Bonjour des Alpes Françaises!

Don’t worry, we’re not that good at French, we just used Google Translate ! It’s ’Hello from the French Alps’ in case you’re wondering.

I’d like to be able to say we’re having a fabulous time and, in a way we are, but our bodies are not responding in the way they should and both of us are aching and feeling exhausted. I think the week we spent with the Mountaineering Club, skiing every day and all day, on top of the skiing for three weeks before has taken it’s toll. Yesterday we came home early as it started snowing quite hard. It was forecast for the afternoon, but it came in early and heavy. Skiing down with snow stinging your face is not fun, coupled with the flat light hiding bumps and dips, so making us ski very defensively is not enjoyable. We came home and we’re glad we did, as the snow carried on all day, at one point so heavily we could see nothing out of our window other than large flakes of snow.

The snow falling yesterday

The view from our window as the sun rose this morning

Today, as per the weather forecast, it was clear and bright sunshine, perfect to enjoy the new covering of powder snow so, off we went, full of enthusiasm. It’s great fun in fresh powder, but it’s also incredibly energy sapping as the turns are quite different, needing more height, and the weight is further back to get the tips of the skis up, so thigh muscles burn frequently. By lunchtime we were pretty well done in, but had to carry on as the weather and conditions were so good, but it was hard, our aches and pains telling us we should stop. Evenings are now spent just trying to recover and we sleep for 9 or 10 hours, but even then rest time is just not long enough. We’re probably going to have to have more days of rest, but when we look out of the window and see snow and sun, it’s very hard not to go out.

Jackie surveying the scene

...And skiing fresh powder very well!

An incident that made me laugh was when we shared a chairlift with an older German couple. He was a very friendly, chatty sort of person, upset when he found out we were out here for the season and they only have a week, but got his own back by telling us he owns a house in Hawaii and spends three months every year surfing, windsurfing and diving. When we asked how long he can visit the USA he told us only three months, it’s a problem he told us, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He was surprised when we told him we only get three months as well, ‘the Allies only get the same as the Germans’ he said. It just seemed an amusing thing to say and it made us laugh.

A button lift. I was left with the orange rod and button

Later on I had an incident with a button or drag lift. For non-skiers who may be reading this, a button lift is a ski tow, which comprises an endless cable driven by a motor up a slope. Every few meters a button assembly is attached to the cable, which comprises a rope attached to a retractable spring return mechanism at the top and a metal rod on the lower end with a round button approx  250mm diameter (see attached picture which may help). When it’s your turn, you move into position and look behind to watch for the next button coming round on the cable. As it passes you grab it, the top part of the assembly carries on its travel, still attached to the cable being driven up hill, but as you’ve grabbed the button and it’s now stationary, the rope starts to unravel from the spring return mechanism. While this is happening, you shove the button between your legs so it’s positioned by your backside. Making sure your skis are facing uphill, you wait for the rope to fully unravel, at which point it starts to pull you uphill, with your skis sliding on the snow. At the top you pull the button out and let go, sliding off to the side ready for a downhill run.

Back in time for afternoon tea and cake

We arrived at a particular drag lift, Jackie went first, I moved into position, saw the button coming towards me, grabbed it and, at that moment the rope broke, leaving me holding the button in my hand, with the rest of the assembly carrying on uphill, still attached to the cable. There was a moment while I took in what had happened and, still holding the button in my hand, looked behind to see the next person in position behind me, looking behind ready to grab the next button. He would have been unaware I was still there and would have crashed straight into me the moment he grabbed his button. I shouted ‘no’ to him and he looked round, laughed when he saw the button in my hand, allowed his button to go past and let me grab the next one. As I was pulled up the slope away from him I heard him shout ‘I hope you make it this time !’

Back in our apartment, the two stray cats are regular visitors to our balcony every night, eating the dry cat food Jackie puts out on the window sill and the Great Tits are morning and tea time visitors , eating the fresh bread I put out on the balcony rail each day, so we’re doing our bit for the local wildlife.

Goodbye SMC

Roger, Mike D, Mike R and Jo on the black run 'Aigle Noir' in Morzine

It’s Saturday afternoon and we’re finally relaxing in our apartment having said goodbye to our Solihull Mountaineering Club ski party. We’re sad they’ve gone as we’ve had a great time skiing with them, but on the other hand we’re quite pleased as we can revert back to a more relaxed skiing pace.

