 Poster: A snowHead
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Having been used to my daily fix of looking at the webcams and being treated to some glorious sights (yes, I'm talking ski resorts and snow to those cynics among you!) I'm finding it all a bit sad to see the closing of the pistes, lifts and restaurants and the big earth patches beginning to appear.
I know that the snow can't last forever and where would we be without the eagerly awaited first snowfalls of the winter but at the moment, after the most fabulous season I feel as if I'm watching the slow decline of an old friend!!
Sad I know!
O well, the mountains are spectacular in the summer too 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I agree. I pretty much stopped looking at webcams after my ski holiday back in March. I just can't do it to myself. Roll on November and I'll be watching them every day again...
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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?
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book next years trip - only way to cheer up
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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loatie, its very sad.... we have just enjoyed our last morning, I was nearly in tears as I supped first my last cup of coffee in Switzerland, then my last glass of wine in the goat village, but we were mightily cheered by more signs of the marmottes out enjoying themselves. The marmottes love the big earth patches. They must just be waiting till we have all finished swishing about and the get the place back to themselves... before the bikes start going down. As long as you don't look at the webcams of the villages then the higher areas - well in Avoriaz and over in Les Crosets were fabulous today. Much better to finish the season looking good - the natural habitat that is, not me!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Boris, I have already. 46 weeks and counting...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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loatie,
Look at webcams in the pyrenees and you'll get your fix for a few more days/weeks..
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When we drove down the valley my sadness was assuaged by the successive waves of primroses, cowslips and gentians, and the knowledge that they will all be marching steadily up the slopes until we return in June for some walking in the high pastures covered in flowers and ringing with cowbells, to acclimatise to the altitude before going to the summer ski training camp in Les Deux Alpes. And in the meantime, Chichester Harbour is stunning and the woods on the South Downs, where we walked yesterday, full of bluebells, anenomes, wild garlic, violets etc
Which reminds me, must stop faffing about here and get out and plant some more geraniums.
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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.
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queen bodecia, Where you off to next year?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| loatie wrote: |
Boris, Good point - have just booked flight for January!
Pamski, Joanne Mountainsun, pam w, (apart from the canyoning episode we had last year but that's another story!!) |
No go on...sounds interesting 
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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.
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Yes, do tell us about the canyoning. loatie, just had a French workshop cancelled - Francoise has to go to France, unexpectedly, for a family funeral.
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You know it makes sense.
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| loatie wrote: |
Having been used to my daily fix of looking at the webcams and being treated to some glorious sights (yes, I'm talking ski resorts and snow to those cynics among you!) I'm finding it all a bit sad to see the closing of the pistes, lifts and restaurants and the big earth patches beginning to appear.
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I've been doing that a bit too.
But now it's snowing again where I skied this year! All the brown patches disappearing.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I could cry..was thinking of one last hurrah this weekend in zermatt, but spent to much time enjoying the sun here to do anythign about it..and it only goes and snows fresh again..
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Poster: A snowHead
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Give it a few months and we'll all be back panicing that it hasn't started snowing 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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yes by september 18th no doubt
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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?
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jb1970, going to La Thuile and meeting up with the same people I met up with in Courmayeur this season. Same flights, same TO, pretty much same price, just a different resort and hotel. A few people we chatted to in Courmayeur raved about the skiing in La Thuile and we definitely like Italy, so it's a done deal...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Canyoning - our daughter and friends did it last summer when they were staying here in Les Gets - if anyone knows the bridge across to the Fys then they might have noticed a door/gate in it half way across - apparently they drop out of this door on ropes... I didn't want to know anymore. Said party are back here for more of the same at the end of June.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Pamski, so you didn't do it? Loatie, yes there is stopping me - I don't think I can afford skiing in both June and October!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Pamski, I think I'm not mistaken and that's the place we first went canyoning from when we stayed in Morzine about 4 years ago. I thought they were joking when they said the entry point was half way across the bridge but they weren't!! You're right - you have to basically leap off backwards. My daughter who was 15 at the time freaked out and had to start further down on the side of the river so at least there was an alternative for her. The rest of the family - myself included - did actually do the plunge from the bridge and lived to tell the tale!
It was that experience, which after the initial leap, was really quite enjoyable that prompted us to have another go last summer.
This time Joanne Mountainsun, pam w, (you did ask!) we were staying in Ste Foy and we went to a nearby activity centre to book rafting but it was full for the whole week so we decided to do the canyoning again as they had a space the next day. We were asked our ability level and after a bit of thought decided that we weren't in the beginner category as we had been before and the guy in charge said that in the beginners group you would have lots of people who would be very hesitant and would be given the option to bail out etc. We explained that we'd done the outing in Morzine a few years previously and went for the 'experienced' category.
Well, we duly turned up on the day, got ourselves sorted with the kit and waited for the leader to arrive. He checked us in and then took us over to a landrover and explained that the start point was 1/2 hour drive away. No alarm bells ringing at this stage but then these 3 guys rocked up to join us and I am not kidding you - they were extremely army fit young men all with their own equipment! At this point I did start to think maybe we were in the wrong group. Anyway we set off and then the jeep pulled in to the side of the road halfway up a mountain and we all got out and the leader said - right change into your kit and we have to walk for about 15 minutes to the start. My daughter and I looked around for the changing room(!) quickly realised there wasn't anywhere in sight so had to strip off behind the car door and get into our swimming stuff and then put the wet suits on. My son and husband were wobbling around under their towels whilst the 'army' guys were the picture of lean, mean fighting machines and raring to go within about 5 minutes. I was seriously thinking of bailing out at this point but didn't want to leave my daughter so we all trooped off to the other side of the road and then proceeded to climb up through a wood for the 15 minutes. It was a very hot day and I was totally knackered by the time we got to the start point but we all had a slug of water and then listened to the briefing by the leader.
