We're now into our "Fourth Week" so daily blogs are now here

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Friday 26th March

Have now uploaded a "little video" of the kiteboarding see below plus have uploaded more pictures to the Gallery

Blue Sky Powder Afternoon

As we were driving back from Chantemerle rang Pippa & James to find out how they were getting on up the hill in the snow, and reports back sounded ok so told them I’d try & rendezvous with them after lunch.

As we neared home it was obvious the cloud was clearing from the West and that there looked to be a highly probable chance that it would be sunny, only issue was what would the snow be like?

After a very brief lunch, hot footed out of here, to arrive at the lift station to find out that it was shut due to wind, so that sort of put a spanner in the works with meeting up with Pippa & James. Then had to get another lift up and as I was going up so the cloud parted and then sun came out, and what greeted me was very nice indeed!

Once off the chair I made my way higher up and conditions were brilliant with great untracked powder all over the mountain which I then proceeded to gorge myself on, at first traversing away from the Cote Chevalier chair

And then sort of lost count of how many runs I did off the Eychauda lift along the Crete de Serre Chevalier at times putting in big freeride turns akin to being back on the board!

Being on my own I was able to ski fast not having to wait for anyone, which after the past few weeks was rather nice :) - sorry! 

 And then this was the post from earlier on this morning - amazing how things change!

Very very heavy rain this morning but has now turned to heavy snow, heavy probably being the best description I think as it's not going to be light fluffy powder!

Might go up the hill later to suss what it's been doing, though current thinking is going over to Deux Alpes tomorrow to get some more height then back via La Grave to discuss options for next week which now might be a complete change in location later in the week now!

FROM ELAINE

So FINALLY much needed day off because can't see outside! Suffering a little from yesterday's boarding in heavy snow so really appreciating not exercising today - and really wonjdering about the Brighton Marathon on April 18..! Also need to recover from last night's excesses. Said au revoir to client, Tim this morning who said he felt he need to sober up after three days with us, James and Pippa.

Pippa and James have disappeared up into the Whiteness on skis  and not yet heard from them!

THE DOG'S BLOG

Been out with Them and it's snowing! So have been doing my Leonardo diCaprio impression - walking along with slitty eyes.

  Thursday 25th March

Plan today made last night was to ski over to Monetier and then ski an off piste route, Montagnolle and then skin back up the adjoining valley. Weather had other plans though and soon we were in severe white out conditions, heavy snow and very windy at the top. Had a nervy descent down the piste following the poles and managed to miss the turn, no real problem but did show just how bad the viz was.

Further down snow turned to rain and we made it in for a coffee just before it was stair rods. A couple of groups with guides came in totally drenched, they'd come over from La Grave because that was shut due to high winds.

Back home for lunch and weather today really made you appreciate how lucky we were with conditions yesterday.

Now typing this in the Station bar in Chantemerle, having skied over with the laptop for an afternoon beer in a mixture of rain, snow & sunshine.

Forecast is for a fair amount of snow over the next few days :)

FROM ELAINE

Went out with new Board Buddy, Tim while Baylis, Pippa and James were on skis. Well, Board Buddy soon became Bored Buddy and left me to negotiate the lumpy heavy snow down black runs such as Luc Alphont....The "vieux git miserable" was whizzing ahead.

Had fab dinner out in Le Bez, such a treat to go out - thank you James and Pippa.

THE DOG'S BLOG

In The Cave bar last night, I pretended that I was nothing to do with Them and that I was a stray. Lovely chalet girl thought I was very cute, especially as I rolled on my back and wriggled to have my tummy tickled (seeing as I no longer get my CAT massage from She Who Massages Me). Even though I clearly have a collar with English address, phone numbers etc and They were THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE BAR AND OBVIOUSLY ENGLISH, she still thought that I was a stray and wanted to look after me. So if He Who torments Me torments me, I know where I can go....!

Wednesdsay 24th March

Another Way to get up the Mountain…..

So up early at 06:30 (well we are meant to be on holiday) and out of here to collect Pippa & James by 07:00. Was quite concerned at the amount of cloud around and the lack of a severe frost though there was a very slight icing on the windscreen.

