Idiom: Ringside seat
Idiom Definitions for 'Ringside seat'
If you have a ringside seat, you can observe something from a very close and clear position.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
blytht - quite - thanks..... just happened to be in a position to observe a very skilful evacuation by the pisteurs basically.
lynnecha - glad you like.
kitenski - BUCKETLIST - you are having a laugh at that age surely! As long as people want to do it, there is physically snow and its safe then you can do the heli ski well into May yes!
What a lovely day.....
It started strangely as it clouded over pretty early doors and we all thought that we were due the change in the weather that was supposed to come our way (and will surely come tomorrow anyway).... but for some reason having clouded over it promptly brightened up at lunchtime and it turned into a lovely afternoon weatherise!
So I met at the chalet and the plan was to take John for an hour then swap and have his wife for an hour and a half until lunchtime and then see what the plan was for the afternoon. It was unsurprisingly firm underfoot for the first hour so we took the Olympique up and skied the blues all the way down to La Daille including the lower part of the OK Orange which was his first red run. Working on a little rotational and lateral separation there were some positive developments. The next element I would like to add into his skiing will be the use of poles but I have hesitated up until now as I think he could be the type of student that could get rather confused when thinking about the use of the arms! Tomorrow I shall add it in - fingers crossed it is a success!
At 10.20 (we were a little late back) I met Fi and we headed over to the Savonnettes lift pronto! She was feeling really nervous as when she last skied two years ago she took a fall and damaged her knee. Since then she has had reconstructive ACL surgery and is back on the mend.... however that does not stop her feeling anxious.
So it was an hour and a half (until she decided that she was ready for lunch and wanted to head back to the chalet and get her shoes on and dump the skis / boots) of softly, softly, steady, steady, little by little confidence building with her and she really did well. We made it half way up the Savonettes by the end and I think she is keen for another session, perhaps tomorrow. This is in stark comparison to the feared tears and loathing she said she thought she was going to have after 2 minutes!
Lunch was taken in the Sun Bar and then all the remaining skiers in the afternoon headed up the Grand Motte where the snow was absolutely lovely! Getting back we certainly came across some soft snow but John did SO very well all in all today..... in fact all the reds I threw at him today he skied very well down which was great to see.
We all had a beer on the sun terrace at Les Tufs as the sun set and then when I get home (I am a lucky lad) Clare had dinner of Fajitas ready on the table for me.
More of the same tomorrow but here are a couple more pics (including all the team I was skiing with this afternoon at the top of the Motte).
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?
A grey and miserable day in the mountains!
It really felt like a nasty day in the centre of a city like London today! We woke to a grey sky with a slight breeze in town but with temperatures well above freezing. The visibility was not too bad which was one thing!
Anyway I had John once again this morning and I added the last element into his skiing - pole planting. He has now learnt all the fundamentals that he will need to develop into a really good skier..... it will now all be about mileage and disciplined practice but measured at the same time. Over time as he ventures onto ever so slightly harder slopes he will develop the skills and tools to cope with patches that are icier / bumpier / steeper, BUT all the fundamental building blocks are now there and it is really pleasing to see a skier with a complete set of foundation skills which are lacking in most recreational skiers which holds them back from further development! He even took on his first steeper pitch / black run in the form of Piste L (the steep blue down from the top of Solaise) and then the Combe Martin black near the bottom of Solaise...... his aim is to ski the Plan M red run down from the top of Solaise - tomorrow hopefully John!
The snow down lower never had a chance to freeze over night due to the clouds insulating effect last night which meant that it was soft from the outset.... whereas on the other hand slopes higher up did freeze hard overnight and without the sun never really softened at all.... so it was always going to be an interesting day snow wise!!!! On top of that there was a strong Lombard / Foehn wind blowing at altitude over from Italy which meant it was a very stiff breeze so actually felt quite chilly even though the wind as such was not a 'cold' wind! The wind was strong enough to affect some lifts e.g. the Leissieries Express (aka up and over / scare chair!).
Lunch was a nice pic-nic affair in their chalet which was nice.
in the afternoon I took the two grand children out for a top up lesson (they are having group lessons with Oxygene this week) accompanied by their mother and the nanny and they did so well. They are in a group lesson in the morning and they have the problem in that they are at the top of the class ability wise therefore their instructor (quite rightly IMO) cannot take them up the mountain to ski, especially on a day like today! However in a private lesson environment such as this (and with the extra pairs of adult hands) I was able to take them up and ski the Terrace and Lac lifts / runs with them. They are cute pair of brothers (4 and 5) and they get on well together so we had a lot of fun.
Right at the end of the lesson, which put a real downer on things, one of them took a tumble whilst we were walking back to their chalet (the adults were carrying all the skis etc and they were charged with carrying with their own poles). Anyway he took a real pearler and fell hard and flat onto his face and smacked it big time. I ended up taking the mum and dad and him to the English Medical Centre as I should think he has broken his nose.... poor little thing!!!! Fingers crossed I heard some good news in the morning!
Have just watched the semi finals of the cricket and had some diner and that is about all for today folks!
I am looking forward to the end of work tomorrow as most of our ski school (along with a few selected friends and WAGS etc) are all off out for a night out and meal together..... really a last chance for us all to get together before we all start going our separate ways now the season is starting to wind down (well over the next couple of weeks anyway). And then on Saturday Clare and I are having a whole day together, just the two of us, before I drop her off at the station for her train home and then it will be about 4 weeks until I see her a good couple of weeks before the baby arrives!
Sorry for writing this on the Saturday but yesterday was all a little bit of a blur!
The weather was much better than anticipated and not only had it cleared up a little but the wind had died down! There had not been a freeze overnight which was good in some ways - mainly the fact that Fi, whom I had first up would be skiing the Savonnettes on nicer, softer and more forgiving snow first thing.
I arrived at the chalet as usual and was greeted with some good news... little Wilf had NOT broken his nose yesterday - just badly bruised it - thank goodness!
Anyway Fi did really well in the first hour - making it all the way to the top of the Savonnette slope before deciding that she had made enough of a journey back into the world of skiing for this trip and heading back to the rental shop..... however mission accomplished - she wants to ski again!
