Wednesday morning started in much the same vain as previous days, clear sunny skies and up the Pied Moutet, but it was becoming very obvious that the snow was disappearing rapidly from the lower slopes. Still, there is plenty of snow and good skiing to be had higher up, and after a few runs to warm up we head off for the snow park on the glacier.
We spend a bit of time watching some of the young guns attempt various jumps and aerials with varying degrees of success, and we smirk quietly to ourselves every time someone on a snowboard wipes out, before we make our own cautious efforts. We all survived unscathed the first time, but there was not a lot of air under our skis, so we head up again for another go. This time Gary is a bit more ambitious and not quite so lucky. I watch him successfully take off and disappear over the first jump, then he takes off with a bit more speed and air over the second and disappears, but this time he does not reappear for the third jump, instead after a bit of a pause, he is seen walking off to the side of the piste carrying his skis, whoops! Fortunately there is no damage done.
After one more attempt, with more success for all of us this time we decide it is time to move on, but not before we witness what is probably the most bizarre wipe out of the week. Some how Andy Ogbourne manages to manoeuvre his snowboard in such a way that he collides with the support pylon whilst going up on the T-bar! This is all highly amusing to all of us, except Andy of course, but I think he has got over it now. Still, it wouldn’t have happened if he’d been on skis!!
After negotiating the steep and in places quite icy Super Diable black run we settled for lunch at the restaurant near the bottom of the run, most of us that is. Karen managed to miss the track that ran off to the restaurant and ended up skiing all the way to the bottom, so she had to go back up the chair lift and ski the run again. No matter, she didn’t miss out much as service was not particularly swift at the restaurant today.
The afternoon was spent cruising around on the blues and reds in the Toura and La Fee areas before we headed back to the hotel. Today we took the easy option and made our way back to the resort on the Diable gondola.
Wednesday evening was a fairly quiet affair, evening meal was the usual salad buffet, pasta and main course consisting of over cooked croquet potatoes and some indeterminate meat, however it had been noticed that there was now only 1 horse in the field where there had been 2 at the start of the week! Surely just a coincidence maybe, or maybe not?
Following on from the meal, most people adjourned to the bar for a quiz night, whereas some of us thought this would be far to taxing and decided we would rather just kill off a few more brain cells rather than exercise them, and headed off for the polar bear bar.
After just a few drinks we called it a night as the plan was to ski down to La Grave the following morning and this would involve an earlier start than previous days in an attempt to get the first lifts. So it was off to bed for an earlyish night, we must be getting old!
Tuesday 20 March 2007
Monday 5 March 2007
Would You Like Some Meat With Your Meat?
Tuesday night at the hotel was barbeque night, so a good few of us started off with a little impromptu drinks party in Rachel’s room. At 7.30 we all trooped down to the bar only to be told that evening meal didn’t start until 8 that night. So we all trooped back up again and carried on with another drink and nibbles. At 8 o’clock down we trooped again.
Well I’m sorry to say the barbeque was another disappointment! We did not get the usual salad buffet and pasta dish to start, instead we had a plate of cold meat followed by some barbequed spicy sausages and a pork chop and nothing else, no salad, no veg, no pasta - no nothing. The only thing you could have was more spicy sausage and pork chop, so what the vegetarians were supposed to eat is a bit of a mystery. Another very flat omelette was the option I think. At least the waiters weren’t throwing paddies, as it didn’t matter where we were sitting tonight.
After the meal it was off to Smithy’s for the live music night, and I’m happy to report this was a good night. The band, who were apparently from New Zealand and who’s name I haven’t got a clue, were excellent. They played some great covers, and I can’t remember any of them, all I know is they were very slick and professional and very good value as it was free to get in. Not only that, we were also royally entertained by Duncan’s dancing. He was dancing everywhere and there was no stopping him, and where he may have lacked a bit of rhythm, he more than made up for it with his energy and enthusiasm. That is what a après ski is all about, getting out there and enjoying yourself, so good on you Duncan.
The band played on for most of the night with just a couple of breaks, but by the time they came back on for their third stint the place was rammed again and it was a real fight not to have some drunken knob bump into you of spill beer all over you, so time to go.
Well I’m sorry to say the barbeque was another disappointment! We did not get the usual salad buffet and pasta dish to start, instead we had a plate of cold meat followed by some barbequed spicy sausages and a pork chop and nothing else, no salad, no veg, no pasta - no nothing. The only thing you could have was more spicy sausage and pork chop, so what the vegetarians were supposed to eat is a bit of a mystery. Another very flat omelette was the option I think. At least the waiters weren’t throwing paddies, as it didn’t matter where we were sitting tonight.
