t get him into the racing arm of the ski club but 5 minutes after bowling along to the MJC, The Bogee was the proud owner of a bright yellow ‘gizmo’….a ‘technical’ term first introduced to us by yours truly Master liability -bib and had instructions to report to the bottom of the telecabine the following afternoon for ‘preparation etoile d’or’ Now we were pretty sure that etoile d’or was something he could manage in his sleep, with a hangover (not that he’s been THERE yet) and probably backwards but a combination of the fact there was another young Brit in the group, the look I got when asked “What ESF level is he?” to which I replied, “Errr dunno, - he hasn’t done anything with ESF for at least 10 weeks skiing – (don’t suppose you’re familiar with Easiski gradings!), I’d guess probably Fleche something or other” and ultimately a wish to under promise and over deliver rather than him being demoralised by being kicked out of the higher groups, meant etoile d’or it was.
We had also started to have 2nd thoughts on what we were going to do with him educationally. The original plan had been that he’d hang out with the BSA for 2 or 3 days a week throughout the season doing both the ski and academic programme but now even he was saying he thought learning French and going to school might be a good idea……it must be REALLY boring with two old farts for parents to drive him to thinking about school in a positive light! We were both shocked at this revelation but impressed by his maturity and not a little grateful, as while the BSA is many things, cheap for a season is not one of them.
Consequently, that afternoon saw us down at the ‘college’ in Passy being ‘interviewed’ by the head teacher. It seemed they’d be quite happy to have him for 3.5 days a week after the February break to accommodate the time already booked with the BSA, but it would be a good idea if we could try and get him some French tuition in the meantime but he could come along on Thursday for a taster afternoon in the FLE class (French for foreign students).
Wednesday and I was back on skis for the first time since New Year’s eve. Robthenav was officially on a work day so the Bogee and I wished him a smug bon travail and went off for a gentle morning mooching around the now empty slopes of St Gervais. We met up with Siriol and her 4 kids who arrived in resort on Saturday and played around ‘Freddy’ (the top of the St Gervais telecabine) before suddenly realising that we had 20 minutes to eat lunch, get on the gizmo bibs and get back to the bottom car park to meet up with the ski club. A swift run down the green Chateluy and sandwiches munched in the telecabine and they made it just in time.
Dan and ‘The Bogee’ dutifully reported to their allotted ESF flag along with 4 or 5 french kids. God they were tiny! You could see from the look on The Bogee face that NO WAY was he going to spend all of January skiing with these minnows! “Don’t get too cocksure” we said, “Just do your best and see what happens” Well to cut the story short……..On Saturday they were both told to report to the flechette/fleche flag.
Thursday and The Bogee had his afternoon (actually just over an hour) at College. It’s funny how the “I’m 11, I can do this, that and the other” attitude reverts to “I’m really rather little and quite like having mum around” when faced with 700 teenage students milling around the corridors, waiting for lessons. Eventually we were directed to the classroom which with only 4 kids, 2 of whom he knew already was somewhat less intimidating. The head had suggested I stayed with him, so I too got a free French lesson. The teacher was lovely, she teaches English to the French students so I was expecting the odd English explanation, but no, the full hour was conducted entirely in French – with the odd picture clue when the kids faces were completely blank- and they covered all sorts of things from names, to where they came from, to what sports, food, music they liked among other things.
Friday and The Bogee and I had a near perfect day! Just the two of us, mooching around empty slopes in the sunshine. The Bogee happily searching out pisteside jumps while I tried to remember all the exercises for an errant hip that refuses to tuck under (It’s possibly only Easiski that has the first clue what I’m talking about here……C. it ain’t perfect yet but it’s getting better!) We didn’t do much, just tootled over to Megeve for a pisteside picnic lunch and then back up the Mont d’arbois gondola, off down Finance then Papicot – which is starting to show the odd stone, right down to the bottom of The Princess lift and up again, then pretty much the same again because The Bogee liked the gondola!
