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!].
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!!
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