The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

A snowHead

Bene

Well it has been a long day so I am going to be short this evening.

The weather was grey and overcast and pretty shoddy light this morning (although I think it improved a tad in the afternoon)!

Anyway my snowboard team were not loving the flat light this morning.... and they had forgotten to have much breakfast so were running on empty. Anyway we battled away and got some nice turns in - especially down the Plan M piste (the Solaise red down the front as it is commonly referred to). Anyway it was nice having a quiet mountain today as everyone was still dreaming about the Blue bird day yesterday I think!

A quick turnaround at lunchtime and then we were off to Albertville. It took the normal 1.15 to get there but then it took a further half an hour to actually find the clinic place where we were having the scan.

It then transpired that the person doing the scans was way behind so we waited for nearly 40 mins to actually go in...... anyway we finally got in and it was worth it seeing a healthy looking baby on the monitor - we are not finding out the sex as today would have been the day we could have found out being the 24 week scan (that is the schedule they use here in France rather than a 20 week scan!). We were told that it has a fast (healthy and normal) heartbeat rate and was a strong little baby - not sure how they now that but that is what they said!

We left and drove back to Val and straight out for a celebratory meal for two at the Barillon restaurant in La Daille which we love for being a friendly local, no fuss place with decent prices and decent food - YUMMY yummy!

So then it was back to reality as I have just been tying to catch up on some emails and I have been answering lesson enquiries and sorting out yet more seasonnaire issues with the groups - mainly revolving around getting payment details out of them all!

At the top of the moutains in the mooring and then....

...In Albertville at the foothills of these wonderful mountains in the afternoon!

Only other piece of news that I have (perhaps will try and get some pics of the polo tomorrow for you) is that the DDJS were doing controls on instructors and guides heading / coming back, off piste this morning at the top of Solaise..... primarily checking qualifications to make sure you are qualified to be leading people off piste! They were also looking at what gear you and the clients had..... they are trying to make sure that if something did happen off piste with a group led by a professional that all the possible safety steps have been taken. My colleague was controlled. I personally have only ever been controlled once on piste a few years back and it quite daunting having a DDJS official look over your paperwork and a policeman there to do the necessary if they think your paperwork is not in order.... let alone it happening off piste when they look at the gear everyone has!

TTFN

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Yes, I agree - it's so much more exciting when you don't know. My daughter didn't - long and difficult labour, father sitting in his scrubs by the bedside, exhausted too, high forceps delivery. When the baby arrived the doctor was about to say "you have a lovely little....." but Alex wanted Andy to tell her. He leapt up too quickly, took a look at the carnage and said "It's a girl", then fainted, cut his head and had to be wheeled out to A & E on a trolley. Poor chap - you can imagine how he got teased - came out with head bandaged and a hospital bracelet and wasn't allowed to drive for 72 hours. Because he couldn't be there the OH and I were allowed into the labour ward whilst all the washing and weighing etc was done - she was over 8lbs and a beauty. Now nearly 4. They chose not to know for the second baby, too - fortunately they both felt the same way about it.

Those scan pictures are great, aren't they? I never had one - they weren't routine in my day.

I feel for Clare having to do a lot of bed-making. I hate that job, even when not pregnant.

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Congratulations to you and Clare Steve Angus,

I've been following this thread religiously for the last couple of years - out in Val in March for the annual boys' long weekend trip, can't wait.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Very familiar car park photo there after my 8 year was helicoptered there from Tignes during Christmas last year Shocked

and kept in for a couple of days. Nothing wrong with him in the end, not even a decent break, but they were worried about internal bleeding at the time.

Just goes to show that even when kids deign to finally make an appearance from Mum the worrying never goes away Smile

Pam W - I have a very large rugby playing friend whose other half went into labour with their first a few weeks earlier than expected. He was at someone's leaving party, which happened to be in a basement bar and so didn't get the increasingly frantic phone messages to hot foot it to the hospital. Eventually he emerged a bit wobbly only to find about 30 messages. He got the next cab and arrived just in time to scrub up and put all the gowns on, only to step into the room, walk confidently to the business end and promptly faint at the unexpected sight, splitting his chin open on the table on the way down. They didnt wheel him out, they just left him on the floor and kept stepping over and around him until Mum and baby were fine. Laughing

8 stitches, a cool scar, and a lifetime of deserved abuse from his other half and all his rugby mates later, he's just about got over it Very Happy

After all it is free

Blimey folks - hope our big day is less dramatic than these stories!!!

Anyway POWDER and varying visibility were the themes of the day.

I finished the week with Jason and Sally and we were treated to another morning of fine snow but variable weather. We found some great snow on the way down to La Daille early on and then the best snow of the day was near the Collette piste - almost 30cm of pow in places! A great end to the week!

Lovely snow and quiet pistes on the way to La Daille.

The only problem we had in the morning was Jasons binding kept sticking so he could not get it off without a little helping hand from me..... the photo looks rather dodgy that Sally took!

The sad story of the morning was that a good friend of mine from the Snow Centre whom I have done a lot of training for over the years and whom was out for a few weeks of training before his Level 3 managed to take a clumsy little fall whilst coming to a stop on the Fontaine Froide piste..... he toppled over and it emerged that he has a fractured knee cap and strained lateral ligaments - the end of his season! DAMN and get we'll soon Dave.

After the last change of the week from snowboard to skis stuff and then lunch it was the start of my involvement in the seasonnnaires program 2014... I should have had a full compliment but one of them pulled out at the last minute therefore that person has already been substituted as we cannot have that happening as it is unfair on the rest of the group financially.