So with a lunch date at the Folie Douce in the diary for about 12.30 John and I headed up. As he really has an aversion to softer and slushier snow and also as he was not feeling 100% on his A game today I decided that heading to the Val d'Isere glacier and in particular the Moraine red run would be the best bet.... so off we went via the Solaise and the up and over! However no sooner had we arrived at the top of the Val glacier but I think a combination of a small breakfast, too much caffeine, the altitude and end of week fatigue etc meant that he started to feel really under the weather.... so much so that we had to stop and have a glass of water before making the decision not to do the red but instead start the journey back down the mountain, along the complete length of the train rouge bus route and then up the La Daille bubble to the Folie for lunch! Anyway we arrived a little late about 12.45.
Lunch was nice before we ventured out for the afternoons skiing. A few extra family friends had been invited along to ski with us all as a group in the afternoon so 8 of us set off whilst John and Fi (who had come up on the bubble in shoes) decided to stay and party at the Folie for the afternoon! We went en masse for a quick spin over to Tignes Val Claret before a couple of the new family friends decided they wanted to come back towards Val as they were tired so I duly obliged to show them the way home.
I was back home a little earlier than normal which gave me enough time to have a relaxing shower and change before heading to the Blue Note. Clare and I were meeting a friend (Amanda) whose birthday it was an little by little all the TDC 'clan' arrived for pre-dinner drinks! It was nice as virtually everyone including WAGS were present before we all headed off to the Taverne d'Alsace for dinner.
When we arrived we found out that there was not one big table for 20 booked but instead two smaller tables of 10 booked...... which worked quite nicely in the end as the guys went on one 'drinking' table and the girls on the other. It was jolly good fun actually although we all drunk rather too much! I had the most amazing Leek Pie for starter and then Lamb en croute for the main which was awesome.
It was about midnight before we all left the restaurant and I think we managed to clear large chunks of the restaurant out with our noisy conversation and chats etc but a good night was had by all! Anyway it was jolly good fun TerryJamesWalker - who is a colleague of mine!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
So this morning was a little bit of a blur when we woke up but it was luxury as we both slept until nearly 9am - wow!
We went up the apartment to meet our cleaner (who is obviously taking over from Clare for the next few weeks whilst she heads home) and also see the outgoing guests out for their days skiing (I will be dropping them down the valley (with Clare) this evening as they are all on the overnight Eurostar back to London).
Anyway as soon as all that was done Clare and I headed into town to look for somewhere to have a nice brunch.... we settled for the 'special' breakfast at Chevallot which is bread and jams with tea and (in my case) a Pat d'Our croissant..... it was YUMMY. All washed down with a glass of Orange juice. A couple of hours later we staggered around town doing some shopping and then had a cup of coffee outside XV bar. We bumped into a friend (Nick) there who wanted to come look around our apartment as he is looking to buy something here in Val.
Since then Clare and I have been chilling at home. It is just such a pity that it is not nice and sunny out there today as Clare and I could have gone for a long walk and then sat in the Sun!
So in a couple of hours we will be greeting our new guests to the chalet before heading out for an early dinner and then it will be time to head to Bourg and for me to say goodbye to Clare for a few weeks - boo I'm sad!!!!!
Not much else to report at this end. Back to work tomorrow again!
After all it is free
After all it is free
Luvin the pics!
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.
ALQ - ta!
Well yesterday evening was rather sad waving Clare off for a few weeks but she did have a very large bag full of home comforts that she loaded onto the train in Bourg! In fact it was so large that she had to get help to get it on the train!
Anyway it sounds as if she got a little rest and had a nice day in London today with her mum and seeing her brother / wife and their family and having just spoken to her she sounds perky to be back home with her mum for a few weeks!
Back to today....
We awoke to a lovely sunny and warm morning in resort but I had not slept too well so felt more tired than when I went to bed - oh well!
I only worked this morning, with a nice lady from London who in all my years of ski teaching had over-hyped her worries more than I have seen for a while and as it turned out - which was fantastic for us both - she took to it much better than expected. She had had a bad experience in the past but with a little bit of TLC from a colleague of mine from The Snow Centre in Hemel a few weeks back had really picked herself back up. We started slowly on the Savonnette and little by little she moved further up the slope until she made it to the top. She went from having a 'this is my last attempt at this silly sport' attitude all the way through to wanting to do more tomorrow - YAY!
I have spent most of the afternoon watching various sport on TV (cricket, footy, F1 etc) and dozing. However the last 2 hours I have made a mammoth lasagne that I hope will last me a few nights.
And that is about all to report from today from me.
In local news there was a multiple vehicle pile up down in La Daille last night - I think a car came off the road in the early hours and smashed into a few stationary vehicle - anyway I don't think there were any injuries - just a large insurance bill!
And finally a big congratulations to Radio Will who became a father today.... for those who have been to Val over the years and listened to Radio Val regularly you will know whom I am talking about. And whilst we are talking about births another congrats winging its way down to New Zealand to my colleague Colin Tanner who became a father for the second time this morning - another lovely little boy called Rufus! All the family will be back in Val from the start of next season!
OK sleep time!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
The final push
It was a warm and sunny start to the Easter holidays with a light freeze overnight.
There was relatively large amount of chaos (as always) that comes with the start of the school holidays. The various ski schools all had piles of kids and adults to sifted through and sorted into groups / married up with the correct instructor all within that first hour of the day. I was able to watch the comings and goings as my client sorted her kids into the various lessons she had booked for her kids (group lessons - not with TDC as we do not do them). Anyway when she was done and came over to see me she was none too happy as there had been some sort of a mistake and the kids were not in the correct group - or something like that I was not sure what the situation was but all I know was that she took a few minutes to calm down!
In fact it was probably for the best as the light freeze overnight meant that the first hour was always going to be interesting on the nursery slopes!
Anyway she once again did very well indeed and before too long we were ready to head to the Village lift and her very first chairlift ride which she was very nervous about! I have been watching (yesterday and today) in amazement (not the first time I have seen it by any stretch of the imagination) as a British father attempts to teach his three children (perhaps about 5,7 and 9) on the savonettes. Not only have they not gotten very far so far but the youngest is positively lethal on his skis - an 'explosive' crash waiting to happen. What makes it worse is that he is on telemarks so can't demonstrate particularly effectively what to do. Anyway cutting a long story short they have made zero progress in a long period of time!!!!
It was a very warm day up the mountain so I was glad for for lunch and more importantly a water stop by noon.
My afternoon lesson was with a couple of families kids all together. Ranging in age from 8 up to 13 the kids seem to all get on well and one of the mums came along too! They have only ever skied in a small resort in Austria with some fairly tame runs so I think they were a little shocked when they saw some of the greens and blues here. However on the flip side they LOVED the sheer size and variety of terrain here.
