 Poster: A snowHead
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KSH / PeakyB - thanks folks. She's OK. Onwards and upwards as you say. Next time it'll be different hopefully. Ce la vie.
Unexpected time off
I did sleep well last night which is just as well with the start of a new week. I was up and going and with Clares mum still here it makes the mornings much more leisurely especially as there is no rush for the school bus now the school hols have started here.
So Olivia headed to Club with me (she was doing GS training on the Orange in the morning and then SL on the Legettaz in the afternoon), Ben was staying with Clares mum today for a last spoiling and fun day and Clare was on a chalet meet on a new booking.
The weather was overcast but not quite bad enough to stuff the skiing up. At the meeting point my all Snowhead team was on time and we came up with a lesson plan for the day... it mainly revolved around blues and reds and developing their shorter turn technique. We started on the Glacier Express for a warm up and the snow was decent but you could tell there had been a solid refreeze and with the cloud cover it wasnt going to soften up anytime soon!
Next up was the Arcelle as I wanted to get down there before it got too icy! It was pretty good although very firm on the lower part. They skied it well considering it was pretty challenging up there! I got a little videoing in too as we headed towards the Bellevarde on the Plan M which was in OK condition.
So we mainly spent time on the Bellevarde on the Fontaine Froid as well as 3J consolidating what we had worked on and trying not to get too tired from the mornings exploits.
Great morning and good improvements - more on Wednesday.
I checked in with the office at lunchtime and sure enough my afternoon lesson had cancelled due to sickness so ive had the afternoon off.
It has been a really chilled afternoon, spending time with Ben as well as Clares mum and doing a few jobs but generally. Olivia has just been to the market in town having finished her skiing for the day and we have just watched Michaela's '100' from yesterday which has further inspired her.
We may have snow and / or rain tomorrow but certainly for the next couple of days it is going to be rather 'blurgh' weather - hmmmm time will tell!
Anyway not much else to report this end.
TTFN
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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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What’s the Vallee Perdue like currently? Much scrambling required at the rocky top bit or can you ski right through?
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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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| NoMapNoCompass wrote: |
| What’s the Vallee Perdue like currently? Much scrambling required at the rocky top bit or can you ski right through? |
Its about 'average' based on my experiences down there over the years. The worst part is the 'whips' as you go around corners and narrow parts etc where snowploughs have hollowed out making some interesting lips! But the hole bit is a rope descent of a couple of metres at the moment so not too bad at all! Certainly not able to ski the whole way down no. Didnt do lower part though - try and avoid it generally as way worse and harder I think than the top part!
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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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Cool photo of Grande Motte 1!
This is a good archive of all the old maps, I reckon that must be 1970s, maybe even 1960s given the development of VC.
https://skimap.org/skiareas/view/790
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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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@mnb20, they actually had to reopen the gondola in the autumn of 1993 as they were doing some speed testing on the then new funicular. I was on a course on the glacier. I remember one of the cabins slightly ahead of me not engaging on the cable and there then followed a “clackers” type experience between it and the following cabin. Rather disconcerting for the occupants. In the up side the occupants were race training and had of course pushed into the queue.
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| Quote: |
So that was a nice peaceful start to the day - especially as I didnt need to empty the dishwasher as that is usually my morning chore but I forgot to put it on last night - whoops!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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You can see in the photo that there were actually two Gondolas in parallel. Does anyone remember the chair above that went around a corner ! It’s on the map link as gh. Also note the proposed cable car to the Dome de Pramecou, that was on the piste map for years.
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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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Love those old piste maps. What's really interesting is what's not there any more. For example a route from the glacier in between Dome de Pramecou and Grande Balme to somewhere below the top of the Col des Ves chair.
And those old photos...just wow!
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You know it makes sense.
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Layne - well you know its a tough life sometimes!
NoMapNoCompass - oh wow I LOVE that - thanks for that link. Like a timewarp and journey down memory lane!
mnb20 - yes ive seen that site before - I should have looked it up shouldn't I
Ski lots - can you imagine that happening these days or if it did what the news headlines would look like!
Origen - yea too much information eh!
Peter S - blimey how things have changed eh!
gixxerniknik - surprised no one has mentioned the proposed link up with Bonneval! Did that ever appear on a proposed piste map I wonder!
