The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

A snowHead

This is the text I see whilst writing my post ‘ {IMG81584 23060_right} ‘

I’ve swapped the ‘right’ to ‘left’ as an experiment before but all that does is move it to the left-hand side of the screen and keeps it the same size

A snowHead

@RickBoden, I see you are a super-snowhead so I guess you are posting direct - that is why.

You would need to host somewhere that has different sizes you can use. Using the img tags you link to that formatted image.

Pretty sure when you embed directly snowheads has a standard (fairly small) format.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

When you “post image” can you not change the size? Put a big number in there?
Sorry Steve, we should probably move this to a technical thread

You need to Login to know who's really who.

I find the smaller photos much more user friendly tbh.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

KSH - thanks - feeling better today - a good sleep was had! Yes she just gets less work during the ski season but they make up the time later in the year and to be honest Wednesday morning is generally sports morning at school so she doesnt miss any lessons then. Yes its full on!
RickBoden - I use a free host called https://imgbb.com.
LeighOnSki - very good!
Layne - sorry just comes up as it does!
motyl - no worries
Dr John - not sure my host will allow me a change of size sorry!

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Steve Angus, glad you're better.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Better than expected and then much worse than!

There was some fresh snow overnight and the temps were quite warm however the strong winds of yesterday and last night had died right down thankfully! Yay!

I also slept pretty well last night and the sleeping pill worked a treat once again! In fact after work today and before collecting Ben from kids club I popped into the pharmacy and picked up some French sleeping aid which is not medicine but some sort of natural remedy - Ill give it a go tonight and see how it works (or not!). Wasnt the cheapest stuff but hopefully it will work a treat!

Anyway Olivia had a pretty chilled start to the day as she was not starting training until 0930 but meanwhile Ben was going to kids club and I needed to drop him for 0830 in order to then get to the meeting point! It all went pretty smoothly thankfully but there was a missing 0820 bus which messed things up a little but didnt matter too much in the end as we ended up getting there about 0835 in the end which still gave me enough time to walk to town! Thankfully I remember all the packed lunches and various things needing to be taken and also gave Olivia instructions for the afternoon in terms of what she needed to do (e.g pack her school bag for tomorrow!).

So with the weather looking like blanket clouds floating about the peaks I decided to stick with my plan a and head towards the Fornet... off we went and it was apparent that dropping too low would mean heavy snow so I decided to go for sunny bowl and that part of the resort - anything higher and I would risk snow stripping from the wind yesterday which would not be good. It was always looking like it could be tricky with the temps, wind strip factor and clouds. Anyway we initially found some nice snow in sunny bowl but it was tricky seeing it - very much feeling our way down! We looped around for a second go and the vis improved which helped no end as we went further out and by the time we were going for a third lap the vis was pretty good as there was a break in the clouds and threatening to become sunny - yay!

I needed a change after that so we did my funky route from the top of the Signal drag back to it finding some nice snow once again! This was going well! So we headed up and dropped into Grand Vallon skiers left and the snow was absolutely stunning. Of course it had to go wrong... well not seriously in terms of injury or anything but bad enough! 'F' took a tumble and his ski popped off. I was near the bottom of the pitch recording away and saw the ski careering down the slope about 50 yards across from me.... so with phone in one hand, poles under the other and glove in mouth I hot footed it to try and stop the ski... it out ran my first attempt to stop it so I had to straight line the powder for 100 years and catch it up before finally stopping it about 300 yards below where he was in a pile! Finally he caught us up and was somewhat sweaty. The biggest issue was that we lost about 20 mins of time sorting all that out.... it did mean that I had to rush at high speed with them back to the piste missing off the lower part of Grand Vallon - oh well! So I did manage to get back to Fornet and bus it back to town in reasonable time for lunch at the usual place!

For the afternoon I had my seasonnaires and there was only 3 of them... the plan was to work on developing their short turns before moving onto moguls stuff.... off we went up Bellevarde and the first half of the session was spot in but then the clouds grew so much that we were in the thick of it and it was a total whiteout... it was impossible skiing! A tough afternoon all in all!

This evening apart from the trip to the pharmacy and popping into the office I collected Ben and headed home and it was a very hectic one trying to get the kids sorted and dinner in them etc. Phew thank goodness they are finally in bed and asleep now!

