La Grave

Thursday started a little earlier, as the plan was to get on the first lifts at 9 o’clock in order to get to the glacier as soon as possible so that we could make the trek over to La Grave. It was a bit of a shock to the system to be one of the first ones down for breakfast and sit in an almost deserted dining room, but slowly the room began to fill, and a few us, who were feeling a bit blurry eyed, started pondering on whether getting up early was such a good idea. No matter, just after 9 we were outside and making our way to the lift.

Today we decided to take the Diable gondola as it was thought this would be the quicker route, unfortunately it looked as if the rest of the skiers in the resort had thought the same and we were met by a queue of immense proportions, and worst still it wasn’t moving! However, it was pointed out that no one was actually going up yet, and the only things in the gondolas where supplies for the restaurant at the top. God these French are so on the ball and on top of the game! A few minutes later people started appearing in the bubbles and the queue slowly shuffled forward a la Post Office style, as we snaked up to the steps into the lift station, then snaked all the way down one side and all the way back up the other.

After about 10 to 15 minutes we were in a bubble and making our accent. At the top of the bubble we took the Super Diable chair rather than head for the second stage of the gondola or cable car. From the chair we made our way down to the 8 man chair which takes you up to the base of the glacier. Then up the glacier on the T-bar, followed by a bit of a flat schuss and a walk to the last T-bar. The final stage of the climb is completed by a drag lift with a difference. Here you hang on to a rope and get pulled along behind a piste basher, which is quite an enjoyable novelty. There is however a knack to this ‘lift’ and that is to be as near to the back of the rope as possible, rather than the front where you are right behind the piste basher and get covered in the snow it is churning up. When we disembarked the tow rope we are now at a height of just under 3600m or over 11,000 feet in old money.

Now the adventure began with the long decent down to La Grave. For some of our large group this was old hat, as they had already skied down earlier in the week. For the rest of us this was a step into the unknown.

The first part was quite straight forward as this is a pisted blue run that takes you down to the restaurant at the top of the lift from La Grave. Once at the lift station a much needed comfort break was required by most. The toilets here were quite interesting, as it would appear your bodily waste is just deposited somewhere in the open down the mountain! Which is supposedly environmentally friendly. Also there is a sign in quite graphic English telling you to make sure your aim is good.

This was followed by the obligatory hot chocolate break at the restaurant which also provided a good photo opportunity for many of us. With hot chocolate drunk and cameras put away it was now time for the real fun to start.

Just a short distance from the restaurant you come to the first fairly steep mogul field, which is a bit torturous to get into. After negotiating this you ski down a little further to an even steeper and narrow gully which again is full of moguls. It’s a case of side slipping and stepping your way down in places. But it’s all good fun, as the snow is excellent at this height and the surrounding scenery, if you are able to take your eyes off what your skis are doing and look, is quite stunning.

At the bottom of the gully our little group pauses for a bit of a breather, only to realise that everyone else has headed off and are no where in sight. And as there is no piste there are definitely no signs, and none of us have been here before we are not to sure of which way to go. Anyway we set off in what would appear to be the obvious direction, which is of course down. Eventually we spot some of the others in the distance and start making our way over to them.

They have stopped near the top of a ridge and I assume they are just pausing before descending again, however just as I get to the ridge I realise they are in fact turning back as this is obviously not the way down as it is a sheer drop down through the trees. Still once again the view from here is really spectacular and was well worth the extra effort involved. I then turn around and rejoin the others who had wisely decided not to expend the extra energy and follow me.

From here the terrain does start to flatten out a bit, but skiing is still quite challenging as we make our way down numerous gullies and narrow channels. We do start seeing small signs attached to trees pointing in the general direction of La Grave but the snow is now starting to get very thin in places and rocks and tree roots are proving the greater obstacles on the decent. We then come across a group of snow boarders who have obviously been brought down here by an instructor. Most of the group are sat down taking a break, but when the last guy eventually joins them, he takes off his board and hurls it in to the trees and starts muttering digruntledly (if there is such a word) to himself. He probably wishes he had stuck to skis!

Leaving the happy boarder behind, we carry on picking our way through the trees until the snow just literally runs out. So it’s off with the skis and a walk back out into the open where there is some snow on the ground. We then do the final bit of skiing of our decent and arrive at the mid station on the La Grave lift. We board the lift to make our way down to La Grave, but our fun and games haven’t quite finished, as we get on to the lift Karen manages to whack her head on the door frame and at the bottom I manage to trip over Rachel’s ski poles and stumble out of the lift with arms and legs flaying in all directions, but I somehow stay upright, which is quite a feat when you are wearing ski boots on a smooth concrete floor, anyway the others all found it very amusing.

Once outside the lift station we take in the ambiance that is La Grave which is a pretty little place, but it would appear that the whole village is asleep as there is nobody about, or cars driving around, just a dog barking in the distance. So with all this excitement proving to much we call a taxi to take us back to Les Deux Alpes.

After about half an hour, following a drive down into the valley and back up again through the cloud that has formed just below the resort. We are back at the chair lift at the far end of the resort that takes up to the Pied Moutet and our favourite restaurant, La Kanata. We board the chair and head up over the field where there is still only one horse! Where his companion is from earlier in the week will always remain a mystery. But the meat we had in the hotel on a previous night was certainly suspect!

Once at the top we swiftly head for the restaurant and greet the proprietor like a long lost friend. We settle down by the fire and tuck in to another great meal. Several of us opt for the Plat du jour, which is a type of tarteflette with crusty bread on top, and Rachel has another huge portion of mussels. This is all washed down with a beer or two and the mandatory glass of fiery genepi.

Having finished our by now rather late lunch and with that satisfying inner glow, we said our farewells and started to make our way back to the hotel. So ended another great days skiing. We hadn’t covered a lot of miles, but the experience of being out in the wilderness away from the crowds, the piste and the lifts is one not to be missed. It is definitely something I would do again if I ever return to Les Deux Alpes.