Whitegold - wow I didnt know it was 'famous' picture as such! Well there you go
Lovely snow but busier
I had a gentle start to the day again which was nice. Meanwhile Olivia had to get going for slalom training and meanwhile Clare was not working today so she was going to have a ski with Ben, meet up with one of his friends and then have lunch together with them and Olivia and one of her friends was going to join them so that all took some time to sort!
I only had to get myself sorted and then as I was meeting at the top of the Toviere as the clients were coming from Tignes it was easy enough to pop over the road and head up the gondola! So thats what I did and made my way up Tommeuse to meet the family up there.
So the am booking was a nice young family relatively experienced at skiing but wanting a multi faceted lesson working on general ski technique as well as some moguls work too. Since the kids were also teenagers I was conscious to throw some 'fun' things into the equation so we also did some 360 spins and backwards skiing to boot too which went down well. Most of the lesson was spent on red runs but I also slotted in a descent of the Face which was in pretty good condition but either way we spent most of the time on Bellevarde where it seemed about as busy as it has been all week. However on the flip side the snow was wonderful as we have had about 15-20cm of fresh snow in the last 24 - 48 hours so it was lovely out there!
At lunchtime I stopped to record my weekly snow report and as usual that take longer than you'd think so by the time I got back home it was well after 1300. So with Clare out with the kids and Olivia this afternoon doing GS training on the Raye it was pretty quiet at home! I should have gotten more done than I did but it was nice.
Tomorrow I am working in the morning but it is a fairly quiet few days coming up and Olivia does NOT have a race this weekend. Tomorrow I might possibly be heading down the valley to collect our car now it has been fixed (well might by tomorrow anyway).
Cant think of much else to write this evening... writers block!
TTFN
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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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Conditions look good there in Tignes Steve? Am thinking of a late booking in a couple of weeks if it's good.
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Poster: A snowHead
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gixxerniknik - tbh its about the best it has been all season all in all... OK we have had slightly better powder but only in certain places at certain times this season so far but overall id say its very very good out there at the moment!
We have wheels again
I got a message from my client early this morning to say that he had an important business call therefore would be late for his lesson and also reminded me that he needed to be back down the bottom early as he needed to get to his lunch booking. It would mean the lesson would be very short thats for sure!
Anyway Clare was working, Olivia GS training on the Orange and Ben to get to Village so we all had to be up and active from the get go which is is more than can be said for tomorrow morning as I think we ALL have a day out of ski boots which is so VERY VERY rare it really is but no bad thing.
So Olivia headed off early and Clare, Ben and I ended up on the same bus. Right from the get go at La Daille the bus did not sound or feel right. It felt and sounded as if the clutch was not really engaging properly and certainly it was not really getting out of 1st gear. Something was wrong and as the bus got fuller and fuller it was struggling more and more and as it made its way uphill through the tunnel to the Rond Pont it ground to a halt. Basically we all had to get out mid tunnel and walk the last bit. Of course there as carnage in the tunnel with dozens of people and a traffic jam happening all at the same time - doh!
Anyway I dropped Ben at the kids club and made my way to meet my client who ended up being even later than planned! When he arrived we decided that just a confidence session on the magic carpet would probably be the best way forward. However the good news was that the sun was shining and it was glorious day... id say that today felt like the first proper day of the Spring as it was warm yet the snow was still great!
After dropping him back early so he could get to his lunch by road as he was not able to ski to his lunch stop I made my way home.
I spent a while working on my damaged skis by adding epoxy resin to the sidewall that got badly damaged on a rock a few weeks back and doing a few other jobs before heading down the road to Bourg on a very full public bus. The bus to bourg is very good value I think at only €10 one way.
Anyway when I got to Bourg I collected a couple of things from Super U whilst I waited for the car to be finished off and then I was back up to Val. Thank goodness all the messing about with the servicing work needed and the French MOT is now behind us for another couple of years (as its only needed once every 2 years!).
So yea this evening has been pretty chilled out with the kids watching a film and now into bed. Tomorrow we have a chilled day as I say but it would be nice to catch some of the skiing and maybe the cricket although England are playing so badly I daren't watch! Haha.
