Said goodbye to the Dog & wife & et off from home at the ungodly hour of 03.45 am. Arrived at Manchester Airport gold park at 04:30 to find a queue with the lady at the desk on a go slow. 15 minutes later snt to other carpark. Transfer bus waiting. Did the long walk to Terminal 2. Chaos, great snakes of queues for Thompsonfly check in and another to get rid of skis. Ah!! self checkin lovely 2 minutes later had a boarding card. To 'express' baggage drop, short queue but only one lady on & on a go slow. 20 minutes later got rid of main back. Fortunately ski queue snaking only half way round the building. wee wee uip & a brewery spring to mind. Through security - not too bad. Although arriving 2 hours before depature didn't have time to finish my Starbucks large hazlenut latte, had to board the plane. Waiting for bags to be loaded, problem with air trafiic over London, next slot 1 hour. Arrived at Chambolique airport, total chaos , which luggage belt ? Found a box to stand on to view both belts through the crowds. Couldn't place the language for the group next to me, finally dawned on me their from Glasgow. My skis arrived and I pushed throughj, crowd all good humoured & bemused. My main bag cam 30 minutes later and I somehow parted the scrum to escape. Found the transfer bus with help from one of crystal reps the rest not so knowledgeable. We now had to wait the Glasgow people - problem with the luggage. Heard talk of Frosty the Snowman from the group of 10 behind, did they say from Burnley - some foreign place. Drive to Resort pretty good , a hour and a half and white stuff at the side of the road. Blue skies. Chalet looks OK. Room not bad , only bedroom on ground floor so bathroom pretty much my own. I'm the only guest to arrive. Chalet host is a boarder ! But a nice lad on his gap year, if he can cook its custy. Short walk to Gondolas & infocentre with free wifi but close at 5 pm ish. I'm told sportbar has free wifi but a poor connection - we'll see if I can keep send report. Nice day but snow needed, 30 cm rumoured over next3 days. Got to stock up with beer, shop 30 yards from chalet but might be closed tomorrow.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
OK enough supplies; alcohol & chocolate for the weekend & should survive if we get snowed in. The village looks old french & very pretty.
The next lot of guests arrives 2 hours late with talk of the ordeal from Gatwick & circling Chambery. Husband, wife, grandparents & a screaming sprog. Try to have a nap but the acoustics of the chalet I hear every footfall and door bang. What are they doing ? Playing football in ski boots ?
Dinner is pretty good , oinion soup, lemon & rosemary chicken, grilled potatoes & green beans, apple tartlette with cream. The red wine is 'on draught' & drinkable (20 euro for 20 L I'm informed. Least couple arrives at 10 pm. 2 hours late and with another baby. mixed fortune, no Swedish ladies pole dancers annual outing. Fully fuelled now and too comfortable to go out, I now regret not going in one of the Fromageries, oh! for some Camembert or Roquefort & port - a bit more shopping to do.
Sunday 18th Jan. Had slept like the dead after sufficient Red anaesthetic. Woke up to a beautiful blue sky with red streaks. Clouds blew in from V.T. and by the end of breakfast was fully overcast. Full cooked breakfast was good and a promise of fresh snow. Decided to stay in Courchevel Valley as it was windy up high & the lifts were stopping periodically as the wind peaked. Blue & green pistes are well worn, the less well used pistes not bad, a little thin a bit of grass here & there where wind scoured. Slopes & resort are looking fairly quiet. Started snowing mid morning and has continued to do so with varying intensity. Skis now running much sweeter. Visibilty not so bad but blowing a gale at top of Saluire. Met some nice people in the lifts, mostly old folk like myself,quite a few well to do Englishers in fatbags with ancient ESF guide, some nice french couples & dusted off my neglected french & got by nicely. Very nice down through the trees to La Tania and to a lesser extent down to Le Praz but should be sweet tomorrow. Met up with fellow snowhead AlanB for a little ski together, he is good skier - too good for me. Mist rolled in at 3 pm & it miserable, does that mean its a bit warmer ? The snow is falling as tiny prills and it feels on the wet side at 1300 m. I quit fairly early as my legs were starting to fell it, shameful really as I have only had a week off. Not getting on as well as I would like with my new stiffer boots, think the cant is not right on the right boot as the right ski is wandering on ruts, see if I can borrow an allen key, I think it is contributing to tiring my legs, more red wine required. Just called in the fromagerie on the way back, the patron insists I try them all, some are wonderful, bought a few pieces and a bottle of cheap port to wash it down, should finish off dinner nicely.
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?
