Val d'Isere - just back.

What can I say? Wow!
I have been going to Val at the end of season for many years but this
has to be the best by a country mile. The inability to fly out from
anywhere bar Gatwick at this time of the year meant that we had to leave
last sat pm from North Scotland. A quick look at the webcams on the way
out showed a foot or so of fresh in the resort. We started the journey
giggling like little kids.
There was snow lying at Chambery when we landed. This is late Apr,
yes???? More school girl like giggles. Arrived Sun 1430ish. A metre of
fresh in the resort???? This is a dream.
We had declined the rep's offers of lift passes etc and so were at the
La Daille ticket office by 1500 all geared up to go. "A six day pass
starting tomorrow and a half day pass for today please?" I asked in my
best French. The Gods were really looking after us now - "Wait 10 mins
and you can have today for free" said the girl behind the counter. And
so we did. We nailed top of Bellevard to La Daille in fresh virgin,
through the trees and back to the Funival, almost alone and in complete
disbelief. We managed 3 runs before it was time to rejoin the other
guests who were drinking tea and eating cake waiting for their lift
passes to arrive the next morning. It surely couldn't get any better?
Time to put my lottery on I think - the next day was clear blue sky,
sun, cold and with a mountain full of fresh powder. We were like fat
kids in a sweetie shop. Every where we went there was loads of it. I had
intended to do the 4 corners on the 1st day. 1st tracks down La sache
put paid to that. The Apr sun eventually got to work in the late
afternoon when the snow dampened but we could hardly walk by then
anyway. The school girl giggles had been replaced by an energy
conserving stupid grin at this stage. It was unavoidable, impossible not
to use at every stop and made our faces ache as much as our legs.
It snowed for the next 2 days. Vis wasn't very good but the skiing on
and off piste was amazing. Of course, we couldn't go very far off as the
vis wasn't good enough but the runs I knew, we did, and fantastic they
were too. The seasonairres and locals are proclaiming that it is the
best of the whole season and "extraordinairre!"
It was about this point that we discovered Breton Brut cider in the
Rosee Blanche. This meant that now we were burning the candle at both
ends _and_ in the middle! It is lovely stuff but very strong and makes
your lips go rubbery first. Be warned!
Thursday saw us wake up to february snow and Apr sun. Another fantastic
powder day. 'Go to Fornet' I thought but the ski across revealed loads
of untracked all over Solaise. We did traverses off 3000 and Cugnai
loads of times before the rest of the world seemed to realise that there
was unbelievable conditions out there. The grins and the schoolgirl
giggles were back with a vengeance. Eventually the pro's woke up and the
hill sides started to fill up with parallel wiggles. We went to Fornet,
did Pays Desert, got fresh there too and even got fresh back through La
Daille and Bellevard on the way back across. Unbelievable day topped of
with some cider in the sun at the Rosee Blanche. It really doesn't get
any better!
Fri was more piste with the occasional foray off but conditions had
changed so there was a lot of crusty cut up stuff. There was fresh to be
found but it wasn't enjoyable getting to it!!
I decided that Sat was 4 corners day and was relieved when there was no
fresh snow! We had recruited a young lad from the hotel who had been
bored all week. That made us 4: me, a boarder, an intermediate and a
weak (fat and unfit) intermediate. We did it in 4h 32mins. There was a
bit of faff time for the boarder and quite a lot for the weaker skier
who was, quite frankly, hanging out of his arse most of the way round.
He stuck with it so I let him have a cider at the end of the day. With
my normal ski buddy I reckon that ~3h is possible. For the information
of the poster who complains about the Tignes lift system, it is a lot
quicker from Breviere to Motte than it is from Daille to Fornet. You
only have to go on 2 "rickety" chairs. The GPS said we did 48 miles.
I'll post some info on the route we took and the GPS log stuff once my
pal works out how to decipher it all.
We got the last bus back to la Daille most nights but walked twice. La
Petit Danois is still the best pub and Dick's still sucks.
I had initially intended to go to St Anton the week before. My sister
did and I am glad I didn't. At this time of year the skiing and apres
just do not compare according to her. She is basing her opinion on the
last 2 end of seasons in Val. They didn't come close to this one. It was
absolutely amazing.
--
Pete Devlin
[{//////news03//////at\\\\\secondrow/////co\\\\\uk}]
"Mind the oranges Marlon!"