TTFN
P.S. Meant to say Val are trying their best to show they are doing their bit to increase safety on the mountain. I think in a rather bizarre way of trying to improve safely they closed off the Borsat piste to the public today and encouraged people that wanted to go fast to try out the free for all Super G course they set up on the slope. Nice idea but its the busy slopes, the ignorant, the people that think they can go fast but dont have any ability to control it and the like that is the problem not the actual need for a place people can go fast as that will still happen as people like that dont realise the poor abilities they possess anyway. The other issue is that these things are always so badly advertised anyway! Nice idea but I think it won't help at all unfortunately!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| gixxerniknik wrote: |
Love those old piste maps. What's really interesting is what's not there any more. For example a route from the glacier in between Dome de Pramecou and Grande Balme to somewhere below the top of the Col des Ves chair.
And those old photos...just wow! |
That’s right - my neighbour has been skiing here for 45 years. He told me about that route, but with climate change the glacier has melted so much that where they used to just have to pole a bit is now a 20m rock band.
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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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Down day
I really enjoyed rolling over a few times this morning and finally having to open my eyes when Ben came in for a hug. It wasnt until 0845 that I finally made it out of bed and only then when I checked my watch I couldnt believe it. To be honest with NON of us needing to put ski gear on today it was a VERY VERY VERY VERY rare occurrence... sometimes (especially these days as the kids get older and more into their skiing!) it can be more than a season between such an occurrence!
So the sun has generally been beaming weakly all day with some high thin cloud about. This morning I tried to watch England stuff up another cricket match which they succeeded in doing. Im trying to work out how to actually watch the WC skiing now Eurosport are no more in the UK - I have a few leads. Someone suggested you can watch it live on the FIS app for YouTube or something (I have a VPN I can use) but crucially I could not find a stream anywhere so if anyone knows of somewhere categorically it can be watched live (ideally with some english speaking commentary but not the end of the world!) that would be good! I dont fancy paying an arm and a leg to watch it somewhere either and since I have the VPN already im sure there must be somewhere! Grrrr its so annoying.... certainly in the UK we are desperate to increase the visibility of the sport to a domestic audience! Its BS that you have to pay so much and if you approached Sky im sure they would come back with some BS along the lines that we have 'football' and other sports I could not really care less about!
Anyway as well as doing some of that I did a few jobs about the house and made some lunch!
This afternoon Ben has been at a friends house, Olivia went into town for some window shopping with her mum and ive tried to digest what the heck happened in the Oval Office yesterday and what the heck that means for the world. I never try and get political on here but holly molly - DT and JDV are w***ers they really are. Talk about ambushing someone and bullying them... if ever there was a time for Europe to come together then now is the time and as much as I dont like a reduction in spending on overseas aid we need to (unfortunately) up the money spent on defence as we need it. I won't go on about it. However I always have followed current affairs and politics a lot more than I let on here!
So Olivia is doing her whole school holidays homework now in one sitting and ill soon be cracking open a beer hopefully. Tomorrow I might be working im not sure.... we are now in that sort of down period after the schools go back before it gets bonkers busy into the Spring period!
TTFN
P.S. Saw this on the internet today... shows how vulnerable they think various French ski resorts will be to the affects of shifting snow lines by 2050... all I can say is that if this is correct then anywhere north of the Tarantaise valley I won't be going skiing in by then.... even if some places like Avoriaz and Chamonix itself might be OK you can imagine the vacuum and sink plug effect on those places as all their tourism gets concentrated onto just a few places! Also it doesnt really show that some resorts have lots of skiing at low altitude so resorts that fall into this category will have their customers pushed higher again concentrating those slope users whereas I like to think Val has the majority above 2500m or so. Ill be 72/73 by then and well and truly hanging up my ski boots but maybe Olivia and Ben will be in the prime of their lives so it could affect them big time.
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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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Steve, set your VPN to New Zealand and you can watch all of the races and more on FIS Alpine TV on YouTube. Full English commentary too.
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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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"Ill be 72/73 by then and well and truly hanging up my ski boots". Pardon me Mr Angus. I'm 74, female, had two Total Knee Replacements last year & cannot wait to get back on skis next year!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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russ_e - thanks so much that worked a treat! And to boot I have a picture broadcast app on my phone to broadcast the screen / screen contents to the TV so meant could watch on the TV like old times - bar the adverts (no loss) and without being able to pause etc. So all good. Thanks. Happy again!
fvlover - whoops. Think what I meant is more the fact ill be coming to the end of my career by then so it'll have less of an impact on me than anything else. Ill still be skiing then dont worry! 
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This is getting too comfy!
For a second day in a row I was not booked which is perhaps the first time I have been totally open for 2 consecutive days in years... im losing my touch!