Chambery chaos
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 26-01-09 13:40; edited 1 time in total
Top stuff Lechbob, . Thanks. Love the gonzo style!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Sunday night the bad news is its stopped snowing and the sky is clear. Were now 'promissed' 70 cm for the rest of the week. Maybe a tad optimistic, we've had 5 cm already. That means we won't be able to see anything all week, good news for next weekers. On the good side we've got the log fire roaring away, dinner wasn't bad and the cheese went down well, the cheap port was a bit thin but not unpleasant. The other chalet guests have promissed to reciprocate so I am doubling up on my statins dosage. Poor george are 'floater flexi' chalet helper got the sack but not for anything outrageous, just slept in one too many times, shame pretty boy.
I have now found the sport bar which is not called the sport bar & wxplains why i did not find it - its the 'Courchevel'. Its got a free but erratic wifi connection.
The promised live music played the last few bars of 'knocking on heavens door' as I walked in & promptly sain back in 1 hour. How musch must I drink to
pass an hour. Wait a minute I recognise a chalet girl from Tignes last year, she must be stalking me. She gave me a nice kiss but no tongues but it is early. I must be getting old as the immature tales of drinking bouts & gratuitous sex are getting boring. Woh! good news theres a second band on. 'The boys a back in town' to kick of. Back to pleasure , bye for now.
After all it is free
After all it is free
It was a good night out last night giving George a send off & leaving Oli unconcious having been given a dirty pint. Monday morning woke up to fresh snow with nice size flakes falling, 3 or 4 inches of fresh. Or chalet host was late to cook our breakfast after waking up in 1850 to find the early buses not running, waiting for the roads to be cleared, don't know if that was so. He still managed to cook us a decent full English. I was late to rendezvous with the ski escort
after getting engrossed in the fresh virgin snow, not enough to float on but barely bottoming out. The escort wasn't waiting & must have got away promptly. I met a who bunch of geriatrics who had missed the escort & the invited to me to join them. I did one run with them but after taking half an hour to do the 5 minute run waiting for fallers & for incontinence breaks. A younger guy with the 'fast' Eddie was getting frustrated with them & we excused ourselves. I spent the next 3 hours trying to keep up with him through the bumps & hollows in & out of the trees down the boarder cross course until he had an argument with a tree going down to La Tania when I realised maybe I should be following him. Best run was Chapelets which had a good snow covering & was bumpy, really satisfying but took too much out of my knees & legs. The low point of the day was been mugged at Le Casserole at the bottom of Signal Lift 4.40 euros for half a pint of beer, thats £8 a pint, not many takers, I'll take my water bottle tomorrow. The popular pistes were pretty much destroyed by 3 pm & no sign left of last nights snow, through to the 'canvas'. Skied back down to Le Praz was nice until hitting the freezing line at about 1350 m, slush, must be warming - not good will refreeze and be nasty but OK if it is flattened before more promised snow arrives. Got find a cash machine , I need to pay for the bar crawl in Meribel & quiz night.
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.
Ffast eddy in camoflage and c/w movement Yaka Jams.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
good thread
keep the updates coming!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Lechbob, addictive reading keep writing! Fresh snow sounds promising, I'm whizzing down from Paris on Friday night for a couple of days skiing over the weekend.
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.
Keep it coming....
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Monday night went on bar crawl to Meribel & it was as everything I had read about, british resort lots of alcohol abuse. Can't remember all the bar names but fined with Scotties, Pizza express & Dicks Tea bar. Toffee vodka was flowing, I can can take the alcohol but an excess of sugar sends me hyper. I watched the two halves of the Liverpool v Everton match in testosterone atmosphere in two sports bars & thoroughly enjoyed it especially the substitution of Torres with 5 minutes to go and the Everton equaliser straight after, appologies to Liverpool fans but the goal nearly brought the house down. The live music was not the best but always better than the canned variety. We were dragged out of Dick's T-bar by the van driver as it was snowing heavily. The van could not get up the hill &chains had to be fitted, I left it to them as I hear it is an unpleasant business, after stopping a few times to tighten the chains we were away. Got to bed at 2 am. Awoke at 8 to 20 cm of snow. No chalet host this morning, but fresh bread had arrived, vive La France the snow didn't stop the bread delivery. Raced out to be an early lift. Woh! my boots submerged and virgin snow flying off my legs. The sun then came out & stayed there to early afternoon. Wonderful Mist rolled in at 3 pm & I had to grope my way down to Le Praz but it was still brilliant. It now snowing again !!