 Poster: A snowHead
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Rude awakening but it got better
With the need to get the kids to ski club this morning but not skiing myself (Clare was working this afternoon - well had supposed to be anyway!) I knew I would not get a proper lie in but as I think I might have mentioned before on here we are having issues with our electricity supply on the new house. Basically the electrical 'bandwidth' is throttled and since we had the place refurbed with things like UF heating we keep exceeding the limit of what we currently have (we are trying to get a lift in the amount we can use at the moment!). Anyway in short Clare turned the oven on when she first got up this morning and blew the circuit.... this is not a massive issue as I can reset it easily enough but I was fast asleep when Clare came up to tell me and knowing what a rush it was going to be this morning I jumped out of bed and went straight to reset the system. Its outside too so a nasty wake up call if ever there was one.
In trying frantically to allow Clare to get the breakfast sorted yet keep some heat going I managed to disconnect one of the thermostats which didnt help matters. Argghhh it was a manic start to the day as all the sockets in the lounge for some reason kept tripping too afterwards. Blimey what have I done. I then had to get Ben to club for his skiing meanwhile Olivia had a fitness day.
So by the time I got back about 0930 I still had not eaten breakfast and my todo list of the day was longer than when I went to bed last night! Doh!
Luckily I have now managed to sort the thermostat out / sockets and everything seems to be sorted now thankfully. Phew.
The other big jobs I got done today was connecting up the surround sound / sub etc system and did some work on my dads broken chair.
Kids coming and going from skiing and sport was the other action for the day.
Meanwhile outside the snowstorm raged all day long with high winds and thick snow falling. It is due to continue for the next 24 hours and what an early Xmas present it is as it just keeps on coming. By the end of tomorrow we could have a LOT of snow and a HIGH avalanche risk! Hmmm we shall see!
Another week and another week of not too many lessons, xmas and final few jobs to sort out here.
I think by this time next week just as peak, peak season starts ill be able to sit back and realise that the Winter has properly arrived!
TTFN
Glad didn't spend too much time out there today but tomorrow could be interesting!
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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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Cold and windy
The temps have really dropped and coupled with the wind it was a very cold start to the day. Brrr.
In a way it was a bit of a bonus as my am lesson took one look out the window and decided it wasnt for them so it opened up the day for me nicely! With Ben starting at 1000 and Olivia making her own way up there I took Ben up.... boy it was quite a blizzard going on. On a morning like this you get people splitting into a few camps.... 1) hopelessly blind and / or optimistic that things will open on time 2) press the snooze button and dont bother or 3) just get some skiing in anywhere you can find it... so as usual the numbers of people around the meeting area were huge.
Anyway it was pretty cold and chilly but I was pleased when Ben got off with his group and I could attempt to get back to the warmth at home and crack on with jobs. However...
We had had a good 50cm of fresh snow and 70cm in places and with the wind and more to come during the day it was action stations around town to get the place cleared up. When there is that much snow the diggers and snowploughs are working overtime and there are mounds of snow etc everywhere. It didnt help that there was broken down car that had obviously been there overnight right on the roundabout by the big Intersport. Anyway 6 buses went up into town whilst I was standing at the Artic Cafe stop waiting to head back to La Daille before one turned up and you can imagine how rammed that one bus was - doh! So ultimately it was late morning before I got home and out of my Winter clothes!
I got some bits and pieces done before Olivia got back from skiing and she had the afternoon off. Ben was out with club all day and Clare working too. So Olivia and I watched some TV (ski race from Alta Badia), she did some homework and I got some other things done before gearing up again for Ben pick up this afternoon - ah yes it all takes time!
It has been a pretty lazy day all in all really but tomorrow will be busier thats for sure and the sun is supposed to shine tomorrow - yay!
TTFN
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@Steve Angus, Went for option 2 today 
Excuse was food prep and christmas wrapping had to be finished.
The bus situation in town has been dreadful the past few days, it took 4 buses before we managed to crush on one today, ice spikes on Mr Muppets crutches eventually had to be used !!
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@muppet, what happened to Mr Muppet? So early in the season!
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@Steve Angus, your apartment looks fab. Happy Xmas.