Anyway considering most of them had only started skiing at the beginning of the season they did well considering the bumps and poor weather we had. However they were not used to the cold conditions on the mountain as it has been unseasonably warm this season so far.

The weather did brighten up and they certainly enjoyed themselves and some good improvements are already to be seen...

Seasonnaires enjoying themselves!

It is my mums birthday today so I had a nice chat to her this evening before heading to the Blue Note to see hop-a-long Dave and his team of assistants getting him from A-B. I also managed to catch up with an old university friend of mine who is out here on holiday this week and it was nice to have a catch up.

Dinner and now bed before transfer day tomorrow.... there is no snow falling at the moment and it may start snowing again from tomorrow afternoon onwards so I think we can safely expect more snow. A chilly night in stall for us here though.

Don't worry about the big day - the common message from the two above is that the blokes were completely rubbish - the mums did fine Little Angel

Snow looks great - keep it coming - we're out in Tignes VC for half term

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Conditions look lovely Steve - and even more snow to come! I want to be there so much.

Congrats on the scan, good news that little Bode or Lindsey is doing just fine Very Happy

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Hi Steve. Really enjoy reading your blog and good to see you again at the Bluenote last night. As one of Dave's 'assistants' can report he is in good spirits this am and has already planned level 3 for next season. Dave's other assistant, Rob, says hi and sorry he had to dash off as he was melting in the Bluenote !

Cheers, Tony

snow reports

Mega rush as off out for dinner in a moment.

Thanks everyone for the good wishes on the scan front and yes ill try not to faint when it is my turn!

tony996 - yep good to catch you again.... glad he was in good spirits this morning. Safe journey home and see you next time - keep on reading!

Well folks it was transfer Saturday again... 6.15 we were on the road and we made great time to the airport.

A three hour wait (mainly as bags took ages as the baggage belt broke down) was a little longer than planned but we were on the road again soon enough!

A quick stop in Bourg to do some food shopping then it was back to town. It is Clares' father and a couple of his friends that are staying with us this week.

I parked up and noted that it had not snowed unfortunately today but had been rather overcast all day and by the looks of the weather forecast we should get a little snow on and off over the next few days but the main bulk of the weather system is going to miss us. The wind however is fairly stiff out there and it is currently only just under zero! BOOOOOOO

Anyway I wanted to catch 5 mins of the polo on the way home but it had not started and I knew that Clare wanted me home to put away all the shopping I had bought in Bourg which I have just done...... However I managed to get one photo of one horse making its way to the polo area for the start....

Right shower and change and off out to the Lodge for dinner with the in-law and friends!!!!!

Well what a strange day it turned out to be....

After a nice (and rare for both of us to be able to do) lie in this morning I got a 'rude' awakening as the phone rang at about 8am to tell me that I had been booked for a lesson this afternoon - well I had to get up sometime didn't I!

I was still rather full after a nice meal at Le Lodge last night so we had brunch this morning.

I did a couple of hours work on some accounts this morning and then promptly lost it all as the program I use did an upgrade and for some reason it deleted todays changes - grrr!

Anyway this afternoon I was teaching a nice lady from Kent who was a little nervous having not skied since she was a teenager and had recently made significant recover from an operation to remove a tumour from her head...... anyway with the weather howling and snowing up top I decided to devote the time to working on technique on the Village lift and she had an absolute ball. Full marks to her as she was totally exhausted by the end.

I have spent the evening getting up to date with the avalanche conditions and weather forecasts as I am spending most of this week off piste (well a large part of it anyway). Had some important emails to get out as well and yet more seasonnaire stuff to get on top off (when will it ever end).

Anyway I have another couple of hours work on our little chalet business accounts to do tonight so I really must crack on.

The forecast for more Foehn winds coming through and perhaps some snow - but no snow so far down here in town although there could be some up top. I think we will have another few days of up and down weather and perhaps by Wednesday it could all calm down..... it is still unseasonably warm out there - what a strange season it is turning out to be.

In local news the British team won the polo last night..... it was 7-7 at full time before (whatever they call it in polo) a penalty shoot out had the British team emerge winners - yay!!!!

You know it makes sense.

Booked my March trip to Val today, YAY!

Very Happy

Have fun off-piste Steve.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Love these reports, keep them coming Steve. Smile

We are out in Val Claret in just over 3 weeks. Have lessons booked with TDC during our time, so may even be seeing you soon!

A snowHead

HoneyBunny and sixspeed - brilliant all round and thanks.

WHAT AN UP AND DOWN WEIRD SORT OF DAY IT WAS

Well it has been a very strange day indeed.... lots of things to report from today.

The weather was a real hit and miss today - there was clouds (no snow really) that just hung about - initially about 2100m in altitude then rose a little to about 2400m and then socked in a fair bit all over this afternoon..... either way I took the decision with day one of the my 6 person off piste group to head over 2700m as I was pretty sure we would break through the cloud and so we did...

It made for decision making somewhat different from normal as classic descent back down into the valleys (unless in trees) a non starter. Anyway my team of 2 slightly older gents including my father in law and his friend, a couple of young lads in their late teens from Australia (did not know each other) and then another couple of guys (again did not know each other) in their early thirties all had a ball of a morning..... we did the normal safety chat (a couple were running late so by the time we got going it was nearly 9.30) and then on slope transceiver chat.