We essentially did the green triangle a couple of times and worked on the same old things - standing on the outside ski and pushing the weight forward - ahhh that old chestnut. The kids particularly loved being shown how to ski backwards!
We took the Olympique back down and witnessed on the Face the usual carnage. However there was an additional element of carnage. There are a few ski schools that 'import' instructors from other resorts when their snow melts at this time of the year and get them to work for them! Fine..... however you occasionally get unsuspecting instructors that neither know their way around or the true challenges of some of the runs in the resort, such as the Face! Anyway this particular instructor whom I have never seen before was obviously having a heck of trouble coaxing down some timid adults on the Face whom, from what I could see from a reasonable distance away should never have been anyway near a black run let along a tougher black like that!!!!!
Have chatted to both Clare and my parents this evening and had some more of the monster lasagne from last night! Clare saw the midwife today and all seems well which is good news.
Stay tuned for more tomorrow but the weather may break a little overnight and at the very least it could be cloudy - perhaps even a few drops of rain...... my first day of the season today in my bandana could be the last for a while!!!!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
A day of two halves
The day started overcast but quickly worsened.
I met my client as normal and she had a few more issues to sort with the ski school in question that her sons were having their lessons with! Apparently there had been some unfortunate words used yesterday that had led to some tears.... the problem I think was compounded in that the instructor concerned not only does not normally work for the ski school but in fact has been drafted in especially for this week and does not really know his way around the resort and certainly is not used to dealing with English guests!!!!! I like to think that that is one of the things that makes us (TDC) different in that we personally guarantee all our coaches as knowing the resort and all being trained through exactly the same standards so hopefully the guest experience is always top notch, especially as English is our primary language and ski teaching is our calling in life through and through!
Anyway, sorry went a little off track there!
We got a call from the kids instructor about 9.30 to say that after doing a warm up on the Village lift they had gone to the Olympique where they discovered that one of the kids lift passes was not in his pocket (it turned out that he had dropped it in his chalet in the am!). Anyway cutting a long story short he ended up skiing with us in the am.
By the time we stopped for hot chocolate half way through the session it was really starting to move in (the weather) and was looking rather ominous!
At about 10.30 it started to chuck it down (with rain) which was a little snow higher up. This only got heavier and heavier (not good) so by 11 we were all soaked through so the mum decided to call it a day whilst I was able to take the kid around on laps on the Rogoney lift as he was enjoying skiing with me as I was teaching him some tricks on the nursery slopes as his mum was learning some technique with me!
I was glad when lunchtime came around and I retreated to the Blue Note (so were all the TDC coaches) as we were able to dry out. In fact we raided the lost property bin to put on some dry mid layers etc!
The afternoon was different as I had the same kids as yesterday (without the mum today) and we headed up the Olympique again. The weather pretty much improved straight away and after about an hour up there this was a typical view from a chairlift (photo courtesy of my colleague Lena).
I was glad to get home and get the cold and damp cloths off and have a warm shower before we all (TDC) met up in town for a meeting to discuss some plans for next season.
In other news there was an earthquake (yes you did read that correctly) further south in the French alps last night but apart from some minor damage (there) nothing serious happened. I would have felt it if I had been awake but I totally slept through it!
We have a welcome return (it was only one day) to sunshine tomorrow and there shall be a heavy freeze tonight which coupled with this little (5-10cm) fresh snow that fell today will make for some wonderful conditions in the morning. I would still hesitate to go anywhere near the off piste tomorrow though as the snow will be dodgy (in terms of safety and enjoyment).
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.
Well everyone else is at it.... so thought I would open with a selfie today!!!!!! and a picture with a view!!!
Well it was a strange mix of a day really!
There had been a hard freeze overnight and there were some very icy patches on the walk to the meeting point from the Bananas restaurant and lots of people were falling over like crazy as I sat on the fence near their waiting for Suzie. Anyway with her kids sorted we conversed and decided that we would head straight up the Solaise as the Village would be just too firm for an hour or two and I wanted to make the most of the lovely weather and our last session together!
Anyway we managed to do about 4 laps on the Terrace lift up there (the poma / button lift). The snow was firm in places but not too bad - the worst thing about it was the camber end to the slope as you arrive at the Poma where there were lots of 'death cookies' but she coped very well with them! Going up and down on the Solaise was a little stressful for her but she coped really well!
Later in the lesson we decided to take the lift back down as not only would the Village lift area have softened up but I wanted to prove to her and she wanted to prove to herself how easy the Village lift now seemed and then the cream de la creme finale to the series of lessons..... could she (would she have the courage) to lead me down the Village lift. If she would be able to then it would mean that mentally she had come along way and that she would be able to lap around by herself and also show her husband how well she could ski...... and she did not let herself down - well done Suzie.
Looking forward to skiing with you next Spring!.... and my colleagues look forward to welcoming the rest of the family into our lessons!
Whilst we were lapping around on the Village I once again noticed the father (and mother - but to a much lesser extent) that have been attempting to teach their (I am guessing they are their 3) children to ski all this week. Ill give them (the parents) a nod for tenacity but not for either doing things by the book, well, or safely. The poor kids have spent most of the time crying (and they are not that young by the looks of things) as the dad (who was on telemarks for some reason) was trying to show them alpine technique! Anyway it was a complete mess to be honest with you and a series of car crashes waiting to happen. One time Suzie and I came down the Village run we intentionally had to wait a while as they were standing (well the kids were in various piles) right in the middle of the path everyone needs to take and blocking it up totally. Later on we witnessed the eldest kid totally lose control (she could barely stop let alone turn anyway) which was not surprisingly and fly off at full speed down from the top of the Village lift - the kid was still moving at full speed as she disappeared off down the lower couple of rollers towards the Village lift so I guess the only way she stopped was in a large explosion of equipment.... poor thing! Anyway there is nothing really you can say although you really want to. I would be pretty certain that the three kids are unlikely to ever want to come skiing again..... I have seen similar things before with both French and in this case British parents so it is certainly not an isolated case!
The afternoon lesson was rather different. For some reason they had their timings wrong so were nearly an hour late.... whoops!
