Ski Blog | Archive P110/2020

ABSEIL ADVENTURE, PAS DE SALES, FLAINE - 21 March 2012

Have you ever agreed to do something you didn’t really want to do but knew if you said no you’d regret it? That’s what I did when Dom from Skiology asked me if I was up for joining him in doing the ‘Pas de Sales”.  It’s a bit of a classic off piste route in Le Grand Massif.

It goes from the top of Flaine down to Sixt, there is meant to be some great off piste, not very challenging and we had had some great snow in the last few days so what was the problem?  Oh just the matter of a 50 metre abseil! That’s nearly 165 feet!  That’s a long way!  I don’t really like heights!  What am I doing?  What have I agreed to?

So around 10am five of us (Dom, Tom, Ian E, Ian G and me) gathered at the top of Flaine to meet our guide Wilfred who was going to be guiding us all day and would, literally, have my life in his hands in a couple of hours! 

The sun was shining in a brilliant blue sky and in front of a backdrop of Mont Blanc, Wilfred handed out harnesses to each of us to put into our back packs and we set off putting some fresh tracks into the spring snow.  This was great but at the back of my mind something was nagging!  50 metres…really?  Why?  When?

For the next hour we were alone and putting in fresh tracks through mainly gentle easy slopes with no one else around, a bit of a steeper pitch, the snow was starting to get a little heavy as the sun warmed the air.  The scenery breath taking and yes that little nag was quietening down!

We poled our way towards and through a little hamlet, deserted in the winter, limited access with snow on the ground, old wooden shacks, knotted wood, snow drifts and solar panels to remind us we hadn’t really gone back a few decades, we weren’t that far from modern life.

A beautiful picnic spot, the sun warmed my back, the blue sky was just stunning, are there better picnic spots?  And then Wilfred was telling us to put our harnesses on.  Mine was twisted…it wouldn't go on properly to start with… this isn’t helping! 50 metres?  When?  What am I doing here? Where is it?  It was back… the adrenaline had started to pump.  My harness was sorted, our skis were back on and we were off again.

“Follow exactly in my tracks! Go to the trees and wait there! Don’t fall!”

Wilfred that really doesn’t help!  I followed in the tracks battling against that instinct to look to the right and down to see why I shouldn't fall and succeeding.  Reaching the tree an Ibex wandered by and momentarily took my mind off what I knew was coming.

Ian E asked if I wanted to go first, no thanks you can do that!  I didn’t want to go first but I didn’t want to go last or wait any longer than necessary.  I watched Ian go over the edge and told myself to breathe deeply and relax – breathe in, breathe out……phew…. and now it’s my turn.  I had already taken my skis off, put them behind the very small and flimsy looking tree that Wilfred had his rope round.  I’d clipped myself on and then moved down to the edge and now Wilfred was tying a knot with his rope through my harness.  Breathe in…..breathe out…..

’Lean back’ I am told
‘But can’t I test it?’
‘Lean back and move your feet back’
‘But…’ nothing I said could delay this any more.

I’m on my hands and knees and underneath my feet as I edge back is a 50 metre drop…… Why did I agree to this?  What am I doing?  Breathe!  My fingers nails strain 

through my gloves to get some grip on the ground, I’m on my stomach and snow is kicked over the edge and still I am not convinced my rope is supporting me.  Now it is – how do I know?  There is nothing but 50 metres of air beneath me and all I have to hold onto is a thin flimsy rope! 

I don’t think I ever fully relaxed but slowly as I was lowered I did a little and could take in the amazing views, the mountains, the waterfall, the snow!  Wow!

Eventually I am down, my feet are on the ground – I can relax I have survived! I can now watch and take photos of the others being dangled from a piece of string down a 50 metre cliff!

Once we are all down we are back on our skis and skiing through the trees down to Sixt where we enjoy a well earned beer before taking the bus back to Samoens and skiing back to Les Carroz.

I’m not sure I should be thanking Dom for setting this up but I have a great story to tell everyone! Was I scared? Me?  Er….yes I was!

What a day – I think the adrenaline may stop pumping sometime….

See the pictures on Facebook here.

Youtube video here:

SPRING SKIING -19th – 20th MARCH 2012

I love spring skiing - the days are longer and tend to be warmer, the base of snow is down, you usually get great snow that can sometimes be a bit hard in the morning so you can take a little longer over your morning coffee and then a bit soft in the late afternoon so you have the ideal excuse to stop a little earlier for a beer!

And then there are days like these!

The snow just dumps, you have to head for the trees to get any sort of visibility, the snow flies around your head with any sort of turn, wipeouts are just fun, no danger of hurting yourself as you get buried in a pile of light fluffy powder snow!

See the photos on Facebook here!

And then there are days like these!

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better than yesterday it does! The sun comes out, the snow is deeper than yesterday and it is simply amazing!