It will be an early start tomorrow to get Olivia on the school bus for 0700 and then Ben for 0800 before heading to work after that! One thing is for sure that it will be calmer tomorrow evening thats for sure!

Check out my instagram for a video of this mornings fun and games in the powder!

TTFN

After all it is free

Oooh. That’s very flat light and I assume that was before the white out. I pity you leading the saisonnaires down out of the whiteout.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

RickBoden - yes it was very bad and yes that photo was in the morning before it came down in the pm making a complete white out!

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

I know they say you should ski with your feet and not your eyes (or something of the sort) but I really do hate not being able to see where I'm going. I came a cropper once because I had no idea I was actually skiing backwards, so disoriented was I. (I had to buy a new helmet that evening...)

snow reports

Educating not instructing!

It was an early start getting Olivia out the door but it all went smoothly and then it was time to get Ben out the door - so pretty much according to plan! I tried out my new sleeping pills last night and they seem OK - packet says need to take for a few weeks to have full effect so will see what thats all about and try again tonight!

The weather was tempting us from the start with glimpses of blue sky behind the cloud! My team were on time and you could tell everyone was expecting a big powder day as it has snowed gently all night (but more at altitude) and the temps had dropped. There were queues for both main lifts to open too! Game on!

I decided on a tactical and bussed it straight to fornet mainly as there was a decent chance that the 'up and over' would not open on time which would be good for those of us heading to Fornet via bus. We checked the webcams and it looked OK up higher so plan a) of going lower in the trees turned into plan b) and meant plan a) was now to go high asap. So we got the gondola up and unfortunately ended up having to wait about 15 mins for the Cascades to open. It was frustrating as we saw the pisteurs come down to do their initial slope set up and with that done the lift really should have opened but it didnt! There was lots of guides and instructors having the same idea as me but we were all somewhat miffed at how slow they were getting it all sorted. It was also annoying that they had not even bothered to set up the ski school lane in all the time the lifties had at the bottom waiting for action stations! Doh!

After an impromptu few pow turns down the drag lift (Pays Desert) (now that IS a first for me) the chair opened as we were coming back up the drag so we dived onto it! So the first proper descent of the day was an immense top to bottom without stopping descent under the chair virtually off piste top to bottom. The snow was DEEEEEEEEEEEEP - almost waist deep in some places, and very light... blimey! Game on!

I should say that a day like today when you are taking good off piste skiers is a 'game'. What I mean by that is using lots of local knowledge, keeping a (safe) level head and thinking how everyone else thinks can make or break a day. So with the various 'within eyesight' frenzy going on in the realm of the chair lift I did a second tactical. I could see plenty of guided groups starting to track quite far out into the Pays Desert and of course following them is loads of 'hanger-on-ers' and people just randomly following tracks blindly and potentially dangerously... its not the fact they are following tracks its more that they could ski above the group and set something off. So instead of going for a mega high traverse out I went a little lower and that allowed me to get us into a couple of untouched bowls before everyone else followed... i.e. I took a short cut in exchange for sacrificing a few turns.

Anyway the Pays Desert was absolutely amazing from top to bottom and by now the clouds really were parting and it was awesome. The snow was so deep and light!

Lots of smiles all round but the time was ticking on so I needed to come up with a plan against a backdrop of a frenzy everywhere - eek. And i needed it quickly!

So I did an out wide Combe du Geant after a fast and high traverse. It had been tempting to drop over into Col Pers but there simply was not enough (safe) time to get down there and out! Anyway being south facing it was already taking some heat from the sun I could feel but not enough to change the snow yet a while thankfully. So anyway I was getting my guys to space themselves out and ski it one at a time and one of those clueless idiots following right up their backside and after just one of them had come down Mr 'I know it best' basically freerode it pretty much at full speed overtaking my guys and ended up having two of them on the slope at the same time! I was NOT happy... not impressed at all. I made it visually clear what I thought as he came past and again the second time I past him when we finally re-joined the piste and he was standing waiting for his mate. Just the ignorance of what goes on bewilders me... in fact the number of people who generally have blinkers on permanently is shocking whether it be where they stand before or after a lift and so on!

However having said all that the snow there was second to non - totally totally stunning! Quite possibly the best turns of the season those ones will be!