Whilst I was standing at our meeting point I was recollecting something that I have been mulling over for some time now. Essentially people take lessons to get better.... but then essentially spend all their time ignoring what they learnt as they try and copy what they think is good skiing. Sometimes people seem to go out of their way to ski badly without even realising it. For example the first thing you learn in ski school is the idea of posture, flexed ankle, knee and hip joint..... the main fundamental! However many people (without even really realising) stand REALLY REALLY tall on their skis, straight all the joints and basically lean back as a result..... and they do this on easier slopes - fine.... but then they wonder why they cannot ski well when the going gets together on steeper slopes....... well why not just stick with good posture as taught on day one and then you will never need to re-learn it! I know that is all a simplistic approach to it but it does make me wonder!
Anyway the afternoon lesson was good fun as I had three teenagers who could ski pretty well and were keen to improve their race technique. So we looped around on the stade and they improved on their times progressively and I had to throw in some tough drills to keep them moving forward but they responded well!
The SCARA (it is essentially a major and unofficial junior world championships that happens each Spring at this time) was in full swing this afternoon on the OK Orange and I think the kids enjoyed watching the racing as we went over on the Marmottes lift. On the flip side of this competitive work the Folie was in full swing as it was chalet girl afternoon off and their had been a fun race around the resort for them (like a scavenger hunt with cryptic clues) so there was lots of partying going on.
I was impressed on the way home as I saw lots of the teenage racers that are taking part in the SCARA jogging around town - even as 11/12/13 year old kids this is their moment to shine and start their journey towards the Winter Olympics.... some very famous people have won the SCARA in previous years e.g. Michaela Schifferin and Anja Pearson!
Anyway not much else to report today! Back with the same race kids in the am and the other kids in the afternoon tomorrow that I have had the previous few afternoons and the weather should be the same as today!
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Blimey that selfie was a bit of a shocker. I was expecting another lovely landscape shot.
Steve Angus wrote:
Whilst I was standing at our meeting point I was recollecting something that I have been mulling over for some time now. Essentially people take lessons to get better.... but then essentially spend all their time ignoring what they learnt as they try and copy what they think is good skiing. Sometimes people seem to go out of their way to ski badly without even realising it. For example the first thing you learn in ski school is the idea of posture, flexed ankle, knee and hip joint..... the main fundamental! However many people (without even really realising) stand REALLY REALLY tall on their skis, straight all the joints and basically lean back as a result..... and they do this on easier slopes - fine.... but then they wonder why they cannot ski well when the going gets together on steeper slopes....... well why not just stick with good posture as taught on day one and then you will never need to re-learn it! I know that is all a simplistic approach to it but it does make me wonder!
So true. The biggest hindrance to my (and many others) improvement was not practicing properly and forming good habits. When I got back into skiing, my lessons with Gavin were every other day in order to give me time to practice what I had learned. The bigger problem is that folks don't appreciate the importance of the fundamentals; they want to ski blacks/moguls/powder/carve etc ASAP. This is an area where instructors really need to drill it into the client for their own good (seriously, we learners don't have a clue!!).
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
ALQ wrote:
Blimey that selfie was a bit of a shocker. I was expecting another lovely landscape shot.
Thanks ever so much!!!!!! Ha ha
ALQ wrote:
The bigger problem is that folks don't appreciate the importance of the fundamentals; they want to ski blacks/moguls/powder/carve etc ASAP. This is an area where instructors really need to drill it into the client for their own good (seriously, we learners don't have a clue!!).
You have really hit the nail on the head there. I REALLY wish I knew of a way of informing people better.... I just try and pick out members of the public whom the client think is a good skier and analyse problems with that persons skiing so that my client can understand that what they see is not necessarily good skiing. I also like to remind people that for every 'step' up the proficiency ladder the amount of time, effort and money increases almost exponentially...... anyway I could go on for hours about this as it is so endemic and problematic throughout the whole industry. The VERY best way of seeing (even to an untrained eye) as to whether someone is really skiing better than another is to look at turn shape.... an 'S' shape turn (no matter what the slope etc) where the tail of the ski follows the tip around the arc is a sign that the skier must be doing something well! 'Z' shapes or skidding the back of the ski around or allowing every increasing speed to pick up turn by turn, followed by a 'controlling' skid is a sure fire sign of things that need improving!
Anyway BACK TO TODAY
It was another lovely sunny day in Val d'Isere.....
I had the same kids as I had yesterday afternoon and after a warm up on the Fontaine Froid we headed straight to the stade and worked on their race technique! They looped around several times working on their racing and the times got steadily better - well done kids.
On the way up on the Marmottes lift, over the Orange and the SCARA race we just happened to pass overhead (it was Super G today) when one of the kids took a big tumble, let out a scream and was clasping (her I think it was) her thigh - oh dear it did not look good poor thing!
The afternoon was spent with the kids that I had on Monday and Tuesday afternoon (and have them again tomorrow afternoon). They are really getting stuck into their skiing this week and are improving fast..... they loved the 'spray steve' contest whereby they focus on parallel stops whereby they spray snow in the air and thus encouraging parallel turns. They also enjoyed their runs through the park and 'crocodile valley.'
Not much else to report today! Spoke to Clare - she has been buying lots of kids clothes today - arghh!
One more day of work and then its the weekend - more sun is forecast.
I am looking forward to skiing with 'secret agent Joe' next week - you know who you are. Bring lots of suncream, bags of energy and be ready to win plenty of top skier awards!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
That Friday feeling
I don't normally really notice Fridays and certainly not a Friday feeling but I have really had that feeling all day today!
I had a one off lesson this morning with a husband and wife and the father of the woman. It turned out that he was no 'normal' human being but an Olympian. I don't mention names in my blog normally unless I have permission to use their name and in this case I did not even ask if I could mention them by name in my blog..... which is fine. However all I will say is that he is a multi British high jump Olympian and has taken part in Commonwealth games and IAAF championships etc. Anyway he retired a few years back and is now a school PE teacher (also it turned out he got married on the same day as Clare and I!).
He has only been skiing about 3 years (and already enjoys things such as skinning and touring) and his wife and father in law are all pretty solid skiers. Anyway it was a very enjoyable morning working on short turns (we looped around on the Fontaine Froide as it is such a good piste to work on technique and at this time of year softens up nice and quickly). We then headed onto the Face to put everything into practice and then in the last hour of the lesson we worked on carving. All in all there were some MAJOR improvements to all three of their skiing which was great to ski.... in fact he was buzzing with excitement with some of the new things he learned this morning..... it was a most satisfying morning!
The afternoon was my final afternoon with the 5 kids and I decided we would go in a totally different direction to where we had been the last few afternoons and headed towards the Solaise and then Fornet end of town..... we all enjoyed an end of week blast around! We took the cable car back down and then bus back into town!
