 Poster: A snowHead
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Ding ding, round 2.
And so it begins……….
Just when you thought it was safe,……………………………. he’s back.
OK, enough already.
Have spent the afternoon getting rid off excess wax, not a particular hardship for a 42 year old just embarking on his second, consecutive, season, I thought it was time for an update. If only it was ski wax though. However, more of that later.
Just in case anyone possibly missed my exploits last season, here is a brief summary to bring you up to date.
Quit work in summer of 07. Decided, after only 2 weeks skiing (one in each of the two previous winters), that the obvious thing to do was go skiing for the season. Chose resort (VT). Sorted apartment. Arranged a lift to resort with a mad axe murderer. Had a previously unmet Snowhead out for Xmas, and a mate as well. Skied a lot. Had lots of fun. Met lots of other Snowheads. Had lots of fun. Met a cute waitress. Fancied a cute waitress. Didn’t do anything about a cute waitress. Skied lots more. Had lots of fun. Met loads more Snowheads. Skied lots more. Had lots of fun. Met a seasonairing Snowhead living in Les Menuires. Skied lots more, especially with aforementioned Les Menuires-living Snowhead. Had lots of fun. Had more friends out to stay. Skied lots. Had lots of fun. Met loads more Snowheads at EOSB. Skied lots. Had lots of fun. Got a lift back to UK with reformed ex-axe murderer. The end. Oh, by the way, did I mention that I had lots of fun?
And now, amazingly, I’m back in the Alps for a second season. I’m sure I’ll bore you all with the finer points of my summer at some point, but suffice to say that everything sort of came together to lead me back out here, and who was I to refuse such an opportunity?
After having such fun skiing with littleblue (the apartment owning, Les Menuires living aforementioned Snowhead) I was delighted when she offered me the chance, at the end of last season, to stay with her this coming season. Little did I expect that I would be able to take her up on her offer, but as events unfolded over the summer, it actually became a real possibility, and then a reality and here I am posting from her apartment in Les Menuires.
My season started almost exactly the same as last year, having arranged a lift down here with Topsmoke. We were due to be travelling a week later than last year, as he’d used up most of his holiday allowance this year, so we arranged for him to pick me up at 10pm on Saturday evening. I had a busy week prior to that, with a big “farewell” night out with friends in Bristol the previous Saturday, an early train back to Essex for a final catch up with family back there before my season, a random visit to be in the audience for the filming of the Top of the Pops Christmas and New Year’s Eve programmes, some last minute shopping and then a big night out in Birmingham on the Friday as it was the Xmas party for the company I’d worked for over the autumn.
Then I received a text from Topsmoke on Friday morning, his missus’s grandad had just died, and suddenly his trip was in doubt. I must admit, the convenience of a lift from him had really made it easy for me getting down here last season, but this year I already have friends driving out at New Year so I could easily have repacked and brought enough for a couple of weeks. What I’m trying to say is that although I was in danger of being a little inconvenienced, I knew it was nothing compared to the loss that Mrs Topsmoke and her family must have been feeling - it kinda puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?
So I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning a little unsure of the state of play, before getting a phone call from Topsmoke on the journey back from Brum saying it was all systems go. Saturday was spent feeling slightly worse for wear; I’d got to bed at about 4.30am, and been up at 9.00am to get back to Bristol. I put some bits and bobs into storage, did some even later last minute shopping and finally finished my packing to await the arrival of my lift. Topsmoke duly arrived, and at least this time all relevant bags were securely fastened! The car was loaded, and then, déjà vu, we were off towards Dover again. We had a really smooth journey down, arriving in time for Topsmoke to catch half an hour’s sleep before the ferry was loaded. He also managed to drop off straight away as soon as we were on the ferry, but, although I was really sleepy, I just couldn’t get comfortable. Unfortunately this lack of power-napping (together with the big night out in Brum the night before) caught up with me as we started the French leg of our journey, and I must admit I was very poor company, constantly dropping off as we made our way down past Reims and then Troyes.