We did a 'lets see how they ski' run off the top of the Madelaine lift and the snow was pretty good and not too wind affected. It was largely wind blown but soft and not too slabby which was great to see. We then did an 'inbounds' Cugnai - to one side of the piste and it was lovely.... this was where my first irritation of the day started....

I was cutting a high track in and making my way across the traverse when an other (from an unmentioned national ski school) ski instructor decided to not only cut UNDER my line which is very dangerous but also in doing so took our fresh tracks - how totally unprofessional and sets a bad precedent!

Anyway the snow was lovely and David had a great splat when he lost one ski mid turn at full speed in the pow and went for a ball of chalk!

Anyway the snow was so good we went up and did the other side of the piste which was even nicer.

We then did some off piste technique to help with off piste skiing and I thought that heading to the Pays Desert would be a good shout........

Lindsay the young 18 year old lad from Perth, Asutralia, follows the line I cut in to the Cugnai bowl.

However when we went on the up and over....

Notice the two (intentionally) triggered slides middle of photo under the bubble lift - there is slab on west facing slopes!

I realised that time was not on our side so I changed tact and went for a 'cautious' Sunny bowl.

Now with the knowledge that stuff was releasing on west facing slopes I took the shallower angles in sunny bowl. We basically skied the guts which had surprisingly few tracks in it - everyone was heading into Grand Vallon and no doubt getting lost in the fog - weird decision by all the hordes IMO!

About 3/4 way down and near the skiers left flank (the snow was awesome in there top to bottom anyway) and near where another mountain professional (no names here) had had an unfortunate accident about 3/4 years ago I was waiting for my group to come down (nicely following the one by one instructions). Anyway GRIPE 2 of the day..... two f&*^ing idiot freerider types come haring down putting in about 2 turns per 1000 yards and cut RIGHT above where I had stopped with some of the group waiting for the others to catch up - EXACTLY where the slide had been triggered on that fateful day those few years ago with us right underneath them...... I shouted at them to get off the steeper part of the slope and stop endangering us and from (a distance of about 50 metres away) got the middle finger as the carried on..... Im sorry but people like that will one day end up in jail for manslaughter when they set a slide off on top of others below them..... GRRRRRR

Anyway some interesting snow down in the Fornet trees and then we jumped on the bus back to town and all arrived back safely but exhausted at about 12.15 so only a few mins late!

I had a quick change into snowboard stuff then it was off to meet my 1pm lesson and the THIRD GRIPE OF THE DAY.

The three lads I was supposed to be teaching this pm basically were all over the shop (apparently altitude sickness) but they did later let on that they were VERY hungover. Anyway they turned up since it had been a late booking last night and had been told to pay cash..... anyway cutting a long story short they no longer wanted the less, they were TOTALLY of differing levels and the COMPLETE beginner had just side slipped all the way down the Solaise red..... they had not had food or anything. So they took lunch and we finally started at 2pm when I said there was no way they could cancel - other bookings had been turned away and they had messed me around anyway as I waited around until 1.30 b4 they showed!!!!!!!!!!

As it turned out the lesson went well and they realised that it had been a great idea to have the lesson after all as I gave the more advanced members of the party things to do on the Village lift as the complete beginner was taken through his paces!!!!!

Alls well that ends well!!!

Anyway I have been in a for a couple of hours now and just about recovered from carrying around ski / snowboarding and off piste gear from the slopes - argh!

So the weather forecast for the next 24 hours is fairly mellow - few clouds and not much else by the looks of things but by Wednesday we should finally see the sun again - hooray!

Off piste all day again tomorrow so shall do some planning now for that!

TTFN

A snowHead

A mixed bag all round

Well it was always going to be a tough call this morning as the cloud that was lurking yesterday got thicker and higher.... but that was where the better snow was anyway. However I thought that doing the Cairn may be a good start as it was the same sort of height and orientation as places where we found some great snow yesterday.... how wrong could I be.

Anyway we headed up the Olympique and immediately the light went poor and flat so I decided on a little warm up (read that as buy myself some time) off piste down the side of the Fontaine Froide piste.... the snow was not too nice but that was mainly because of the flat light.

Anyway I decided to give the Cairn a go and we dived in. I was first in today and cut a line in - the snow was mixed to say the least.

I gave instructions to ski the slope one at a time as it quite exposed in there and just as I was about to go I notice someone coming up behind following my tracks in...... he was an English guy and with some friends by the looks of things - they looked as if they had most of the correct gear..... anyway I told him from about 50 yards away that I was instructing my group to ski it one at a time.... he said that was fine so I set off. By the time my second person was descending he had obviously gotten impatient and decided to pass my group by and take on the slope further on..... anyway he muttered (apparently) that we don't own the slope etc etc and there were a few exchanges of words and before I new it he and his friends that he was obviously unofficially guiding down the slope were all skiing it together putting everyone at risk - IDIOT!. However the lady in this other 'group' did apologise as she came past saying that he was always a little pushy and rude like this. Anyway it all passed without incident thankfully. The snow on the other hand was pretty nasty and the light made things tough!

Next up was the Cugnai and I realised that the cloud was starting to lift and I was sure that we could get some of the first tracks in there and timing was crucial. We arrived at the top and the view was pretty cool as you can see form the picture above.

The snow was AWESOME in there and to be honest as we descend the cloud cover pretty much cleared in front of our eyes and we had a GREAT trip all the way to the bottom in some nice and light powder.