I have just had a couple of beers outside on the terrace with some colleagues from New Gen ski school which was nice as the sun set behind the mountain and then a few of us from TDC are heading to Victors in town for dinner which will be nice.... must go grab a shower actually so will sign off here. Don't think I am teaching tomorrow morning (our planner is off line at the moment so can't check right at the moment) but have to be up early to see off our outgoing guests at 8am. However there is also lots of interesting golf to watch on tv tonight so not sure how awake I will be in the morning - hee hee.
Just time for a couple of pictures:
A friend took a walk down to the dammed lake and in particular the old village of Tignes - you can actually walk inside some of the old buildings down there that are generally totally silted up and so look like piles of rubble but are rather larger when you get closer down there. Thanks to Wilkey for this pic!
North facing versus south facing slopes - one really suffers from the effects of the sun!
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Fabulous pic of the old village Steve, would love to see more.
Sounds like you're enjoying some great snow and warm weather. All the best to Clare!
Here's a pic of the dam how I'm used to seeing it!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
message received "agent angus" . project iceaxe to start Tuesday.
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?
An alternative day
We all had a lovely evening last night at Victors. Such good value for money in there. I had a burger and about half a bottle of red and including the tip it was only €25 a head..... the food was jolly good too! Everyones food looked lovely actually!
This morning was an early start as I had to be up at the chalet nice and early to see the departing guests off. It was a lovely and sunny morning so I am sure their drive (with their 6 year old will not have been too bad). Then the cleaner arrived in perfect time so I was able to head back to bed for a couple of hours as indeed I was not teaching.... in fact I had the whole day off in the end!
I had a Sky+ catch up session and then made a nice lunch. I even impressed myself with my cooking skills as I found a recipe to make creamy leeks as the leeks in the fridge were looking very sorry for themselves and I wanted to cook them before they went right off...... so they are now ready to be re-heated for dinner now with another slice of the yummy lasagne I made last week!
In the afternoon a few clouds had started to roll in but nothing too serious! Our new guests arrived in good time (two self driving guests one week after the other - luxury as it meant I did not have to do any sort of a transfer) and I showed them in and helped orientate them and explain how things worked e.g. where the rental shop is etc. They have NEVER been to the mountains before so both mother and daughter (and their lovely little dog) settled in nicely and are all excited for tomorrow as I have a lesson with them tomorrow (and Monday) morning. They did the sensible thing and had a series of lessons at Hemel before coming out here so are ready to make the most of their first ski holiday!
I decided (based on the positive experience and stories I heard from yesterday) to take a walk down to the old Tignes Village myself. The clouds were thickening so I wrapped up well just in case.
WOW it is not only a long way down there and the whole 'bowl' is massive (I have been down in the area once before but not quite all the way down to where the old village is) but the old Tignes is rather spooky. Here are a selection of photos to share with you all (I took loads so these are the best few).:
The 'gorge' that leads up towards La Daille.... normally totally under the water so this gorge doesn't really look much from above!
Long way up to the road (into Val) from down here.
There was a surprisingly large number of people down there 'visiting' / paying homage or whatever they were thinking!
Old Tignes and new Tignes! I reckoned that this (on the left) was a the collapsed church spire)
Rather silted up ehh!!!
The old bridge into Tignes (or more precisely out of Tignes that would eventually - if you followed the road for long enough, take you into Val!)
Amazing what still stands under that weight of water!
Still in situ trough for the cows!
Great view of the heli ski route we do.... from Mickeys Ears (top right) to the furthermost left and lower section of the photo where the heli picks you up - about 800m vertical
The wall really does stand proud here - almost in defiance against the dam!
Inside one of the many houses you can peer inside.... still not dried out enough to walk inside otherwise you would get well and truly bogged down!
The front door is still in place - incredible!
To put it into some sort of scale - you can just see (right hand end of the dam as you look) a coach just venturing onto the road to cross over towards the Tignes side!
The bridge you can sometimes see in a 'normal' year when the reservoir water level is naturally lowered... From the Val direction you have to walk across this bridge... which is the old road into / out of Val from long before when the dam was built. Again looks quite small from the road above but if you look closely at this picture you an just about see a couple of people walking across it - i reckon it had a span of at least 50 yards!
Look carefully right in the middle of the picture and you will see the remains of a car that came off the road (a LONG way up) and now resides in that new abode! Not sure 'which' crash this was as there have been a few over the years and I had run out of energy to walk closer to it.
The spooky inside of a house - almost looks like there are still shelf struts on the wall doesn't it!
HoneyBunny - enough pics for your liking?
Anyway all in all driving from Val to the carpark near the 'Lady of the Lake' and walking down, taking photos and back out again and back to town was a jolly good way to spend 3 hours or so although I am quite knackered now.
Finally on the subject of the dam I found out last night from a friend that apparently when they were considering building the dam they considered building it across the current gorge that you go through just before you enter La Daille. That would have meant that Val and not Tignes would have been under the water...... wow!
Anyway FA Cup then some golf viewing is the agenda this evening washed down with some beers before back to the grindstone tomorrow morning - can't believe it will be the last week of teaching for this season..... and only 5 weeks until the due date now!
Steve Angus, thanks for posting the scale is awesome. Quite incredible that the bridges survive
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Steve Angus, why is the reservoir so low? Has it been done on ourpose or is that because it hadn't been a wet winter?
After all it is free
After all it is free
Hi Steve; do they still publish when they will fully empty? I've probably skied in Tignes / Val 20 times over the last 30 years and have been meaning to match up a trip with it being empty as I would like to have a walk down and have a look around and finish some business for an old friend.
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.
Incredible photos Steve. Thanks for sharing. Really interesting to see the scale and the way thisngs get presereved (the wooden door photo). We have 5 days skiing starting Easter Sunday and I am tempted to sacrifice one to go and explore. Do you just wander down there or is there a set path to follow?
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
No worries folks - happy to post interesting photos!