I had to make haste to get back to town after all that so I ended up eating lunch on the go all the way back to town. Phew!

By the pm it was getting quite warm (there was no wind today) and the clouds were more or less dispersed totally. I met up with my pm session and it was my 'other' seasonnaires group. Everyone was ready so it was game on.

This session was a mix of short turns (working on) and then moguls.

However what I had to remind myself of was that half the battle of instructors is NOT teaching but educating. I can tell someone a million times what they are doing well or badly but unless they are educated as to why, what and how it is important or how it works then you can be hitting your head against a brick well! i.e. Making people UNDERSTAND is the battle. One of the biggest of these is what is good skiing. Perhaps even more so with seasonal staff making people understand what IS good skiing is a tough sell. More often than not people get totally the wrong end of the stick as to what good skiing is. Speed, colour of run and those sort of metrics in NO WAY figure into what makes good skiing!

We had a good session and after I battled the off piste packs back to the office I was quite glad to get back home. Ben got back and immediately was off to a friends for a play so it was very quiet this evening although I did get full marks for dinner - Bens favourite - bangers and mash! Yummy!

Tomorrow I have decided to only work half a day as I need a bit of a rest so ill be teaching only in the morning. Ill get my snow report recorded too. And it gets better as the clients have just messaged to say 'lets start late' in the am so it will be a short morning. Clare should be back late tomorrow night and then Saturday Olivia has her second race of the season but its here in La Daille. Then Sunday im off piste all day, all go!

TTFN

You know it makes sense.

KSH Yea I hate it when its that bad!
RickBoden - that sounds pretty full on. Thanks for reading!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Really envious of your clients today. In sixty years of skiing I've only had a handful of days on untracked powder!

A snowHead

Wow, that sounds and looks like a day to remember. Interesting to read about your ‘tacticals’ that get you away from the herd.

A snowHead

Here comes the snow again!

I had another good nights sleep last night - I feel as if these more herbal based pills seem to not have the 'zombie' effect on me for the first hour in the morning! It also helped I suppose that the alarm was set for an hour later than yesterday too!

It was so peaceful being able to get up an hour later, just have Ben to get ready for school and then having to start at 0930 rather than 0900 but knowing that I was still finishing at 1200 - simples! I even managed to get my video snow reports all recorded between 0800 and 0900 too.

So the weather - well most of the day it has been cloudy and snowing pretty lightly. Difficult to know how much has fallen but it must be about 10cm more last night and 10cm more during the day at a guess... ie the pistes are powdery once again!

Jehu - yes it is a real perk of the job... sometimes you have off piste sessions and there is awful snow out there and awful vis - now that is hard work to balance out the 'good days'. Other times you have people for off piste and their skills really are not up to the task. Very occasionally all the stars align and you have 'good' skiers and good snow and good weather - yesterday was one of those days - maybe once a season or so it all happens! Anyway yes it was nice!

PeakyB - as I say on days like yesterday you have to think on multi levels... safety, guessing what others will do, keeping a level head, looking all around you constantly etc etc etc. It actually can be quite stressful powder frenzy days as nobody seems to keep calm and enjoy.!

Anyway I met the corporate booking at their hotel and it was one of those typical corporate bookings! Everyone turns up hungover and instead of it being 4 intermediate girls down to ski with me it was 'up to' 9 lads. I dont care who I ski with at all but bookings like this keep you on your feet! The plan was for me to show them about even though they had all skied here a fair few times before and 'if I see anything to give them some tips' (NB ironically only the best skied actually asked for any feedback but hey ho!) and drop them for their lunch at Les Airelles at 1200. I was basically just ski hosting them about - fine by me. So having skied Bellevarde yesterday they asked for Solaise today!

We basically felt our way about Solaise as the vis was mostly pretty rotten and the sun was trying and failing to make a break through all morning! The snow was falling nice and lightly and there was no wind so it was not 'harsh' out there! Anyway some people came from the group and left again and others just dropped out or went to the pub etc. Ultimately I ended up with just 3 by the end!

Herding complete I have taken the afternoon off and chilled, watched some TV (now the cricket is on) and generally put my feet up and replied to some emails etc

Clare should be back from Chatel about 2100 tonight but Ben (and then Olivia) will be back from school shortly! I have a lasagne ready to pop in the oven shortly ready for a relatively early dinner! The kids wont see Clare tonight as they need a good sleep.... Olivia has a race tomorrow here in La Daille on the Raye which I am going too and Ben has club all day.

