And I thought it'd be a miserable day!!

How quickly the weather can change in the mountains. I set off driving down the valley early this morning for the weekly grocery shop and it was dismal, thick clouds, fog, mist (are they the same thing?), anyway, general grottiness was abundant and I thought the day was doomed. Two hours later though I drove back and it was absolutely stunning, not a cloud to be seen and just blue

sky everywhere, picture perfect!

A great day for both our guests and all the guys here for the competition this weekend. There are 81 competitors from around the world presesntly in Val d'Isere competing in the Mens Alpine World Championship. This is apparantly being held in practise for next years World Cup.

The actual competition runs on saturday and sunday, but there is all the training which is presently on. The course goes from the top of the Bellevarde all the way down the face, it's quite a biggie. The fastest time today was by an Italian who did it in 2 minutes 13.58 seconds, speedy!!! He claims the snow was great.
Tonight on the snow front from 6.30pm they are giving the racers their bibs and the spectators soup, a special recipe which is also being test-run for next years events!
I'll get on over there and see what it's all about and blog it all after!!

Richards Promises....

Dr Harris and his family popped by the office to visit the other day, Richard promised to make the kids stars of the blog so here they are!! The were over on holidays and have now returned back to Australia.
Dr Harris used to be the Dr here in Val many years ago, he started up the English Medical Centre which is still going strong today. It is a great set-up, not that we wish any of our guests to actually ever have to go there, but if you were unfortunate enough to injure yourself, you would be in very good hands!!

Red sky at night...

....skiers delight (??).

This was the end of a wonderful sunset this evening, photos never do justice to sunsets, but it was beautiful with pink mountains galore.

It was quite a strange day weather wise. The sun which was forecast to be veiled by thin clouds wasn't quite what I was expecting, as in fact the sun didn't appear at all, I'd actually say it was pretty much a 'flat light day' , very eerie out there. Lets hope the sun makes more of an appearance tomorrow.

Mysterious new Poma

A mysterious new Poma and piste have appeared atop the Bellevarde, quite a shock for me the first time I saw them as was not expecting it at all! Rumour has it that they are for the Mens Alpine Ski World Cup races which take place next weekend here in Val, I have a sneaky suspicion that those rumours could be true.

The race bibs will be distributed on Friday at 6pm, then the races commence Saturday, starting with the 'Mens Downhill' at 11am. On Sunday there is the 'Super-Combined downhill race' at 10.30am. It's worth going along to see these guys just to see how fast they really do go, seeing them on TV just does not give the 'wow' factor that seeing them live does.

Chevallot Birthday Cakes

The fabulous Chevallot bakery produces wonderful cakes, great for birthdays! If you don't want to spend any euros, you can always try your luck at winning one via Radio Val d'Isere, 96.1 fm. I managed to win this one for Craig who had his birthday yesterday. All I had to do was give the radio station a call the day before, if you're the first caller through, you win! You then go to the station (based within the tourist office), pick up a voucher, take it to the bakery, specify whether you'd like a chocolate or fruit cake, return the next day and voila, one free and delicious birthday cake!!

The Sun is Back!

Am failing to comprehend the weather at the moment, it is most erratic. Today has been the total contrast of yesterday, bluer than blue sky and brilliant sunshine. It's hard to believe that yesterday we could hardly walk down the street without being blown away and blinded by horizontally flying snow.
People were out in force on the slopes today after I imagine the vast majority would have opted to stay chalet bound yesterday.
I know I'm saying this all the time, but the pistes really are in fantastic condition, the piste bashers must be working overtime to keep them all the way they are. I mooched around up on the Solaise today and down into the Manchet Valley by means of the Arcelle run, it's always so beautiful down in the Manchet Valley. My last run of the day was down the 'L', a favourite of mine, I foolishly decided to cut through the trees on the cut back to Val though, along the 'Traversee du Laisinant' path. As lovely and peaceful as this path is, it's not ideal on a board as a lot of it is on a gentle incline or flat and one winds up scooting, it paid off though as I found some fabulous icicles on a balcony.
Lets hope this weather stays around for a few days now so our guests really can experience Val d'Isere at its best.

Snowed out!!!

It's a blustery wintry day out there today, winds of up to 120kph are howling around the chalets, most grim!

Snow drifts are blocking entrances in and out of homes and no sooner are they cleared than the snow is back again. A day for being inside I do believe, however, rumour has it that the grimness could clear up and some sunny spells may appear this afternoon. Personally I shan't be holding my breath as to me it looks and sounds, like it is here for the day!

Life at 3456m.....