We stopped just past Troyes for Topsmoke to grab some much needed shut-eye, and then an hour or so later we were off again. I fared slightly better from there onwards, and Dijon came and went and we skirted round Lyons to head east towards the mountains. There had already been significant snow on the ground since before Lyons, and so our expectation of plenty of snow in resort increased as we passed Chambery, Albertville and finally arrived at the base of the valley, Moutiers. Unfortunately the supermarket was shut, so there was no chance to stock up on essentials (ie beer) at non-resort prices, so instead we just headed on up the valley. Although I’d skied to littleblue’s apartment on numerous occasions, and been driven from it back up to VT, I’d not approached it by road from lower down the valley, but once we were in Les Menuires we easily found the right area, and, at about 2pm on Sunday, we arrived safe and sound.
Opened up the apartment (yes, I’d even remembered to bring the keys) and, no electricity. No problem, just flick the main isolator and, no electricity. Check the fuses were all in, and, no electricity. Text to littleblue to see if I was missing anything obvious, but, alas no.
And so it was, that yesterday when I started writing this first instalment, that I had excess wax to attend to, not from anything as interesting as skis, but from the candles we’d had to burn the night before!
I think that’s enough for the time being, will try to bring things more up to date soon.
Ttfn
johnnyboy.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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johnnyboy, Welcome back. I'm really looking forward to reading your posts. Good luck with the season and with any luck, i may be able to link up and buy you a beer in the coming months.
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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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First day in, and already eventful! Mr johnnyboy I, too, am looking forward to reading about your seasonal exploits. Have you placed your order for this season's cute waitress? 
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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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great OP - looking forward to this seasons story as it unveils 
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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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johnnyboy, Beer on the terrace of La Ferme, slopeside in Reberty Villages, great memories. Looking forward to your wonderful soap opera.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Is that crazy woman still behind the bar in La Ferme??
Did a season, was in Reberty, she was mental.
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johnnyboy, great to have you back, and another fine story to kick off with. Look forward to lots more 
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johnnyboy, Lovely intro to your new season. Hope to hear loads more from you over the next few weeks and months.
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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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love posts like this - Thanks johnnyboy,
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Nice one, great to see you back johnnyboy, I have missed you over the summer. Can't wait to read about your adventures, have a good season. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hope you have a fantastic season johnnyboy
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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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johnnyboy, lasy year was excellent - this year will be better
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You know it makes sense.
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Save us some powder! See you soon. 
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A great read as always - looking forward to further instalments throughout the season.
Enjoy
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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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Right, so where were we? Ah yes, stuck up a mountain in an apartment with no electricity. How could I forget?
Straight off it seemed as though it was a supply issue rather than a problem with the electrics in the apartment itself, as everything was completely dead. littleblue assured me that all bills had been paid, even checking her statements to ensure that payment had gone through, but it did sort of feel like the power had been cut off. The light outside worked, but I convinced myself that they could be on an emergency supply; unfortunately no-one else was in the entire block yet.
So, we headed up to the Tourist Information to see if there were any reported issues for that area of Les Menuires, but alas it seemed as though it was just our problem. The lady there then tried a couple of numbers relating to our building, but got no reply; it was Sunday afternoon after all. She was then about to contact an electrician, but I felt that would probably be an expensive call-out to be told “the power’s off”, so decided to hang fire on that for the time being.
Back down to the apartment to check again that we hadn’t missed anything obvious, but there was certainly nothing obvious to us. Topsmoke then found a couple of French guys in a neighbouring block, but they had no issues; they did, however, point out the best phone numbers on the block notice board to try, which, with hindsight, were probably the numbers tried by the lady in Tourist Information, and still no answer.
There seemed little to be done on a Sunday, so we resolved to make the best of it, have a few beers and a meal and an early night had always been on the cards anyway. We wandered around the local centre trying to find a bar showing the footie, but eventually gave up and settled on a random bar; unfortunately, at €11 (wow, I remember how to make the euro sign) for 2 beers, we weren’t stopping there. We wandered back down towards a bar Topsmoke had seen offering “Happy Hour”, and, at €6 for the next round we stayed for a couple more in Le Mousse; a “beer blanket” was probably going to be required to help us keep warm.
