Ski Tour #2 - Comment ca va?

1/ Skinning up to Pointe de la Rateliere

So how was Ski Tour #2? Well, words fail us!

Today we enjoyed a breathtaking tour with the head of our local guiding company - Christoph. He is a personal friend of Rick & Liz's. A mature fellow (ie, our age!!) - he was very much our kind of guide. Good sense of humour. Laid back but conservative and safety conscious - he was very much the "old" and not "bold" type of guide that we like!

Another superb sunny day with freezing overnight temperatures ensured that the snow remained light & dry. We headed west with Christoph from the top of Flaine - 2480m down into an area called the Desert de Plate. It is called this because underneath the snow it's a plateau comprised entirely of stratified rock. Unlike the alpine meadows of the other high mountain areas, it must truly resemble a desert in the summer when the snow has gone.

We headed down to the bottom of the valley, along with many other Frenchies who thought that today would be a good day to go ski touring. Fair enough! It was Saturday after all. But, that is the reality of Europe. People everywhere. However, the valley is huge and there's actually plenty of room for everyone. And of course the advantage of having a guide is that they know all the secret locations.

Christoph led us away from the people and back up again on the far western flank of the valley. From there we skinned and climbed up to a small peak - Pointe de la Ratelliere -2708m. Lunch was spent gazing out over the alps. The views from the top were incredible. To the South West, Mont Blanc and the Chamonix peaks dominated the skyline and to the west was Les Houches and in the distance Le Grave.

On the way up, we skinned through some amazing rock formations. It was like walking through a canyon or ice-seracs on a glacier. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time.

"The Rock Canyons"

And the skiing? The photo of Graeme putting in a nice set of tracks pretty much answers that question. Lovely frost dried, well consolidated, boot-top powder. Great fun to ski in!!

Graeme : "completing the set"

Inevitably, there are too many photos of today! For the enthusiast - click here.

After our second descent we continued down the plateau to Chalets de Sales. A collection of small farming chalets, it is abandoned in the winter except for a 72 year old fellow named Raymond. Christoph is a friend and regularly visits with him. Raymond refuses to leave the valley in the winter. There is no road access to this area and the walk from the nearest village Sixt-Fer-a Cheval is a hard one with a roped descent down through a steep icy gorge. Or a walk up & ski down to Flaine. The mind boggles how Raymond manages to get his supplies but apparantly he skins up and over into Flaine most days!!

Passing through Chalet de Sales, the plateau ends abruptly in a narrow gorge with a sheer cliff towards its end. As we travelled through the gorge we were privileged to see Chamois and the rare Alpine Ibex ( a long horned alpine goat) grazing the steep sided gorge far above us. Christoph has the eyes of an eagle and it sometimes took us an age to find the animal he was pointing to.

4/ The Frozen Cascade de Sales

At the end of the gorge, is a sheer cliff over which a waterfall tumbles 50m to a second terrace.

Hmmmm. Interesting! It's been a while since I have done an abseil. I certainly have never had to do one with my skis and poles attached. 48m doesn't sound very high, but when you are peering over the edge of a cliff, it is still a little daunting. Again a picture is worth a thousand words, so if you'd like to see Christoph and I repel down this ice cliff click here. Graeme has made some funny commentary, so it's definitely worth a look.

Following our little dabble in mountaineering, we continued down the gorge and the wooded forest to Sixt. We struggled to follow the nimble Christoph with his tight turns. I lost count of the number of times I had to use an emergency snow plough to avoid wrapping myself around a tree or hitting a big boulder in the frozen streams we were descending!

And in typical French fashion, our adventure ended with a beer in a little mountain cabin while we waited for the free resort bus to take us back to Les Carroz. How civilised!

It was a long day - 8:30pm - 7.30pm! Great value and we are well pleased to have made Christoph's acquaintance. We hope that we'll have a few more adventures with him along the way!!

Housework = Exhaustion

1/ Afternoon sunshine glistening through the ice

Our secret is revealed! Whenever we say we've decided to stay home and do our housework ...read "we are totally exhausted!" Certainly the housework did need to be done and there is a good chance that we will be going on another big ski tour tomorrow, but the sad truth is that we are whimps!! Plan A had been to clean the flat in the morning, do our french homework, have lunch and then head off to Flaine for a ski in the afternoon. Somehow it just didn't happen. Shocking isn't it?