......is very chilly, at least it was today, it's usually not quite so Baltic. I was most fortunate to get to the top of the Grande Motte, the point which is 3456m high, as the cable car I was riding in was to be the last of the day due to the high winds.
At the base of the cable car, thermometers were claiming it to be +3 degrees, certainly did not feel that warm though, that wind chill certainly had a lot to answer for. On stepping out of the cable car at the top, after a very halting and swaying journey up, wind all but blew everyone away, it was most ferocious and I don't blame all those people who got straight back in the car again for the ride down! I braved it in the name of work and wanting to get some photos! Not the best day to do it, my hands went numb within about 7 seconds of removing my mittens and very hasty shots were taken.
Loitering around taking photos meant I had three piste security guys behind me waiting for me to go on down so they could ensure everyone was off the mountain. Despite the wind on disembarking the cable car, thirty metres or so down it was lovely conditions! No wind, warm sun and lovely snow!!! The piste was in fantastic condition, it's a shame the car closed as I would have gone back up and done it again. A stunning day indeed!!

Transfer day again!

Saturdays just seem to roll around quicker and quicker each week.

Again, not much to report on this changeover day, the planes were on time and the guests made it to resort in super-speedy time, all before 3pm!!

We had a chalet of guests who arrived by the overnight train from London. The train pulled into a very sunny, but very chilly (-6 degrees), Bourg St Maurice station at 8.44am this morning. The guests were up in resort by 9.45am. After a quick cup of tea they were off to the rental shops, lift passes were purchased and they were on the slopes by 11.30am! Not bad going. Think probably the beautiful sunshine, big blue sky and picture perfect pistes could have been inspiration to get on out there.

Incidentally, I learnt today the best way to remove skies from a train is through the windows....obviously!!!

Finlays Internet Cafe!!!

The sun is out, the sky is blue, it's an absolutely stunning day and our hard-working staff opt to spend the afternoon playing on the Internet!! Admittedly one host does have a popped kneecap and is on crutches so there isn't a lot else that she can do, but for the rest, they just want to catch up on the outside world I guess.

Persval is just one of a handful of locations in Val where we now have Wi-fi installed for our guests who come and need to work during their holiday. It is amazingly popular and we are aiming to get it installed in some other chalets too.

Internet talk aside, today was a stunning day as I mentioned before, all the small amounts of snow we have been getting overnight have mounted up and the pistes are fantastic. That wind is still around today but will hopefully drop off in the next few days. Perfect conditions, sure all the guests took advantage of their last day on the slopes today!

Day Tripping in Beaufortain.

We ventured down the valley today, what with it being a Wednesday and day off. Conditions in Val were looking pretty grim with high winds, covered peaks and the odd snow flurry so off we went in search for blue sky down the Valley.

We stopped in the village of Seez for a much needed breakfast stop, Seez is tiny but with bakeries galore. We tried out the 'Salon de The' which boasts it's bread is cooked in a wood oven. Typical little French place complete with cow print table clothes and lamps with alpine skiers on, the pastries filled the big gap in our stomachs though and we were set for the journey to Beaufort.

Beauforts claim to fame, is of course, Beaufort cheese, a speciality here in the Savoie region. There's a fromagerie which is open to the public where you can see the cheese being made, it also has a small museum/display all about the cheese. A trip downstairs will reward you with aisles of huge rounds of cheese, they really are massive, quite smelly though. Two different kinds of beaufort cheese are produced, one being the winter version which is made from the milk produced by the cows during their period underground, the other being the summer version when the cows are free to roam the mountainsides and munch away happily on alpine flowers. I believe both varieties are excellent, many people prefer the summer version though.

Being a town which produces cheese, it's no surprise that it features heavily on the restaurant menus. We went for lunch in the busy and popular 'Restaurant du Grand Mont' (so called I presume after the mountain). We'd been eyeing up the huge slabs of Beaufort tart which were being served alongside masses of salad, we foolishly assumed these were main servings, how wrong we were, they were just starters as we realised when fellow dinners polished off their plates, only to be brought another plate with even more food on.
We managed to get our waitress to swap the meat options of the 'Plat du Jour', for beaufout tart, this then came served with salad, dauphinoise potatoes, chips and dessert. We were in our element and thought this a total bargain at 12 euros each. Unfortunately for us, the servings defeated us and by the time dessert rolled around, we were both full, figured dessert couldn't be skipped though and force-fed ourselves creme brules and creme caramels. It was all excellent. Not quite sure how the other diners managed to eat so much, was quite extraordinary.

Through fear of falling asleep after too much food we promptly paid the bill (which came with a complimentary boiled sweet and sewing kit (??!!!)) and set off to walk off our food.

Beaufort is a lovely little town, at 750m above sea level, it gets snow, enough to go cross country skiing, then off course there is downhill skiing in the local mountains nearby.