He explained that the canyon was quite full at the moment due to recent rainfall and to watch out for the fast flowing water and debris. This was totally. totally in a different league to our gentle introduction to canyoning in Morzine. When we had booked this time, we had (perhaps rather naaively) expected more of the same which, after the initial plunge, was a lot of enjoyable scrambling over rocks, jumping into pools and sliding down well warn chutes on our bottoms.
We started with a bit of a scramble on a reasonably level part and then the first of 7 abseils. The water was flowing so fast we couldn't stand up enough to go down the usual way so had to go forwards on our bottoms sitting down and then pay out the rope behind us. I have to say that the 'army' boys were my absolute heroes. They must have been fed up I'm sure to keep having to help me but they were too polite to say so. They duly plucked me out of several plunge pools and grabbed hold of me when I was about to go under again. I really don't know what the leader would have done without one of the army guys who was clearly very experienced and was the first one to go down each waterfall and set up the ropes from below with the leader staying at the top to see us all down. I am so grateful that they were there with us because there is no way that if it had only been the four of us, that my husnband could have taken the 'experienced role' and have been the first guy down.
Some of the abseils were very frightening and completely disorientating when the water was smashing into the back of your helmet on the way down so that you had no idea where you were ending up. As i say, I am just so grateful there were some very fit guys around helping me regain my balance after each one. I slipped several times and at one point I was thrown into a second pool before I had the chance to get over to the side of the first one. I think the final straw was the last abseil which was over a lip of rock and the water was cascading very fast over it. You couldn't see over the edge. My daughter and I were the last ones down - she was behind me and the last words the guide said were 'whatever you do, don't let go of the rope - if you do, you die' I think he was only joking but by this time we were exhausted and had a sense of humour failure. My daughter unfortunately took him at his word so we all watched helplessly from below as she came over the lip, trying to keep her chin tucked in so that the force of the water bounced around her helmet giving her a pocket to breathe in. She was so intent on not letting go of the bl**dy ropes that she forget to pay it out and got stuck under the lip. She couldn't hear us shouting and it was probably only for a minute or so but it was the longest minute of my life before she managed to somehow release the rope and slip down into the pool below. She was really gasping for breath and nearly went under again as she lost her balance in the pool. It was a terrifying and horrific moment and she had nightmares for about a week afterwards.
To cap it all, we had to climb out of the canyon at the end, up a sheer rock face, clinging on to a rickity old ladder before finally coming out just below where the jeep was parked.
I have never been so thankful to reach solid ground and to have lived to tell the tale as I was then. The relief of seeing my family emerge unscathed was profound.
To put this into some sort of context, the boys (my husband and son) said that in the main they had enjoyed the whole experience again, so this is purely written from my point of view but I know it will be the 12th of never before my daughter and I ever go canyoning again.
I am also aware that, pitched at the right level, canyoning can be great family fun and the point of writing this is not to put people off going trying it at all. I guess we were totally at fault to have said we were 'experienced' canyoners after only having ever been once. However, in our defence we did discuss what we had done with the leader when we booked - telling him we had only been once before - and we bowed to his judgement that the 'beginner' level may have been a bit boring/easy for us.
I guess the moral of the story is to definitely give canyoning a go if you think you'd like that sort of activity, but be a bit wary of describing yourself as anything other than a beginner!!
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I'd love to go to the Alps in summer. Even better on my motorbike! But sadly it ain't gonna happen. Sniff...
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loatie, that does, I'm afraid, sound fantastic. Well done to you and your daughter. 
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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.
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Actually, I think the moral of the story is never to go too far from a fit and hunky chap.....
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pam w, that's one tip that will make a lot of girls happy
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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.
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It's another 10 days before I get depressed as we're off out to Tignes for the May Day bank holiday. However looking at the photos of the Pyrenees I wish it was there. Now all I hope is that my ankle holds up after surgery on it at the end of Feb. I can get the foot in and out of the boot now which is a good start !
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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DAB, Have a lovely time I have some Elans too - black perla's (Sp?!) - good old Elans!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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The season is practically over yes - but there are so many other opportunities out there- I have just spent 4 days in our fantastic Lake District mountain walking - end of July we will probably go to the Dolomites for some mountain -biking and via Ferratta. The summer will soon be over, just keep your self occupied -you might even begin to enjoy it and count your self lucky that you can, there are plenty of people out there that are finding it very sad at the moment for other more obvious reasons. Pull your self together -there are a lot of other ways you can still have fun in the mountains.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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?
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snowbandit, I know - that's why I said in my op that the mountains are spectacular in the summer too. I am not wishing the time away at all - far from it - and am looking forward to the summer for all sorts of reasons. I do indeed count myself lucky to be able to enjoy the mountains in all seasons, I was merely lamenting the passing of what has been a very wonderful winter.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Winter season has finished. But the summer season only started last weekend: there are ski races at artificial slopes (indoor and outdoor) around the UK most weekends between now and October. Full details of the races at http://www.britski.org/.
If you can race well on artificial slopes: you'll be a much better skier nest season on the mountain.
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FAQ
It was fab though 