We decided to go for a walk around our little village instead. The sun was shining but the air temperature is below zero and drops even further when the sun sets! All around us the trees around us are covered in hoar frost and the roads and paths are all diabolically icy!!

Not only that ...we have to be "Prudent" at the moment in our village. Montgolfiere's are lurking everywhere..

Like Wanaka, this area of the Haute Savoie has been the subject of a building boom over the last 10 years. There are tell-tale signs in abundance: too many real estage agencies, "Vende" (For Sale signs) everywhere and the odd crane or two marring the skyline.

Fortunately it appears that the building code is very strict. New buildings must look like a traditional mountain chalet. The use of wood in these buidings is extensive both inside and out even if the inner construction is of concrete or block. They also strive to make the buildings look old by scorching the timber cladding.

But like the rest of the world, Araches/ Les Carroz is being affected by the global economic slowdown and it appears that many developments have been abandoned. While this might also be due to the cold winter conditions, many of the sites look like the workers have just downed tools and stopped work. Certainly, all the ski chalet operators are reporting that their English visitor numbers are down on previous years. January has been dead and while February is tradtionally busy, the March and April bookings are not strong. Interesting times ahead?

3/ A new chalet and a new "old chalet" with it's scorched exterior.

And finally to end today's blog, while wandering through the streets of Les Carroz, we came upon an exciting discovery! Monoski's now come with twin tips....and you can even hire them!! Oohh ...the temptation!!

4/ Twin Tipped Mono's Awesome!

A Sensational Ski Tour #1

"So who's a happy girl then??"

Well, we have finally ventured seriously off-off piste today. Our first ski tour. C'est magnifique!Hopefully the first of many. We had spent 2 days investigating our proposed route off the north face of Flaine down into a gorgeous hanging valley to a charming Chalet / Gite situated on the frozen Lac Gers.

Two days earlier we had spied what we thought was a safe, low angle route down into the valley. Since this area also has no "rock crevasses" and after some further investigation of the weather & avalanche forecast we thought it would be a good tour to start with. Graeme had also dug a snow pit in the area on Monday and we ("actually I") checked the snow profile and our proposed route with the Flaine ski patrol before we started off. To complete the "safety-nerd" routine we let Liz know exactly where we were going so she could organise a search for the bodies if we were not back on time!! [Just kidding, Mum!].

"Nice!!"

What is it with blokes and asking for "information or directions"? Graeme was dead against me going to talk with the ski patrol at Flaine before we set off. My argument is the more information the better. I mean to say, it would be pretty incovenient if the Patrol were doing some avalanche control work in the area (ie., bombing) and we just wandered aimlessly into their path.

He kept predicting dire consequences - "they won't speak English, you won't understand what they are saying, they will tell us not to go, they'll just ignore you!!" "So?" was my reply. "Then we won't know any more than we do now." If the only risk is that they think I'm an idiot or they're rude to me, then that's their problem. I'd rather take the chance that they will provide us with some useful information. And so....it came to pass... that I had a lovely chat with a very cute French patroller who answered all my questions, reassured me that the snowpack was pretty stable especially on the low angle route we were proposing. And being typically French added "C'est tres important! Nous ne avons jamais cette conversation!!"

The Flaine backcountry is like TC touring. There were plenty of tracks down some seriously dodgy lines. While it is sometimes reassuring to see that people have been there before you, Graeme and I are not keen just to follow tracks blindly. I call it the "dumb and dumber" approach. Ie., a dumb person got away with it the first time and the dumber person follows them to their peril!!

Despite our conservative line, we still got some fresh tracks and the skiing was excellent. There was a rain crust at the lower altitudes but the snow was frost dried and light. Here's the film footage from today.

"Inside Chalet du Lac Gers"

But you just have to love ski touring in this country! At the end of our ski, we arrived at the most delightful chalet/gite you could imagine. Chalet du Lac Gers is something out of a fairytale. A converted old cow barn, it is filled with historical photos and memorabilia. It is set in a magical location that can be accessed by ordinary skiers from a long ski run called the Cascade. If you want to visit the Chalet, you make a call on a telephone from the track and the owners will arrive on a ski-do with tow ropes to take you back for lunch. We had seen this on a previous trip on the Cascade with the Teste Family.