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Sorry about numerous typos but I using my new netbook with miniature keys & screen & at full speed as the lovely French Girl in the info centre with free wifi is wanting to go home but is too charming to kick me out. I can still get the connection outside but is snowing. The quiz night was a disaster, as we came second out of two teams. It started off badly when the van failed to climb up into La Tania with the fresh snow fall & we had to walk up the hill. We had a so-so onion soup, mains was a choice of cheese, cheese or cheese i.e. tartiflette, pizza or fondue followed by (cheesecake not) bread pudding or ice cream. I had had faux filet aux poivre verte & chips for lunch at 1650 for 18 euros, quite nice & served by a Thai waitress who was only partially impressed with my command of French &Thai recounting my experience in Bangkok in a no-hands restaurant. Followed by afternoon tea with the remainder of french loaf and last nights cheese leaving me disinterested in the Pizza. I was teamed up with two other saga louts & our quiz performance was hopeless as we had difficulty remembering our names and yesterday but did remember things from 30-40 years ago but outside that popular culture is a blank. We did come second out of two. The other team was a lovely pair of Irish couples who knew nothing about things British and knowledge of Snow White must have been on Snow White does Dallas as amongst the dwarfs were Sleazy, Horny & Droopy. As we were called to go 'home' I saw they had a TV in the corner with the Man U game on & I had wasted half the evening failing to answer the stupid quiz questions. As we left we greeted by a terrible burning smell like electrics on fire. It turned out to be the clutch on the van, I feel the drivers snow driving technique was lacking. With the van turned round it went OK down hill & got us back OK but not sure it would get the Irish back to 1850 but would serve them right for beating us. Its stopped snowing but the new snow has undone the valiant work done to clear the drive to the chalet another 2 inches as Horny said to Snow White.
Wednesday morning, woke up with a hangover & aching legs, can't be the booze only had a bottle of red. Didn't get first lift to make fresh tracks, it was 10 o'clock before I got to the lift. But I have paid for the 3 valleys pass so I set out for Val Thorens. The early rays had disappeared in the mist & no sign of last nights 2 inches, it had been flattened already. Visibility down to 20 metres at the top of Verdons. For first time this week I see Viselle is running, part way to the top we emerged above the cloud and it was a beautiful sight & blue skies over Meribel. A nice ski down to Mottaret at good pace. Up the fuuny back to Platiers 1& 2 on to Cote Brune & over to VT valley. A little mishap decking 2 arabs when getting off the Cote Brune chair. I was having a laugh with a group of 4 French behind be about my helmet cam, I could not help but notice the gold & platinum Volante skis on the 2 gentlemen in front as they we having difficulty wadling up to the lift gate. They were taking up all 4 lanes, I tried to slip in the left hand trap but one of them took that stall & the other the right hand so I slipped in between. I should have realised they had not a clue, why rent such extravagant skis when what you need is lessons. On getting of th right hand guys tried to exit the chait sharp left & his skis went diagonally across the back of my skis, taking him with me, I had to give him an elbow to help him on his way & he promptly wiped out his mate. I didn't stop to exchange pleasantries. I was feeling much better and had a little sunbathe and 3.50 Euro can of orange juice. Took Caron & Cime Carron telecabin to the top as I remembered enjoying the runs down last year. It was nearly overcome by garlic fumes on the telecabin from an Eastern European gentleman. Skiing down was not pleasant with hard bumps & ruts. The power in my legs was sapped. The trip back was hard work. I stopped to sit in a deck chair at the bottom of Mont Vallon. It was lovely & sunny & I did not want to move but time was getting on & I needed to get back to the Courchevel Valley. I was totally cream crackered by the time I reached the top of Saulire and made the mistake of taking the first fork into Combe Saulire but was not going to climb back up. I had noticed the carnage from the lift in the morning. Steep & mogulled with no gas in my tank, not ideal but I picked my way down & then the snow was lovely up there. The run down to 1850 was swift but my suspension was all but shot. Briqs down to Le Praz was in lovely condition & not too painful. I hobbled back to the chalet shattered. I have skied much more mileage in a day, all is not well. I re-hydrated with lots of green tea & orange juice, followed by piping hot shower. Had a nap & still felt rough. Had a little dinner, no wine followed by a couple of dashes to the toilet. More water & am now feeling good. I told the best band is on at 1650 night but can't do with the buses. I'm now off the the sports bar to post this. There's a fine fall of snow captured in the light but the sky is pretty clear.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Lechbob, brilliant. Cheered up a dull evening, thanks! Hope you feel restored in the morning.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Yes feeling great this morning. I was awoken at 7 am by a wagon driver ringing the bell. I had trouble understanding his heavy french accent but he left a palet of champagne & wines. The only thing he seemed interested in was the palet du bois george. I found some empty palets outside the garage, he seemed delighted. I signed the paperwork & helped myself to 5 cases of champagne. They don't give us champagne in our chalet so it seemed like a good deal for 4 old palets. I was out first lift, all the runs are now groomed and in fine fettle. I went on 'race the reds' with the escort and another punter, nice chap, Kieth. Lucy gave us good run for our money I went much faster than I normally would as I could not be outdone by a girl. There were knots of people at some places but mostly it we had many runs to ourself. It was wonderful, no tiredness in my legs, no complains from my knees & no fear as the surface was sure. We moved on to the blacks Suisse & M which were no more than the reds. Had a coffee at Kalicos & lunch at thr Lodge in La Tania, big beef burgers & we got seasonaires discount. We went down Jockeys after a big lunch, just what I needed a series of steep but short drops but again the surface was sure and got down without incident. Had my tea & chocolate cake, with cream, very nice. Off for a nap now before dinner then out to the sports bar, live music tonight.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Lechbob, sounds like your having a great time , keep up the reports, a great read.
