It looks like our first two days of Spring with Dana on Sunday and Monday is all we are going to see of the sun this week. Heavy snow is forecast to continue right through to the weekend. A mixed blessing. We love the deep powder snow but the sun was lovely too! We are torn!
After sharing all our secret powder stashes with Dana we decided to show her the other half of our hill! Flaine! She just can't believe the size of our ski area. Truly, the Slovakian ski resorts are way over priced! Dana has been able to ski Flaine for E$33 per day and yet the largest Slovakian resort Chopak (where we skied), at one third the size, is charging E$42 per day.
While Flaine is a more of an "on piste" kind of hill, the runs are long and we arrived close to the opening of a special off-piste area called the Combe de Veret. We enjoyed 3 runs making our own tracks in the deep fresh snow. Here's the film footage of today.
After a shakey start yesterday, predictably, Dana is doing well. She is skiing the deep powder on skinny carving skis and surviving. I know I wouldn't be able to do this. Oh how I love fat skis!
1/ How not to ride a "Teleski"
Today we witnessed one of those classic "Warren Miller Movie" moments. Following us up on the Teleski (Poma/Draglift) was a class of beginner skiers. Obviously their first time on a Teleski, they took the sign "Let Go Here" literally! To be fair, the "Lachez Ici" sign had been placed very poorly - right at the apex of the off ramp. So all the beginners were letting the poma go just below the crest and sliding back down the lift track in a crumpled mess.
It was like watching lemmings, throw themselves off a cliff. We couldn't believe our eyes, when one after the other they slid backwards and landed atop their classmates. Not only that, they were letting the poma go with such force they were nearly decapitating those who had managed to get to their feet. After the fourth lemming, I ran over to see if I could help. Someone was going to get seriously hurt at this rate. Fortunately the group were all English speaking so I was able to coach at least the last four to let go at the appropriate time to avoid further carnage.
By the time the ski instructor arrived on the last lift, the body count had thinned to four. The others had managed to extricate themselves and their skis from the poma track. It's moments like these that I am reminded why I never became a ski instructor.
2/ I think even Dana looks a little tired in this photo...don't be fooled!!
Dana loved Flaine, even though the sun refused to shine. For her, it was a great mixture of on & off-piste skiing. For us, it was a killer. Graeme abandoned us shortly after lunch and headed for a cafe near the car. I am wondering whether he was truly "retiring hurt" or he just couldn't cope with the constant girly chatter? He was heard to be muttering something about us exceeding our daily word limit as he disappeared into the fog!!
Arriving at Le Refuge, the Slovakian eating regime continues. I am so utterly shattered that the thought of going to bed at 8.30 or even 8.00pm is positively intoxicating! Earlier this month, I patented the "Helmut Kip" lunch routine for moments of sheer exhaustion.
Tonight, I thought I would follow up the "Helmut Kip" with the "Pasta Bowl Dive" for evening meals. The photos tell the story.
Did I say that Dana was "gonna hurt us?". Strike that....we're talking serious injury now!
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