Once again I over-ran by about 15 mins but it was OK. I picked up a few more bags and off piste gear as I had my off piste seasonnaires this afternoon.

After a few mins delay as some of them were late we went through the safety chat etc and got going.... another short delay as one of them had forgotten their lift pass and we got going by about 1.30. A quick tester slope off the Madelaine (one of the my usual tester slopes) followed by an inbounds Cugnai - a couple of classic splats and double ejections and we were ready to dive over the top.

The snow was not quite as good as in the morning but they loved it. Seasonnaires tend to do one route over and over again and certainly do not head out unless the weather is perfect - they are often like habitual animals moving around in cycles grazing the same haunts over and over again. Alas they thought this was the best thing since sliced butter and they did themselves proud - bravo.

By now the clouds had parted as you can see.

I have just carted 5 complete sets of off piste gear back home as I need to store a few sets here - I looked like a pack horse on the bus but I made it home in one piece. About to have a shower and head off out for a yummy dinner with Clares dad. Must dash.

P.S. No local news as such to speak off but the Europa Cup is in town so perhaps some news on that tomorrow.
P.P.S No more snow is forecast for a few more days yet a while!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

A great little journey today for my team of Off Piste Challengers. A little trip to the Lievre Blanc to start us off and the snow was way better than I thought it would be - in fact by the time we got to the bottom we were getting boot deep light pow fresh tracks..... it was a cracking starting to the day. Next up we headed high and quickly to the Pays Desert and it was magic out there - I always love it out there. You can see for miles and miles and you really feel on top of the world. We went out way wide and managed to get some fresh tracks and even more so when I gave the team the option of a 5 minute hike out the bottom to the poma and they said yes we laid a handful of great tracks. In fact the 5 minute walk was a little longer but it didn't matter as everyone was loving it.

There was not enough time to head to the Grand Vallon so we dropped around the shoulder of the Signal and took in the bottom part but after a few hundred metres I got worried that the rocks and tree stumps were going to do someone an injury so we came back to the piste. However everyone was so happy with the few days that they have asked to book another off piste day on Friday - can't wait to show them even more of the great off piste this place has to offer!

Lunch was a relaxing affair and they had the tennis on at Blue Note so I watched that and ate rather too much Tarte Beaufort which was yummy.

This afternoon I have done a couple of jobs at the chalet / caught up on some Sky+ / had a french lesson / sorted out seasonnaires - the last little bit / called a colleague to get the low down on my off piste session tomorrow and now just had some nice dinner.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is for some cloud and perhaps some snow and this should be the case over the next few days but the general trend is for colder temperatures and some wind - how much snow - hmmm who knows!

TTFN

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^ great pics Steve, although that last pitch looks a bit too steep for my liking haha.

I'm tempted to book a morning's off-piste with you at the end of March, just to see if I can improve a bit (if I can afford it!).

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

HoneyBunny - thanks - you'll be disappointed with todays effort though I think! AFA the off piste is concerned - let me know some dates and ill first let you know if Im free or not!

A very mixed bag of weather was on the cards and it was just like it has been a few days back...... annoying fog / snow / cloud and the glimpse of sun. I had the girlfriend of someone from the off piste group and she wanted to conquer her fear and head off piste. Up until now each time she went off piste the conditions were not only tough but her confidence held her back. Anyway the weather played silly bugs and I was not sure I wanted to head too far off piste but I new she would love the ambiance of the Tour du Charvet if I could persuade her.

The weather lifted just enough for us to slip under the ropes at the top of the Grand Pre and head on the tour..... she did SO well and we had a lovely tour even though the snow on the steeper south facing slopes had been a little baked in the sun yesterday afternoon - elsewhere it was nice snow.

We saw the French military doing an exercise skinning up (not sure where from and to exactly but there were plenty of them).

It was a great outing and the smile on her face was worth every moment of encouragement!

After a meeting at lunch to sort out a couple of issues with the afternoons seasonnaires sessions I finally met a group I have had a few problems organising..... and they were lovely. The weather had really moved in and we battled through wind / snow and poor vis but the group have already made some good improvements - onward and upwards for next week!

By the time I got home to a pretty fed up Clare who had to camp out with some neighbours this afternoon as she forgot her house keys, it was snowing (and continues) very hard which bodes well for tomorrow.

In local news I don't know if they managed to run the Europe Cup Downhill today in the weather so not sure what (if) the result was!

For anyone driving anywhere near to Megeve in the Val d'Arly region this weekend then you had better check your route as I hear there was a bad rockslide that has blocked the route!

This reminds me of the problem we had on the Val road a couple of seasons back - hope we don't have the same problem here anytime soon!

A nice chilled evening before another day off piste tomorrow and then seasonnaires in the afternoon..... if it keeps snowing as it is at the moment then we could have one heck of a good pow day tomorrow - if we can see where we are going!

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WINDY, COLD AND LOADED

It had snowed a good 10-15cm all over and after digging my path this morning and hearing lots of blasting going on I new it could be a slow opening this morning.... indeed that is how it turned out.

My off piste group arrived and I was trying to make decisions as to whether to bus it somewhere (as the Olympic and Solaise were not opening soon) or just to wait it out. I think the Olympique had a good 45min delayed opening and the Solaise ended up being the first to open about 9.15am. The queue immediately was massive and we could not get on until about 9.30 even using the ski school line!