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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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Lovely place Steve! Well worth the investment, having had a good look in the immobiliers in Tignes this week! Euromillions is the word 
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holidayloverxx - ACL injury - doh!
stefoy4me thanks - mine was mostly € labour and mental labour but thanks yes it is certainly!
PeakyB - thank you
raino - in deed but as I always remind myself the deaths in my family have had a silver lining and im sure they would approve and besides property rarely loses value eh!
Merry Christmas one and all
Father Christmas here ended up falling asleep in front of the TV last night so it was extremely late when I finally crawled into bed. Making sure the presents were in the correct places and stockings filled etc and of course the beer / mince pie eaten. Game on.
It was after 0700 before we had a little visitor into our bedroom which was a good result and then (as parents of younger children will know) it has been 100000 % full steam ahead all day. There has been some TV wathching, lots of calling family, a lot of chocolate and snacks eating, some time outside and a mammoth xmas dinner. And when not doing all those things taking bins out, filling them up again, washing up, emptying the dishwasher, filling it again, emptying it again - oh yes no wonder Xmas day is knackering.
Anyway it was a nice day and the kids are in bed now sleeping happy. I will be joining them before too long as tomorrow it is back to the day job.
Weather and snow wise it will now be the same day in day out for a while - fresh but not too cold but most importantly the sun shining. The amount of fresh snow we had over the weekend means we are certainly set up nicely now for the New Year period but the avalanche risk will remain high for a few more days yet.
I didnt snap a photo today im afraid so will use Radio Val's photo instead.
Cheers.
TTFN
Father Xmas and his little helper busy at work on the slopes delivering chocolates to one and all!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Always nice to experience it
One of the nice things about this job is sharing someones goals and ambitions with them and help them get there and today was no exception!
It was back to the grindstone this morning especially with the alarm going off at 0630 but getting the kids out the door was not too bad and since I was starting in La Daille this morning I had more time than normal - yay!
Anyway I met my am session and today rather than the wife it was the teenage son taking the lesson and he was dead keen to ski the Face for the first time. Since the rest of the family were neither able nor willing to ski it it was down to me to get him down it.... so we worked on some technique for about an hour before taking the plunge and heading down the Face. I must say it was pretty busy up there today so I was little worried taking on the Face after 1000. Anyway it turned out to be good timing and he skied it really well indeed! Bravo. Yes it was slightly icy in places and the remnants of the world cup 'ice' was apparent in some places but certainly the fresh snowfall over the weekend totally changed the conditions for the better!
Ultimately it was a great ski and we continued working on technique and later in the session we skied the Yohan Clarey piste more than once. Brilliant work!
I rushed home at lunchtime and got lunch ready for Olivia and myself and got her sorted out after her morning of training on the Orange and then turned her around for the afternoons skiing! I managed to fit in my weekly recording of the snow report before Snowtrax and Mrs Snowtrax popped around for a cuppa and a catch up.
The timing worked really well as no sooner had they left but Clare and the kids got back home and so the evenings routine started and has just finished!
Looking at the weather forecast it will be a case of sun and more sun for the next week or so -eeek!
At the moment im only teaching tomorrow morning but there is a good chance that things could change for the afternoon - we shall see. On Saturday I think im on kid duty all day and after that I cant remember!
Anyway TTFN
Perfect weather day out there today.
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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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I see that right now only 190/300k is open. That is quite number for this time of the year actually. Is it expected that more will open the comming days, or is there just not enough snow to open the remaining slopes?
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@holidayloverxx, He has torn his ACL along with some MCL damage and add in some shoulder damage.
It happened on day 5 of the season 
Surgery is scheduled for the end of January and meanwhile he’s swapped his season ski pass for a season gym pass. He seems to have met a group of similarly broken people at the gym and now recognises most of the local dogs while out and about.
Luckily his threat to start baking chalet cakes hasn’t come to pass yet.
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You know it makes sense.
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@muppet, bug...give him my best. ...and result re the cakes!
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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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| Steve Angus wrote: |
| ...some time outside and a mammoth xmas dinner.... |
That's different. Frozen rather than fresh I assume. We just had the usual turkey. 