We went on a cow hunt to find the creatures responsible for making the town famous, couldn't locate any though, obviously all underground until spring comes again. However, we did find the blue skies that Val had been lacking in the morning, it turned out to be a stunning day and well worthwhile!

Beaufort cheese is also made in Val at our local farms and can be bought at their small farm shops.

The clouds are rolling in...

A beautiful day up the mountain today, was quite eerie though as we were surrounded by clouds rolling in from all directions, they were seen gathering over distant mountains. That was around 2pm, and now we are totally engulfed.

Despite the great snow and blue skies (for most the day), the wind was wild!! The forecast wasn't lying when it mentioned up to 70kph of wind, I'd be tempted to say it was stronger than that at times. My attempts of getting down Piste'H' were hysterical, not only were the winds so strong that at times I stopped moving (not through choice), but then when I could move, I couldn't see a thing as snow was being blown in all directions in a manor which stung the cheeks and froze all exposed areas of skin. Highly entertaining. On other runs though conditions were totally different and positively warm with not a bit of wind. Most strange.

All in all a great day, lets just hope now that all the clouds that rolled in will dump a whole lot of snow overnight!

Finlays Drinks Evening!

Welcome to the world of Finlays Drinks Evening!!!


This fine event takes place each Monday evening in the Pacific bar between 6pm and .......well, it's supposed to be 7.45pm so all our guests can get back to the chalets in time for dinner, however, chances are Richard will ply everyone with more Kir and make them late for dinner!!! Well, that's how the story goes!!!
It's a jolly fine evening and a great opportunity for Richard, and other members of the Finlays team, to see our guests outside of the chalets and chat with them all. Unlike some other companies, it is just a social evening, I don't think we'd be able to sell you anything even if we tried, which we wouldn't, it's just all about meeting other guests who are loving the skiing, and getting tipsy!!

There's a band which plays (purely coincidental), and what makes it even more coincidental is they're Scottish and wear kilts!!! (For those of you unawares, we are a Scottish company!!).
A great evening is generally had by one and all, everyone is welcome from our chalets, as are guests from holidays past, as are friends and family in resort..... basically, we're pleased to see anyone who pops in!!
See you there next Monday!!!!

A Very Chilly Toyota

After all the snow of yesterday, today was both sunny and cloudy, chilly too. The pure sunshine which was promised didn't actually happen, it was still a lovely day though. Our poor vehicles didn't think so though and all grew icicles.
The pistes are now in fantastic condition after the new snow. There is still the odd random lift closed, but the majority of pistes are now open.

Changeover Day!!!

It's a very snowy changeover day, very manic too, mainly due to all the snow!! Roads are chaotic, not just in resort but all the way down the valley too. Snow galore once again!

So what is there to put pictures of on a snowy, murky changeover day... not a lot really. I'm sure pictures of beds being made and hallways being hoovered aren't too exciting, so I got Ladyboy to come and pose for me over on the nursery slope (that's not too exciting neither, but better than nothing!!!). That is supposed to be the Bellevarde mountain behind her, only it's invisible today.

Amazingly, Ladyboy is a fan of changeover day, she comes to meet and greet the new guests upon the bus's arrival, she never ventures too far from my side though. She observes the new guests from a distance, checking out who's staying in Persval for the week. Very important for her to know this as she barks at anyone unfamiliar from her post of duty, the office doorstep.

It has snowed all day so far today, conditions up the mountain look really grim, lucky today is transfer day as I don't believe it would be possible to do too much skiing in these conditions.

Lets hope for a better day tomorrow for all our new guests!!

Best 'all-in-one' of the season!!!!

Somehow the weather always seems to know when it's Wednesdays and our day off, and knows to be murky instead of sunny and beautiful as we want it to be! Regardless, despite the low clouds and flat light, I decided to venture up the mountain and was it ever worth it!!! I'd only made it as far as the ESF kiddies section when I spotted (well, I couldn't really miss it), this fabulous suit. However, I was instantly hit by dismay as had left my camera at home, due to the unfavorable weather conditions. I had to call home and get Craig to bring the camera over to the slopes to snap, what I believe to be, the suit of the season......so far. By the time he got there, I was already up the Bellevarde and we were having to have telephone conversations as to what the suit was like, and where the lady could possibly be now. Lucky for us, she was spotted outside the Brussels hotel having a drink. I was led to believe that the photo had been unobtainable due to her sitting down, imagine how thrilled I was then to meet up with Craig for lunch and realise he had actually got the all important snap shot!! He'd approached the lady and asked if he could take her photo, she had no qualms about jumping up and striking a pose for him. It truly is a unique suit, who would ever think that Pavarti, Hindu goddess of love and devotion could make it onto an all in one!!! I am loving it.