Then it was up to meet Philou just below the Col du Lautaret. Started the climb just before 08:00 and snow at that altitude was still frozen. Made steady progress with Pippa & James, this was only their second major tour, so it’s imperative to go at their pace, and stop as soon as you see some signs of tiredness, keep an eye out for whether they are using the right angles on their heel lifts etc etc.

Only a couple of days prior I was telling them about how you quite often see Mountain Ibex, much much larger than deer / Chamois etc almost on a par with a Moose. They often like to stay on a ridge overlooking the stupid humans walking up. And sure enough for much of the climb we were treated to a BBC style wildlife scenario with quite a few, and then some other animals of the goat variety that we could not work out what they were, but seemed quite happy jumping up and down the rock bands.

The above also helped to take Pippa & James’s mind off the climb and we had a break from the “when are we getting there / how far to go questions” J .

Eventually we made it to the Refuge du Galibier and stopped for snacks, to see a couple of kites coming up the mountain. Having just hiked up for nigh on two hours these two had probably only taken 10 minutes riding their kites up the slopes!

Then they started riding their boards up and down either side of the slope, with one of them getting huge hang time – maybe more than I’ve ever seen at Worthing etc. Probably helped by them launching off the slope and then catching the wind rising up from the Col or maybe for some other atmospheric reason…….they then collapsed the kites and boarded back down, tres cool!

Should add that down at the Col there were around 20 kites going back & forth on the slopes, no where as impressive as these two dudes!

However whilst I was wandering around taking photos of Tour de France monuments etc I noticed that the snow was in really good conditions, almost powder plus the cloud was clearing to show a little summit above us. So making sure Pippa & James were not too cold in the wind sheltering in the lee of the Refuge; Tim, Philou and I set off (at one hell of a pace).

Dropped Tim quite quickly who was trying to use his third knee operation as an excuse, but at least he’s here and no excuses unlike other wimps! I stayed on Philou’s tail but in the end I started flagging & backed off. Climb was quite arduous to the summit and once there very windy. Quickly into descent mode and a really excellent run back down to the Refuge to collect Pippa & James who by now were very cold (sorry).

We all then had a superb descent in classic Spring snow. So great day again…..all credit to Philou for telling us to be up early to make the most of the conditions, if we’d left at 09:00 snow would have been too soft.

FROM ELAINE

Decided to let them all go and do their tour as I really need a day off games ( now 20
days in a row of skiing, snowboarding, running or touring at Baylis Bootcamp) esp as, with
my knee, I am finding just walking downhill a challenge.*

At 6.30 this morning when the alarm went off, I just rolled over and went back to sleep.
Got up at 9.30am, cleaned the appartment, did some washing, had a looong bath and then
took Pooch for a walk to Sherpa supermarket to buy dinner things.

When they all came back at 1.30pm for lunch, I was still happy to relax for the afternoon.
But, no. The plan was to go up for an afternoon ski and before I knew it I was putting
on salopettes and ski socks.

So much for a day off.

But soooo glad I did as I followed them down and had some of best off piste yet.

*We have just launched The Wounded Knee Club - Nick Cowx, you are the founding member. We
will be planning annual events including the One Legged Marathon and a Charity Dinner Hop...
Also have a Knee Jerk of the Year award - already nominated is Baylis for pouring hot molten
ski inner boot over his right knee.

THE DOG'S BLOG

Had a chilaxing morning. She Who Cottonwools Me let me stay in bed - but, annoyingly got
the Hoover out so I had to run from room to room to avoid being sucked up.

Then we went for a walk to the supermarket. She Who Cottonwools Me tied me up to a sweet
dispenser which wasn't very cottonwooling of her as anyone could have run off with me.
Or, if they pointed finger and said "ello, petit chien" I would have had to resist the
urge to bit them and utter the one word that I have taught myself (though They don't know it
yet): "frrrckawwwrf"

Tuesday, 23rd March

Change over day

FROM ELAINE

Love Montgenevre. Had such a fab snowboarding day with my board buddy, Kathy, one of Team Vieux Oiseaux.