Ricklovesthepowder - the water level is always lower at this time of the year in anticipation of the Spring snow melt..... and it is at capacity at the start of the Winter as everyone prepares for the needs in terms of water supply for all the holiday makers over the Winter!
scooby_simon - well when the dam was originally built it was only supposed to last some 50-70 years which is around about now. So every 10 years they empty the water down to do the normal dam wall checks and structural work.... however my understanding was that last year when they did it and coupled with the 'life' of the dam is coming to its planned end (hence lots of ongoing maintenance is needed to keep it up to scratch) they realised that lots of work needed to be done on the turbines.... hence this Summer (and I am lead to believe next Summer too!) they will be emptying right down to do that work on the turbines too. So if this is correct then perhaps next Spring time would be another chance to go down there..... after that it may be 10 years before another chance comes along. However every Spring the water level is low but perhaps not THIS low!
smagsmith - well I don't know the 'route' from the Tignes side - although there must be a route as there were people coming from that direction for sure. However from the Val direction I just parked off the side of the road near the 'Lady of the Lake' statue and you sort of follow the natural path down..... you can cut corners off but it pretty steep and loose stones that slip under your feet.... but it is not really tough finding the way down there or back out. If you are coming from the Val side then you have to go across the bridge down there to get across to the old village! When you get down into the 'bottom' then it is pretty flat and easy going and until you are 20 yards away from the water then it was not too muddy at all so a casual stroll really! As far as length of time it takes..... don't suppose you need 'sacrifice' anything more than a nice evening or afternoon. 3 hours (all in) is more than enough time to get there and back even if you had to hitchhike to and from Val / Tignes if needs be so why not set off about 4pm.... you can be back for dinner and not miss any skiing!
A nice pleasant morning
So I took our chalet guests out on a lesson this morning and they loved their first experience of skiing in the mountains. We started on the Savonnettes and built it up little but little. There had not been a freeze overnight which made things nicer for them. Before long we were on the Village and soon after that I was helping them buy their first lift pass and we were up the mountain. It was mainly a confidence and consolidation morning whereby managed mileage led to improvements. By the end of the lesson they were coming down the Madelaine and loving every second of it.
They were not going to ski this afternoon as they have their little 10 year old dog with them and I think the plan was to go for a long walk with her!
I am on shop duty this evening in Intersport where we have our office. As part of our arrangement with Intersport all the TDC coaches (on a rosta and once a season when it is set to be busy / semi-busy) help in the rental fitting area of the shop...... so that shall be me for a couple of hours this evening.
As readers may know from previous postings as instructors we have to carry our 'Carte Professional' which is our French ski instructing qualification paperwork with us at all times on the hill to prove we are legitimate! Anyway it would appear (I am still to get more details) that some British national was arrested on the slopes of Val yesterday / Friday (not sure which day) when controlled by the DDJS. When the person was unable to provide the paperwork necessary the gendarmes who accompany the DDJS arrested the man and he was bailed to appear at Albertville court on the 1st September!
The weather was been a little overcast today but nothing too serious... a light breeze has been blowing but it should be the only 'stinker' of a day this week (if you can call it a stinker today which would be a little unfair).... the rest of the week promises sun and more sun which will be nice for teaching!
Not much else to report! The golf could be interesting this evening!
The clouds cleared momentarily at one point to leave a blue sky but that only lasted about 10 minutes - the rest of the time there was a cloud veil over the whole area!
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Steve Angus, fantastic photos of the bottom of the dam, we do the same in the bottom of the reservoirs near us but not quite as dramatic
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.
There is quite a bit of contradictory information kicking about the resorts (Val, Tignes and Les Arcs). Even some of the numbers on various bits of the EDF website contradict each other! However, these works have been planned for some years and started in 2012 and will not finish until 2016. Its all about modernising a 60 year old system some of which has to be done because of the gradual geological sinking of the land around us. This year the main works are at Les Arcs where they are replacing the 2 pipes that run just to the left of the Les Arcs Funi (looking uphill) - basically the water charges down these pipes into the Malgovert turbine hall where the majority of the electricity is generated. These pipes which are very long needed stabilising as they were coming out of alignment. After this they will replace some of the huge valves that control the flow of water through the system. There is a schematic here (in English as well):
http://energie.edf.com/fichiers/fckeditor/Commun/En_Direct_Centrales/Hydraulique/Centres/Les_Alpes/actualite_technique/documents/EDF_TignesMalgovert_Plaquette-BAT2.pdf
As you can see the mountain is riddled with stuff to do with the system and its huge!
To answer the more practical question from scooby_simon, I have surfed the EDF site and found a press release in French only which says the water in the Lac de Chevril is currently at its lowest achievable level and it will remain so 'for a number of months' - so your guess is as good as mine (dated late Feb). The water has been drained to allow the works to go ahead and I assume its just all going down the river to stop it flooding SuperU in Bourg cos if one of those pipes had gone we wouldn't have needed a car wash
Clearly with all this work going on (and despite some wishful thinking from some of the folk up here......) there is nothing wrong with the dam - last years work was again all to do with technical bits that needed replacing.
Chocksaway (part time skier and dam spotter!!!)
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
chocksaway - thanks for this - very interesting! Yes it anyones guess how long long you will be able to visit the old village by the looks of things!
Sunny and warm - but strange weather systems abound
It was a lovely sunny day in the EK (although a stiff breeze built up this arvo). There had been a strong freeze overnight so I decided to head straight up the mountain with my am clients (same ones as yesterday am). After walking them down the steps by the side of the Olympique it was time to traverse to the start of the Verte run and as usual it was rather carnage across there and especially on the hard frozen snow. Anyway after an educational first run down Verte things softened up nicely and the rest of the green triange was perfect for them. It was nice to be able to give them a couple of routes so they could enjoy their time here in Val this week!
I had a long lunch break as my afternoons this week are probably going to be starting at 1.30 each day! So at 1.30 I met Henry... this will be the second week of afternoons I will have skied with him this season. I really like skiing with Henry he is such a nice little chap and getting better and better at skiing all the time.... bravo Henry!
Being his first ski day of his holidays I did not want to push him too much so just lapped around on the Madelaine and played games with him.... he had a great time!
The big news in town today is that the insurance company insuring the flat where the fire started in the Bellhambra building are challenging the fire services ruling as to what caused the fire..... essentially this will mean that repair work may not start (some €4-5 million is the estimated repair bill) this Summer..... this means that next season there could be lots of seasonnaires still homeless and worse still if the building remains non water tight for another 12 months and perhaps more then the weather damage could be so severe that the whole building may have to be demolished.... eek!
Name this mountain stop?
That's all folks - not terribly interesting today! But I was up late last night watching the golf and want to get an early night in tonight!
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
One of my favourite restaurants. Great views and even better barbeque.
L'Ouillette
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
If only the queue was like this every time I go there!! (I'd go more often )
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
A little colder and chillier than yesterday
The wind made it somewhat chillier today even though the air temp was probably just as warm.... even so I actually put a layer on this morning and am back up to 5 layers (including jacket).... for those who know me well will know that I can be up to 10 layers in the middle of Winter!!!!