After the meal it was off to Smithy’s for the live music night, and I’m happy to report this was a good night. The band, who were apparently from New Zealand and who’s name I haven’t got a clue, were excellent. They played some great covers, and I can’t remember any of them, all I know is they were very slick and professional and very good value as it was free to get in. Not only that, we were also royally entertained by Duncan’s dancing. He was dancing everywhere and there was no stopping him, and where he may have lacked a bit of rhythm, he more than made up for it with his energy and enthusiasm. That is what a après ski is all about, getting out there and enjoying yourself, so good on you Duncan.
The band played on for most of the night with just a couple of breaks, but by the time they came back on for their third stint the place was rammed again and it was a real fight not to have some drunken knob bump into you of spill beer all over you, so time to go.
Thursday 1 March 2007
Best Restaurant Of The Alpes
So to Tuesday, and its sunny skies all round again. In keeping with the previous days we head off for the Pied Moutet as it seems that we have established that this is by far the easiest way to get to the snow. At the top we warm up by seeing who can get to the bottom first and Karen and Gary thankfully appear to be suffering no ill effects from the previous days encounter with the snowboarder.
About half way down the Vallee Blanche run I perform my most spectacular wipe out of the week!! Well that will teach me for trying to be clever and show off. As I’m coming down the slope I see Rob Toy in front of me with his monkey on his head, and just as I’m passing him at sub warp speed, I shout across “good morning” and promptly catch an edge, causing me to go ass over tit in a cloud of snow and flying skis. When I eventually come to a stop, Rob skis sensibly past me and returns the greeting. Do I feel stupid or what? Well if you can’t make a complete ass of yourself from time to time, especially when skiing, then life would just be so much duller.
Following this jolly little episode and after everyone has had a good laugh at my expense, we spend the rest of the morning back on the main resort side with some more great skiing, in particular on the Signal run. Eventually we start heading back to the resort as we plan to lunch at the Kanata restaurant on the Pied Moutet. As we are making our way towards Les Cretes, Gary suggests we give the blue run Thuit a go as we haven’t skied it yet. So we set off and just a little way down the slope, but to far down to change your mind and go back we come across a sign warning you that the slope is particularly icy.
Well, they weren’t bloody kidding. The run down was horrendous, patches of soft snow and then suddenly you hit hard packed ice that you just could not see until you lost control. Not the most enjoyable run of the week by far, But I suppose if you want to be a true mountain man or woman then you have to take the rough with the smooth. At the bottom we all berate Gary for his poor call and suggest he thinks carefully before he come up with more wise ideas
Things pass pretty much uneventfully from here and we find ourselves at the Kanata restaurant. At first we sit ourselves down outside and the table is laid by the waitress. The owner of the restaurant suggest we might like to sit inside as there is a nice fire going, but we decline and ask if he could take some group photos for us instead. He duly obliges and even manages to ’accidentally’ take one of himself. A couple of minutes later the chill does start to set in and we swiftly move inside where we are the only people in the restaurant. What a diference from all the packed ones on the main side of the resort. We settle down next to the fire and spread ourselves out with jackets, gloves and rucksacks scattered around, and our host puts some more wood on the fire and it is all very pleasant and cosy indeed!
By now we have ordered and are sipping away on vin chauds when the food starts to arrive. Rachel, Gary and myself have all gone for the special of moules, frites and beer, and a huge bowl of chips is brought out for us to share. Karen and Les have both opted for an omelette and Steve the plat du jour, which all come with salad so a huge bowl of salad also arrives. Next came an equally large pot of steaming mussels, but this was not for sharing as it was swiftly followed by 2 more. I can honestly say I have never had some many mussels before and they were delicious, of course I ate them all, and for €13 it was exceptional value. The omelettes were also of grand portions and I’m told just as tasty. Naturally the beers and vin chauds were going down quite well also.
After the meal, which was quite some time later, the owner insisted we try some of his home made Genepi fire water and he disappeared into the attic and came out with Perrier water bottles. Well it certainly was not spring water in them as the liquid was cloudy with vegetation in it! He poured 7 small glasses as I think that out of politeness he felt he had to join us. Anyway, in unison we all down this liquor in one, having now tasted it I think that’s the only way to drink it, its certainly not a sipping drink.
Once we had sorted ourselves out and paid the bill we got ready to leave when another 7 glasses of Genepi were produced. Again these were downed in one but this time it tasted a lot better. I think with a bit more practice one could get to like this stuff!! But not today or we would never get back to the hotel, mind you bearing in mind what was probably waiting for us for evening meal that would not have been a bad thing.