Anyway Olivia was on an all day Super G training session on the Tignes stade so she had to be up and out the door in order to ski over that way. Meanwhile Ben had club all day too so needed to be dropped at the meeting point. Clare took on that role so I had a pretty relaxed breakfast but mucked up the poaching of the eggs so they were rather hard unfortunately which I dont like at all - whoops!
So (see above) I sorted myself out and enjoyed a cuppa as I watched the skiing on TV which was a treat and a half! For the rest of the morning I watched lots of skiing and chilled before getting Ben (Olivia had a packed lunch with her) and his mate for lunch at home and it was a hectic couple of hours with two 7 year olds eating and running around! I was quite glad to get them back for their afternoons skiing and get some fresh air!
The afternoon was much the same as the morning before Olivia and the kids were home and, well it has been the normal evening routine with 2 very very tired kids!
Tomorrow I am working all day, Clare is too (I think) and both kids skiing all day. Apparently Olivia is doing Super G training on the Orange from the top she tells me.
I didnt snap a pic today so will use Radio Val's
TTFN
P.S. WITHOUT looking at Radio Val can anywhere guess where that photo is taken from - you have to know Val's off piste very well to know where that could be!
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From the Refuge de Prariond looking towards the Gorges de Malpasset with Col Pers on the left. Spent New Years Eve their in 1991 when the Gorges were Impassable!
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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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Glorious (but forgot my suncream!)
BKK - yes of course totally correct. I knew someone would get that. Nice view of the Grand Torsai from there too!
Talking of the Prariond Refuge its now open for the remainder of the season and always remember when its not manned it can still be accessed as it is always open for anyone that needs to take refuge for the night anytime if caught out!
Anyway it was back to work this morning as the sun was beating down. Olivia was doing Super G training from the very top of the Orange down to the flat area underneath the Marmotte lift this morning and it was all the U14 and U12's doing it. She said it was quite scary for the first couple of runs going at full speed across the flats at the top and straight onto the steeps in a tuck but she seemed to enjoy it. Ben meanwhile was with his guys and they were doing GS gates on the Legettaz and it sounds like he had lots of fun!
So my team was a young couple of girls in their 30's who had done a couple of weeks of skiing and in the allocated time we wanted to get some mileage and show them where they might be able to ski about when with their partners and some drills to do.
We spent the majority of the time up the Bellevarde doing the green triangle and they handled themselves really well and also loved it up there - well done girls! Some good things for them to work on going forward thats for sure!
I took lunch under the Sun Bar and sheltered from the Sun. I must say (think ive said this before) that I know people are on holiday and all that but since I 'live' on the slopes I always take every opportunity to shelter from the Sun when I can... whether it lunch with clients at a restaurant or somewhere else I generally try and get away from the Sun.... to be fair I get a LOT of fresh air anyway (and Sun).
So this afternoon my lesson was very similar to that of the morning in terms of background of client / previous experience BUT she was a real natural. For someone who only started skiing last year and thus today was only the 5th day she had ever skied she was on fire! By the end of the session having skied up Solaise for the afternoon she was making some pretty decent linked shortish radius turns on pretty steep blues up there INCLUDING a pole plant. I was pretty blown away I must say! She was very full of happiness and laughter - it was a nice session. Well done to her! Keep going.
Clare on the other hand was only working this morning so she was on kid duty! By the time the kids got back from skiing this evening they were both knackered so it has been a quick dinner, early bath and bed for them!
So tomorrow Clares Dad arrives (first time he has been out here for many years!) to stay with us for a few nights and mainly see the grand kids but he is also looking forward to watching Olivia race in Les Arcs this weekend!
Im working tomorrow (initially the morning only but that could change) and the sun will be shining again tomorrow.
TTFN
PS Put my suncream on this morning but forgot to reapply at lunchtime as left it at home! Doh
chocksaway - OMG. Having done that traverse in before on more than one occasion I can confirm it is VERY exposed and scary and it does not take much to slip and fall a long way! The actual ski in there is short, sweet and pretty nice actually! If you can get in there easily and safely.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Steve Angus, Yes! I have done it once and developed a severe case of ‘disco knee’.
Other euphemisms are available .
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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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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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@Steve Angus, Did your clients really pay you to spend 4 hours in Folie ???
Can’t have been Snowheads
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Poster: A snowHead
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PBJ - yea I guess they did. But remember its all about convenience - in this case someone to make sure they got down and off the mountain at the correct time and for the couple that wanted to ski as safely as possible! You'd be surprised how often this sort of thing does happen!
