Day 6 19 Feb 2016

Final day of skiing, but sadly the weather was not good, with very limited visibility and snow falling all day. A leisurely start for everyone, then seven of us went up the Grand Montets lift, whilst Pete, Barbara and Kat went into Chamonix and from there to the Montenvers railway and the glacier display. Sking was varied, mainly due to the weather, and several people fell during the morning, some more spectacularly than others.

Worst fall was Sam on a ski cross trail, which resulted in an extra hot chocolate with lots of cream. Sam and I then finished early as we were both tired, so back to the chalet for sandwiches and cake. We beat Pete, Barbara and Kat back by about 30 mins. They had a great time though the view from the top was invisible. Mick was the next to finish as his knee is now quite badly swollen. The lads were the last to finish, with a beer at the final bar!!

Great holiday, but an early start tomorrow for us all to get to our respective ferries and tunnels on time.

Casualties for the holiday: Kat with a bad ankle and a broken arm, Mick with a swollen knee, Dave with a bad neck, and Sam (no visible injuries but he reckons his crash today cost him 300 brain cells).

Roll on next year's sking !!!

 

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Day five, Thursday 18 Feb 2016

The family split up today. Simon and the boys headed over to a different resort for a lesson from a friend of his, Kat and Dave went to Chamonix and played at being tourists for the day, Pete and Barbara went for a walk near La Buet and Mick, Dom and myself went by train to Vallorcine to ski in the La Tour area.

Good skiing, interspersed with hot chocolate, a picnic lunch and a hot wine at the end of the afternoon. Back at the chalet by 4 pm fairly tired but happy. Kat is getting used to having an arm in plaster, and finds it only hurts when she forgets about it and tries to do something with that arm.

Visit to our closest pizza restaurant in the evening where several of us enjoyed the local dish of tartiflette, potato and cheese with a few pieces of bacon. Very filling, and very cheesy.

 

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Day four, Wednesday 17 Feb 2016

A very early start as we had a timed reservation on the lift up the Aiguille du Midi, an amazing double gondola up to the highest ski platform in Europe. We left the chalet at 7.20 am, and got the 8.10 gondola up which was crowded with macho types festooned with climbing gear, ropes and skis. Normally the lift costs about 60 euros, but it is included with our unlimited Mont Blanc passes ( the main reason we got the larger pass).

(View of the Aiguille du Midi from our chalet yesterday evening)

The top platform was at 3842 metres, and the views were amazing. When we left we had low cloud cover, and were worried that there would be no view, but we rose above the cloud layer, and the tips of the mountains looked like islands in a cloudy sea.

We watched some of the macho skiers leave, then took the gondola back down, and back into the cloud layer.

After a breakfast (first of the day for some, second for others) we drove to Flegere and spent around 40 mins in a queue to get up the mountain. A few of our party were feeling the joint effects of late night beer, early morning start and high altitude sickness, so the first few runs were taken slowly. After an uninspiring lunch we switched to a different set of runs which were much nicer, and the afternoon passed quickly.

Sadly Kat fell again on her final run of the day, and this time it looks likely that she has a small break in her arm. We all a managed to get back to the chalet by around 5.30, and after a quick shower Kat and Dom departed for the hospital, whilst Pete and Barbara cooked our evening meal.

News update, Kat has a fracture at the base of her radius, and is in plaster for the next 45 days!

 

 

 

 

 

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Day three 16 Feb 2016

A fairly late start, then an hour long wait for the gondola up from La Tour!! Up to the top of the mountain, then down the other side to Vallorcine which is very nearly in Switzerland. Kat and Dom started with us, but the long traverse across the mountain was not a good idea for beginner (and slightly injured) snowboarders, so they left to stay on the runs on the Tour side.

Best snow of the holiday so far!! We skied down some lovely tracks into Vallorcine where we had a hot chocolate and met up with Pete and Barbara for a picnic lunch. Back up the mountain to enjoy the excellent pistes on that side.

Mick and I packed up about 4 pm leaving the boys to do another run, and had an enjoyable trip back to the chalet, largely due to being able to leave skis and boots in Simon's car and walk in comfortable footwear.

Chicken stew tonight with couscous, but I ruined my reputation of over catering by barely having enough food for all of us. Dave has met some friends here, so there was a general outing to the local pub later, though some of us stayed home with the grand nephews (and had a lovely early night).

 

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Day two, 15 Feb 2016

Much better weather today. We walked to the Grand Montets lift area from the chalet (which is actually our closest bus stop as well) and went up the Plan Jouran bubble. Fairly good skiing, but again moments of very limited visibility. The slopes are not too crowded, and we've hardly had any queues for the lifts, even at the bottom. Much more skiing today, and by about 2 pm mick and I were totally tired out and elected to stop. Sam and Ed, our great nephews are skiing well, oh the advantages of being young.

Kat spent the day at the chalet, due to her painful ankle, cooking and cleaning, and gets the 'best chalet girl' award! She spent the day cooking chilli tonight, which is smelling delicious. The boys have gone for another run, and the sun seems to have come out!

Mick and I walked into the centre of Argentieres to pick up some more supplies, after which we ate the chilli washed down with plenty of red wine, and all went to bed about 9 pm.

 

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Chamonix 14 feb 2016 Day one of skiing

Another holiday, this time skiing in the French Alpes.

After a long journey from the UK with Pete and Barbara (which did involve staying at a lovely B&B in St Quentin) we finally arrived in Argentiere yesterday in the early evening.

The rest of the family (Dave, Simon, Ed, Sam, Kat and Dom) arrived later in the evening bringing with them the ingredients for a very welcome pasta carbonara. The chalet is very small, and with 10 of us staying here it is a good thing we are all family!

Day one of the skiing was not too good. Snow fell pretty much all day, and visibility at times was down to a few feet. Very disconcerting and there were many falls, in my case mainly due to stopping and then losing track of which way was up! We skied in the La Tour area, having caught the bus further up the valley, but we seemed to be in a cloud all day.

One major casualty of the day was Kat. At one fall she twisted her ankle, but was fine continuing for the rest of the day. We packed up quite early due to the conditions, but when she took her snow boarding boots off the pain went up. So her's and Dom's romantic Valentine's meal was cancelled, and the rest of us went out for a meal leaving them to a take-away pizza. We had a lovely gourmet meal, with various vegetable foams with the starters and main courses in a restaurant in Argentieres.

An early night for everyone, with the hope of better weather tomorrow.

 

 

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