Since we had arrived from the uphill side, we didn't need a tow. We were the earliest arrivals at the Chalet and ordered a coffee and hot chocolate. Sitting out on the sun-drenched deck we sipped our hot drinks while watching two Chamois cavort on the mountains above us. Idyllic!!We were secretly wishing that we could just settle in for a delicious lunch. But alas, we had a 3 - 4 hour skin back up the hill ahead of us and I had already packed our sandwiches. But next time.....

"The easy way to Chalet du Lac Gers"

We made excellent time back up the hill and arrived back in Flaine to call home to "Mother" aka Liz to say that she didn't have to start a search for us!

Then back to Le Refuge, a shower, change and quick bite to eat and then off to Cours de la Yoga. Yoga is proving to be quite random. Our instructress, Antoinette is having trouble finding a permanent location to hold her classes. This week, the day changed from Monday to Thursday and we had to drive 8km to a school in neighbouring village to attend our class. Next week the day and venue has changed again. But this time it's on Wednesday in our village, Araches, and we will be able to walk. All good. No new track suit pants for Graeme, though. I will just have to survive the lustful intentions of my fellow female classmates and remember that Graeme might actually benefit from the special attention he gets!! He is a long way from putting that left leg over the right shoulder. This is an important skill to learn, we have a long economy class flight home!!

The Sun Returns. Further Exploration.

1/ The skies filled again with hot-air balloons!!

After the cold foggy day yesterday, the skies have cleared and are again filled with balloons as the Les Carroz Montgolfiere Festival continues. Try as we might, it's seriously hard to get a good photograph of them once they are aloft. Our little all purpose digi-camera struggles. There is actually 12 balloons in the photo I have posted!

We could not get warm this morning. Despite the sunshine, a brisk northerly was blowing. That's our equivalent of a cold southerly downunder. In January, my usual ski attire has been an icebreaker t-shirt, 2 patagonia layers of long underwear, a patagonia black fleece, a purple windcheater vest and my red overjacket - that's 6 layers! I also have a pair of 3 layer gloves. And my fingers and toes are still cold. I can't imagine what it must be like skiing in North America or Canada when it's -10C or less! Although I will thank our Chamonix guide Eric, who taught us a bizarre shoulder & arm manouvre to get the blood pumping into the finger tips! It came in handy this morning. Shame he didn't also have a cure for cold toes!!

We met Rick & Liz for lunch today at the our favourite little mountain restaurant at the foot of the "Goolies" chairlift in Samoens. Rick, Graeme and I shared a delicious cheese fondue, while Liz very wisely chose a salad. Tragically, even though these traditional cheese fondues are totally scrumptious, they are not my friends! My digestive system exacts a wicked revenge when I eat very rich cakes, creamy pastas or too much cheese. So sadly, today will be my last cheese fondue. Sniff!

Over lunch, Rick advised us that an area that we had yet to ski in Flaine had opened. Called the Combe de Veret, it's a "cheeky little bowl" ( to borrow a favourite "Rick'ism") whose top is at 2309m. It faces west so it's nice and sunny in the afternoon, the vertical's good and best news is that it's serviced by a good ol' fashioned Poma. This means few or no snowboarders sharing our playground.....yeeha!

The old poma on the Combe de Veret was remarkably gentle. There's still quite a few poma's about the Grand Massif and to-date all of them have seriously dodgy springs. Graeme and I have regularly been launched high into the air as we get the pole between our legs. For obviously anatomical reasons, Graeme finds this a little less exciting than I do!! [No need for further details!!]

We think we've really got this filming caper stitched up now. Here's todays movie footage of our ski in the Combe de Veret and views across to Flaine and Mont Blanc.

2/ The surprisingly gentle Poma at the Combe de Veret

3/ "The Combe de Ger "

One of the best things about being able to ski the Combe de Veret today was the view from the top. We have a ski tour planned for tomorrow down into the Ger Valley. While it's hard to see from this photo, just out of the shadow is a lake and a very cute restaurant. A ski tour with hot chocolate and coffee? Who could ask for more?