See the photos on Facebook here

And when you think this really is it and it can’t get any better your mate skis into a tree!! Even better – the video is running!!   Oh… yes he was ok!  Watch it on YouTube here

What a couple of days!

January Ski Trip

So the snow has been falling nearly all season and I haven’t been out since Christmas which was, admittedly, fantastic – is it going to last?  What will it be like when I get out there?

I was a bit concerned that maybe I had missed the best of the snow for the winter but I love skiing whatever so was sure I was going to have a good time.

I was off to Les Carroz for a couple of weeks! What was the snow going to be like?  Had I missed the best of the snow? Not at all! There was such a good base down already that it felt as if it would last for the rest of the year let alone the season!

Middle of January and the snow was great, the sky was blue - what a great couple of days!

But where was the snow?  I have been accused by some of being demanding, can’t think why?  I want to ski some powder!

My fears were soon to be put to rest as overnight on the 20th January it just dumped! What a day! There was so much snow that they were clearing snow off restaurant roofs!

The rest of the stay was just fantastic with a mixture of snow and sunshine – when the weather closes in Les Carroz has some fabulous trees to ski and board so that’s where we headed!  When the weather clears there is some amazing off-piste skiing in Samoens and Flaine. 

One particularly memorable day we had was the off piste skiing down through the Gers bowl, rewarded with a coffee at the bottom at the wonderful Gites du Gers and then down the bottom of the 14km Cascades Blue Piste which runs from the top of Flaine all the way down through the trees to Sixt.  Lunch at the top of Sixt, always quiet, is so picturesque and worth a trip!  You then take a bus back to Samoens to ski back into wherever in Le Grand Massif you are staying.  Well worth doing whatever your level of skiing!

You can see some photos from this trip on our Facebook page.

GITES DE GERS - JUMPING OFF A ROOF!  19th JANUARY 2012

I love the Gites du Gers – it’s a great little restaurant that is on the edge of a lake that I have only ever seen frozen.

Set at the bottom of the Gers bowls which is one of my favourite places to ski when there is fresh snow – just amazing off piste skiing! Or if off piste skiing is not your thing then take the blue Cascades run from the top of Flaine – a 14km run all the way down to Sixt, a stunning run through trees, past frozen waterfalls! Beautiful.

Half way down you can pick up a phone and call the restaurant who send someone to come and tow you up to the restaurant behind a ski do! 

I have been taken up to the Gers lift (a very long and in places steep drag lift!) in the back of a converted piste basher, I have seen a helicopter pick people up, I have even stayed the night there and often you can see Chamois’ grazing on the slopes above it.

It’s a tranquil beautiful place unless you have friends like me who will disturb the peace by jumping off a nearby chalet roof – see the video here!

DRIVING HOME FROM CHRISTMAS

I’m dreaming of a White Christmas someone once sang and we all do, I should be used to them, having spent ten of the last twelve in the Alps but I still get excited about the idea of a white snowy Christmas!

And this year it was time to get very very excited!  With unnecessary alarmist media reports at the beginning of December, that I wrote about in a previous blog, the snow was now falling across the Alps. Unfortunately I wasn’t out there to enjoy the opening days of the season as lifts opened but some fantastic reports of skiing and snowboarding filtered back to the UK – fantastic pictures of deep snow on Facebook, early reports of great ski holidays on Twitter – I couldn’t wait!

My parents, sisters and their families had booked their ski holiday in a hotel in Courchevel and for a variety of reasons I couldn’t commit to the same holiday at the time so when I could book something I booked my girlfriend and my ski accommodation in a catered chalet on the other side of Courchevel.  It proved an inspired choice with our own space, able to eat with the family and a shortish walk home at the end of the night with an excuse to stop for a drink on the way home but still able to ski with the family!

We drove out and broke the journey at Troyes, a comfortable 5 hour drive from Calais where we had booked into a chain hotel and grabbed something to eat and got an early night before rising early and taking a morning stroll round the beautiful medieval town centre having a coffee and a croissant before jumping back in the car and heading onwards to the Alps with my excitement about skiing that fresh deep powder snow and my girlfriend’s excitement about the snow (she doesn't ski but loves the snow as much as I do) growing!

The miles ticked by and we arrived in Les Carroz where we were to spend a couple of days, enjoy a great day of powder skiing, a few beers, an open fire and then we were on the way to Courchevel. 

The chalet was great, very comfortable with an open fire to relax in front of, the staff were great and they couldn’t do enough for us and Rich the chef provided superb food even for my special dietary requirements!

The snow just kept falling – some fabulous powder skiing and you couldn’t ask for a whiter Christmas!  Whether it was skiing the off piste around 1850 or the quieter slopes over in 1650 (a personal favourite area of mine), for some reason doesn’t get as busy and the snow is great – check it out when you next ski The Three Valleys.  We loved the snow, the roads had to be constantly cleared, our car had to be dug out and then it snowed some more! And that was all before Christmas! 