Chilly but a varied day
It was another pretty chilly day - not because of the air temperature but because of the punch breeze blowing in. I went up a layer and I think I was glad of it but later in the morning and especially away from the breeze it was pretty warm.
My client was the same guy I had a couple of days ago we were off dead on time. Clare was once again on a chalet start, Olivia made her way to Club to get her skis and then today was the sort of mid term internal Club des Sports race. Meanwhile I dropped Ben at the meet point before starting myself. So being dead on time meant we could be ahead of the crowds and up and off nice and early.
We headed up Bellevarde as the plan was to work on moguls this morning and so we did lots of laps of Tommeuse and plenty of drills in that area. It was a great morning and I thought he came on masses. There was just the one funny fall he took but in all fairness some of the ruts on the big moguls were pretty massive and deep. But a good morning non the less!
We finished by skiing to La Daille and then taking the bus into town where I collected Ben and then we (well without Clare) all headed to Le Garage for lunch!
We were also in a little bit of a celebration mode as in the U10 and U12 'selection' morning GS races for Club des Sports Olivia had a great morning! She came 6th overall in the whole of Val and apart from a few 2013 boys and one 2014 boy she was the fastest overall. It was just a pity it could not count towards her Palmares (sort of French ranking points system) points as that would have helped in some upcoming races but anyway not to worry.
So anyway we enjoyed a nice lunch with the kids and Clares Dad and as usual the Garage was excellent (even if the portion sizes have undergone shrink-flation!) for lunch! Yummy burgers and pizzas had by all and the ice creams for pudding went down very well with the kids.
So we waddled out of there into the Sun and headed home where Olivia and her Grampa had an afternoon of movies and generally recharging the batteries before her race in Les Arcs tomorrow which will be a long day as well as an early start. This will be the first time this year she has really been seen in terms of speed on the SL skis against the competition in the valley so hopefully it will go well. The race result this morning certainly gave her a boost!
Meanwhile Ben and I had a quick turnaround before I drove him to Bourg for his speech and language meeting and then we collected a large food shop.
So Clare and I have just about got the last of it in the fridge / freezer and cupboards and the kids in bed.
Tomorrow will be an early start as the Clare, Olivia and her Dad leave early for this race and I will be getting Ben ready for Club and then heading to work myself. I might just be working in the morning - not sure yet.
The weather continues to be sunny tomorrow but will start to deterirotare towards snow and finally we might have a fresh canvas appearing on the horizon.
TTFN
Can you notice the slightly yellow twinge when you look at Mont Blanc? Its more obvious in real life trust me.... anyway when we have a long period of an anticyclone high pressure system the 'smog' air pollution builds in the valleys hence the slight off white look. Scary stuff but nothing a good downpour wont generally solve! (or snow).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It wasnt a bad omen after all!
It was all system go this morning getting everyone bar Ben up and out the door and it was nice to actually not personally be in a rush getting ready. With Clare, her Dad and Olivia out the door and on the way to Les Arcs Ben and I casually got ourselves ready. It was rather nice actually!
Off we headed and I dropped Ben at the meeting point. Being the last day of the school holidays as far as Club des Sports is concerned for him they were doing all day including lunch. It was to be ski morning and afternoon as normal and then lunch altogether at one of the mountain restaurants as the said restaurants owners kid is in the group and they were going to do Fish and Chips for them all and chocolate mouse for pudding. Lucky kids. Needless to say they had an amazing time.
So anyway with the sun shining I hatched a plan as to what to do with my guy who was the same person as ive had on and off all week. We headed up Solaise and did lots of laps of the Glacier Express working on 'active carving' and we made loads of changes - it was really good actually and the slope remained pretty quiet all the time which was perfect.
Laterly we headed over the top and headed to the Fornet and we had designs on doing the Col Pers as he wanted a little bit of an adventure to finish the week off with. So we got as far as the Col and as I was putting my ski back on after the boot pack I hit my boot to knock the snow off and my ski pole broke in two which was a little annoying! So whilst the ski down to the Fornet was perfect with some lovely chalk bring the headline grabber I had to do with one pole which made it interesting! Interestingly we passed a LOT of ski tourers out there going for walks - loads of people actually - strange!