4/ Our proposed route down into the Combe de Ger

A Foggy, Doggy Kinda Day

"Look it's a view from the TC Saddle Chair!

No - that's Flaine, France somewhere in the fog!!

Today was a day of typical NZ visibility. And we're getting soft!! I didn't even think about going out. Graeme decided he would go skiing for the morning at Flaine as there was both low & high level cloud. While it wasn't sunny at Flaine, it's higher altitude meant that Graeme was at least out of the lower level fog for most of the time.

I confess to being a "whimp" and choosing to stay warm & cosy at Le Refuge. I know, I know, I've gone soft. I often profess to being the "fog queen" at Treble Cone, but the difference of course is that I know TC like the back of my hand. And besides I hadn't finished my french homework. Yes, I'm a nerdy swat too!!

2/ Only the "coolest" huskies cross their paws!!"

After lunch we headed back up the hill to see the dog sledding. Unfortunately, we had missed the racing but we were able to walk around the camp and see all dogs, sleds and parapharnalia involved with this sport.

It was really cold today - about -5C all day. I couldn't help but think how happy the huskies and malamutes looked. Lounging around in snow on a bleak cold day must be Huskie Heaven or at least the equivalent of a human tourist basking themselves on a beach in the tropical sun. In contrast, I always think that the poor old huskies in NZ look positively hot and bothered when I've seen them racing at the Snow Farm!

3/ Dogs in the van. Mushers in the snow?!!?"

One thing we couldn't work out was why these particular "Mushers" slept outside while their dogs were housed in nice snug cages inside the van. Huskies & Malamutes with their double fur lined jackets would have been happiest outside. And then we spied their dogs. Obviously they couldn't afford to feed a team of huskies. Their team was a motley crew of skinny German short haired pointers. They must have been the laughing stock of the pack! To keep them warm, they all had little jackets and booties on! Can you imagine what the Huskies and Malamutes were thinking!! Obviously, their owner's had a sense of humour. Check out the side of their van!!

4/ "Mushers with a sense of humour"

Montgolfiere-a-rama!!

1/ & 2/Montgolfieres floating above and in the valley below Le Refuge

It's hot air balloon-a-rama here in Les Carroz this week! There is a hot-air balloon ("montgolfiere") festival going on and about 20 - 25 balloons are participating. They are all brightly coloured and they make an incredible picture when they all take off together and fill the skies. Flat land is hard to find where we live, so they are using any level field around us to fill their balloons and stage their take off.

Hot-air ballooning is an interesting concept. To trust so completely in the whims of a breeze is, I think very daring. While I have been brought up sailing and can trust the wind, it seems to me that your choice of movement is so much more restricted in a hot air balloon. Surely in a balloon you can only go up or down and your speed is entirely dependent on the wind. All I can say is that balloonists must be supreme weather forecasters!! God help you if your burner goes out!! And while I am sure that the views from a balloon flight over the Alps must be very spectacular, I'm not sure I could relax enough to enjoy the scenery. I suspect I would be spend all my time trying to second guess where we were going to land. As I have mentioned before in connection with the paragliders - there is not that much empty space in France! Dropping a balloon on the autoroute or onto the roof of a factory down in the valley gives me the willies!!

3/ A balloon taking off from our "backyard"!!

Daily Life
Some one asked me recently if our lives had changed much? Are we doing things differently in France? That's a hard question to answer. So today I will reveal some trivial things that have changed for me, while I give the deeper question a little more thought.

First trivial change is that I now drink coffee! This is quite a big step for me. I have resisted drinking coffee for 42 years so to take up the habit in middle age is really quite momentous. The hassle of finding a good cup of tea in this country proved to be just too hard. And I would be the size of a house ( and broke) if I ordered hot chocolate every day. So, nothing like jumping in with both feet. I now have at least one or maybe 2 espresso coffees every day. I also have now learned why all you coffee addicts like the stuff. Forget the taste.. it's a real pick up n'est-ce pas? When my energy is lagging on the slopes mid-morning there is nothing like a little espresso to pep me up! Mind you, I am starting to get fussy and can now discern the difference between a good and bad coffee! I will be joining the Wanaka coffee critics when I return home!!

Graeme's biggest change is to more read books instead of watching television. Personally, I think he overdosed on French TV when he was feverish with bronchitis last month. But he is really enjoying his reading. I wonder if he will keep it up when our life changes again at home?