Loadsa
snow, empty slopes. Only had one problem: being spat off a chair lift just as we sat
on it. Both ended up flat on our faces and still not sure what happened...

So said bye-bye to board buddy at Turin and hello to next "client" Baylis's ski buddy Tim who has arrived from Morzine for a few days. Now trying to sort out flights for Loulou who was meant to be coming
with Jez. Of course, BA are striking again this weekend and it's nearly Easter soooo
not going to be easy (or cheap!).

THE DOG'S BLOG

Had to say au revoir (and I am nearly there now with arrrroovrrrrgh) to
She Who Massages Me (Kathy). She has perfected the deep armpit, chest rub - or CAT
(Chest Armpits Tits) massage that really does make me try to purr. She could teach Nick
how to do it - to BD, the Newfi,  that is, not his patients.

Monday 22nd March

Making plans…..

With the current weather conditions it’s all about planning to optimise what’s on offer!

We decided that first lifts would be the better option to make the most of the corduroy before it was skied out with the inevitable soup / slush later on.

That was actually a good call. Still very cloudy / foggy but we had a good morning. I was back on the board but by the end of the morning my knee was a bit sore, and now it’s a little swollen so back on the skis me thinks.

Covered a fair amount of territory and ended up in Chantemerle with the Luc Alphond being in really good condition. Then it was more planning for the next few days.

We did have a guide booked for Thursday, and another “client” (mate) is coming over from Morzine where conditions by all accounts are pretty dire. As Kathy is leaving late tomorrow we decided best to do Montgenevre then we take Kathy to Turin from there with Tim meeting up with us and then while we take Kathy back he can bring back Pippa & James!!!

But the planning doesn’t stop there. I thought it would be a good call to go over to La Grave and meet up with Philou to discuss options for Thursday. So late afternoon we all bundled back in the van and went over the Col, passing the huge avalanche that happened late on Friday blocking the road. It was 8ms deep and around 150ms wide.  In fact was talking to Per (Guide who lives in La Grave too) and his daughter was coming back from school in Briancon, and they left their coach on the Briancon side and walked over the debris to get into another coach that came over from la Grave for them!

Current forecast now means Wednesday is the better day, as looks like it will be clear tomorrow and then with the clear sky Tuesday evening into Wednesday snow pack will refreeze, well that’s what everyone is hoping for!

Will be checking in with Philou to confirm all this, but current plan is to leave one car over the other side of the Col then come back and skin up from this side and drop back down to the car we left, if that makes sense?

Basically will be kinder to James & Pippa who have not really done a big day tour, so we’re only looking at 700ms ascent but then hopefully we’ll do over 1,000 on the descent and ski good Spring snow.

Good to see various people in LG. Popped into the Edelweiss and had a drink with Robin & Marlon, and various others came in, then on the way back to the car bumped into Pelle who we first stayed with well over ten years ago.

Has to be said that everyone is quite depressed with the current conditions, though there is some cause for optimism with it getting colder and some snow at the weekend, but as ever way too early to be sure.

Still have more plans to make, as it now does not look like Jes will be coming out from the UK this weekend for next week, as he’s done his knee in. And as he was bringing Loulou (one of my daughters out) with him in the car we now have to try and get a flight for her, so all fun and games.

So Jes if you’re reading this, fired a shot across Per’s bows about this. As ever he’s cool, though think that’s more to do with him being cheesed off with the current conditions in that it’s not much point coming out anyway…..but as ever all “Wait & See” to see how the forecast for next week shapes up, so closer to the time more planning, especially so as we have three others coming over from Courcheval for next week too, or not!

FROM ELAINE

Snowboarded the first corduroy with Kathy AND Baylis on boards. Snow is fab for boarding even if viz is often not. AND THE SLOPES ARE EVEN MORE EMPTY…car park at Pontillas was deserted. Oh about 10 cars.

Turned down job styling a Romanian princess from here in the Alps….would be too much like a very hard day’s work at the office.

