Last few remaining Staff !!

The end of the season is nigh, tonight is the last night before the remaining staff depart tomorrow morning. Numbers have dwindled from the 21 fresh-faced newcomers we had back in December at the start of the season! Only 9 of us have remained till the very end, all our other staff have gradually gone home over the past couple of weeks as chalets have closed down. We only had a few casualties all season which is very lucky, and by all accounts everyone had a ball!!!

Thanks to all our staff for working so hard this winter and making it a fantastic season for everyone!! A big thank you too to all our guests, without which none of us would be here!

I'll be back doing the odd blog entry throughout the summer months as we work on a couple of chalets in Les Coches and take the odd trip over to Val to see how work is progressing on the buildings for next winters World Championships! I'll keep you posted!

Roll on next winter!!!!!!

Last Day for Skiing!!!

It was a sad, sad day for seasonnaires today with the closure of the Espace Killy Ski area for another season. The snow has done us proud this year and there is still oodles of the stuff left.
Richard and Deborah headed out with the camera today for the last 'Ski' shots of the season. Lots of people who aren't here at the end of the season question 'Is there really any snow at the end?', the answer, a HUGE yes!!! The 'Bellevarde' sign shows that all is open except for the 'Epoule' and the 'Orange', not bad going, even the delightful 'Santons' was still battling it out till the bitter end!
Richard and Deborah made the best of their last ski and went over to Tignes and up the Grand Motte, a lot chillier than was anticipated, but great all the same.
Me myself, went on up to 'Le Fornet' to see what was happening in that neck of the woods, think it was the busiest I've seen it all season, snow was all in great condition though, even skiing back down all the way to the cable car was no problem at all, hardly a rock to be seen and not too slushy.

Some brave / foolish souls went down to make the last funival run of the day at 'la Daille'. It's traditional to catch the last train up and come down on sledges, bum boards, inflatable sun loungers, inflatable swimming pools (???) etc etc.etc. I wimped out of this event opting for Champagne in the sun instead, most the staff went along though and had a blast, thankfully they all came back in one piece too!!
A fantastic last day on the slopes all around I'd say!!

Staff are dwindling!!

As Chalets close down for the season, we see ourselves slowly saying farewell to members of staff whos seasons have come to an end and are off home!!
Today, Marsa Mike and Bridget departed, along with Grand Pares Michael and Gill. Mike and Bridget are off for their summer of playing on their yacht, and Michael and Gill are off to start a new life in Australia!!

New Skis Anyone!!

It's getting to the time of year where chalets are shutting down and people are moving out of apartments. A great time for throwing unwanted products out.
This is a fantastic opportunity if you're in the market for a new pair of skis or boots, if you're not too fussy about style you'll be in for a bargain as you can get pairs galore for FREE!!!!

Taking an evening walk by any 'poubelle' or dustbin to the English speakers amongst us, will undoubtedly result in at least 2 pairs of skis being dumped there, free for the taking.
These fine specimens were just spotted on my way into work this evening!! I particularly like the boots!!!

Val d'Isere 6th annual Golf Open Championship!!

Nothing to do with skiing or boarding I know, but today was the Annual 6th Val d'Isere Golf open, an event which is highly looked forward to, mainly by the male population of Val d'Isere.

This event takes place in Giez which is about a 90 minute drive away, just after Albertville.

The majority of players all boarded a coach for a nice, bright 6.45am departure, the Finlays team though opted to take the mini bus as Richard wanted to get there first for first picks on the golf clubs! We were horrified when we passed the bus stop and the bus had already left, lucky for us though we managed to over take it and got there

well in advance.

Clubs were picked and teams established (the boys were fortunate to be the first group off 'Hole one').

After the cheapest coffees and hot chocolate we've experienced in months (8 euros 10cents for six drinks, wow!!!), it was off outside for a group photo, then to the course.

Much faffing was done as to how the score cards were filled in, but eventually all was sorted and we were ready for the off.

Not being much of a golfer, I watched them 'Tee off' down the first green, then made a hasty escape due to rain fall and flying balls.

46 golfers played in total (including three women) and some 8hours later, the last of them returned to the club house for rose wine galore.
After all had been fed and watered, the presentation began. Awards seemed to be given out for every category possible, apart from best dressed team, which I am sure we would have won!Mike who has worked up in Chalet Marsa all season and is pictured here showing his first swing of the day, did us proud by coming in third!Peter Long, a long time guest of ours who was an honorary Finlays member yesterday came in 5th.Richard Finlay has slipped since coming second place a few years back, this year he stumbled into 16th place, followed by Mike from Grand Pares in 17th place. Tim came in a pathetic 43rd! Sure he could have got the prize for worst player if he'd not tried so hard. Tim also managed to loose an impressive 5 balls in the same area on the same green!I was team mini-bus driver for the day, all fun and games, lucky the boys took me along though as they all were well sozzled by the days end, a great day was had though!!

Apres ski at the Folie Douce!!

After an exhausting day on the slopes (Richard ran us around every piste in the Espace Killy), we were all ready to drop due to our legs failing to work anymore. A perfect excuse to stop off at the Folie Douce for the famous 'Apres skiing'.
It wasn't as busy as it normally is but it was still pumping in a big way, a loud way too, we were all having to yell each other to be heard!
With DJ's on the balconies and a saxophone player, guitarist, keyboard player and bongo drum player on the roof, it really is the place to stop off on the way back down to La Daille, oooohh, I forgot to mention the singer too who just loves to 'Oohhh and 'Aaarrrrrr'.
These shots were taken just as we got there, but later on it was going off with people up and dancing around. At one point the singer told everyone to dance on the tables, to the dismay of onlookers though, as soon as others got up on the table tops, the security guard came around and told them to get down again!
All in all a very entertaining hour or so was spent people watching, despite the abuse on the ear drums!!
If you are totally knackered (as we were), or just too drunk to ski back down, you can always catch the bubble lift which conveniently departs from the Folie Douce and drops you safely at the bottom at La Daille.

Are you lost yet??

Anyone who has worked for Finlays in years gone by in Val d'Isere may be familiar with the wonderful maps which Richard produces on a regular basis. If the slightest hint is given that you're not a 100 percent certain as to your destination, then the scrap paper will come out and the drawing of maps will commence! They are always great and each one a masterpiece to be treasured, not convinced everyone actually gets to the final destination by means of the map, but still !!
Tonight saw Bob, who has been staying in Chalet Bivouac for the week, come around to say his goodbyes and drop into conversation his uncertainty about tomorrows drive! Richard was to the rescue in a flash. They looked like a pair of naughty school boys hunched over the paper while Richard frantically drew and explained as he went along. The finished product is shown in the first photo, then the next is Bob proudly presenting his map! Being a taxi driver he will have hopefully made it to his destination with no hiccups whatsoever! Keep on drawing those maps Richard, we all think they are the greatest!