Im back working again Sunday with a full day off piste.

As I type this now I can see the clouds and snow starting to break up so it should settle down now for the night.

In local news I see with the municipal elections coming up the mairie is encouraging all residents to get on the electoral role in order to vote for the new mayor.... I / we in this household fit all the criteria APART from the fact we are not EU citizens / French passport holders. Also with no ability to vote in UK elections (after 15 years out the country) it means once again we are unable to have a democratic say in what goes on. We have no vote anywhere! Doh! Personally I follow current affairs quite closely so feel as if I would have an 'educated' vote wherever I voted but hey ho!!!!

TTFN

Up the Cugnai it was somewhat poor vis eh!

No its NOT just you - good riddance!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Great day

Clare got back very late last night and I was helping her in with her stuff until quite late and then she needed to get a few things done so it was quite a disturbed evening in the end but she is back in one piece now.

Anyway I slept quite well thanks to my new herbal things but the alarm was going off all too early.

I firstly had to drop the kids at the rond pond... Olivia was collecting her skis and getting ready for her race and Ben was skiing himself with club!

I put the car away (it had been left out overnight as Clare was back so late!) after I had used it to drop the kids off and then had about an hour to kill back home so a nice second cuppa followed. Clare was running around getting the kids packed lunches etc sorted and I just needed to get myself in gear and over the road. Olivia had her second major race of the season today - a Coupe Bronze again but here on home turf and literally over the road from us. Both Clare and I were able to be there for the race and Olivia wanted me in the start area so I put boots on and meanwhile Clare was to be at the base area.

So the first run she had an OK run... not too bad by her standards but far from the best... she ended up coming 4th. She had a high bib number so when the bib numbers and course were to be reversed for run 2 that would play into her favour. So after inspecting and running the first run and then making myself popular by dishing out some salami to the kids and officials it was almost time for run 2.

Run 2 she was one of the first to go and she absolutely smashed it... she was in first place. There was then a long and anxious wait to see if anyone could beat the time.... well no as it turned out nobody could... she won! Amazing, totally amazing!

By now it was lunchtime and Ben was back from his session so he joined Clare at the finish area (he had club again later this afternoon too) and I stayed at the top. Olivia had just one more run and that was a sprint run - basically time to fit in a bonus run to get as fast a time as possible (rather than having to link to decent runs together for an overall time) with no bars hold. So she drew an awful bib number of 72 from 75 so was up against it. And what a trouper she is - she only went and won that one as well - totally bonkers incredible!

So that meant by the time it came to prize giving at the end of the day she had won both of todays races!

A VERY proud Dad moment!

Meanwhile the weather was pretty decent all day today - pleasant in the sun although not the warmest. Thankfully the clouds held off all day and it just remained a bit chilly! I think it will be similar tomorrow

After skiing we chilled at home, Clare had a meeting at Club and then we ordered a Jami takeaway! We have had a nice pleasant family evening but otherwise very quiet!

I would say it has been a day out of ski boots but it wasnt... but certainly a mental rest day although quite stressful at times.

Next Saturday I am going to go and accompany Olivia to the Coupe Argent (Coupe Carre Neige) in Valmorel. This is effectively the county (Savoie) GS champs so her first big race of the year! I will be doing it as a day trip! I think about 4 or 5 of the year will have qualified after today and then a similar number of boys (tomorrows race) so should be a decent showing from Val.

Anyway tomorrow I am back teaching - an off piste day.

TTFN

Action stations at the start area by the Triffolet

The clouds more or less held back all day

A sea of gates

Charlene (her coach sticking her arm out) giving course inspection notes to the kids

Olivia on course

Winner!

Val had some good results today!

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Champion!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Fantastic. Well done Olivia!

You'll need to Register first of course.

Well done, Olivia!!!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Proud Dad.
Well done Olivia!

After all it is free

Congratulations Olivia. Great photos thanks.

Well done Olivia! I hope they played the UK National Anthem, twice! Smile

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

You and Clare must be so proud. What a day, what an achievement

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Thanks so much everyone - yes very chuffed. Onto the next one. Nice thinking russ_e - but alas no.... if she ever gets to that level she will be racing for France im afraid - no funding in the UK for it sadly!