It was a rather enjoyably morning skiing with 'Agent Joe' - remember Joe to avoid the land mines by lifting your ski up when you turn and if you can't avoid them all then we need to mine sweep by picking them up and throwing them away! It really was a great morning and I promise to be more 'Agent Angus' than Johnny English tomorrow.
We lapped around on the Verte and then a couple on the Borsat and to be honest with you it is nice when the sun softens the snow up a little as it is really rather firm for the first hour up there especially on south and west facing slopes!
Ohhhh whilst I remember (as I will forget later in my blog no doubt) a big congratulations to Rich (TDC colleague) and Sara (ex off girl and now full time employee of Planks clothing) who got engaged at the weekend - big congratulations!
My afternoon was spent with Henry once again and he really was on form this afternoon. I decided that I wanted to make the most of day 2 with him (before fatigue set in later in the week) and take him to the Val glacier. So it was a day of firsts for him. He did several new blue runs that he had not done before. He also did the up and over lift (which he loved) and skied in the Fornet - we did not quite make it up to the Fornet glacier. He is only just 5 so does ever so well the mileage he does. As soon as it gets slushier and therefore bumpier his little legs get tired and he gets bumped around a lot.... so I stayed as high as possible with him to get good practice in. I just need to get him to come across and complete his turns a little more so that he can get the sensation of parallel legs which in due course will allow him to come parallel more of the time when he is actually turning!
We stopped at the Signal restaurant and got the surprise of our life as there was a wedding taking place on the top outdoor deck area of the restaurant. The bride had just arrived up there and we could see the vows taking place and plenty of merriment taking place. Later on whilst Henry and I were downstairs taking our drinks break a couple of the guests came down to use the loo.... they were dressed to the nine's up top but were wearing ski trousers and boots / snowboard boots..... it was quite a sight as everyone (well most of the people at the wedding) seemed to have come via skiing or snowboarding means! What a great day for it as well. As we left the reception was in full swing.
And that was about all there was to my day... can't believe it is Wednesday already tomorrow..... only three more days left of teaching for me this season and then onto accounts and packing up etc next week - eek!
I heard some sketchy details about an avalanche on the north facing slopes of the Lores at about lunchtime today.... three people had a lucky escape by the sounds of things.... SAF and the PGHM were all involved in the response but I think all concerned got themselves out of the slide thank goodness!
You see Joe - Orange skis are there so that MI5 can spot me from their spy satellites.
Not particularly clear but the wedding was taking place on the top (outdoor) deck of the Signal - the person in the middle of the top of the steps was standing right in the way of a brilliant shot of the bride and groom (she was the photographer!)
Nice snowy pistes - especially ones like this north facing Plan M red down the Solaise!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Steve Angus, LOVE all the pics of the old village, absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing.
I wish I could have gone there myself, but those photos are the next best thing. Very spooky indeed.
The late-season conditions are looking excellent.
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?
Steve Angus, we drove up to ski EK from les Arcs today, and thanks to your pictures I was able to appear very knowlegeable as went past the "lake"! We did stop at The Lady for a few photos, but with time a pressing, didn't go down into the bowl. Great set of records you have there . Thank you.
Could also have done with your local knowledge on which pistes / lifts and at what times were to give us the best experience It wasn't a bad day, but if I'd been on 'home soil' in Arcs, I'd have known where the hard pack and where the slush was going to be before discovering it!
Just a quick shout out to one of our party for preventing what could have been an "incident" ( don't know, would like to see informed comment) . We were downloading on the Funival to La Daille, almost only people on there at 5pm, waiting for it to close the doors.We were right at the front to get the thrill ride experience of looking out the front window. When there was a strange noise - clapping? boot stamping? no.. a small child had dropped one of their skis, and it was clattering down the concrete steps, going faster and faster, heading for the gap between the car and the tunnel. Victoria lent out of the door and by some amazing feat of timing managed to catch the ski about 2 metres before it disappeared down the tunnel.
Anyone any ideas what would have happened if it had gone down? Does this kind of thing happen often? It was certainly travelling at a speed suggesting it would make it to the bottom had it been un-impeeded, but I presume there would be saftey checks and the whole thing would have been stopped for hours. All of us ( plus small person) were very grateful for her speedy actions.
Question: Where is this in the EK? Answer at the bottom.
It was another lovely day in the mountains today. Apart from their being slightly less wind than yesterday it was really a case of dejavu today with the same line up lesson wise in both the am and the pm.
Joe was really excited when I met him for his lesson and we worked on a few new things today.... some flexing and extension and some rotational separation which helps him bring his skis parallel. Great work Joe.... remember you can play with the 'shooting game' to help and also trying to ski nice and 'quietly.'
Arctic Roll - sounds like a strange scenario that could have gone badly wrong.... I have to admit to not really knowing what they would have happened if the ski had entered the tunnel in terms of what they would do.... lets hope it never happens and non of us ever have to experience the 'rescue' and repercussions!
My afternoon was another pleasant one with little Henry... he really is a character as every time we stop to catch our breath he is impatient and wants to get going again. However Crocodile Valley and the 'Fun Run' (what used to be the Acticross run) were to his liking....
If you are still wondering where the picture above was taken then here is another snippet - taken from the same spot but facing in a different direction.... for bonus points which way is this photo pointing towards (N,S,E,W)
There is not really much else to report today.... it will be a busy end to the day tomorrow as I have 3 different people/s coming to look at our little studio here with the view to renting it next season and / or buying so I don't think I will be posting until quite late tomorrow evening..... we shall see.
Weather wise we are in store for another beautiful day tomorrow before there could be a break on Friday and into the weekend which does not look very pleasant - read that as rain / cloud etc possibly - eek!!!!
Ok here comes the answer.................
Answer: On the green Grand Pre piste just as it starts to flatten out and turn the corner towards the right.... I am obviously looking upslope here towards the Charvet mountain!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Warmer than yesterday - but likely to be the end of Spring.... for now!
It was a lovely day in the EK..... the air temperature was about the same as the last couple of days - perhaps warmer... however the lack of a breeze was what really made it feel scorchio!!!!
The morning was spent with Joe and he really skied well today! We were on the Solaise side and most of the greens and blues were tackled with good technique! In fact he skied so well that he has now made it into the Strictly Come Skiing 2014 Finals - which are on tomorrow! Well done Agent Joe!