We’d already bought candles and matches, so decided on a quick bite to eat and then some much needed sleep. We continued our earlier plan of wandering aimlessly around the complex, I’m sure it will take me all season to work out what is where in that place, and eventually came out by a bar/restaurant we had looked into earlier in our search for the football (guess we must have kicked it into next door’s garden) and where, in fact, we had stopped for a warming coffee whilst skiing to Les Menuires last year.
A nice meal and another beer later and we headed back to the apartment, lit the candles and placed them strategically about the apartment, and called it a night. True to last year, I didn’t sleep very well that first night, but unlike last year I wasn’t able to start my blog for the obviously reason; candle powered laptop? I don’t think so.
I eventually surfaced at about 8am after a rather fitful night’s sleep; the Immovac office that handled general building issues opened at 8.30am and that was to be our first port of call. Fortunately the lady there, Justine, spoke very good English, but couldn’t get an answer from EDF, and suggested coming back after 9am. I sent Topsmoke back to the apartment to go off skiing; there really was no point us both sitting around, and his ski time is far more limited, so off he went while I had a quick coffee.
On my return, she made many phone calls to various people, mainly within EDF from what I could gather. The conclusion she came to was that littleblue had changed her supplier as EDF no longer had her down as a customer. Didn’t sound like a quick fix was going to be forthcoming if that was the case. Fortunately littleblue was on the case from England, with, eventually, rather more joy from EDF. It seems her account was listed as business not residential, which is probably why Justine had been unable to find an active account (well, maybe, who knows?). I was very relieved to get a text saying EDF were on their way out, but wouldn’t contact me on my mobile; littleblue’s guest, a “mister bonks” as apparently she called me in a very strong french accent much to littleblue amusement, ie me, would have to wait in for the technician to arrive.
So, I wandered back to the apartment, and decided to use the time, and the daylight, to make a start on unpacking; not the most exciting thing in the world, but it had to be done and seemed a constructive use of my time. I was halfway through a holdall when a light suddenly came on. Joy! I popped my head out of the door and saw a bloke striding purposely along the corridor. “L’electricitie?” I said enquiringly. “Oui” he replied. “C’est tout?” I asked. “Oui, c’est bon” he replied. At least, I think that’s more or less the exchange, so I finished with a heartfelt “Merci beaucoup” and he got in his EDF van and off he went. I think it must have been something really simple, like a master switch somewhere; littleblue had received a letter about an interruption to service back in the summer, and from the very apologetic nature of her phone call to EDF, I wonder whether the supply simply hadn’t been turned back on since.
So, everything was finally sorted, and it was time to go skiing.
More next time
Ttfn
johnnyboy
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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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johnnyboy, your blogs are electric and certainly light up my day
sorry
I'll get me coat !
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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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Smokin Joe, Shocking.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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It's good to have this back in a new venue, too. Looking forward to the next installment. Can we have some pics as well?
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| johnnyh wrote: |
| It's good to have this back in a new venue, too. Looking forward to the next installment. Can we have some pics as well? |
well up to now that would have been rather difficult in the dark with no electricity!!
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So, after 5 days of mainly solid cloud cover and flat light, today finally dawned with at least some blue showing. Topsmoke and I had been to Le Mousse for a couple of Happy Hour pints last night, and he’d threatened to drag me out onto the slopes early is there was even a hint of blue in the sky, so when I heard him moving around the apartment I guessed a wake up call was coming. Sure enough, he checked to see if I was awake as he was heading out, on foot, to extend his lift pass. “What’s the weather like” I called out as he opened the front door. “Blue skies” he replied, so I jumped straight up and headed for the lounge to see for myself.