Photos tell the tale

Nobody needed to do anything specially this morning - apart from me. So I was up nice and early and the request was for poached eggs all around! Im pretty good at doing those so I obliged!

Looking out the window it was chilly but clear but with a 0930 start I did not need to rush out the door.

So today I had an old client who own a chalet here and I generally teach him and his wife once a year or two for a full days off piste! More guiding them than anything really. So after we kitted up we headed up Solaise and warmed up with one of my usual off piste noodles! It was game on - the snow was awesome and still lovely and light / deep!

However as these things tend to do I was pretty confident the snow was not only be awesome out in the Col Madeleine but also plenty of space for freshies! To be honest whilst the snow was awesome there was a lot less 'space' for freshies out there than I thought there would be - still excellent but more people had been out there than I was expecting!

So after that we moved out to the Fornet and did a way out wide Grand Vallon all the way down to Edelweiss restaurant and we found some awesome snow - really nice snow down there. It was also lovely and quiet being around about lunchtime - perfect.

Lunch was at Crozet at Fornet and of course going there it had to be a rosti burger and the amazing fries they do there. yummy!

When we re-appeared after lunch it was surprising that it had totally clouded over and going back up on the lift it was obvious the light was quite flat - what a bummer! I had to think quite carefully what we would do as they needed to finish up slightly early and time was ticking on so I did a funky (second time ive down this this season) hike from the top of the Vallon gondola up the slope so could ski down on the 'uphill' side of the Vallon gondola (so the slopes as you come up the gondola on the uphill side of it. We found some great untouched snow in there and worked our way all the way back down into lower sunny bowl which was excellent. By now it was starting to break up (the cloud) so we could do something similar coming from the Signal side and traversing around - it was pretty darn great actually.

So after a day of good powder it was back to reality and back home. Clare had been with the kids all day (well not quite true as Olivia had been watching the boys race and then had something with a friend to do at the Folie and Ben had club this afternoon) and when I got in the day end was approaching! So we have gotten the kids in bed etc this evening and ive eaten whilst watching the cricket and Ski Sunday!

Tomorrow I start with a new booking after a one off intermediate lesson in the morning! The weather continues to be quite cold and cloudy interspersed with sun but conditions remain perfect out there... although it felt much busier on the slopes today (the few times I was on them!).

TTFN

I was getting my phone out to take photos for this!

snow reports

A bit interesting

It was an early start getting Olivia and then Ben out the door but it was easy enough! It was an interesting one as Clare was not working this morning but just in the afternoon (now THAT is rare for any Monday!). So after the kids were out the door it was just me to get ready.

The weather (as it has been of recent) was bitterly cold first thing and overnight but due to warm up during the day. Nothing alarming wise but certainly enough to make the difference in terms of layering. At least it was sunny.

I met my morning session which was a group of 4 friends (towards retirement age) here for a combined 60th party but not directly knowing each other as such! As it turned out there was 2x2 groups within the 4 of different levels so I needed to choose terrain where I could offer 'green' or 'blue' route down and also somewhere where I could develop them all in their differing ways so I chose the green triangle with an add on of Grand Pre.

We ended up having a pretty successful morning all in all id say! Bravo. I hope they each now have some ideas to take away and things to work on so as the rest of their week is successful.

On the way down on the Olympic with them I got (this does happen maybe once a season or at least every other season) a phone call from my afternoon client.... someone who I assume does not know the area or whatever but I dont really have any other booking notes on them. So the phone call was to say that she had gone to Tignes with friends today so would not be able to meet for the pm session and thus I was not needed this afternoon! Blimey! So suddenly I have had this afternoon off... she has paid so its her loss I guess but its her prerogative too!

This afternoon I have taken the opportunity to do some tidying up at home and sorting out of a few things but generally it has been a welcome bit of downtime.

So tomorrow maybe ill get a full days work in - maybe not!?

It has clouded over this afternoon but nothing too serious. The weather is supposed to be very up and down the next few days - we shall see.

In other news (they have not released the minutes from the town council minutes yet as id like to include some details here - maybe later) I read the following interesting report on internet this morning about the differences between US and EU skiing. I think it pretty much sums it up nicely actually.... especially from the US persons point of view.

