Stunning Manchet Valley

I braved the high winds today and ventured up the mountain for a run or two (it really wasn't many more as the wind was pretty fierce, despite this picture making it look like a lovely day!!)

I caught the Solaise Express up the mountain, scooted over to the Madeline run, avoided all the learners there and managed to veer off onto the 'Arseille' for a solitary run down to the Manchet Valley.

The Manchet Valley is probably my favorite place in Val d'Isere, it's so peaceful and beautiful. When I worked in Chalet Echo I used to love driving up the road to the chalet in the mornings and seeing the Manchet with the first light on it, very nice indeed.

Ladyboys Sister

This scraggly creature very rarely comes to visit, but today decided to come and check out what we were all doing outside ( we were actually waiting for all the new arrivals to arrive!)

The fur ball is Lady boys younger sister, known as 'Crazy dog'. She is most erratic and keeps her distance well, she can't even be bribed closer by tasty morsels of meat, unlike her older sibling who wolfs down almost anything offered ( except for rocket!!).

As you can see, it was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, perfect for when all the new guests stepped off the coach. The coach arrived in such good time that a few eager guests actually donned their skis and went on out to the free chair lifts for a run or two before they closed down for the evening.

Spring could be here...

This is the view today, after all the snow, clouds and gloomy weather of the past week or so, it looks as if Spring could have finally arrived.

It's great to see a pure blue sky, sure the guests will be loving it too as conditions this week must have been pretty tough for them all!!

I've had a busy week child-minding so haven't experienced the slopes at all, shall get on out there again next week though!

It's turning into my favorite time of season now where the weather gets warmer, the days are longer and the snow gets a little mushy towards the end of the day down in the village! Slush is great on a board, heaps of fun!

Saying this though, I may be speaking too soon as quite a lot of snow is forecast for next week..... time will tell if spring has indeed arrived or if we are to have more winter yet!!

While the girls are away.....

...the boys get to play!
The girls from Persval have all gone down the Valley to do the weekly grocery shop, therefore the boys get to play at being hosts and show that they too have great cleaning skills. Tim is actually looking as if he enjoys these chores....maybe I should get him doing the windows every day!

Visitors

Richard had the pleasure of his Granddaughter Amy, and his Nephew, Jacob come on out to stay over Easter, along with Deborah!
They all arrived on Good Friday after a horrendous journey from Geneva. The plane was delayed by three hours, then it took them forever to get back to resort due to all the snow which was falling nearly all the way to Geneva, they eventually made it though, all in good spirits too.
Jacob and Amy both had lessons with 'Woody' from 'Progression Ski' and both loved it. Amy also had her Grandad take her out to teach her a thing or two whilst Jacob went on out with 'Auntie Deborah'.
A fine time was had by all.
Craig and I had the pleasure of Jacob and Amy's company on Tuesday afternoon when we took them out to play pool in the local bars.
After playing on the smallest table in the world in the Morris Bar, we relocated to the bigger table at 'Pacific'.
Jacob has improved no end since his holiday here last season, as for Amy, she is the most laid-back pool player I have ever met, her method and coolness works though and ball after ball was sunk with what seemed like a total effortless approach!!
Thankfully the journey back for them all this morning was a lot smoother with no snow or delays to hinder them all.

Snow Train Luggage!

This was our office yesterday, another Saturday changeover day!

We had a record number of guests departing on the evening snow train, 31 guests in total!

All luggage was collected from various chalets and brought to the office, including board bags, ski bags etc etc etc.

The poor office was swamped, even my office chair had a suitcase plonked on it!
It was a beautiful day though for a final ski as the sun shone for a few hours and lots of new powder would have been around after the metre of fresh snow we had fall on Friday!!

Bosset Val Man!!

The 'Bosset Val Man' is our personal alarm clock on snowy mornings! Without a doubt we can tell if it has snowed or not without even getting out of bed by the clanging of his chains (and they are very impressive chains) and the scraping of his scoop! (Our heads are against our external wall when we sleep and it well feels like he is coming straight through the house!!). He does do a fantastic job though of clearing the roads and making huge mounds of snow.