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?
Had a nice dinner with plenty of red wine & finished off with port & some good conversation. I've just walked through the narrow streets of Le Praz, its like a medieval village. I see the repeated scene through several of the windows of happy people round tables. Laughter rings from the balconies. There is a feel good factor. Its a mild night & the skies are clear. The forecast is for a warmer day tomorrow with rain at low level and snow higher. I don't know, its a beautiful night now. I'm waiting for band to come on in L'escorche Sports bar. No nap today so I'm feeling a little tired in a satisfied kind of way. I have opted out of the organized ski day, with lunch & apres at Meribel. I will start the escorted 'chase the blacks' with Kieth & whoever else turns up & take it from there depending on the weather.
Friday morning, weather forecast spot on, its dumping it down, great big flakes which turned to rain half way through breakfast. I put some new duct tape, I know, damn the expense on my gloves & inside my jacket. Half way up the gondola rain became snow. I then got stuck for about what seemed like 20 minutes on a chair lift by which time there was 1 inch of fresh snow on the empty seat next to me. There were people 3 chairs up so I was not alone. It was blowing at the top of the chair, many people made straight for the restaurant. The kids with the instructors were falling & crying. The snow-ploughers were coming to grief in the fresh 20 cm of fluff. Good practise, I was sailing through it in wide 'S''s with little hope of stopping. It got easier as one adapted. Needed wipers on my goggle & made the mistake of lifting them & filling them with slush. I could see for a minute then the cold was painful on my eyes. Cleaned my goggles best I could I came down not knowing where I was. I blundered onto Verdons which had been flattened by the traffic & it was a pleasant respite. Went for a Vin Chaud at Kalico's & to answer text messages that had been annoying me on the way down. The restaurants must have been having a field day as all the tables were being filled. Not for me I have had a big lunch on two of the days and felt the worse for it. Skied down to La Tania and it was nice in the rain, silky smooth and the churned up mounds could be sailed through & I could see. This is a good test of the waterproofing of my gear. My well worn trousers were doing fine, my knees a tad damp, my hood had filled up with snow & rain which ran down my neck when I shook it out. The duct tape had missed a couple of cuts on the shoulder from carrying skies & the inside of my jacket was running with condensation. Time to buy a new one but I'm kind of fond of it & its OK when its not wet. The run down to Le Praz was pleasant if you can accept that I can't get any wetter & I am definitely not cold. Went back to the chalet, water was streaming down the road. It hopefully means my 06:20 journey to Chambery will be possible unless it refreezes over night ! Dried out now & helped myself to a length of french bread, oodles of butter and lump of cheese to go with the homemade shortbread left out for afternoon tea. The kids are back from the creche. Kids are an acquired taste which I have lost so I'm off in search of ancient bar to mentally prepare for thought of going home. Tons more snow to come by the look of it. It will be great for those coming out for next week if & when it stops snowing.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 26-01-09 13:45; edited 1 time in total
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Great last supper, best wine & champage brought out. Had a bit of a disaster with the log fire another guest tried to start it & failed his firelighting badge & I attempted to adjust the damper and I unfortunately pulled off the connecting rod & engulfed the chalet in smoke. Strange the smoke alarm didn't go off as it sounds when you press the test button. Well everything smells of wood smoke now so I legged it to the pub. Theband has just come on & sounds pretty good. There now doing "You can't always get what you want" which is true but there's a good atmosphere here & I'm hopeful
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
Cheered up a dull evening, thanks! Hope you feel restored in the morning.
, keep up the reports, a great read.
and finish my port 