"USA vs EUROPE FOR A FAMILY SKI TRIP: I DID THE MATH

With window prices at some U.S. resorts now officially hitting $335 a day, the “standard” family ski trip has quietly turned into a major financial operation. So I looked at the real trade-offs between the Rockies and the Alps for 2026.

The reality check? Neither option is cheap. You’re either paying for the flight or you’re paying for the cheeseburger — but the experiences couldn’t be more different.

And as we’ve seen this winter, good snow is never guaranteed. Both North America and Europe have had rocky seasons, with late starts and unpredictable thaws. When you’re spending this kind of money, you’re not just planning a vacation — you’re gambling on the weather.

Eh oh!

The Experience: “The Sport” vs. “The Lifestyle”

The biggest difference isn’t just the price. It’s how you actually spend your day.

The U.S. Experience:

It’s structured and service-oriented. Clearly marked boundaries. Patrolled in-bounds terrain. World-class grooming. It’s a high-end resort experience designed to maximize time on the snow, from first chair to last run.

The European Experience:

It’s vast and adventurous. Resorts are often interconnected, meaning you can ski 30+ miles in one direction and end up in a completely different valley — sometimes even a different country. But “off-piste” truly means off-piste. If it’s not groomed, it’s not patrolled. You’re not just skiing a mountain; you’re navigating a mountain range.

Eh oh!

THE COST BREAKDOWN (6-DAY SKI TRIP FOR A FAMILY OF 4)

U.S. ROCKIES (Vail / Jackson Hole / Park City)

• Lift tickets: $7,000+ (about $300 per day)
• Flights: about $1,600 (domestic)
• Lodging: $3,500 to $5,000 (resort base)
• Food and rentals: about $2,500
Estimated total: $14,600+

EUROPEAN ALPS (France / Italy / Austria)

• Lift tickets: about $2,000 (roughly $80 to $100 per day)
• Flights: $3,500 to $5,000 (transatlantic)
• Lodging: $2,500 to $4,000 (chalet or apartment)
• Food and rentals: about $1,800
Estimated total: $10,500 to $12,500

THE PASS FACTOR (THIS MATTERS)

If you already own an Ikon or Epic Pass, that massive U.S. lift-ticket cost disappears — and with the Epic Pass, you can stack roughly 20% off food and lodging at participating resorts. That discount alone can shave hundreds to well over $1,000 off a weeklong trip, making the Rockies almost always the cheaper option.

No pass? You might as well renew your passport.

Eh oh!

The Bottom Line

Stay in the U.S. if:

You already own a pass, can take advantage of food and lodging discounts, and want the highest statistical chance of cold, dry snow — even if this winter has been an exception.

Head to Europe if:

You’re paying window prices anyway and want a bucket-list trip where the villages, food, and sheer scale of the skiing help soften the blow if conditions don’t fully cooperate.

Either way — whether you’re paying in dollars or euros — you’re still spending real money. At that point, the biggest question becomes simple:

How do you want to spend it?"

TTFN

Yesterdays client sent me this photo - quite liked it - me and the wife standing about to ski some more pow!

I like this - a guy who has just been selected to go to the Olympics for France - I showed Olivia it - a little boys dreams came true - Olivias attitude was 'me too' as in the dream!

Sorry not the best photo but I forgot to snap anything until I was on my way home - whoops

Talking of the Olympics - this is the schedule for the ski racing! Cant wait.

You know it makes sense.

Enjoying the daily updates Steve. Great to read the insight into daily life in the mountains!

interesting read on US Vs Europe. We are looking to do Whistler next winter after considering for a few years and never quite sorting it! i have been trying to find the epic pass rough costs as plan will be to ski for 9 days and as you eluded too, the walk up price is rather eye watering!

I have hopes on a Val trip at Easter but we shall see.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Chapeau to the jeune homme!

Would be much more special to be selected as a skier to go to the Olympics by Great Britain snowHead

Wow, glad I got my USA skiing fix out of my system back when it was cheap.

A snowHead

Talking of the Olympics - if anyone follows ski-mo at all (new to this year's Olympics) it's worth following Emily Harrop. I did a heli-trip from Col du Petit Saint Bernard a few year's ago which was guided by a guy called Chris Harrop who was originally from Bolton but has lived in the Tarentaise for many, many years. His daughter Emily has come thorugh the French system and obviously represents France but maybe we can claim a UK link.