THE DOG’S BLOG

Taken in the blue kennel on wheels to a place this afternoon that made my nose twitch. Apparently this is La Grave, which I remember from last year. The smellier the men, the better. They loll around like the coolest dogs on earth with that my-butt-smells-better-than-yours superiority…

Meanwhile, back home, I hear that Kiki, the Pikey dog, has split her claw and had to go to the vet. Fortunately I wasn’t there to warn her that this is where you need your claws – and teeth – to defend yourself. Hence, she was not ready for the vet when he put a piece of cotton wool on her claw and, voila, pulled it out…

Late Edit: Around the dinner table, Kathy asks James (Surfladle) "And do you have an Iphone?"  only funny for those that know James :)

Sunday 21st March

Just skiing in the rain………….

Oh well another day of rain & low cloud with visibility so bad up top that they shut some of the higher lifts and links to Monetier.

Was woken up by the phone ringing at 09:10 with a bit of a sore head by Pippa telling me that they were ready!!! So had a bit of a mad rush to get down and rendezvous with them.

James (Surfladle) & Pippa are staying in a hotel just up the road, they arrived late last night, (hence sore head). So have two more “ clients” as it were – so was a morning of guiding them around the pistes, with viz so bad at times that I was in danger of going the wrong way. We had arranged to meet Elaine & Kathy in Monetier with Elaine driving over there and us skiing there, but with the links shut slight change in plan.

So all back here for lunch, then we drove up to Monetier afterwards, and yet again it was so empty. Snow very, very soft & heavy with the constant drizzle, but perfect for Elaine and Kathy on the boards, and not too bad on my big fat skis.

Still loads of snow which is good, but many many slides all over the place with the heavy wet snow. We have a guide booked for Thursday and I’m really not too sure what we can do….but that’s still a few days away and forecast is for colder temps & light snow…so will have a few discussions over the next couple of days to assess the situation. Hopefully somewhere this rain / drizzle is snow higher up….will have to make some calls!

All in all happy “clients” and the board babes are luving the wet snow.

But been some "monster slides" !!! See This

FROM ELAINE

Don’t know about board babes! Said to Kathy that people would see us and say “look at those two old birds snowboarding”! Or is that les oiseaux vieux (help anyone re the French?).

Anyway we had some good runs in the soft snow while many a the skier was whingeing and falling (not Baylis, James and Pippa, of course).. Tee hee.

THE DOG’S BLOG

Was left in the apartment so snuggled under His jacket on the sofa and snoozed, while they went out in the rain all day. Suckers.

Then Kathy came back with four lovely sauciscon from a special sauciscon shop. For Nick. But I have my eye on them (and, hopefully soon, my mouth, tongue and teeth)….

Saturday, 20TH March

Not a good start to the third week, rain falling, at times quite heavy in the early hours, but by the time we ventrured out it was drizzle, but still pretty depressing after the superb weather we've had the past week, but hey this is March and this is what happens. That said the rain is usually falls as snow higher up, but not today as freezing levels were moire like 3000ms.

We took Kathy, this weeks "client" up to Monetier. Both Kathy and Elaine were on their boards, probably the best option in the soft snow. Viz was really bad so we did not bother going that high.

The girls did really well on the boards and I eventually let them have a hot chocolat!

Back home for soup and bread and then back out again, but this time with Kathy on skis. Been pretty good with both Chris and Kathy able to use our skis & boots etc.

FROM ELAINE

So another day skoarding (skiing and snowboarding) - gt to have Kathy to ride with this morning. Then she came on skis this afternoon and did amazingly seeing as she has been boarding for, um, quite a few years.

Couldn't see a lot when the cloud was dense but THE GREAT NEWS was that the pistes were empty, sometimes no one on OUR pistes except us.

Now in old Briancon having a drink at a bar before home for shower and dinner, then out to watch the rugby and wait for James and Pippa to arrive.

THE DOG'S BLOG

Wandering around this bar being very sociable tonight. Had two ice cubes from the barman. No beermats. Now learning to say "au revoir" - in fact, can almost get my lips around it without even trying.

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