Your building work looks to have turned out well.
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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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Apartment looks amazing Steve, you’ve definitely optimised the space!
I need a lesson in March, I’ve lost so much confidence. We are in Val w/c 22nd, so might have to look into booking you.
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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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Traffic looks bad on the way up Steve, bad fog covering the entire Chambery-Albertville corridor.
Standstill traffic in several km patches from Chambery Airport through to Moutiers… at 8-9am!
(Had a 5:30am getup / 7:00am departure from Tignes again following the forecasts - avoided jams on the way down thankfully!)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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HoneyBunny - thank you - yes like to think so! Re lesson - sorry to hear on the confidence front - it happens that sort of thing sometimes. Best bet is drop me a pm when you have had a chance to think about when that week you might like a session and ill see what I can sort for you. No sweat.
raino - yea it is a nightmare it really is the traffic on big changeover weekends in peak season like that... you did the right thing getting out of there really early doors! Better than sitting in a jam all day long!
Annoying
It was a slightly later start this morning as I was not needing to get into ski gear which always makes things a little quicker! Yay.
Clare got sorted for her meeting of her usual NY week clients at the chalet and I headed into town with the kids for 0900 for the start of club! All went according to plan and then I thought I was being clever collecting a picnic lunch at Chevallot for us all but the queue in there was huge so a bit of a waste of time but either way got lots of yummy things before heading back to La Daille. I caught up with a little of the ski racing (did anyone see even the best make mistakes on the first run of the ladies GS - whoops poor girl!) and then Olivia messaged me to say her friend had invited her to hers for lunch... the friends mum just happens to own Empriente Avalin restaurant at the bottom of the Grand Pre so not a bad place to head for lunch eh! Mucked up the picnic plans a little though.
Anyway before I knew it I was heading back into town to get Ben but not before waiting forever for a bus which was annoying and made me a couple of minutes late! Anyway the sun was shining so not the end of the world!
When I arrived it was a little strange as one of Olivias friend had handed Ben one of Olivias ski poles which i could not understand... it turned out there had been a mix up with the poles with some kids using each others in the morning so Olivia had one of her friends poles and it was a bit of a mess.
Ben and I had a lovely picnic lunch up at at the Lounge and watched some of the ski racing on my phone and it was nice to spend some time with the little man too. He is pretty tired having been skiing all week so we mainly chilled.
I dropped Ben back at club and Olivia having initially not been aware of the pole issue now insisted I rush to La Daille where they were running gates on the Raye to give her her real pole back! All a little annoying especially when I got there and she had just loaded on the gondola for another lap again - grrrr! Anyway finally about 1445 I got home which was just about enough time to have a cup of tea before getting my jacket back on once again to head into town to collect Ben from club.
So basically i have spent all my day up and down from the meeting point and sorting the kids out.
Not the most exciting day but its the sort of way it goes during the school holidays!
So thats about it for today. Not a very exciting update really.
Tomorrow I am working in the morning and then at the moment have not been booked for the afternoon but we shall see if that changes and then that opens the way for the week of full days starting on the Monday! eeek.
TTFN
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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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@Steve Angus, A small chance he may be back on skis at the end of the season but the main goal is back to hiking around Solaise in summer, with Bellevarde being more gravel/shale we might avoid that.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks Steve
Been to long since I visited Val - but I think we over did it - so the family like to try different areas - Les Arcs this year -
I really miss the resort and especially getting taught to ski by Lauren Bastian - he taught us and then my daughter
Do you know him as he’s a local
Have a great season - sorry for your loss - and thanks form your regular updates, which only strengthen my resolve to get back there
The Banana Bar - my fav
Happy new year
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The life of a ski instructor - not all beer and skittles, is it? One session in a snowdome, and one private lesson - and people think they'll just take off! We do always nag a lot, on Snowheads, about lessons, but we're right! It sounds as if Christmas week in Val d'Isere was super rammed and busy. Why would complete beginners choose to start there? I'm also stunned that people turn up, up to an hour late, for a lesson and just expect the instructor to be standing around waiting for them. So rude!
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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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@Origen, I would guess they will be hoping to snowplough to the Folie Douce  .