I just turned a deep shade of green

pete devlin wrote:

[snipped seriously enthusiastic account of a week's skiing]

I know, I know, I was there too !!
I agree it was an absolutely stunning week, although for a while I
thought I wasn't even going to get there - 12" of snow on the ground
between Geneva and resort made for a 6 hour transfer on Sunday afternoon
:-(

That was my first time in Val, or Tignes, but I'll definitely be back. I
looked in at the bar at the bottom of La Daille (is that the Rosee
Blanche?) once or twice, but couldn't see anyone matching your
description you posted here a couple of weeks ago.

I'll post some info on the route we took and
the GPS log stuff once my pal works out how to decipher it all.
Would you or your pal be willing to send me your GPS tracks? I am trying
to put together a set of ski maps for alpine resorts with all the lifts
and runs showing. I don't think I managed even half of what would be
needed to cover EK, but it sounds like you went to most of it every
day! I' guessing lots of your tracks would be off-piste though?

Glad you experienced it too. Got back yesterday and thought I'd dreamt
the whole week!

Walter

In message , Walter Wright
writes

That was my first time in Val, or Tignes, but I'll definitely be back. I
looked in at the bar at the bottom of La Daille (is that the Rosee
Blanche?) once or twice, but couldn't see anyone matching your
description you posted here a couple of weeks ago.

That's the place. I don't think we actually went there until wed after
skiing. We were getting free rounds at the end of the week!!


I'll post some info on the route we took and
the GPS log stuff once my pal works out how to decipher it all.
Would you or your pal be willing to send me your GPS tracks?

Certainly. I think he only recorded the last day but I'll check.

I am trying
to put together a set of ski maps for alpine resorts with all the lifts
and runs showing. I don't think I managed even half of what would be
needed to cover EK, but it sounds like you went to most of it every
day! I' guessing lots of your tracks would be off-piste though?

Mine were but the guy with the GPS was the unfit one who doesn't go off
piste! Thanks to ASDA Binatone walkie talkies (a snip at 19.97 gbp) we
were able to catch up when we went a different route! The down side is
that we got to hear awful accounts of avalanches on Gd Motte and tour de
Pramecou. The 4 corners could be made quicker by using the Tour de
Charvet off piste itinerary, and a lot were. I didn't because I know it
is high risk at this time of year.


Glad you experienced it too. Got back yesterday and thought I'd dreamt
the whole week!

I'm off today to try and recover. I need it!
--
Pete Devlin
[{//////news03//////at\\\\\secondrow/////co\\\\\uk}]
"Mind the oranges Marlon!"

pete devlin wrote:
What can I say? Wow!

Just got back from EK and I still think that Tignes has a higher
percentage of rickety old lifts. I'm not complaining though so let's
just agree to differ :-)

Maybe our week was not quite as good as yours, but still excellent in
terms of conditions. Arrived to fresh snow on Sunday. It's been a
few years since we arrived to a completely white valley at the end of
April. Snowed a bit that night and off and on Monday. Wednesday was
overcast and flat, but every other day was cloudless sunshine. Went
down to Breviere a couple of times (on snow) and even the top half of
Sache was open. Much fewer dirty snow patches than usual though by the
end of the week it was looking like April again.

Week was marred by the discovery that two of the guys working for the
small operator we book with had been killed by the huge avalanche on
the Grand Motte the previous week. The remaining staff were handling
the whole thing amazingly well. Subsequently I found out that a guy
from Misty Fly who gave me some snowboard lessons a few years back was
also killed in January. :-/

Iain.