Down in the valley there was a stiff breeze and it was -10 or so..... however the massive amount of wind coupled with the snow meant things were going to be interesting. It was blooming cold up top it has to be said. After a quick run under the Datcha lift there was some good snow about. We headed down for a great one on the Super L - the snow was nice. The sides of the Orientation Piste (which was closed) had some good snow on it. I took the opportunity to show the team a plaque releasing as I stood on it so (especially the Australian teen lads) they new what we were dealing with. Anyway we headed up the Pyramid and poma lifts (we were one of the first up there actually) and I decided to give Grand Vallon a go. The wind was not too bad (or so it seemed) but as soon as we dropped in a white up whipped up and its a good thing I know my way around up there. There were some areas that were totally stripped off and others where large berms of wind deposited snow had built up!

Leading the way it was rather interesting to say the least when I hit a berm and double ejected. Anyway we made our way down slowly but safely and to be honest it was a battle and not a battle anyone wanted to repeat anytime soon!

By the time we got down towards the road the slopes get steeper again. I was cutting a slope when I saw cracks up ahead of me so it was a quick about turn..... in fairness there is wind loading on all sorts of different aspects out there and things are once again extremely dangerous!

We pretty much cut back to the piste and headed back to town whilst we were winning as most people were cold and tired but happy with some great turns that we got in!

One of the nicer pitches in the Grand Vallon - we got some lovely fresh tracks in here I promise!

After lunch I had my Friday seasonnaires lot and they did so well... it was cold and windy by they still managed to make it down the Raye black piste which was pretty bumpy and they learnt 360 spins - bravo!

We had some TDC beers in Blue Note after skiing which was nice. We met up with Emma and Roddy (from Pro Snowboarding) and their lovely 3 week old little boy Roaridh - who slept through all the bar chatter and sounds! We have just been to the 4 seasons for a slap up meal and now our friend from Geneva Katie has arrived to stay for the weekend - it is always go, go, go around here!

The forecast for the next few days is for it to be unsettled but at least should be fairly sunny for transfer day tomorrow! Talking of the roads there are some 22000 cars forecast tomorrow to come up the valley to the various resorts around here - eek! However I should be on the way back from the airport nice and early as the incoming flight I am picking up (from South Africa!) gets in about 8.30am.

TTFN

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Sorry a day late again!!!!

Folks I am getting into a bad habit here of posting on Sunday morning what the previous day (Saturday transfer day) was like!

Anyway we woke to a chilly -15 but clear morning yesterday! I was on the road (after dropping Clares dad who is staying for another couple of days at the Toviere hotel) by 6.30 and the drive was very pleasant. No sooner had I arrived but I got a call from our incoming guests who had already arrived..... they were unaware that I was not going to be arriving until about 10am. No sooner had I gotten into the terminal than Clares dads friends asked me why we had set off so early..... I said that it was because I wanted to be certain that we would get to the airport in plenty of time for their 1pm flight...... it then transpired that Clares dad has misinformed me..... their flight was at 4pm not 1pm..... so they had a massively long wait for their flight - whoops! Not sure why they had not mentioned anything to me in advance but there you go!

Anyway I met the new guests, a lovely family from Cape Town who had just flown in - combining a family ski holiday with their attendance at the annual doctors conference. Mum and Dad are both plastic surgeons from CT and one of their mothers had come too to act as nanny on the trip. The two little girls (4 and 6) were so sweet and excited as this was going to be the very first time they had EVER seen snow!

We all packed into the car and off we set for Bourg for them to do a food shop. We made excellent time and the views in the chilly but bright sunny day was stunning! At Super U (since they are here for two weeks staying in our little chalet apartment) they spent a huge amount on food and the car was overflowing with luggage and food when we finally left Bourg.

Just as we were leaving the car park I once again spotted that black London taxi (must have been the same one surely) that I had seen the other week so I took the opportunity to grab a photo...... told you I was not seeing things!

We were unlucky and got stuck behind a very slow moving line of traffic on the way up the hill but made it up finally.

I came in and was immediately informed that I had to change and get ready as we were off out for dinner in an hour...... blimey I had hardly stopped all day. However I made time for a quick bottle of beer and shower before heading to La Vielle Maison down in La Daille and we had a lovely meal with Clares dad, our friend who is staying with us for a couple of days, Katie and her parents and another friend of Clares dad...... it was a thoroughly nice meal!

When my head hit the pillow finally at about 10pm I was straight to sleep! However the storm that was to ravage the night was only just starting....

After all it is free

What a lazy day it has been..... but you can hardly blame me!

We awoke this morning and on opening the curtains it looked as if a war had taken place out there - there was snow everywhere and the wind was ripping around like crazy. There were reports of winds of well over 100kmph up top although it was calming down a little by breakfast time. Most lifts were slow to open / not opening at all. I decided to have a day in front of tv with movies and other bits and bobs and to be honest have not done too much.

Weatherwise it certainly calmed down but I have it on good authority that it was pretty nasty up there and we certainly never saw anything other than greys skies all day long.

Clare went for a short ski with her father and lunch on the mountain and our friend from Geneva has just left so we shall have a nice quiet evening just the two of us - watch a little bit of Ski Sunday and The Jump perhaps!

The clouds are starting to get more intense, the wind picking up a little again and it will be a night of more storms and snow with up to 20cm forecast before brightening up early doors. The next week looks like it will be unsettled to say the least.

Not sure what my movements will be this week lesson wise so it will be full of surprises.

P.S. Obviously not the busiest week as this chalet is all border up for the week!