No, I don’t understand it either.
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@Origen, I never understood the negativity about learning in Val d'Isere. Both myself and Mrs Sno Trax learned here as complete beginners and as a result fell in love with skiing, the mountains and especially Val d'Isere. We had a great first week, still remember it well and have never looked back. Since then, the beginner zones and offerings have improved greatly. Would anywhere else have had the same impression on us? Who knows? Just glad it was here and would never swap that first experience.
We never did ski school though, but we have had plenty of private lessons over the years, including some with Steve.
Our only regret, coming to it later in life and the many missed seasons on snow.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I think that apart from the cost, that VdI is a super place to learn, in fact world class. The facilities up Solaise are first class and then you can move into the Green Triangle up Belvarde.
Even as an intermediate, warming up Borsat, Grand Pre, Fontaine, 1st lift, an hour before the crowds descend, is quite magical.
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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 I agree VDi has upped its game for beginners in recent years. Progression from about 2 weeks experience onwards still a bit more of a challenge than is manageable for most?
Agree it’s a mystery why people choose Christmas week though. Maybe no suitable alternative or else they just don’t ask on snowHeads first.
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Val d'Isere is expensive and often much busier than some of the alternatives. Even if money was no object for me, as a beginner (or for that matter any other sort of skier) I'd be specially keen to avoid crowds and queues if possible. There are quite a few reports here of people who encountered very little queuing, last week in contrast to the conditions described by Steve.
If stuck with school holidays the decisions are difficult but I'd always go for Christmas over New Year.
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You know it makes sense.
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^^^ certainly Xmas week is generally much quieter than NY week thats for sure! Secondly I think Val has great beginner facilities it really does BUT I think the run colouring is misleading and for example to get to some nice greens (Grand Pre) you have to take on some nasty forerunners etc. I think the offerings for the first week skier in Val is good but for early intermediate and early intermediates there are baptisms of fire galore. The reason these girls yesterday had to come this week was that they were all teachers! BTW whether its peak week or the lowest of low weeks I dont think many beginners and new skiers care too much about it in terms of how busy it is - any other slope use at all is a hinderance to their line and often confidence and there are very few times on the magic carpets for example when it is totally deserted!
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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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HNY, Steve Angus. Apart from the quality and professionalism of the ski instruction available, you're not painting a great picture of Val d'I. Full - too full - of idiots, by the sound of it. Hope you all survive till the quiet days of early January.
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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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| Origen wrote: |
| HNY, Steve Angus. Apart from the quality and professionalism of the ski instruction available, you're not painting a great picture of Val d'I. Full - too full - of idiots, by the sound of it. Hope you all survive till the quiet days of early January. |
Zermatt, Chamonix, 3 Valleys all suffer from the ‘half term heroes’ - it’s sadly pervasive. Having done 13 seasons in the Alps I still look over my shoulder a lot in the peak weeks, even more so when on the mountain with my 6 year old.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I also think a lot of the issue lies with YouTube and social media instruction videos. Don’t get me wrong, I think these are great. What they are not however is a substitution for professional coaching and tuition. There is an ever popular attitude nowadays that you can teach yourself anything and there is no need for any sort of formal tuition. This is maybe true if you have unlimited time and a mountain to yourself. It is not cool if you are trying to teach yourself skiing as an unskilled 90kg man when you’re sharing that mountain with my 35kg son. Not the biggest fan of the USA ski resort scene but I think they do the ski patrol thing right.
After many many years of skiing I still get some private lessons each year at the start of the season. I consider myself an experienced and reasonably good skier, but that doesn’t mean I can’t keep learning. The key to being good at anything is realising you’re not perfect and being able to use criticism to move forward in a positive way.
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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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| NoMapNoCompass wrote: |
I also think a lot of the issue lies with YouTube and social media instruction videos. Don’t get me wrong, I think these are great. What they are not however is a substitution for professional coaching and tuition. There is an ever popular attitude nowadays that you can teach yourself anything and there is no need for any sort of formal tuition. This is maybe true if you have unlimited time and a mountain to yourself. It is not cool if you are trying to teach yourself skiing as an unskilled 90kg man when you’re sharing that mountain with my 35kg son. Not the biggest fan of the USA ski resort scene but I think they do the ski patrol thing right.