Snow Galore!!!

We were rudely awoken this morning by the snow machine scraping along outside our house, a sure sign snow had arrived.
On arriving in the office at 7.15am, I went out to the car park with my trusty ruler and measured 30cm of fresh snow, that was over 2 hours ago now though and the snow is still falling at quite a rate. Whilst out taking pictures we had a mini avalanche in our wall of snow, quite exciting when it was mini and in our car park, a lot scarier when they're huge and on the mountains though. Piste security is currently securing the slopes and the odd explosion rumbles through the village now and again as they set off charges to blast the snow.
The piste bashers are out in force on the nursery slopes and no doubt further up the mountain too, I just cant see that far up due to clouds and snow!! The snow is set to fall all day long.
A great start for the week for all our new guests who arrived yesterday!

What to do with 2 small children and 100kph winds....

....take them to the farm of course!!!
Today was an extremely windy day in resort, the light wasn't too great neither so we decided to venture off to the farm ( we being myself and two of Richards Granddaughters who are on holiday with us for the week, Isla and Ruby.)
Well, this seemed like a great idea until we set off walking from the Chatelard to the farm. The initial plan was take the buses, however, this is trickier than it seems if you aren't a pro in handling buggies (which I aren't) so I thought it safer to walk. The initial walk from Chaltelard down to the Rond Point des Pistes was all fine and well, apart from having to do battle with winds coming from all directions. Once at the rond point I made a split second decision to take a 'train rouge' bus the rest of the way to the farm, mainly as the thought of pushing a buggy over the ski slope didn't appeal. Conveniently a bus was there already to whisk us away to our destination, however, I had to stand and look like a useless female until the bus driver came to my assistance to aid in lifting the buggy up and into the bus, he was very prompt though. Despite my fears that the buggy wouldn't fit through the doors, he somehow managed to make it fit! Hurrah. The bus drivers here are always very helpful. We rode the bus up to Le Fornet just for the fun of it, then, lucky for me, found a friend on the bus who assisted in getting the buggy off the bus at the farm stop. He himself was taking his kids husky sledging for the morning, another popular activity for non-skiers (a lot more popular than visiting cows I am sure!)
On arriving at the farm, or 'Fromagerie' as it proudly announces on the building ( as indeed they do also sell cheese there as well as having a very popular restaurant where you can dine and watch cows at the same time (it's not a 'pick your own cow' restaurant though as some people like to believe)), we were disappointed to find the doors to the barn locked. On desperately trying to peer through the windows, two small french girls appeared and granted us permission to enter (usually you can just walk in).
After a brief tour with the girls telling us the cows are sorted into their living quarters depending on size, we were left on our own to watch and feed the local bovines.
The barn they live in is HUGE and there aren't actually too many cows at all so they have a whole lot of space to move around in. It's also extremely clean. Isla especially was a bit concerned when I mentioned a trip to the farm as she thought it would be smelly, it wasn't smelly at all though. The cows all looked happy enough at spending their winter inside. They seemed to just be doing what they would be doing if they were outside, eating and sleeping. Unlike English cows I have encountered in the past, this lot weren't at all shy and approached us for head rubs and extra straw to be pushed there way, all very cute.
The kids loved it and were very reluctant to leave after we'd spent an hour or so cow watching.
A successful morning trip indeed, and free too, there aren't too many times you can say that in Val d'Isere!!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year one and all!!!
Both yesterday and today have been stunning weather wise and the snow is great. I zoomed up the Solaise express for a quick blast around at lunchtime and it was lovely. Not too busy (as everyone was off eating lunch), and the bitterly cold conditions of the past few days seem to have relented for the day. At one point I was positively hot, that could be down to the fact I was poling along though which I'm not quite used to yet at this stage of the season. Happily poling along though set me of on a new years mission to learn cross country skiing, I reckon it must be a great workout but quite serene at the same time too. As luck would have it, on returning to Persval I ran into two of our guests who'd just been cross country skiing for the morning. They claimed it was knackering. Hmmmmm. Still reckon it's worth a try though in the very near future.
Lunch today was purchased in the very handy 'La Tartine', a little snack bar in the snow square just down from the nursery slopes. It always has a healthy queue of customers and sells very convenient sandwiches, paninis, croque monsieur's and several pastries etc etc etc. We opted for Paninis, always yummy but somewhat dry, especially if you're foolish like me and only take 10 euros out to buy lunch for 2 people. The 10 euros barely covered the paninis and left no change to even buy a drink to share. Big mistake. Regardless, it was nice to sit in deckchairs in the sun and munch away whilst watching the world go by.
The clouds are now starting to roll in and with any luck the snow that is forecast to fall later on tonight will materialize!!