POWDER ALERT

It has been snowing very heavily all night long and in the early hours of this morning there was quite a lot of wind too....... should think it will be a slow opening up there this morning as there is lots of blasting going on. There is at least 15cm down here so probably much more up there....... 30 mins ago it looked like it was starting to clear up but now the snow has come back in again!

Also I have found two quotes that could send shivers down peoples backs. First is from Wayne Watson of Alpine Experience..... a very well respected Mountain Guide here in the EK.... this is a quote from his blog yesterday:

"(we) saw a young skier set off a small plaque (avalanche) under and beside the Tommeuses chair and he was swept into a hole and buried up to his neck... It was a perfect example of how a little snow can become serious above a hole or embankment and the importance of a good run-out zone." - those holes near the Tommeuse lift have claimed lives in the past - be careful.

Second quote comes from the pistehors.com website and relates to an avalanche neath NOT in the EK area but still in France over the weekend.

"Two skiers, a brother and sister, have been caught by an avalanche on the west side of the Pointe de Rognier in the Belledonne...The sister died later in the University Hospital in Grenoble. The two skiers were descending from the Pointe de Rognier at 2400 meters when they triggered a slab which carried them 400 meters down-slope. The man suffered a serious thigh and knee injury and was unable to come to the aid of his sister. Buried for 45 minutes just 20cm under the snow she was in a state of cardiovascular arrest when the rescue services found her.

The rescue operation involved the PGHM and the Civil Security helicopter from le Versoud and the PGHM from their base in Annecy as well as the fire brigade units from Chambéry. The avalanche risk was 3 (Considerable) at altitude in the range."

Anyway folks think safe out there and have a great day. I am going to wait to see what opens before deciding where and when to go, if at all as I have a fair few things to do today.... whereas Clare is venturing out to teach a 4 and 6 year old!!!!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Interestingly looks like more snow at Brev ! huge amounts on the roofs now and there was pretty much non yesterday

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

A pretty chilled but boring day today. Catching up on some paperwork, having a french lesson and working through some accounting for our TDC seasonnaires program. Had a nice trip to La Daille to have a quick final drink with Clares dad before seeing him off and then a French lesson. Tomorrow will be a busy day as have a full 'Challenges' clinic in the morning and then in the afternoon should be heading off piste with a group of 4 people. As soon as I come off the hill and shower Clare and I have to head to Bourg as we are having dinner down there with some friends of ours which will be nice.

So today the weather really played silly bugs as about mid morning it totally cleared up and the sun came out and in fact for a couple of hours there was not a cloud to be seen..... however by late afternoon it had really clouded over and had started snowing again. Now it has cleared up once again out there and you can see stars - weird!

The weather forecast for the next few days is similar with a few clouds here and there and perhaps some snow.... but the trend this week of seasonally normal cold temperatures although not plunging to the minus 20's we had last year!

Nothing else to report.

snow reports

What a stunning day it was yesterday...... the snow was great, the weather great and everything was in perfect condition. Bar a few idiots heading off piste without any respect for their safety and the safety of others and of course little idea on off piste etiquette it was a great day.

My morning group was mostly comprised of doctors on the doctors conference and after a couple ran late (as they were presenting at the conference) we got going. It is not often we have a full group of 6 people on our clinics - normally we have 3-4 people on our clinics but we NEVER have more than 6 in the group. We worked on some general on piste technique - mainly short turns and the odd tip and drill for each person saw some good changes come through - well done folks. Today we will be heading off piste.

After a VERY quick lunch stop of about 15 mins it was back out to do a private off piste session. I have taught Richie last year as a sort of intro to off piste session and BOY had he gone away and worked hard on what I told him to work on and it showed. Richie was there with 3 of his friends (2 on the board) and we had a GREAT trip down the Charvet...... it was lovely out there and I could not believe how much snow had fallen. We had almost knee deep snow in places - wonderful!

However there is still the constant reminder that the mountains are a dangerous place to be if you do not keep your wits about you.....

This category two slide on the first part of the steep part of the Charvet was caused by a snowboarder track coming in from the left as you look..... this would be enough to kill someone as I estimate the area that slid was about the area of a tennis court!!!!!!!

Anyway we finished off with a descent down the main Super S couloir which was in pretty good condition and then back to the piste!

It was a very quick turnaround when I got in as Clare and I had to head to Bourg..... firstly to pick up some dongle credit for our chalet and then to get to JP and Ingrids for a wonderful dinner party - thanks folks. They have a really sweet apartment down there and it was also lovely to meet their little Jack Russell dog who was very friendly. We had a sort of make your own pancake dinner where you cooked your pancakes with choice of filing .... ham, cheese etc for the main course and then chocolate and all sort of other naughty ingredients for desert - it was a very socialble way of eating..... thanks folks.

It was nearly midnight when we got back home so I headed straight to bed.

Looking out there this morning it looks like a little high cloud but certainly not too bad yet a while although it is supposed to cloud over and start snowing soon...... not much wind and warmer temps than yesterday. Should be another good day off piste!