Whilst we were stopped for a moment on the pitch between the bottom of the Glacier Express and the start of the steep bit down the Piste L and before the turn off to get to the Datcha Express we witnessed a snowboard sans rider heading at break neck speed down the piste in the direction of Piste L...... it was ALREADY flying and hitting little ridges etc and taking air before disappearing down Piste L..... I wonder if it will ever be found.... whether it will be useable again who knows. However the point is that whilst it was not intentional you are essentially letting a uncontrolled missile free run down the piste. Whilst I worked in NZ many years ago I witnessed on a very shallow and fairly short beginner slope a board being let go (accidentally of course) and sliding off..... it hit a little ridge and got airborne and cracked into the leg of a little kid (perhaps 4/5 years old) and I am guessing broke the leg as the kid was eventually carted off to the medical centre for attention and later helicoptered to hospital down the valley in Queenstown........ be careful out there folks (both ends of the 'game').
OK yesterday I showed a photo and gave you the answer lower down.... today the same thing but without the answer - however I think it is a little easier this one... perhaps!
In the afternoon we had an onform Henry. He was full of energy and skied so very well... I was most impressed. He skied his first red run (Moraine on the Val glacier) and he really loved doing Twirly Birds for the first time. He is now coming parallel more often than not on greens and blues but it will take some more time (he is only 5 remember) before he comes parallel on the steeper runs! He was shattered by the time we got back to the meeting point at the end of the lesson mind!
I had two nice encounters with the ESF today. First was when there was a flat section of a green run on the way up to Val glacier.... an ESF instructor came past and gave little Henry a push to keep him going and to stop him from grinding to a halt - how nice. The second encounter was when we were coming down a blue run and an older ESF guy with his group of 3 ladies had stopped on the piste.... in all fairness not in the best position as we had to work hard to get around them (well I had to plan my path carefully so that Henry would not only stay in control but would also not pick up too much speed / take a tumble). Anyway as we came past the ladies were all 'oohhh's' and 'aaahhh's' in response to skiing such a small kid whiz past them making it look easy. The instructor verbally apologised for having his group in a silly place as we went past which was a nice touch!
In local news there was a break in at our beloved Blue Note pub. Lou (the co-owner) is not having the easiest of Winters, what with her flat burning down in the fire earlier this Winter! Anyway I just happened to be the first person in there at lunchtime (TDC are having our lunch in there this season and I am one of the key holders so did the unlocking at lunchtime today). I unlocked and turned the alarm off and coincidentally one of the bar staff came in about 30 seconds behind me and as he came around the corner of the bar noticed the til had been turned out and all the 'larger' notes had been taken. The back emergency door was open. In a nutshell we think the thief came in the back door (broke the lock - not that you would really notice it though). The internal alarm goes off but that in itself is not a problem... used the emergency release to get into the back of the til and empty it.... then the main alarm goes off and does a runner as the front shutter is still firmly down. The automated system (using a non known number) tries to call one of the owners but (Matt) in this case thinks nothing of it - as the number is not a known number on his phone so he thinks it was a wrong number in the middle of the night. Matt ignores the call and the alarm somehow resets itself before I come in at lunchtime and the rest is history! Anyway several €'000 was taken but they are insured apparently. The police came around and found finger prints all over the till and on the bar itself so hopefully someone will be caught soon!
This evening I should have had three viewings of our studio here.... however it turns out that one of the viewings was actually the same person but with another agency so in the end only two viewings but some positive signs so fingers crossed.... certainly in one of the cases I think the person may wish to rent it for next Winter in lieu of it not selling - fingers crossed!
Finally for today I saw this video on Facebook and it made me think how members of the skiing community try to pass the blame thinking they are not really to blame!
On the YouTube page the poster adds the following comments - which I have edited down to take the most important points - without taking out of context I hasten to add.
"I am a relatively good skier and i happen to go down black and red slopes (Expert Slopes) most of the time....we come across a group of slower, less experienced skiers being taught by an instructor....i happen to get cut up by one of the beginner skiers and nearly fall over. I then avoided a second beginner skier... Yes i do understand that skiers in front have right of way but i just got unfortunate when he turned back in my direction quickly as i tried going past. Simple mistake but i had to react in the matter of seconds if you look closely....I'm still unsure what the rage was about but i guess he was just having a bad day or something."
There are a few points here. You can't be that good a skier as you enter a snowplough on a number of occasions when a parallel turn would have been much more controllable.... the run in question is a blue run down to Les Brevieres so not too hard for someone who tackles so called 'Expert Slopes' most of the time. It is also worth pointing out that you are on snow blades so parallel turning is pretty east most of the time on them! Yes the poster makes the point that there was a group of slower and less experienced ahead but then makes the common 'error' in saying that they were the one cut up..... it might seem that way but you HAVE to make allowances for the slower and less experienced skier / boarder ahead of you (and yes you were unfortunate when he turned back in your direction)..... no-one is saying it was intentional... and yes you did have to react quickly. Well done for not falling over or crashing into the second skier. HOWEVER the poster is missing the point - when there is a collision like this - or any sort of collision, then you are duty bound to stop and check everyone is OK and offer assistance - it is probably that that the instructor was annoyed about. I am not saying that what the ESF instructor did was right but the 'rage' is common amongst most instructors irrespective of what school they work for - the rules of the piste are the rules of the piste, an accident is an accident but a) give a wide and slow berth..... and the slow even more and give an even wider berth and b) if there is any sort of a collision (or very near collision whereby someone falls over as a result) then you must stop and offer assistance. So NO-ONE was having a bad day.... just the poster!
RANT OVER - sorry folks.
So tomorrow is my last days teaching this season!!!!! I will finish this season on 557 hours taught - wow a fair number! I am really looking forward to tomorrow evening as my old university friend whom I have not seen for years is coming out for the weekend and we are grabbing a burger at Moris followed by some beers which will be lovely. On Saturday we will have a ski and then in the afternoon we are having a ski school lunch and drinking session at the Terrachu in Tignes.... and then the hard work of the annual accounts and packing starts! SO I will not be reporting daily from after this weekend - mainly as there will be very little to say. And tomorrow / Saturdays post could be late with all the fun and games that are coming up.
As always it will be monthly reports over the Summer period... including photos of the baby when it arrives; one month today it is due - eek.
The weather is due to move in with some grey and miserable weather over the next few days - we shall see what time brings us.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
that selfie was a bit of a shocker. I was expecting another lovely landscape shot.