On Saturday having being caged inside for two days robthenav was itching to get out so we made an early start – quite frankly I’ve forgotten what we did, but I think we had fun! The Bogee reported for his ski club in the afternoon and they zipped off up the telecabine. We and Siriol zipped on up the telecabine too, but our target was the cup of vin chaud at Freddy’s – 5 euro for a somewhat dangerous quantity of the stuff, or 3 euros 50 for a more moderate snifter but it’s the best and the cheapest we’ve found so far though the trade off is that it comes in a polystyrene cup. As we were there we spied out of the corner of our eye The Bogee’s bunch hovering at the top of the black Michel Dujon. As he’d been doing blues and a solitary red on the Wednesday we thought surely they’re not going off down there! Not worried by their lack of ability, just that the closest to skiing their instructor had seen was them getting in and out of a telecabine thus far. We were wrong: off they went zip,zip, zip and they were down and out of sight and we settled down for a quiet hour in the sun sipping vin chaud sans enfants….bliss.
Sunday we had intended to go and suss out Combloux or more accurately if you could ski there without driving from St Gervais to the station. The short answer is yes you can, if you time it right – the skibus leaves the bottom of the princess lift hourly for the 10 minute jaunt. The other part of the short answer is no, we didn’t, due to a navigational error on our part involving waiting for the skibus on the wrong side of the road..doh. So we spent morning on Rochebrune before I sloped of in the early afternoon to let the boys get on with some ‘boy stuff’.
Blimey, I’ve nearly caught up with myself! Now we’re into this week.
So far, this week has been one of firsts. Bogee’s first proper day at the BSA yesterday from which he came home and when asked how his day was, uttered 1 word “Long!” The skiing was good and much harder than ski club……”we had to race tuck down the Kandahar! – it was ace!” which does make me wonder if he’s hanging back a bit in ski club – he was less enthusiastic about the academic activity in the afternoon!!!
Most of my ‘firsts’ are no great shakes to most of you lot, but one way and another they’re if not exactly important, notable to me - and one or two of you may appreciate their significance.
Monday – The first time I have ever gone to a new ski resort (les Houches)and been skiing entirely on my own – as in all day on my own, not a couple of runs or an hour before lunch. I loved it!! OK, so not being the most piste map literate creature on the planet and a bit of a coward when it comes to piste colours (We’re not Chelsea supporters in the house for nothing!) it was a bit scary to begin with, but that was more than traded by being able to do the same piste at my pace as many times as I liked, to go where I wanted when I wanted – and just the sort of peace and freedom I felt skiing just for me.
Tuesday – A triple first! Actually a quadruple, if you count typing a snowhead post in -9 in a car park! It was a 1st for taking a book and sitting in a mountain restaurant reading and watching the sun go over the mountain while waiting for The Bogee to finish his BSA day. More watching than reading, the book is tat! It was also a 1st for an ESF lesson – a charming lady called Veronique who very kindly rolled a skiing and French lesson into one. A quick shimmy down the blue liaison on to the Col de Voza, down the Col de Voza with a few, “stop dropping your hands, push your lower knee forward”, “ You have a good position and technique” – compliments to the Chef Madame Swift! and suddenly we were on the brink of the third 1st The Kandahar….Gulp! Black markers – Gulp! Can’t see what’s round that corner- Gulp! ….and off we went down the first black slope I’ve ever skied …..and it was ‘easy’, and we did it again, and I did it later by myself. I’m going to get a slap for this, (seeing the negative, not the positive) We didn’t actually do the difficult bit – well, I’m assuming great big signs further down with “very good skiers only” plastered all over them in half a dozen languages might suggest it gets just a bit trickier, but that is not the point.
Wednesday – that’s today! Bogee had double skiing this morning and double skiing this afternoon BSA then ESF. Today’s newly acquired Bogee skill is leaving his ski at the bottom of the teleski, going up on one ski, then skiing down to retrieve the bottom one……………how did I manage to breed this?
This evening the promised by Chamonix weather flocons arrived….not many, but fingers crossed for a few more in the next few days…we don’t quite NEED new snow yet, the pistes barring some patchiness on the very low slopes are still great -Hard but great – but a little top up would be nice.