TTFN

Well what a non stop day it has been. I left the house at 9 to go to our office to pick up off piste gear for my whole group. It was relatively cloudy but no sign of snow early doors and you could see the tops of most of the mountains. Anyway I picked up the gear and everyone arrived eagerly at the meeting point. After a 'taster' in some wind packed and not too nice it has to be said, snow off the side of the genepy piste I noticed the weather was starting to roll in. A couple of people in our group had not done too much off piste / any before so there was some struggling in the conditions and I considered aborting our trip down the Tour du Charvet..... anyway I decided in my head about 51:49 to go for it. We set off and the top section was pretty nice and we got some good technique going with everyone...... the middle section was a bit of a challenge especially as the weather was rolling in but I new the worst of the trip was now behind us! The lower section once again had some great snow and everyone was really starting to enjoy it and get into the swing of things BUT at the same time fatigue was setting in. Alas we made it back into town about 10 mins later than planned at 12.40 with lots of happy but tired faces all round!

Since my next session was starting at 1pm I did not have time to stop for anything other than a loo stop before heading off for round 2. By now the weather had really moved in. It was the same ski / snowboard private 'group' as of yesterday and the plan was to stay quite low as there was very thick cloud and strong winds higher up. We did the L'Avalancher Couloir (view taken of town and the entrance to the couloir in the picture at the top) which was (as usual) good snow but very chopped up and quite bumpy which sapped a lot of energy from the team...... although one of the guys did tell me that he needed freshening up as he had drunk a whole bottle of wine at lunchtime which I thought was a little silly but he didn't seem to have been affected by it too much!

After that we did a nice lap on Super L before heading up and doing a top to bottom of the Laisenant Express and down the Livre Blanc where the snow in particular was amazing!

I was quite happy to get all the sets of off piste gear back to the office at the end of the day as carting 5 sets of gear around is pretty tiring. Ill be totally on piste for the next couple of days so no need for all that stuff. The plan had been to all (TDC Coaches) meet in the Blue Note for a quick drink before heading up to do the memorial torchlite descent.... however I could not find anyone in the pub and I think lots of people had cried off when we saw what the weather was doing..... so 10 minutes later when Clare arrived we both turned straight back around and headed home. Clare has gone for her French lesson and I have just had a nice take-away pizza as I was starving!

So more snow is forecast on and off overnight but I don't think we are going to get too much but the weather system is doing some strange things at the moment so who knows!

You know it makes sense.

Steve Angus, great reports as usual. You sound mad busy!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153761801060416&l=2023877843945423168

A video instead of a photo today..... of my seasonnaires this afternoon!

Well it was one of those days when I wish the weather would just sort itself out. It was cloudy early doors but high cloud. As soon as we got going this morning the cloud was really moving in and getting lower.... there was also a breeze too. I had the final day of the clinic and I decided we would split the time between some moguls technique brush up and some carving work. Anyway the light was very flat and to be honest it was tough going but we made the most of the conditions. There was some lightbulb moments which is always satisfying and showing the video to the clients in the train rouge allowed everyone to really see what I was talking about in terms of their technique but there are always lots of eyes from other members of the public straining to see and hear what is been said when I do video feedback in a public place like that (understandably).

Anyway for the third day in a row I did not get back to the meeting point until 12.45 so once again there was only time to visit the loo and eat my sandwich at the meeting point before all the seasonnaires started showing up for their session.

The light and conditions were getting worse and worse as the day was progressing so I decided to make it a maximum ski and minimum chat afternoon. However everyone was keen to work on their carving and again I think everyone made some progress. Showing the video in the Marmottes restaurant gave everyone a chance to warm up.

This evening has mostly revolved around watching some tv on catch up and watching the baby kicking like crazy.... Clare thinks that it must have really grown in size and strength in the last few days as you can see lots of movements now - how exciting!

Anyway I hope the link above works so you can see some of the good work by some of the seasonnaires this afternoon - some of whom did not even know what carving was at the start of the session - so well done one and all!

The weather is calling for possibly some snow overnight (not too much) and certainly some cloud but by mid-morning it should start to brighten up and I think we will get 24 hours or nicer weather before it comes back in on Saturday.... but thankfully I don't need to drive on Saturday this week - yippee!

A snowHead

Jake felt pretty stupid for having had that much wine about 10 seconds after drinking it! Though, it looked like it didn't affect him at all.

Thanks for a great couple of days Steve. Jake, Tom, Tristan and I really enjoyed Tuesday but it's safe to say you broke us on Wednesday! That was pretty challenging but showed us all how much more we have to learn and do. I think the boys (and maybe some others) will make this an annual trip. Needless to say, we will have you for more off-piste next year too.

After some Long rests, no wine and lots of Ibuprofen later, we headed out today still feeling a bit broken and headed across to Tignes. A long, early coffee break meant we caught some good weather and managed to ski the rest of the day with not too much trouble. It never ceases to amaze me how much easier all piste skiing is after a day of reasonably challenging off-piste.

See you in the morning! Very Happy

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Hey Steve
thanks for making the effort to post your days on the snow, I really enjoy them & it makes the wait so much more exciting.....only 14 days to go, who's counting?

Seriously though you appear to be living the life with Clare in Val D'Isere & your baby will have an awesome experience being brought up in the mountains, stay there & enjoy as long as you can, I can't see any advantage in coming back to the UK

BTW perhaps you should try & look after/spoil Clare, it's got to be tough for her especially with the altitude, us guys have it easy Very Happy

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Whoops forgot to post last night after a few beers at the Blue Note, a long lay in this morning, some emergency DIY at our chalet this am and then watching a film with Clare just now!