Bluebird Day But Also Some Carnage Along the Way!!

1/ A Blue Bird day! Light fluffy snow!

We enjoyed another top up of snow overnight. About 15 - 20cm. In contrast to the wet & heavy snow we received on Friday night, it was top quality. Fluffy, light and dry. Yesterday evening, after our french lessons with Liz , we joined Rick in town for an aperitif. We also met up with a UK family who had actually been to Wanaka, albeit in the 90's. We enjoyed reminiscing with them, but warned that Wanaka was no longer the sleepy second cousin to Queenstown. There had been a lot of development in the last 10 years!! They may not recognise the place!!

Then it was back to Rick & Liz's for a delicious bowl of pasta. As always the conversation flowed and it appeared that we might be in for another big night. But just before we succumbed to temptataion, Graeme looked out the window to see that it was still snowing. We pulled the pin!It was going to be a powder morning. Well, as our diehard ski friends know... there are certain rules of engagement when a powder day is in the pipeline!!

Hallelujah!! It seems like we have breathed some life back into the old camera. It was working today, although it appears that the exposure was set too high given that some of our photos are quite washed out. Hopefully we can get this fixed soon! Buying a new camera is most definitely not in the budget!! But we think we may have the movie thing sorted. And while the footage will never be top quality given the size of our little camera, you can now actually see the skier. Always helpful!! Click on http://picasaweb.google.com/TeWanaka/ArachesWeek10?authkey=erJxyjT9YrI# for some of our little clips and commentary.

And the carnage?!! On our third run of the morning, Graeme managed to do a quite spectacular forward somersault off a steep slope and land on a beginners run, sprawled on his back! As breathtaking as the fall was, Graeme was completely unhurt, except maybe for his ego! His backpack had absorbed much of the impact. But alas, inside the backpack was his only pair of sunglasses! Bother!!

2/ The sacrificial sunglasses!!

Our quirky photo of today goes to a very well dressed English lad, who obviously decided to set a new fashion trend in ski wear today. Very stylishly dressed with suit and tie, he certainly caught people's attention as he skied down the slopes with his tie flapping over his shoulder!

3/ What every well dressed British skier is wearing this season!!

Daily Life at "Le Refuge": Over the last few weeks, Graeme and I have developed a highly efficient morning routine which ensures that we are always first in the lift queue and waiting for the gondola to open. It goes something like this:-

• 7.15 am - Alarm goes off. I get up, switch on the computer and put the kettle on.
• 7:25 - I call "Goodmorning" to Graeme, who, on hearing my dulcet tones generally pulls the duvet over his head and emits a low grunt.
• 7:25- 7:40 - I check the emails and report any important news to Graeme who has now snuggled even deeper under the duvet. It is rare that I receive any further acknowledgement or conversation at this point.
• 7:40 - Set the table for breakfast. Remind Graeme to get up.
• 7:40 - 8:00 Start to eat breakfast while listening to the moans and groans from Graeme as he finally gets himself vertical! At some point during this period, Gra will arrive at the breakfast table. After 17 years of marriage, I have learnt that it best not to try and make any conversation with my dear husband at this time of the day. I respond only when spoken to. (I suspect he wishes this was true for the rest of the day!)
• 8.00 - 8:15 - Make lunch and clear breakfast while Graeme does his ablutions.
• 8:15 - 8:20 Brush my teeth, hair (optional now that it's so short!!) and put on my ski gear.
• 8:20 - 8:30 Clear the car & sometimes the driveway of snow. Start the car to get it warmed up, load the skis and gear.
• 8:40 - Sit in the car and wait for Graeme.
• 8:45 - 8:50 arrive in Les Carroz park the car and join the lift queue.
  At this particular point Graeme has asked....WHO IS THE ONE WHO GROVELS IN THE SNOW, ICE AND MUD PUTTING THE CHAINS ON & OFF???? Point well made!!

4/ Attempted self portrait of me clearing the car of snow this morning!!

Wet Blizzard!

A full on blizzard. Graeme is out in the wet snow putting on the chains.