Christmas Day itself was fantastic with the weather clearing, some great skiing with the family, entertainment on the slopes in the resort centre for the children (big and small!) and a traditional Christmas meal!

It was soon time to be going home and another drive back across France.  This time we went via Dijon and a lovely stop over there.

Driving home from Christmas! Dreaming of a white Christmas.

YACHTS AND CARS ON THE SLOPES – ONLY IN COURCHEVEL!

One of the last things I’d expect to see on the ski slopes are yachts and cars but then again I was in Courchevel!  In the resort centre the Moscow Roral Yacht club have a yacht and a membership tent!  Yes really!! A real sign of the times!

I have done several seasons in Courchevel over the years having first holidayed here back in 1990 and it really has changed even in the last 5 years with bars and restaurants moving upmarket, printing the menus in Russian and increasing their prices! 

There are still places you can eat and drink in Courchevel at reasonable prices but the presence of Moscow yacht club and BMW’s in glass tanks on the slopes reminds you that the Russians have taken over!

I wonder how many yachts or membership to Moscow Yacht club they actually sell?  And where do members sail their yachts in Moscow?

Snow or No Snow - Keep Calm & Carry On!

So the snow has arrived is still falling and the panic is over!  But why was the panic even there in the first place?

It's mainly due to the media writing scare stories, overhyping, sensationalising and making things up!  Really? The press do that? Surely not I hear you say!  Afraid so I say!

So it's early December and the snow hasn’t arrived and we see articles like this published on 4th December  “Skiing holidays at risk as warm spell leaves slopes snow-free – Hundreds of thousands of skiers could see their holidays ruined as a record-breaking warm spell leaves slopes across Europe snow-free.”

And a week later we have a load of snow and forecasts looking fantastic (see pic above)

It's looking good isn’t it?  Altitude can’t wait as we will be out there this weekend and are as excited as kids on Christmas Eve!

So should we have been worried that there was no snow at the beginning of December and that temperatures were warmer than ever? Should we have been panicking that “hundreds of thousands of skiers could see their holidays ruined”?  Well not really as if we look back historically, the snow doesn’t often arrive until mid December.

Back in the early days when the earth was cooling, global warming was just a thought and Altitude was starting up (it wasn’t that long ago – Ed). OK then, back when we ran around looking after guests in chalets and owners apartments, we had staff,  a big red minibus and latterly a little Renault as well!

One of the first things I always taught our staff to do, when we arrived out in resort, was to put snow chains on Altitude’s vehicles  – they would practise and practise until they could do it in a deep freeze and blindfolded (well nearly).

And guess what – in 10 years I can only remember one of these practice sessions in early December taking place with snow on the ground.

Ok so last year we would have had to do it in the snow but then last year we had no staff or minibus and the season was a bit rubbish after Christmas and one of the worst I have experienced.

So if the snow doesn’t arrive in the first week of December don’t panic and if it does try not to get too excited!

We can’t control it and if you skied at a certain time last season it doesn’t mean that the weather and snow will be equally good or bad at the same time this season! Yes I do really get phone calls asking to go the second week in March as last year the snow was…… anyway that’s a different story!

Whenever and wherever you go we hope you get a load of snow!  Enjoy! 

Our First Blog….Is it Going to Snow?

What’s the seaweed you having hanging on your back gate telling you?

The berries are plentiful, the onion skins are thicker, the marmottes are doing something or other and so that means that another winter is on the way!

We were wearing shorts & t-shirts just a couple of weeks ago in record temperatures for October and now there is snow down to 1300m this weekend!

Who knows what is going to happen this coming winter – last winter started with record snow falls at the end of November.  Altitude’s first day skiing was on Saturday 4th December – it was an amazing powder day!  I was heard to shout more than once that day something on the lines of “WOOO HOOO!  If this is what Verbier has to offer bring it on!!”  It was going to be a fantastic ski season!

Hmmm.....Except it wasn’t!!

After Christmas there was a serious lack of snow across most of the Alps through the rest of the season and that powder day turned into one of only two truly great days for me – the other for the record was on March 12th.

Oh well, we had three good seasons before this one, so a ratio of one not so good season to three good isn’t so bad!

Altitude was based in Verbier last winter and was fortunate to ski the legendary resorts of St Anton, Zermatt and Chamonix as well as La Plagne, Le Grand Massif and Les Portes du Soleil.

This year we hope to ski more resorts visit more chalets, speak to more owners and holiday makers and hopefully over the next five months or so we can give you some idea of what it is like working in a ski resort, some helpful tips on how to book the best ski holidays, information about ski & snowboard equipment, updates on ski resorts, reports on great day trips, amazing powder days and more.

So with the first ski magazines arriving on my door mat, the nights drawing in and the ski show in just a couple of weeks I’m off to look at the berries, the onion skins and the Marmottes of West Sussex to see if we are going to have a great season. I can't wait!