Tomorrow we’re off to Contamines to ski with Brock.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
One of the biggest queues I hit on all week ....with the bogee modelling the ESF look.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Annie, great - all read with much interest. maybe we could meet up in Les Contamines one day? I can relate to your frantic day washing sheets....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
Most of my ‘firsts’ are no great shakes to most of you lot, but one way and another they’re if not exactly important, notable to me - and one or two of you may appreciate their significance.
|
Extremely entertaining reading (in a positive sense!). I admire you enormously and wish you lots of success with your French and of course further adventures down The Kandahar, Mont Joli etc! Met you briefly in Wengen when Bogee embarrassed us all with his speed! and now he's eating in the Tin Shack(Le Terrain)....or have they moved to the hut at the bottom of Col de Voza? I did notice BSA practising with the Passy,St-G, etc kids there rather than on their usual Maisonneuve. I have not met Veronique but she has succeeded where I have failed; encouraging my friends to attempt tougher pistes.....what is it about those red jackets?! What a wonderful, wonderful experience you are having.....even those awful moments when you are praying for a child to get up and breathe. I hope you get a huge dump and can enjoy skiing back to StG from LH.....take the train up to CdeV.......and if you want to practise Spanish(huh?!) there are 3 lovely lasses from Buenos Aires working in the restaurant near the bottom of Plancerts! Hoping to be in LH in March......silver ski helmet with Snowheads stickers back and front.......can't tell you what I'll be wearing 'cos Air France lost my bags in the chaos at Paris, Charles de Gaulle on Jan 5th. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good stuff. I may have been in the same queue at the gondola, caused by the Ideal chair breaking down. V frustrating.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
 Morning All. The boys are still in bed (9.30am!) so it seemed like a good time for the next installment. It would have been later but I have suddenly discovered that if the laptop sits in one specific place on the dining table and moves by no more than a centimetre then I can pick up our free wifi link out here rather than luxuriating in bed....the link isn't actually that of our neighbour at all, but some anonymous unsecured network somewhere else entirely. Whoever you are out there "Thankyou!"
pam w, A Contamines meet would be lovely sometime. Drop me a pm or post when you head over that way and we'll see if we can meet up. LikewiseMac46, for Les Houches - I may be a little less inept by March, though The Bogee will still be embarrassing!
So Thursday and blue skies beckoned along with a preappointed rendezvous with Brock in Les Contamines. Well they beckoned me any way, prising young Bogee out of bed was a more challenging task. We'd only been to Contamines once before and that was last easter Just me, The Bogee and 'liability' so hadn't ventured much further than the runs around Signal therefore were very much looking forward to a more extensive tour.....and an extensive tour peppered with local info and anecdotes is what we got! Certainly by my rather 'ladylike' pootling around between hot choc stops standards. I'd love to be able to say where we went exactly but to be honest I really don't have a clue, other than there were a lot of lifts, a lot of runs, and I think we ended up at each of the high points of each of the sectors at some point. For the boys it may have been a " relax and smell the coffee day" but for me it was a full on ski day,probably the most I've done on one day for a lot of years, where many of the demons around post colour and picking my way down first time runs of whatever colour were well and truly exorcised!!! A few glasses of wine and a bit of bread and cheese at Brocks and it was time to head home Tired, very tired but very happy after a really great day!
Thanks Brock.
The photo is my view of the boys looking over the top of Aiguille Croche over Megeve - I didn't fancy the traverse or bumpy looking unpisted black as my 2nd black to share in it myself!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Is this the one with the arrow on showing where they are?????
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
) and thought it was a gorgeous place (those views!) and very nice centre. We were in a pretty unprepossessing apartment residence (L'Grets) which was chosen as it has a swimming pool for our boys - the apartment was OK but the views of Mont Blanc and the range were breathtaking. I'm pretty jealous, but still would like to hear how it goes for you 
But not family (quite) and not as bad an outcome as the jellywopter evacuation might suggest 
but I'm reading the 'any ddoctors on here' broken rib thread on 'the piste' with a little more than voyeuristic interest.
Glad you are getting settled tho 