He's been out and about already this morning clearing all the new snow we've had overnight, the way the snow is currently falling it'll be an endless job for him today, no sooner will he have cleared a circuit then he'll have to start again!

A Day with Richard!

A beautiful sunny day, a great day for a ski! I went for my first board of the season with Richard today. We met at a very civilised time and had an hour in order to get from Val to the 'Eye of the needle' over in Tignes to meet Richards niece, Catherine, her partner Andrew, and friends, Margaret and Adrian.
As it was such a stunning day we caught the chairs up the Bellevarde instead of the Olympique cable car which is the preferred choice for most skiers. Though the two chairs are slower, they are lovely to relax on in the sunshine, a lot quieter too than being in the bubble with two dozen other people!!
Once up the top I was in Richards capable hands, he has no mercy for boarders, it's a case of keep up or be left behind!
First port of call was to head down the OK/Orange to see the installation of the poles for the new chair lift due to open next season. It's to replace the current 'Marmottes' chair which is very old and rickety indeed. We aren't 100 percent certain where this chair is to start or finish, it should end up in a much better location though than the current one does! Many people get caught out thinking the 'Marmottes' will go to the top of the Bellevarde Olympique cable car, only to get off and realise they are in fact quite a distance from it in the middle of nowhere!

Regardless, back to our day. We continued on our way to Tignes (via knee deep powder where I had my first fall of the season), and made it to our destination in record time.
On meeting up with everyone, lots of fine skiing and boarding was done, the pistes were all supreme and not too busy at all really. Richard was our leader and thankfully didn't take us anywhere too hairy, the only bad mark he got was for taking us on the oldest chair lift ever down at Les Brevieres. It's a tiny two seater with no sides on it, no padding on the seats and a foot rest bar which is way too close to the seat for your average Joe Bloggs!! Moan over with.

We opted for a late lunch to avoid crowds and skied on down to the 'Industrial Hot dog' to dine, a place I have heard much about but never been in until today. 'Industrial Hot dog' isn't the official name, just the name it has always had, long story, ask Richard if you want the finer details! The food was good and the price most reasonable (Thank you Margaret and Adrian for treating us all, have been told not to mention Andrews attempt to pay!!!!).
On departing the restaurant we discovered clouds had moved in and the weather wasn't looking quite so stunning as it had been. Perfect excuse for Richard and I to duck out of skiing for the remainder of the day once we'd made it back to Val d'Isere, that and of course the fact that work calls!

Thanks to all involved for a great day out!

St. Patricks Day!!!

Another Monday, another 'Finlays Drinks Evening', made all the more entertaining this week with it being St Patricks Day!

Leprechauns were abundant along with a random man dressed in Chinese attire, not entirely sure why.

This cheerful bunch are guests of ours staying in Chalet Raton Laveur, dinner plans were scrapped and replaced by a liquid dinner, aided by the 'Pacific' bar staff pouring shots of Toffee Vodka.

These were accepted readily and promptly downed.

It was all a most cheery event, was most impressed with the thought and planning which had gone into the outfits, especially by our guests who would have lugged it all the way from home, the bar staff all looked very dashing too though. Fun and games for all involved, dare say there would have been an awful lot of sore heads today!!

The reason it's snowing.....

....is because we brought our picnic table and chairs up from the basement on Friday as it was so glorious, sunny and warm that we had staff lunch outside!!

Thinking back through the years, this always happens, we dust off our outside furniture, then it dumps down all over it!!

We have had snow galore for the past 36 hours, it hasn't really let up at all, the snow is forecast to stop falling this afternoon though.

Yesterday up the mountain was great fun, I was able to go off piste on piste! Admittedly it was freezing on the lifts as that wind really did pick up and give it all it was worth, the powder was addictive though and even though I kept claiming each run was my last, I'd find myself once again sat on the chair lift trying to hide from the wind and convinced that I could see a clear patch breaking through in the clouds (it didn't!!).

The pistes I was playing on were empty (not sure why as they weren't closed!!!), it really was quite an eerie experience though as it was so silent and the clouds so low and thick that I couldn't see a thing! It's what I imagine boarding in heaven would be like!