The rain finally turned to snow very early in the morning and about 20cm of very wet snow greeted us. We are currently sharing the Teste residence with a group of their male friends. Last weekend, their wives had stayed and this weekend was the boy's turn. These boys were "party animals"!! But their late nights meant that they were not very early starters! We hardly saw them as we had left to go skiing well before they arose. The girls seemed more organised!! We are looking forward to having the Teste Family back in residence this weekend!!

Getting to the Telecabine this morning proved a little tricky. Wet snow was bucketing down and about 50m up our road, a huge 40 seater bus had managed to wedge itself on a snow bank and was stuck fast. As it was blocking the road we had to turn around and head back down our road. This is not our preferred route. The road is steep and frequently very icy. Applying the brakes at any point during the journey can have all sorts of unexpected results!! But we managed to get back down our hill and on to the main road without incident. Being early, it appeared that the snow ploughs had not really started their job, or if they had, the snow was coming so fast that they couldn't keep up!

It is always a little scary driving in these conditions as the locals persist in driving at the same speed they would in summer! We know that they are locals as their car registration plates end in "74", the number for our Haute-Savoie region. I will certainly accept that the locals generally have snow tyres and they are used to driving in icy & snowy conditions. But it's the old story. When something totally unexpected happens it won't matter that they are all ex World Cup Rally drivers, their brakes won't stop them any faster than a slow tourist! The crash will just be a bigger mess!

Speaking of tourists. To this exciting cocktail of driving snow, icy roads and suicidal locals, you also need to add the "seriously dumb" tourist whose favourite trick is to get half-way up a hill, lose traction, stop in the middle of the road blocking both lanes of traffic and then decide to put chains on. You can imagine the Local's reaction to this sort of nonsense!

So today, not only were we confronted with the stuck bus, but on our way up to the Telecabine we met with the "dumb tourist". Driving conditions were becoming borderline even with snow tyres. We were going to make it if we didn't have to stop. But alas as the tourist's car in front of us started to lose traction and begin its slide back down the hill, we decided that discretion was the better part of valour! A 6 minute chain fitting job by one, Mr Graeme Oxley and we were on our way again. With chains on Pepi Peugeot becomes a 4WD!! We zoomed past the bewildered tourist who was still trying to figure out whether the chains go on the front or back wheels!

After that eventful morning we had a couple of runs in the heavy snow and then retreated for an early coffee to calm the nerves. Unfortunately, there has been more rain than snow today and there was nothing much to report in the way of good skiing. We decided to come home for lunch and to finish the last of the french homework. Lessons this afternoon and then a casual drink and dinner with Liz & Rick. A nice Saturday night!!

The weather conditions were not conducive to good photography hence the lack of material for today. Hopefully when the sun does finally shine again we'll have the camera working again and get some good photos.

Today, Absolutely Nothing Happened!!

I think this photo captures the mood of the day!

Aujourd'hui, il'n y a rien faire!!

Apparantly we share this kind of diary entry with that obtuse French King, Louis XVI who on 14 July 1789 used the word "rien" in his diary to describe his day. Pity he didn't notice that Parisian mobs had just invaded the Invalides and stormed the Bastille to commence the French Revolution.

This bit of trivia, which I found after reading my Lonely Planet guidebook got me to thinking. I wondered what else has happened on this day in history? A quick internet search pulled up some interesting results. Oh sure, the roman empire commenced on this day in 27 B.C and in 1957 the Wham-O company in the US, invented the frisbee, but actually 23 January throughout history appears to be an exceedingly dull kind of day!!

So with the rain falling steadily on the roof, we felt justified in keeping with history and having a dull kind of day too!! My body is thankful for the rest and it also gives us an opportunity to catch up on the french homework, house-cleaning and accounts. Oh what fun!!

While we managed to fix the camera we've really not been inspired to take any photos! So I'll confess to borrowing from the internet a little.

French Observation for the Day

The Great French Tong Conspiracy - Tongs!! An essential kitchen utensil wouldn't you think? Well for over 2 months I have been doing without tongs when cooking. I have been chasing steaks around a slippery fry pan with a fork and trying to flick string beans out of the pot with a spoon! Surely the food obsessed French would use tongs??? Well an in-depth search of the utensil section in Carrefours revealed only 2 types of tongs. Normally at Carrefours there is 5 of everything, and 500 different brands if you are talking about cheese!! One pair of tongs was long handled for the BBQ and the other had fancy silicon tips. Both were breathtakingly expensive. Consequently, I will be continuing my dexterous use of cutlery for the remainder of our stay.