After many many years of skiing I still get some private lessons each year at the start of the season. I consider myself an experienced and reasonably good skier, but that doesn’t mean I can’t keep learning. The key to being good at anything is realising you’re not perfect and being able to use criticism to move forward in a positive way. |
You can see them a mile off, balance way off, wide stance with the tips flicking about everywhere, abrupt and chaotic turn sequences… we were all beginners once but some of us didn’t push it on busy blue pistes with kids ski schools around!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Origen - yea sorry not trying to paint a bad picture but im way too long in the tooth to really care whether it paints a bad picture for Val or doesnt AND as others have said its not just Val. In fact im the FIRST person to criticise Val 'authorities' if I think its warranted about anything. People often say to me 'you should work for the tourist board' - especially if you watch my Instagram TDC weekly snow reports but the issue is I call 'rubbish' out if I think its needed such is the joy of being independent and I have been highly critical of groups before such as the STVI / certain ski schools and a whole host in-between! I wont sugar coat it - there is a LOT of rubbish skills out there basically.... however im often talking to the converted on here.
raino - 'half term heroes' / 'Frantic Fridays' (when everyone tries the Face having looked at it all week) / 'Mad Mondays' when people who think they can teach themselves etc head up and realise they are a loose cannon... I could go on!
NoMapNoCompass - could not agree more with those paragraphs - well said - all of it. I often say that a good skier knows they are rubbish - instructors / guides etc included in that!
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^^^ I guess im just getting an old cogger now - grump old man syndrome and 'its not like it used to be' when 'I were a lad'
anyway back to the days update...
Happy New Year
Ah yes I managed to sleep through the festivities last night and was happy it was New Years Day finally - haha yes!
Olivia had a very chilled day hanging out with her friends and staying out of ski boots before she has a race tomorrow. Ben was dropped off by Clare and kids club and then both Clare and I were not starting teaching until 1030 so a very chilled start to the day.
I met my team and we changed things up a little with me taking the two younger ones out for the morning and we had a blast and covered a lot of ground! We headed Bellevarde way and were lucky enough to get the pink bubble up which pleased the kids! After some technical laps of Grand Pre and playing some games we headed for a hot choc - they seem to have changed the layout of Maison Louly which is a little annoying having to have to be shown to your table etc now - dont know what was wrong with just coming in, grabbing a table and ordering (even if back in the old days self service was better anyway!). Anyway it was a chilly morning compared to what it has been so it was nice to warm up.
The slopes were pretty quiet when we were out at 1030 and luckily good timing and skiing over the lunch period meant it was quiet for much of the day compared to what it has been!
A trip down croc alley and then making our way back towards the Olympic followed after the break before getting to the Grand Ourse for lunch! With such a late lunch booking at 1430 and with the table outside when we got there the sun was about to disappear behind the Charvet but we tried to persevere outside until it became too much and headed inside. To be honest the whole of lunch was a bit of a disaster with service and the food I had was awful. For €37 I could have done (seriously) not only a better lasagne but more than two mouthfuls worth - shocking. The service was no good either and they had no options for kids pudding or anything either!
Anyway after lunch it was nearly 1600 so we called it a day, I collected Ben from kids club and headed home!
The weather should be turning tomorrow slowly and by Friday it could be snowing - hmmm we shall see. I have to say I noticed today in certain parts how desperate we are for snow - mainly because of the wind the other week but in places the mountain looks like a moon landscape it really does! For example when you get to the top of the Borsat the Col de Leisse green to take you towards Tignes does NOT have enough snow at the top of it to open and you have to come around and down a 'new' piste to get to it. Hopefully things will change up with this new storm coming our way - hopefully!
Back to it tomorrow.
TTFN
It wont be long until they get the top half of the Val Park up and running but not yet a while
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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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P.S. Yes the U12 girls podium was just Val kids in the end.
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As a first timer in Tignes, are there any decent lunch stops anyone would recommend?
We’re usually skiing in Austria so this will be a nice change!
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FAQ
Good luck with that! 