Today looks like it's going to be the same up there, definitely worth going up.

'Red Ray' hits the slopes!!

We awoke to snow galore this morning, a pleasant surprise after the weather forecast had predicted rain! It's still coming down thick and fast and should snow on and off all day!!
I caught Red Ray on his way out this morning, he's always the first out the door regardless of weather conditions! He spends his days playing off piste with Wayne from 'Alpine Experience'.
If we gave awards for 'Guests who stay with us most in a season', Ray would be the sure winner without a doubt. This is now his 6th week this season and he still has another two weeks booked with us in April.
He loves the powder and is rather partial to the colour red too!!!

Question......

.......Why does the water which is being held back by the Tignes dam not freeze over when it's really really cold ( lower than minus 20 degrees), but freeze over when its nice and warm and mild?
Any ideas please let me know!
This was the Lac de Chevril (body of water held back by the dam) today with ice forming on it, as you can see! It hasn't had ice on it all season and it puzzles us quite a lot, (well, puzzles Richard and I, sure no-one else really gives it too much thought!).
It was a beautiful spring like day today with blue sky galore and hardly a cloud to be seen. Everyone had a fantastic day out on the slopes and many people have come back with sun burnt faces. Such a contrast to the last 48 hours with all the snow and wind!
The same glorious conditions are forecast for tomorrow so lets hope it's correct!!

How to Sober-up in Val d'Isere!!

The view from the office window in Val d'Isere tonight showed two of our guests staying in Chalet Amelia, out in the car park. The snow was dumping down and it was more than chilly, but they'd taken this opportunity to build themselves a new friend.
Much interest was shown in their progress as they didn't seem to be getting anywhere quickly, even when Craig went out and shoveled huge mounds of snow in their direction. Their snowman seemed to be growing very tall and very skinny, instead of round and fat. They persevered much to every ones amusement and an hour or so later had produced 'Bob the Snowman', complete with a biscuit for a nose and walnuts as eyes, mouth and buttons, he has twig arms too. The girls were most proud of their accomplishment and on being asked why on earth they were building a snowman in the middle of the car park, they responded that they'd drunk way too much at lunchtime and had to find a way to sober up! Okay then.... each to their own crazy ideas! It seemed to work wonders for the girls though and they were able to go in for dinner most wet, chilly, yet extremely sober!!!!
It has yet to be discovered if 'Bob' survived the night, predictions were that he'd either have his head kicked off or, being in the middle of the car park, be run over by one of our vehicles!!!

Winter's Back!!

Our poor little snow machine was hoping its work was over for the season...... not a chance!!!

We awoke today to a newly white world, hurrah. I sent Craig on out to the car park with a ruler to measure the fresh powder, however the snow depths varied. It was 14cm on the ground, 12 cm on the vans bonnet and 17cm on its roof.
All the new snow is great. The weather forecaster claimed it would stop snowing at lunchtime, it's still going strong though, the only downside is the wind, we've got between 80 and 100 kph today so conditions will be quite tough, plus it's cold!!

The boys managed to clear the car park in record time and got it all back down to tarmac, I'd be willing to bet all the snow is back there again now and the task of clearing will start all over again tonight!!

Roads are extremely slippery at the moment so please be careful if driving around, walking around too!

Birthday Celebrations!!

Richard busted me trying to take a candid picture of himself, Deborah and Tim during his birthday celebrations. Guess it's hard to take sneaky shots when the camera has flashing lights all over!!
This was the scene after all the hard work had been done at 'Drinks Evening'. All our guests went back to the Chalets for dinner and we ventured to 'Blue Note' for more drinks.
'Blue Note' is a lot more subdued and chilled than other establishments in Val d'Isere. It also has very comfy chairs and the music is at a level where you can still hear each other and don't have to guess what people are saying! Always a bonus!!!

Happy Birthday Richard !!!!