I opened the door to the balcony and saw him walking back towards the apartment, having given up on the idea of walking across the piste to the lift office and we had a couple of words about which route he should take. I thought he’d been true to his threat of forcing me out early and had already moved our skis into the porch. Playing along I innocently asked, from the balcony, where our skis were. “What do you mean” he asked. “Well, they’re not here, are they?”. His face dropped and I realised he hadn’t moved them, and, in fact they had been nicked!
What a nightmare start to the day. We checked the apartment and the car to make sure we weren’t being silly, but it seems that someone had climbed the 3 or 4 metres up to the balcony and taken them. littleblue was flabbergasted; she usually leaves all her boards out there throughout the season and has never had any trouble. It seems we were just unlucky.
I got dressed and we headed up to the police station to report the theft. This proved the biggest test of my French so far, as no-one there spoke any English, but somehow a bit of O level French came back to me and I managed to explain what had happened. We both filled out a form which fortunately was in English as well as French, and that, it would seem, is that. Topsmoke decided that enough was enough and, rather than hire for today and tomorrow, which had been his intention before travelling back tomorrow evening, has cut short his trip and headed back already.
That’s it for now; I’ll post a bit more about the week’s skiing a bit later, which included meeting up with Phil w, but I’m feeling a little flat just now.
ttfn
johnnyboy
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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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Aw..that is rubbish...hope you have better luck soon. Not surprised you're feeling down.
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johnnyboy, What a real bummer!  Its becoming a common issue in many resorts.
I really hope the season gets better for you all.
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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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Heck, I would have thought the skis were safe.
Hope you get new sets sorted out soon.
Like the style of this blog- feel I'm there - hope you keep it up.
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johnnyboy, Topsmoke, thieving so and so's! Can't believe they were nicked from your balcony...
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You know it makes sense.
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Sorry to hear about the theft mate. There will be some bad karma coming to the thief...
The offer is still there if you need some new planks brought out from Blighty, assuming you can find a bargain.
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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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johnnyboy, FFS! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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What a difference a day on the slopes can make.
So far it’s been a less than perfect start to the season, what with no electricity when we arrived, cloudy, flat-light days last week, and then, complete disaster, some thieving git stole my and Topsmoke’s skis from the balcony of the apartment. Then, finally some bluebird days and I’m stuck with only my mate Martyn’s skis, and, to cap it all, a flare up of gout in my left ankle! Not an ideal first week, but you guys were after the ups and downs last season, so here have been, hopefully, the whole of the season's lows all in the first week!
Fitness first though. What a difference it makes. Never have I come skiing, in my somewhat limited experience of 2 single weeks and last season (ie, effectively 3 trips), have I gone skiing in such poor physical condition. Ouch, and, I say again, ouch. If you’re a poor technical skier, as I most certainly am, then double ouch. I needed new boots for this season, in fact I desperately needed them last season but finances wouldn’t stretch to them, so, as I have such dodgy feet I sought out the expertise of CEM. Even he was at a push to help me, though largely due to my poor condition than anything else. “Tightest calves I’ve seen this year” was his ultimate conclusion, and the main reason for my boot issues. Tightest butt I might have accepted, cautiously, as not such a bad comment from another bloke, but tightest calves, I’m not sure you can find too much of a compliment there however you look at it!
It’s a shame really, as I finished last season in pretty good shape physically, well, for me at any rate. I’d lost a fair bit of weight through the season, what with exercising for 4-5 hours a day, every day, and, once I was back in Bristol after 3 weeks or so catching up with family back in Essex I even started running with a friend who was training for a half marathon. I was surprised that on our first run together I did the circuit of 5.5km with no problems, even though in the past I have had issues running because of my dodgy feet; the last time I ran regularly for fitness I ended up seeing a physio for 4 months! So, I was, initially doing my best to keep up some sort of fitness regime, but unfortunately it all went out of the window when, coincidentally enough, I returned from a run barely 2 weeks after I had returned to Bristol, to find I’d missed a phone call from my sister, an urgent call saying our mum had taken a nasty fall. It turned out she had broken her tib and fib and had to be operated on there and then. Once out of hospital she was unable to put any weight on her plaster clad leg, and, as my sister was working and with a family of her own, I decided it was only fair, given my lack of commitments, to return to Essex to help my mum while she was temporarily incapacitated. Through no fault than my own I must admit I was very lazy there, completely getting out of the habit of exercising, and when I did return to Bristol I ended up being pretty busy (more later as, in a way, it is fundamental to being back out here), and so I must admit I’m in far worse shape than I’ve ever been when I’ve started a skiing trip.