Back outside in the mountain air I think we were all suddenly hit by a feeling of extreme mellowness as we all promptly sat down in the deck chairs to take in a few of the suns remaining rays for that day. Whilst sat in the chairs we were joined by a very friendly if some what scruffy dog who took great delight in chasing and catching lumps of snow and ice that you threw for him. This dog seemed so taken by the amount of attention he received, especially from Rachel that he wanted to come with us as we eventually skied off. At this point Rachel, who appeared to be the most mellow of all of us, made some comment along the lines of “why would you need a boyfriend, when you can have a scruffy dog and a rabbit?” and I think she was referring to the battery operated type rather than a fluffy bunny called Flopsy!
About half way down the Vallee Blanche run I perform my most spectacular wipe out of the week!! Well that will teach me for trying to be clever and show off. As I’m coming down the slope I see Rob Toy in front of me with his monkey on his head, and just as I’m passing him at sub warp speed, I shout across “good morning” and promptly catch an edge, causing me to go ass over tit in a cloud of snow and flying skis. When I eventually come to a stop, Rob skis sensibly past me and returns the greeting. Do I feel stupid or what? Well if you can’t make a complete ass of yourself from time to time, especially when skiing, then life would just be so much duller.
Following this jolly little episode and after everyone has had a good laugh at my expense, we spend the rest of the morning back on the main resort side with some more great skiing, in particular on the Signal run. Eventually we start heading back to the resort as we plan to lunch at the Kanata restaurant on the Pied Moutet. As we are making our way towards Les Cretes, Gary suggests we give the blue run Thuit a go as we haven’t skied it yet. So we set off and just a little way down the slope, but to far down to change your mind and go back we come across a sign warning you that the slope is particularly icy.
Well, they weren’t bloody kidding. The run down was horrendous, patches of soft snow and then suddenly you hit hard packed ice that you just could not see until you lost control. Not the most enjoyable run of the week by far, But I suppose if you want to be a true mountain man or woman then you have to take the rough with the smooth. At the bottom we all berate Gary for his poor call and suggest he thinks carefully before he come up with more wise ideas
Things pass pretty much uneventfully from here and we find ourselves at the Kanata restaurant. At first we sit ourselves down outside and the table is laid by the waitress. The owner of the restaurant suggest we might like to sit inside as there is a nice fire going, but we decline and ask if he could take some group photos for us instead. He duly obliges and even manages to ’accidentally’ take one of himself. A couple of minutes later the chill does start to set in and we swiftly move inside where we are the only people in the restaurant. What a diference from all the packed ones on the main side of the resort. We settle down next to the fire and spread ourselves out with jackets, gloves and rucksacks scattered around, and our host puts some more wood on the fire and it is all very pleasant and cosy indeed!
By now we have ordered and are sipping away on vin chauds when the food starts to arrive. Rachel, Gary and myself have all gone for the special of moules, frites and beer, and a huge bowl of chips is brought out for us to share. Karen and Les have both opted for an omelette and Steve the plat du jour, which all come with salad so a huge bowl of salad also arrives. Next came an equally large pot of steaming mussels, but this was not for sharing as it was swiftly followed by 2 more. I can honestly say I have never had some many mussels before and they were delicious, of course I ate them all, and for €13 it was exceptional value. The omelettes were also of grand portions and I’m told just as tasty. Naturally the beers and vin chauds were going down quite well also.
After the meal, which was quite some time later, the owner insisted we try some of his home made Genepi fire water and he disappeared into the attic and came out with Perrier water bottles. Well it certainly was not spring water in them as the liquid was cloudy with vegetation in it! He poured 7 small glasses as I think that out of politeness he felt he had to join us. Anyway, in unison we all down this liquor in one, having now tasted it I think that’s the only way to drink it, its certainly not a sipping drink.
Once we had sorted ourselves out and paid the bill we got ready to leave when another 7 glasses of Genepi were produced. Again these were downed in one but this time it tasted a lot better. I think with a bit more practice one could get to like this stuff!! But not today or we would never get back to the hotel, mind you bearing in mind what was probably waiting for us for evening meal that would not have been a bad thing.
Back outside in the mountain air I think we were all suddenly hit by a feeling of extreme mellowness as we all promptly sat down in the deck chairs to take in a few of the suns remaining rays for that day. Whilst sat in the chairs we were joined by a very friendly if some what scruffy dog who took great delight in chasing and catching lumps of snow and ice that you threw for him. This dog seemed so taken by the amount of attention he received, especially from Rachel that he wanted to come with us as we eventually skied off. At this point Rachel, who appeared to be the most mellow of all of us, made some comment along the lines of “why would you need a boyfriend, when you can have a scruffy dog and a rabbit?” and I think she was referring to the battery operated type rather than a fluffy bunny called Flopsy!
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