So I thought maybe breaking the pole would be a bad omen for Olivias race. However the weather being perfect maybe counteracted any bad vibes from the race potentially!
Normally with the races you can see live timings on the ffs website or places like that but unfortunately there was non for this Les Arcs race unfortunately. It was really old school with a white board and pen instead so Clare was sending me lots of updates etc and it was quite tricky trying to follow. Anyway in a nutshell she did really well in the first run but sadly fell in the second run, came to a virtual stop and then stood up again and carried on. She still did so well that she (by the time you add together the two run times!) still was able to come 4th for her year group which is astonishing really and about 15th overall out of the 72 Haute Tarantaise girls present! Proud dad. However they then had a third and a fourth run of the day and again were adding those two times together. Well it got better as she ended up in third overall and won her year group. Just wow. So another success for my girl. I think she was pretty chuffed with herself but had not been expecting to do so well! So more trophies and medals to add to the collection. Certainly having her grampa there and Clare made it all the more special!
So anyway I was back home with Ben watching some TV when they got back and we have enjoyed a takeaway to celebrate this evening.
Tomorrow I am working half the day, Clare and her brother who is coming back again tomorrow for a few days skiing with their dad, said grampa and the kids are having some time together and I have someone coming around to chat about our renovations as they are thinking of having the same done at theirs.
TTFN
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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 weather is changing
With no one needing to get up this morning it was a very chilled start to the day. We had a nice leisurely family breakfast together and then I watched a mix of the cricket finals and the ladies slalom. Meanwhile today is the last day that Clares dad is staying with us (he has a few more days in town but Clares brother arrived today (Clare is actually out this evening having dinner with them both) so he is staying with him for a few more days in a hotel here in La Daille) so anyway he took the kids and Clare out for a mornings shopping in town. This comprised of some clothes and a new pair of poles for Clare.
Anyway they were out and I had the place to myself for a few hours and to be honest I didnt do a lot which is quite luxurious in the Winter! I could see that the weather out there was quite windy and looking to build over the day. I was quite content indoors.
However after lunch at home I got ready and headed out. My pm lesson had messaged me and asked to meet at the top of Bellevarde a little while after 1300 so I headed up the Funi to get there. As it turned out he was even later and we did not get going until about 1330 in the end. With the weather a little flat and the wind pretty strong we had to be clever with where we went and what we worked on. However we did some really good changes over the session improving the understanding for him to take away so he knew what he needed to work on but as the weather moved in more and more we decided to do a few laps to La Daille which was fine but as expected the snow was a mix of lumpy bumps and ice between so not ideal for teaching what I wanted to work on with him. I did explain that skiing low would not be ideal for learning but given the weather he was keen to do so. Anyway the session was a success all in all.
I got back home and had about an hour to turn myself around before I had someone around that is a friend of a friend and looking for someone like me who has recently gone through the house renovation cycle here in Val. So they popped around for a cuppa tea and to see what is possible in a smallish area. Meanwhile Ben was at a birthday party and had a whale of a time and Olivia spent much of the day with a friend including popping into town for a milkshake this afternoon.... all I can say is that it will be a bit of a shock going back to school tomorrow!
Tomorrow is another start to a long busy week. Eeek. The weather is changing quite a lot and we should have some fresh snow overnight but how things pan out over the next few days is anyones guess.... one thing is for certain it is a little colder now than it was and a little less Spring like too. Always the way.... Winter makes a return after Spring has sprung!
TTFN
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Glorious bumps - at least people HAVE to ski properly!
Well it was back to school today for the kids and as such it was up nice and early to get the sorted and out the door. However as Clare was not working (she is having a ski with her Dad and brother today and tomorrow) she did most of the work and took them down to the bus.
At least the sun was shining and after the heavy weather yesterday it was nice to see the clouds (and wind) had abated! It left behind a surprisingly large amount of snow - about 15cm in some places so it was very much game on.
I was meeting my clients over the road today as made sense as they are staying down here in La Daille and so I headed to the funi to meet them and hatch a plan for the morning. So we were sorted and headed up the funi and it was very nice to be ahead of all the crowds and for the first couple of runs it was heaven with AMAZING snow and nobody around but of course as the morning progressed it got increasingly busy and churned up! I did notice that the Borsat lift needed to be cleared before it could get open so as result nobody would be around on the Grand Pre so we took the collet to get there and had the place to ourselves for an hour there. Perfect for building technique and confidence away from the carnage of the Marmottes area.