Anyway it turns out she's exceptional and a real medal chance in ski-mo.

https://en.emilyharrop.com/

A snowHead

nice shout @philhitch, i didnt realise she had a uk connection. I also was planning on cheering on alba de silvestro and michele bosacci who are a married couple competing in skimo for italy, they live not too far from me

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Is it that time already Thank you. Hmm when I worked in Whistler (some 20 years ago) for a couple of seasons teaching I was never that impressed with the place tbh - rains a lot !!! Hope you manage to make it to Val for Easter - nice time of the year to come I always think.
PeakyB - haha indeed yes! Problem with GB etc is its basically all privately funded so an expensive option thats for sure!
philhitch / kat - yes totally - go the 'Brits' - well almost anyway!

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The Cycle of Positivity

I slept OK last night but just didnt get enough - must get more tonight! Doh!

It was certainly quite relaxed this morning with only Ben to get out the door. Clare was on a slightly later start so it really was quite chilled start to the day.

The weather was supposed to be relatively sunny all day but the remnants of a retour once again trying to push in meant there was some cloud and easterly winds about. However as was proven the sun pretty much dominated in the end all day.

So I headed to the meet point and met my am session which was 3 youngs girls in their 20's out here with their partners on a bit of a 'fun' trip! I immediately noticed the typical pattern.... the partners (boyfriends and husbands for the most part) who were ace skiers / boarders apparently desperately hoping that their girlfriends etc would pick up the sport and love it. So the girls had generally only done only a tiny bit of skiing before and that took the form of a session or two at indoor slopes or a school ski trip years ago. They had had a lesson yesterday so this was their 2nd and final lesson of the trip.

Talking to them at the start of the session I explained that they needed to work out what will make them tick in this sport e.g. some people like to ski 9-5, no stopping and tackle all the blacks before lunch; others its about the views, long coffee stops and the green runs only - everyone is different! I often say to everyone that you need to work that out as its different for everyone.

With that in mind it was immediately apparent that they had already fallen foul of the 'Well Meaning Friends and Family' syndrome! Ie whilst they should have stayed on the magic carpet runs for the most part yesterday they had been persuaded by the friends and family that trying some of the greens elsewhere would be a good idea... this basically knocked some of their confidence big time and I go as far as spoilt their holiday and made them less likely to want to try it again! So be aware of the Well Meaning Friends and Family out there!

So we were back on the magic carpet trying to build up that confidence and that leads me onto the other point here... anyone who has a lesson with me has probably heard me talk about this too!... 'The cycle of positivity'. This often applies for more entry level skiers and those lacking in confidence! So it goes like this... work a little on the technique, that leads to slightly more confidence in what you are doing and that leads to more enjoyment in what you are doing.... with that you can then improve the challenge or length of run or whatever and therefore you need to improve technique etc and in doing so that should improve confidence.... hey presto you are in the Cycle of Positivity! Its REALLY important more nervous skiers remember this as it could just make or break their holiday!

Anyway so that was the morning and I left them (I hope they took my advice anyway) to head back to their chalet, get a change of footwear and bus it to La Daille and head to the Folie for lunch.... rather than being persuaded by those same partners that trying to ski to the Folie would be a good idea! Remember that one persons idea of fast, close, flat and the opposites of those varies massively from person to person! Even attempting to ski to the Folie for lunch for some of them would NOT be a good idea - in fact possibly the last time some of them would ever attempt to ski if those partners tried to make them do that!

Lunch was in the normal place and then this afternoon I started my multi day booking with an American lady from LA and as it turned out with a family member from the UK and her grown up daughter! It will be an interesting booking / was an interesting start today. They had all been to Val many times before, they could all ski well and basically they just wanted someone to make the decisions and show them around etc. They were quite particular in wanting me to find them 'nice' soft snow, no scraped off pistes, places they might not usually go to etc etc. So I found myself explaining things like 'the right of the piste on this top section is softer than the left and then will be better over the other side after the lift pylon' etc - that sort of thing.

So I now have a further 3 days with them and they would love to find really gentle and pleasant off piste so ill be doing some things with them for sure. An intriguing booking really as they dont really need me at all but sometimes people like just to have someone there to do it all for them and make the decisions etc!