So yesterday was a glorious day. I had Rishie, Jake and Tom on their skis this morning and some on piste technique. We discussed what they wanted from the session and general piste technique, some carving as well as moguls all featured in the list of things they wanted to cover. We started off with some short turns and the boys really responded to some work on lateral separation and a coupe of little stance issues to sort out. As we were doing our short turns the BASI Level 4 lot were doing their short turns on the Face and it was great to see some good skiing going on as well as acting as a good bit of inspiration for my lesson!

We went on to work on some carving and all three of them were able to get some good edge control our the end of the arcs on the Face which is very rare for me to see in people I teach - so well done boys! On a couple of occasions most of the arc was carved on the Face which was especially good to see. We spent most of the carving part of the lesson working on the Fontaine Froid and there was really good changes made!

We headed to Tommeuse for some moguls work and again it was great being able to ski the bumps right form the top and develop some high level performance - well done boys. At the end of the three hours I think everyone was ready for a break!

The boys at the end of the session on the Tommeuse bumps - see you next time boys!

After a short lunch stop like the rest of the week..... loo and a rushed sandwich on the side of the piste, all my seasonnaires turned up eager to to make the most of the wonderful weather. I decided to head the Fornet way as I new most of them would not have been that way (most seasonnaires spend most of the time heading Bellevarde / Tignes way) and that it would be quieter (as it usually is) up that way. Anyway the theme of the afternoons session was carving and for most of them it was the very first time they had ever tried it. The Moraine piste was a perfect location to work on carving with them - wide and relatively flat and a quick turnaround time. Despite it being lovely and sunny it was relatively chilly so we stopped half way through to watch the video I had taken of them carving. Video is such a powerful teaching tool and when they saw themselves on camera they could better understand what I was talking about in terms of technique...... as usual (and with most most people I teach) most of the changes that needed to be made was to posture! Posture, stance and dynamic balance are the underlying factors that improve more skiers most of the time!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153767588190416&l=2593403931521406717
Not bad for only a few weeks (typically) of skiing experience for these seasonnaires.

Trick of the day yesterday for them was ollies and nollies which are fought tricks to learn but so very good for fore and aft balance development which they will use further on down their skiing careers!

I popped home to change and then Clare and I headed straight to the Blue Note for a few drinks. It was mainly to catch up with the L4 candidates (5 / 25 passed) and some colleagues! By 8pm we were still there and if we had stayed any longer then I think it would have been a very late night so we decided to head home.

michaelbury17 - I bought her dinner last night - is that spoiling her enough? Very Happy

Anyway this morning saw a long lay in and then Clare and I headed up the chalet - Clare did the weekly sheet change and general clean up whilst I did a handful of maintenance and DIY tasks that needed doing..... there was a broken loo seat that needed fixing, a broken shelf, a loose piece of skirting board...... anyway by lunchtime we had finished and headed home, made ourselves some lunch and then watched a movie. Clare has now gone to the gym as I watch the 6 nations.

Don't think there will be much to report tonight in my update but there you go..... back teaching tomorrow!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

ITS SNOWING!

Has been snowing steadily all afternoon and should be on and off all night before clearing late tomorrow.... however I don't think we will be seeing much of the sun over then next few days!!!! It remains quite warm (relatively) and some wind about. My guess is that the Fornet will get quite a lot of snow (if the wind does not whip it all away) over the next couple of days - we shall see!

Not much else happening this end....... watching the two rugby games this pm and hoping that England can turn it around.

Another plug whilst I remember that we are selling our little place here in Val if anyone is interested. 1 bedroom (but with 2 x double beds built into the walls), 5 mins on the free bus (from outside the front door) to the slopes. Fully renovated only a few seasons back. 25m2.... looks like...

SORRY FOR THE BLATANT PLUG but hey may as well mention it again. If we don't sell it this season then we shall be letting it out for the whole season next year as we look for buyer. PM me for more details!

TTFN

You'll need to Register first of course.

Ha ha I am sure that Clare would have appreciated dinner, the rugby this afternoon was fantastic, I thought we had it nailed....not to be in the end but the guys certainly came back in the second half nothing to be ashamed about, fine game. Lets ee what happens in the next round!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I would so love a litttle place like that in Val. If I won the lottery, it's exactly what I'd buy! Wouid give anything for a place to stay for a few weeks/months of the season.

After all it is free

Back in Val and just had our first day on the slopes. Apart from the the patchy low cloud, you couldn't ask for better. The snow was perfect. How I love this place.

Looking forward to our lesson with you tomorrow morning Steve.

Well it was a lazy morning - some washing, some cricket to watch and had to get ready for my afternoon lesson but generally quite slow morning. It had snowed about 10cm overnight down in town and it looked like the whole mountain had a good smattering of snow on it. In fact it has snowed VERY lightly all day and should continue like that most of the night. The weather forecast for the next few days is fairly mixed with a little bit of everything but certainly not settled and sunny - so who knows how much snow we will or will not get!

At lunchtime I headed to the nursery slopes to meet Kieran my colleague - we were both booked on a beginner lesson. Kieran had the mother and I had the two kids..... 8 and 5 and they were mighty different siblings at that. Needless to say it was a tough lesson but we battled through the three hours with a hot chocolate break or two!

Whilst I was making my way to the meeting point I happened to notice the 'come on holiday and leave all common sense behind us' mentality of some people...

Sitting in the middle of the piste - not clever and secondly walking (especially en-mass) on the piste.... ill never know how some people get by in the real world sometime!!!!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Steve Angus, does the estate agent you are using have the apartment on the web. We are planning on coming to the alps in the summer to look at property. I think val will be well out of our budget Sad

Help!!

The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

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