So what gives? I will need to ask Liz or Marie for an explanation about the great French Tong Conspiracy!

And that's all for today. Fingers crossed that the rain will turn to snow overnight and we'll have some good skiing tomorrow.

OMG Chamonix Again! Brevent and Flegere

1/ View from the top of Brevent, Chamonix, looking south - 2525m

Sadly, the only photo of a breathtaking day!!

What a day!! Chamonix continues to amaze & exhilarate!! For some reason, we had a totally wrong impression about the joined ski areas of Flegere/Brevent ("FB"). We thought that FB was not that big and the snow was often icy. Given that FB faces south and enjoys all day sun, the snowpack is obviously more affected than the other more northerly facing Chamonix resorts and may occasionally derserve a reputation for being icy. But after our terrific dump of snow this week, FB was just amazing.

We continually have to adjust our definition of BIG. FB is big! Five interconnected bowls . Each one at least as big or bigger than TC's saddle basin. Mind blowing!!

We have likened Chamonix to skiing Treble Cone and the Grand Massif (our backyard) to Cardrona. At FB, like all the other Chamonix resorts, 20% is groomed and 80% is off-piste with continuous fall-line. No meandering meadow runs, just point 'em down the hill and off you hurtle. The snow was still good today, 2 days after the last snow. But like TC after a powder dump, it was completely tracked out! I mean there was nothing left. In every bowl there were tracks down ridiculously vertical couloirs, tracks that launched of cliff faces and tight lines down through the trees and shrubbery. The skiers & boarders at Chamonix are at a different level - this is the experts playground!!

We spent much of our day touring the length and breadth of the resort to familiarise ourselves with the layout. But to our great disappointment our camera malfunctioned! This was devastating news, as the day was glorious and we had taken a pile of terrific shots!! Fingers crossed we will be able to sort out the problem tonight when we get home!

Another false impression - we thought that FB would be really busy. Access to the resort is directly from the Chamonix town centre making it easy for people to just walk from their hotel to the gondola. But while there were definitely people around, we never waited in a lift queue. I expect that this will all change when the French School school holidays commence on 7 Feb. But until then, we will just enjoy!

But the other very noticeable attribute of Chamonix is the lack of Frenchies! Today all we heard were british, nordic, german and italian accents as we toured the resort. While we have a few Brits at Grand Massif, the majority are French and French-Swiss from Geneva. We learned from the Irish couple we met a couple of weeks back at Les Grand Montets, that when the pound was strong against the Euro, the Brits bought up big! Of course, in the current economic climate, the pendulum is now swinging the other way and when you hear that British accent on the lift or in the cafe, they are inevitably whinging about how expensive everything is. Should we be so lucky, we'd trade pounds for NZ$'s any day!!

Of course with no photos of our visit to FB, we will just have to go again and make up for lost time.

As we made our way home, clouds were rolling in from the west and more snow is forecast tonight. I'm sceptical. It feels too warm to me. I suspect that it will rain first, in a repeat of the weather pattern earlier this week. Just between you and me, my shattered body is secretly hoping for a bad day so I can lie in bed and rest my weary limbs!!

The Early Bird Gets the Powder in France!!

1/ At the bottom of Les Gouilles (the "Goolies")

It really pays to be first on the slopes in France. The French are not early risers! While there was no more serious snow overnight, yesterday, we had spied an area in Samoens that had remained closed all day due to the high avalanche risk. The area faces due north ("the dark side!!) and has some good vertical . It is serviced by a classic old triple chairlift called Les Gouilles (we've knicknamed it the "Goolies"!!). Even on a perfectly good day, the operation of the Goolies is somewhat erratic. We have a sneaking suspicion that it closes for lunch (12:30 - 2pm) regardless of the snow or weather conditions. Classic!!

We had 5 fabulous runs in totally untracked knee deep powder by 10:30am when those pesky snowboarders arrived and swept half the snow down the mountain as they side slipped down the steep bits! I will refrain from making any prejudicial comments against snowboarders...but I'm sure you know what I am thinking!! To be fair there were a few good ones amongst them who were doing some beautiful lines through the rock chutes. Unfortunately, they were in the minority!