So, what with my poor fitness, the extra weight I was carrying due to the lack of exercise, and new boots I was trying to wear in, I found the poor, flat light of my first few days quite trying. I was embarrassed trying to ski with Topsmoke and, when we made contact, philw who I had met and skied with last season prior to and during the EOSB. I felt a real liability, and it was more due to lack of fitness than anything else I’m sure. Admittedly my poor technique doesn’t help, but at least when I’m reasonably fit I can keep going, even if I’m skiing in a not particularly efficient manner. However, the combination of new boots, too little fitness, and carrying too much weight meant that I was unable to ski too far without having to stop for a break; my god, I’m turning into BMF Skier I thought very worriedly !
As a result I refused to ski too much with Topsmoke and philw, encouraging them to make the most of their limited time out here while I gradually worked on trying to get a bit of fitness back. And so it was that I spent most of last week, in the flat light, trying to put a bit of mileage into my sorely out of condition body. And so it would have continued on Saturday, when we finally got a break in the weather, if only I’d had my skis to ski on!
Now, since the ski test at the EOSB I’d had my eyes on the Movement Hypes that I’d tried out. I’m sure they’re not to everybody’s liking, but, to someone with as lazy a technique as me, their relative softness and lightness made them feel fantastic. This was a ski I was almost certain to treat myself to, but, with my skis disappearing, there was no question that they were the ski for me. The problem though, was getting hold of a pair! I have yet to find a shop out here with any in stock; even the few shop that carry any Movement skis don’t have any Hypes in stock, and the prices of those in the range that they did carry were scary. Thus I started looking at UK suppliers, especially as I knew I had friends heading out here both for Xmas and others for the New Year. Unfortunately the UK shops carried little better stock of the model I want, and so I spent an ultimately fruitless Saturday afternoon trying to source a pair of skis while the sun was shining brightly outside for the first time since I arrived!
Then, just to cap off a less than brilliant week, I had a flare up of gout in my left ankle. It started coming on on Saturday afternoon but I guess I was so fed up with things that I didn’t really pick up on it; one thing I have found useful in the past is nipping such attacks in the bud, as the longer I go before treatment, the worse the attack gets, and the longer it takes for it to be resolved. So, having treated myself to a home cooked steak and chips on Saturday evening, I awoke on Sunday with an extremely painful ankle that was never going to be skiable. Gout is an exceptionally painful affliction; it often affects the joint of the big toe, and, however hard it is for a non sufferer to comprehend, the oft used example of a simple sheet falling on said joint causing excruciating pain is unfortunately completely true. In the ankle I find the joint is not too bad as long as the foot is pointed as far as possible downwards; unfortunately any attempt to reduce the angle between foot and leg to 90 degrees or less is amazingly painful, and even more so when weight is applied to said joint. Hardly an ideal situation for skiing.
So, Sunday I spent hobbling around the apartment, finally resolving to “Sod it” and cook myself a roast dinner. Shocked I must say I was when I discovered that, in an otherwise seemingly well stocked kitchen, that littleblue didn’t have a Yorkshire pudding tray! Shocked and appalled I was for such an omission from a northern lass .
I did my best to muddle through with a mini oven that, according to littleblue allegedly has only 2 settings, off and 1000 degrees c, and although it wasn’t my best ever end result, it was, apparently, the first roast dinner to have been produced since littleblue bought the apartment.