As is usual on a one week ski holiday, it’s out on the slopes from the first lift to the last, maximising the skiing time and going out whatever the weather and, because we wanted to see them, we were out as well. Not quite as long, we did meet them first thing, but we tended to finish a little earlier, leaving them to ski to the last lift. That is except when they came to our local resort and on the last day (Friday), when we were out with them to the end.

Lunch in the sun, Mike D, Jo, Jackie, Mike R and Roger

Wednesday was they day they caught the bus over to our St Jean d’Aulps resort and there was enough for them all to do for the full day, not so many trees for James to ski between, but he did his best and, as usual, we followed him on some ‘I wonder where we are going’ off piste skiing through trees and, in some cases, rapidly downhill through fresh snow on narrow tracks, hoping there will be somewhere to put in a turn and slow down before the speed gets too fast and a tree gets in the way!

Lunch at ours

We were able to offer some local lunch catering two minutes walk from the lift, all coming back to our apartment where we provided soup, crusty bread, plenty of tea (they all seemed to be tea deprived, having no tea making facilities in their chalet-hotel) and a big slice of coffee and walnut cake that I’d cooked especially. It all seemed to go down well and then we were off up the slopes again for an afternoon of action packed skiing, finishing with Mike D, Mike R and Roger going home on the bus at 15:30 and James, Jo, Jackie and me doing a bit more off piste and on piste fast skiing before retiring to the local bar for hot chocolate with a large helping of rum – very nice! Unfortunately the connecting bus from St Jean town to Morzine wasn’t due until 18:00 and, as it was only 16:40 I got the car out and gave them a lift home to avoid them being stranded at the bottom of our hill with only a bar to keep them company. I saved them from the alcohol, even though the rum probably put me near the drink-drive limit!

Jo

Yesterday was our last day skiing with them and we made the most of it, being out all day. James wanted to do more off piste stuff a distance away, so went off on his own, leaving the rest of us to do slightly more relaxing stuff. When I say ‘slightly more relaxing stuff’ it’s all relative, Mike D completing only his third ski holiday had ‘black fever’ on, so during the day we did five black un-pisted, very mogully (lumpy) runs that tried the thighs and knees to the limit and causing SMC chairman Roger to moan, eyes up to the sky, but do them anyway! 

Here's something you don't see on ski slopes every day, an eagle who was out with his skiing keeper

Roger, Jo, Mike R, Brian, Mike D & Jackie

Skiing almost to the last lift and at speeds down some slopes not previously seen, Mike D flashing down the slopes and Jo blasting past me at one point, we were all feeling pretty good and skiing well, what a pity it had to end! However, we all met up to have a final après ski drink in their local bar, a good laugh, a few jokes told (including the un PC ‘Is it Disco’ joke that unfortunately can’t be told quietly!) and sad goodbyes before we retired home to our apartment with tired bodies from the weeks punishing ski schedule.

Apres Ski!

Amazing how silly a few drinks makes us!

This morning we decided we were going to get up late and probably not go out, but it was not to be. We’d sent an email to Carol Cavet, whose sister we rented our apartment from, but all organised by Carol, who lives in Les Gets with her ski instructor husband Andrew. They moves here as a family from the UK 10 years ago, with their son Ben who was 11 and their daughter of 13. Ben joined Chatel ski club, has excelled with his skiing and, after taking French citizenship in 2012 was hoping to be selected for the French Winter Olympics ski team, specialising in mogul descents with ski jumps and acrobatics. He was due to hear last week and Carol said she’d let us know if he was successful, so as we hadn’t heard we assumed it was bad news, but we saw an email last night saying he has been selected and will do his first event on 10^th February. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/winter-olympics/25928336. 

We were so pleased we sent a congratulation email to her asking if she fancied going skiing next week. As we were lying in bed this morning the phone rang and she asked if we fancied going skiing today. Well, it was sunny, so how could we refuse, so despite having tired aching bodies, off we went. We had a relatively short day, but she is fantastic to ski with, a very accomplished and fast skier, we could blast down the relatively uncrowded Saturday pistes with her (Saturday, which is changeover day, is really the best day to get out) in a very satisfying way. She picked the routes and we did a couple of back mogul runs, her dancing down through the man sized lumps like a professional (even though she refuses to admit that she’s good), leaving us behind, but in a way really motivating us and making us ‘up our game’ and although nowhere near her standard, making us quite pleased with the challenge.

We really are going to have an easy day tomorrow, we may even not go out skiing! Unless, of course the 10cm of snow that is forecast to fall tonight actually happens, in which case we’ll have to go out to ski the fresh powder. It’s such a hard life!