At the foot of the Goolies chairlift is a really cute little chalet/gite called Le Luge du Teran - not quite sure of the translation. Designed in the old style it is actually brand new. The bar lady was very friendly and the coffee was good. The lunch menu is also tempting. Even better, the prices look very reasonable. We had our cheapest coffee on the mountain so far E$2.80 for 2 espressos. Comparing it to E$6.80 for the same thing at Megeve, it was a bargain!

2/ & 3/ The very cute "Le Luge de Teran"

The sun had come out and after morning tea, we headed over to another shady face on Samoens which has become a favourite. It's a steep face and it's difficult to see what's over the edge when you leave the piste. Ideal!! We had taken a few runs down it yesterday and expected it to be tracked out, but no, the punters had left it alone and we enjoyed a pile of runs and a couple of good crashes as we completed the task of tracking it out!! There's some footage of Graeme on the lower section. He is having a mighty splendid time!! Click on http://picasaweb.google.com/TeWanaka/ArachesWeek10?authkey=erJxyjT9YrI## if you want to see live footage. We have been playing with our camera and we think we may have slightly improved the quality of image. Fingers crossed!

We will confess to being completely exhausted by 1:30pm and headed home for an early lunch.... and quite possibly a "Nana Nap". The sad but inescapable truth is that the ol' bodies are not as young as our minds!!

4/ Heading home through the sunlit trees! Magic!!

Redemption by Powder..and the inverted helicopter manouvre

1/ Graeme knee deep!

Warning! For all those bored by endless snow pictures - Skip today's blog!!

Thank you dear Lord!!

And so...the rain turned to heavy snow overnight. Over 30cm of snow fell at Le Refuge (our place -1020m) between 11pm and dawn. Our ski hill, Les Carroz was reporting even more!! You can't imagine the excitement! Graeme, for whom the "season was over" and "all this rain is going to ruin the snow" awoke with a big smile! I knew that the snow was good because my dear little sleepy head was actually first out of bed first this morning. A rare event indeed. Tragically, I was still the one who had to do the "bread run" down the hill but with heavy snow fluttering down all around me it was a magical trip.

I really can't say too much about today, the pictures really speak for us. We just had endless, first tracks from first lift until we met up with Rick & Liz and Gavin and Sue around 1pm. Graeme was particularly proud of his tracks under one of the chairlifts!!

2/ Andy "crotch deep"...well I am shorter!! And in case you're wondering - they are all our tracks behind us!!

Well I've never had a "cold crutch" before. The snow was so deep, my unmentionables were being constantly washed with snow. A new experience to be sure. But certainly a tricky place to warm up. It's not that socially acceptable to be giving this area a good rub in public, if you know what I mean?!!

A wonderful attribute of the Grand Massif ski area is that you have a choice of altitude. Today while it was snowing heavily and the visibility was poor there are loads of runs through the trees. Later in the morning when a thick fog came in lower down the mountain, we could head up above the tree line to clear skies and sunshine. Fantastic!

As always, when the snow is deep, the snow marmots are busy under the snow. They were desperate to trip us up all morning. Consequently, we all had some spectacularly good crashes in the soft snow. Just like falling into feather bed, but a little more tricky to extricate yourself from. The photo below captures the aftermath of a particularly special tumble. But if you would like to see live footage of the incident [you'll have to excuse the poor video quality] click on this link and have a look at the video http://picasaweb.google.com/TeWanaka/ArachesWeek9?authkey=llalfG8Xzd0#

3/Snow marmot Andy?

For those who have viewed the video, you will see that I have now patented the "inverted helicopter manouvre!". Despite being hilariously funny, it is actually, a great way to extricate yourself from a deep powder hole. The idea is that there is no point trying to move your skis around while they are stuck in the snow. Get them in the air, where there's no resistance and swing your legs downhill. Then worry about the torso, arms, poles, goggles ..etc later.

It is so successful that I thought that I would share my secret with our mates! Photo below is Sue - admirably performing Andy's - "Inverted helicopter manouvre"!

4/ Rick!! Will you stop laughing!!

P.s. It's still snowing! - early to bed for the Oxley's tonight!