After work I booked the flèche for a friend for tomorrow and then headed home. Ben was doing his usual judo and Olivia was on her way back from school. Tomorrow Clare isnt working but she will go for a ski with Ben and Olivia has race training and a flèche GS race in the morning - her last practice session before the big race on Saturday!

Meanwhile at home I managed to watch the end of the England cricket match and sorted a few bits out! It is going to be an amazing couple of weeks of sport coming up with the Winter Olympics as well as the Cricket World Cup - bring it on!

In other news the feud between Tignes and Val continues with Val demanding a better deal from Tignes but Tignes not playing ball at the moment - going to get quite spicy soon I think. For those who dont know basically Tignes have more beds than Val (and are building more than Val are still to this day). Areas such as Borsat, Grand Pre etc are very attractive for skiers on both sides and ultimately more people are buying their passes in Tignes and using the slopes in Val. Val pick up the tab for the maintenance etc of these lifts. Basically Val want Tignes to put more money into the pot. This is the main reason for all the turnstiles that were put on all the lifts a few years back - for usage data! Tignes have offered something but its no way good enough it would seem!

TTFN

Glorious snow and views up there today

Lots of this rubbish going on!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Absolutely spot on about well-meaning friends and family.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Steve Angus, since "deciding" a few months ago we'd treat ourselves to the Whistler trip next winter, everything i come across is saying that its "not that great" and the high prospect of rain/lift queues. Making me doubt it and do a couple of European trips or look elsewhere in US etc.

We shall see. Fingers crossed for Val at Easter - yes agree, its a nice time to come. Some "interesting" sights on the Face and la daille return pistes come 4pm for sure!

thanks again for you time and efforts on the daily posts.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Don’t think I grasp the rationale for Val D liftco wanting Tignes liftco to give them more money.
I get that Tignes sells more passes but does that really impact much on the overall maintenance cost of the Val D lift system? They’re running the lifts x hours/day, regardless of how many are on the chairs/gondolas/trains. So the vast majority of the maintenance cost must be fixed, rather than variable, I’d have thought.

Those Tignes visitors will also be spending more money in the Val D mountain restaurants. The extra Tignes lift pass income will contribute to their system upgrades too, which benefit all who buy a full area pass.

Anyway, wouldn’t be a proper mountain superski area without the separate parts squabbling over something Laughing

After all it is free

@PeakyB, To quote the Mayor of Tignes when asked if Val D'Isere would be difficult when the negotiations started "Val D'Isere are always difficult."

Tignes is still smarting from when Val pulled out of the joint sewage works down in Brev, leaving Tignes with the whole bill. Given the smells as you ski down into La Daille - that may not have been a great idea.

It does work both ways - you only have to look at a Grande Motte Fever day - the queues of Val visitors at Tommeuses by 9.30 are large. And you could look at both resorts contributions to the links between the two resorts:

Tignes:

Toviere - modern 10 man gondola
Tufs - modern 6 man chair
Fresse - ageing 6 man chair
Tommeuses - modern 8 man chair
Comme Folle - venerable Poma - but gets a lot of Val folk home when the wind gets up unexpectedly

Val D'Isere:

Borsat - 1990s unreliable 4 man chair.

@chocksaway, interesting backstory, thanks. I suppose, historically, the growth of Tignes piggy-backed on the longer standing reputation and cachet of Val D’Isere.

When I first skied the area, long ago, Tignes could be perceived as cheaper back-door access to its more glamorous neighbour. That’s no longer relevant, as Tignes has risen inexorably upmarket.

Surely the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? That’s certainly been the case not far down the valley, since the Vanoise Express linked Les Arcs and La Plagne to create Paradiski.

I don’t remember Steve commenting on any sewage smell in La Daille. Has the Tignes Army sabotaged the Val D system to teach them a lesson? Laughing

Of course, politicians from the international stage right down to local parish level like to bristle and look tough by standing up to ‘the nasty neighbours’, especially just before elections.

We’d all be better off if they grew up.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@chocksaway & @Steve Angus, I noticed yesterday they are preparing a turnstile portal thingy at the Vanois chair. Seeing as the only way to get there without a pass is an epic skin, data collection would seem to be the only sensible explanation.

Help!!

The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

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