However as would be expected the soft snow did get more and more churned up as the morning progressed. I do LOVE days like this - basically you have to be able to ski to deal with days like this where everything gets churned up. You cant fake it today! However as I say I was surprised how much snow had fallen and with the sun shining it was an off piste paradise especially this morning! I suspect this afternoon with the heat south facing will have been baked but still north facing will be amazing even tomorrow and the day after!
So with tired legs my team finished a few minutes early and I headed to La Daille and got lunch in before heading to meet my pm lesson which was a regular client of mine! I have been teaching her on and off for a few years and today there was no question what we were going to be working on - moguls! So effectively the whole afternoon was dedicated to moguls and we lapped on the marmots mainly and you could not get away from the things but it was a successful session!
Again tired legs meant we finished a few minutes early but I was quite glad to get away from the glare of the sun and the constant hard work on the legs from all the thousands of moguls I skied today!
Meanwhile Clare had a lovely ski with her Dad and brother and they headed to Breviere for a day out and apparently had an amazing lunch at L'Armailly - not jealous much - haha!
Tomorrow the weather will be somewhat more cloudy and it might start snowing / raining in the afternoon.
This evening Clares dad and brother have been around and I have just had to make a few phone calls but generally I need an early night as im pretty tired this evening!
TTFN
P.S. Got confirmation through today that Olivia has qualified for the slalom finals on Sunday in the resort of Aurillon 1400 which is near Chambery.
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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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Satisfying
The weather looked quite promising this morning but it was not too cold but there had obviously been a decent frost overnight. I was meeting over the road once again and Clare was skiing with her brother and Dad once more. For some reason I had slept really badly so I was not expecting to be on my best form today but sometimes you surprise yourself and today was one of them.
So after some good piste bashing overnight the slopes were in amazing condition but of course lots of eager beavers out there so plenty of idiots in maniac mode!
So my team and I set off from where we finished up yesterday and we spent much of the time today on harder blue runs and also the Fontaine Froid up Bellevarde. There are some really nice changes come through in their skiing and I was pretty impressed with how far they have come in just 2 lessons. Bravo!
The beautiful blue skies were slowly starting to fade as the clouds rolled in but it was very slow and steady all day long. In fact by late afternoon it was actually a complete white out and snowing quite heavily but has eased back a little now.... over the next 24 hours it will be a bit of a roller coaster weather wise me thinks!
So lunch was taken under the Sun Bar and I had finished a few minutes early again as I think I am tiring my clients out somewhat! Not intentionally but to get better ski performance you need to put more effort in to get maximum performance out.... my clients will know my catchphrase.... "dont let the skis take you for a ride, you take them for a ride!"
This afternoon I had a SH and his wife and we were aiming to get things improved 'when the going gets tough' on red runs. So after identifying a few things we worked our way through improving the various things and actually spent a fair amount of time on the Arcelle. Like the morning there were a fair few improvements made and its always nice when there are lots of smiles and things to continue working on after the lesson for clients. Bravo.
This evening the father in law and Clares brother popped around for a quick drink, Ben has been back doing his judo on Tuesday nights and Olivia was getting on with her homework.
Tomorrow will be a pretty tiring day as I am on an all day private with some touring and plenty of off piste happening BUT the weather could make it quite tricky - hmmmm we shall see.
TTFN
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P.S last night we had perhaps another 2-5cm of the white gold but not enough to really change anything up!
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Just have to pop in here to say that Mrs L and I had a fantastic lesson with @Steve Angus on Tuesday. I can't recommend him highly enough - it was an absolute pleasure to spend the afternoon with him and he very quickly identified 3 or 4 areas for us to concentrate on, with appropriate drills to instill that muscle memory. We both feel immediately more confident in our skiing and we'll be back for more next year! Thanks again Steve.
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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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| Loganberry wrote: |
| Just have to pop in here to say that Mrs L and I had a fantastic lesson with @Steve Angus on Tuesday. I can't recommend him highly enough - it was an absolute pleasure to spend the afternoon with him and he very quickly identified 3 or 4 areas for us to concentrate on, with appropriate drills to instill that muscle memory. We both feel immediately more confident in our skiing and we'll be back for more next year! Thanks again Steve. |
Ah thanks so much - always lovely to hear nice things! Appreciate your time to say so. Have a great rest of holidays and until next time stay safe and keep smiling!
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FAQ