I'm convinced Richards birthdays roll round quicker and quicker each year, either that or he tricks us into believing he has more than one birthday per year! Regardless, whatever the reason, today saw yet another birthday!
We saw him briefly in the office this morning when he whipped by for an early morning caffeine fix and opened his gift from the staff in Val d'Isere ( a 'learn to Parapente course', it will be blogged when it's done!!!). He then headed out with Deborah for on an off-piste morning with the delightful Pietro from 'Alpine Experience'.
The snow which was forecast hadn't materialized by the time he ventured out, flakes are falling now though and it's 'sticking'!!
Despite no fluffy new snow to play in, I am certain Pietro would have found some great off piste!!
Being a Monday Richard is now down at drinks evening, the question everyone is asking is 'Will Kir Royale be served for the occasion??!!!' Go on down and find out!!

Santons Strait

Another beautiful day in Val d'Isere, don't be deceived by all the blue sky though, it is bitterly cold to the point where any exposed flesh rapidly goes numb!! Wrap up warm and don't forget to close your mouth whilst skiing/boarding or else your teeth will freeze!
For those of you unawares, 'Santons' is a blue run (supposedly), which is one of the runs which takes you back into the village from the Bellevarde mountain. Lots of fun and games is always had on this piste, mainly as although it's classed as a blue, it is actually quite tricky!
It starts off quite nicely at the top where it has a nice open area, this rapidly turns into a half pipe though which is quite steep in places. This is great fun if it has been freshly bashed and if it's people free, however, one of those days only comes around on very special occasions, the majority of the time it has moguls and people galore! Now this wouldn't be so bad neither, that is if the people have kept moving, chances are, they haven't, they've been struck by fear and are stuck part way down and are unable to proceed further, despite gentle coaxing by friends, ( These are words of experience, I still recall my first time down Santons as an inexperienced boarder 8 years ago!!!). This then turns the piste into an interesting obstacle course too as you avoid the motionless skiers, whilst offering up the odd prayer as you approach and pass them that they don't get a sudden surge of confidence and attempt to set of, inevitably if they do take the plunge, they wont look behind them to see if the coast is clear!!!
Once the half pipe is cleared and the people have been left way behind ( no doubt having just hit the icy patch and cursing whoever is responsible for grading slopes), you're on the home stretch, word of warning though, it's a flat stretch so the last 100 metres or so down Santons has to be done at a relative pace in order to gather the speed to enable you to sail on through to the Clochetons restaurant at the end of the strait, failure to do so means a loooonnngggggggggggg walk!
For many, 'Clochetons is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (run). It's a total suntrap and the view looking up the Manchet Valley is just magnificent, believe it or not, after a break there and a glass or three of Vin Chaud later, you'll be wondering why on earth Santons petrified you so much and itching to do it again!!
Love it or hate it, it has to be experienced!

A Strange Day

This was the view out of our back window at Persval this morning at 8am, I'm sure everyone was thinking the same as me and that it would be a supreme day! Despite the weather forecast predicting lots of clouds, we all scoffed at it and claimed it would never be!
How wrong we all were.
I dashed home at 11am to get changed and up the mountain, eager to get some sunshine and have a scoot around, no sooner had I stepped out the door though, than a sea of clouds came swimming into view up from the valley. Less than an hour later the sky was totally covered in thick, dark, menacing clouds. The light turned flat and most disgruntled I set off home. Got in the house, changed, looked out the window 20 minutes later and lo and behold there wasn't a cloud to be seen! Hmmmmmm, I'm sure an evil trick was being played on me. How can clouds vanish so rapidly? Ah well, c'est la vie.

The view today....

It really is quite an uninspiring day weather wise in Val d'Isere. Most fortunate really it's a Saturday and the majority of our guests are on transfers in or out of resort and all our staff are busy scrubbing chalets to make them sparkle and gleam, (even more than they already do!).

This was the view from a bedroom window at 'Hirondelle', our self catering apartment up at Le Fornet. The picture doesn't really show it too well, but it was dumping down with snow and quite blustery too. The mountains are covered in clouds and it looks like a very difficult day for anyone brave enough to attempt to ski. I feel quite lucky to be able to stay inside and merrily scrub bathrooms for the best part of the day!

The sun is set to make a welcome come back tomorrow so conditions should be excellent!!