Monday was sort of a detox day to try to ease my gout ridden ankle, and by the evening I even managed to make my way up to the main shopping centre, although not before littleblue’s apartment attempted to exact retribution for my culinary attempts by blowing the porch bulb at me as I made my way out. I was having none of it though, things were on the up, my ankle was easing and I was confident of hitting the slopes today, and so it turned out. I awoke to another bluebird day, but finally with a body that was sort of able to get out and enjoy it. And enjoy it I did. I dropped down to the cluster of lifts at the base of La Masse and took the Doron chair up, to catch Mont de la Chambre to get up to Val Thorens where I intended shopping for some cheap, ex rental skis to tide me over till I could get my chosen Movement skis out from the UK.
I sat on the Doron lift next to a pretty French woman in her twenties and enjoyed three lovely moments on the short lift up (steady on boys and girls, they were all completely innocent). First of all we passed over a beginner slope with a magic carpet. A tiny tot of about 3 or 4 arrived at the top, swung off in a snowplough and locked itself (it was impossible to see if it was a boy or girl) firmly around the leg of the ESF instructor. Next, on a nursery slope we passed over, there was an instructor with a class of 8 or ten ducks all lined up behind him. Nearly all of them looked to be about 5 years old, and there was one who looked about twice as big in a heap just above them. The poor individual managed to get to its feet and dropped down to join the end to the row, but unfortunately wasn’t able to stop; he or she dropped below the last in the row, but then swung back up to take out the second or third from the end, at a very slow speed so I’m sure no real damage was done, but the poor soul must have been twice the size of the tot it crashed into (sadly reminiscent of my skiing with IncogSkiSno last season). Then, finally, as we approached the top of the lift, we passed over a path from some chalets, on which was a pink clad tot of no more than 3 years old, on her skis, calling out to her father some twenty yards ahead to slow down “Papa, papa” she called out in a heartwarming plea. Who could fail to be touched by such moments on a gloriously sunny day in the mountains?
Anyway, that’s more than enough for the moment, I’m almost up to date, and, as I’m sure you can all tell, in a slightly more upbeat mood than my last post . I’ll fill you in on this afternoon next time, nothing special happened, apart from the fact that I had a lovely afternoon skiing, what more could you ask for?
In case I don’t catch you again before, hope you all have a very Happy Christmas.
Ttfn
johnnyboy
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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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The only way is up from here johnnyboy......... Enjoy, and thanks again for your posts
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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All on the up now, I hope. have a lovely Christmasjohnnyboy,
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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johnnyboy, Glad you are feeling a bit brighter and have got in a fair days skiing at long last after all the problems. Please don't turn into BMF-Skier I don't think I can cope with two of you at Easter 
Hope you have a great Christmas!!
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So, there I was, happy to be out and about again, even if it was on my friend Martyn’s skinny skis which I’d brought out with me to save him the hassle of getting them out here on public transport when he came to visit. Interestingly enough, these skis had also been on the balcony when mine and Topsmoke’s were stolen, but apparently Martyn’s weren’t worth the effort!
I took Mont de la Chambre up and then headed down into VT; my plan was to head for the shop in the apartment block I stayed in last season, as I’d bought a pair of ex-rental skis there then, and had decided that was the best short term solution until I could get a pair of Movements sorted from the UK. I’d already popped into the shop the previous week to say hi to Damion, the guy in the shop who got me sorted last year, but when I arrived I was told he wasn’t in until later. Then the shop manager appeared (OMG, that sounds like Mr Benn!), and I even got a double French cheek kiss greeting from her, so I’d obviously been reasonably fondly remembered from last season.
