I've got the proof!! "Snow Snakes" or "Snow Marmots" as they are referred to in Europe are alive and well! These supposedly mythical creatures are crafty. You can be skiing along, totally relaxed, humming a tune, when all of a sudden a snow marmot will sneak out of their burrow and trip you up. They operate at light speed and their movements cannot be detected by the human eye. The first we know about their attack is when we have unexpectedly landed on our faces in the snow, skis are off and there is a general garage sale of your poles, goggles and other equipment strewn all over the slope.
But today, while ski touring around our hill, I discovered a burrow right in the middle of the piste! I wasn't able to capture the fabled critter on film...but I'm hot on the trail now.
Today I took myself off for a bit of ski tour in and around our resort. Unfortunately, young Graeme overdid things a bit on the skiing front yesterday and I ordered him back to bed this morning.
Armed with our local topo map I headed up the hill. It wasn't long until a lovely old man called Michel caught me up. He didn't speak English so I had to try and converse with him in French and keep up his cracking pace. Part moutain-goat, Michel has obviously been skinning up the slopes of Les Carroz for many a year.
But this was too good an opportunity to pass up. A friendly Frenchie!! And if I could just keep up with him ...I had another victim! While I can't even begin to imagine how awful I must have sounded, I was able to learn that he has had a holiday house in Les Carroz since the 70's, he has a daughter and a son in their 30's and 5 toddler grandchildren. He does this ski touring circuit most mornings while his wife is still sleeping. He laughed when I told him that "mon mari" was asleep too!!
He asked me about NZ. He didn't seem to be entirely sure where it was. He asked if it was part of Australia? Mon dieu!! Jamais!! I explained that "NZ c'est pres de Australia, mais deux heure le vol de la Nouvelle Zealande". He wanted to know if there was snow in NZ and I was able to tell him about Mt Cook and our snow conditions. Actually, I am becoming quite proficient at describing snow conditions! I suspect that Michel might have understood this part of our conversation the best.
I explained that I was going to try and get over to Morillon ( the neighbouring resort). He suggested that on the way, I visit a little known restaurant at Les Tranchets. The restaurant is tucked away in the forest, away from the piste. Only walkers and snow-shoers go there. I thought this was a fine idea and thanked him profusely as we parted company about half way up to the summit.
2/ The view from the secret restaurant at Les Tranchets
The weather was sunny and still and I was thoroughly enjoying my ski tour. Without too much trouble I found the secret restaurant. It is only open on the weekends, but I have made a note to take Graeme back there some time.
Continuing down through the forest past the restaurant, the skiing took a tricky turn. The walking track was narrow and icy. Too narrow for me to turn, my thighs were burning from the racing snow plough position I had to adopt to keep my downhill speed under control. The walkers and snow-shoers who were sharing what really is their track, were remarkably understanding as I hurtled past them. I took to making a "yodelling alarm call" as I came to a blind corner lest I mowed down small children or hospitalised an innocent elderly couple!
Finally the track flattened and headed upwards again. I came across a deserted cow barn and stopped in the sun for a light lunch of bread, cheese and sausage. Then following the same contour I arrived back on a beginners run called Le Marvel in the Morillon resort. Terrific, I thought! An easy walk homeward! Alas, as I soon discovered, skinning up a beginner's run is not a good idea. Even though I kept to the extreme edge of the piste, wobbly legged beginners would head straight for me, turning away at the very last possible moment. Runaway skis (without their owners) regularly rained down the slope and beginner snow boarders kept popping out of the forest around me. After 200m I was a nervous wreck and consulted my map for a less terrifying way back to Les Carroz.
While much harder going, I made it safely back through the forest and enjoyed a quick ski back through the weekend crowds to the car. I saw so many serious near misses on the piste today that I am beginning to think that skiing on the weekend is too crowded and dangerous. Maybe a first run in the morning will be OK, but after that, I'm going to put the skins on and head off into the forest!! Certainly, I think that this will be the solution for the next couple of months.
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