I decided to wait until Damion arrived and potter around on Martyn’s skis till then, so I did a few runs from the top of the Peclet gondola to pass the time (Lac Blanc, Tete Ronde and Christine if memory serves correct, life’s hard, isn’t it ). Then I popped back to the shop and had a chat with Damion; I explained I was definitely getting Movement skis, in fact, I’d already quizzed him about them when I’d been in the week before, but unfortunately he didn’t sell them. However, I’d need a pair of something to tide me over; there really was no point in hiring, as I could buy a cheap pair of ex-rentals for the cost of a couple of weeks hire. So, we were just looking at a few options when I got a text from Martyn, who was en route by train, but wasn’t supposed to arrive till 19.00 because of a long wait down in Moutier for a bus up the hill. However, he was considering getting a taxi up instead, so I had to get a wriggle on. I explained to Damion that I’d be back the next day when he said it was OK to take the skis to try out on the way home. Perfect. Martyn had asked me to get his skis serviced, so I left them there overnight and shot down the hill on my potential purchase in time for a quick tidy up before Martyn arrived; he’d managed to share a taxi up the hill, so it was good news all round.
That evening we headed up to Le Mousse for a couple of Happy Hour pints, then off for a bite to eat before wandering back down to the apartment for a relatively early night; Martyn had had a long day travelling, and at least one of us had to be on the 08.45 bus up the hill to VT to collect Martyn’s skis; unless I’d been prepared to ski all the way down carrying a pair of skis, this was always going to be a problem as there was only ever going to be one pair of skis down in Les Menuires.
So, up bright and early the next day, and was greeted by “Today’s forecast, scorchio” from Martyn. I told him to have a lie in while I popped up to VT; it seemed silly both of us catching the bus up, especially as it would have meant carrying a set of skis up as well. So, quick trip up the hill, collected Martyn’s serviced skis and then straight back down the hill to find Martyn had just about surfaced. We had a quick bite then off out we went. We took the free bucket to Croisettes so Martyn could sort out his lift pass; about £440 for 12 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Made me feel much better about my season pass I can tell you.
After a quick wander in a couple of shops there (I didn’t think it wise to let Martyn on the slopes while still in a state of shock) we headed up the Menuires and Mont de la Chambre lifts before dropping down into VT. My test skis were to be given a run out down Lac Blanc, my favourite run in VT last season, so we took Peclet up, turned left, and off we went. It was fantastic; the run was empty, the light was perfect, and the snow pretty good too. We literally flew down the run, and any doubts I may have had about the skis were gone in an instant; as Damion had said, a very good piste ski. We headed straight back to the gondola and I couldn’t help chuckling and grinning all the way back up, such had been my enjoyment of the run. We skied it again, this time with Martyn on the Salomons I was testing as he too was considering treating himself to a new pair. Although he enjoyed them they weren’t quite what he was after, but my mind had been made up and so after a couple of more runs we went back to the shop and the skis were mine.
Martyn decided to demo a different pair later on, after we’d had a quick lunch and a wander around VT while he was looking for some new sunnies, so then we set off, me on my Salomons and Martyn on a pair of Heads to try out. It was getting on by this point, so we headed back down to Les Menuires to book a table for that evening; Christmas Eve in France seems to be their big celebratory meal, so we thought it wise to book. Unfortunately the first couple of places were full, but we managed to get something sorted, so it was back to the apartment for a quick rest, wash and brush up, then off to Le Mousse for a Happy Hour pint or two before dinner, another pint, and then home feeling truly exhausted, but in that good way that comes only after physical exertion.
I don’t seem to be catching up too much, but that will have to do for now as it’s time to go skiing!
Ttfn
johnnyboy
Ps I will try to post some piccies soon, but last time I tried I gave up after 3 attempts, will try again when I have a bit more time.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Sun 28-12-08 14:28; edited 1 time in total
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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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johnnyboy,
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lift pass; about £440 for 6 days
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Surely, a 6 day 3V pass costs €225, doesn't it?
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johnnyboy, great blog.. A group of us are coming to VT on the 10th, so some local knowledge ideas for happy hours and cheaper beer, would be very welcome...
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FAQ
hope you enjoy the season to come and get loads of snow 
Glad things are looking up, I look forward to news of the new ski's, may be this is the silver lining. Here's wishing you a Happy Christmas and great New Year just be careful with that oven! 