Blog

8am on a rather grey drizzly morning saw four of us (Ralph, Mervyn, Mark and his grandson Henry) set off in Ralph’s comfortably commodious car in a Champéry direction, hoping to find more clement weather.

By 9:30 we were parked up and heading for the téléphérique to take us up to Planachaux and the start of our skiing – to our 10:30 rendezvous with Stephen, who was joining us from Morgins having escaped grandparenting duties for the day. Our French resident member was unable to use his on-line purchased ski ticket because seemingly he had specified Morzine (in France) rather than Champéry (in Switzerland) as his entry point into the Franco-Swiss Portes du Soleil ski domain. This was rectified by the payment of an additional supplement, but because of the queue at the guichet, also cost him two missed cable-cars and, in true GIN fashion, some mild piss-taking.

So somewhat behind schedule we set off but were soon enveloped in thick cloud as we groped our way along the ridge and down the long but gentle Abricotine run to Les Brochaux. The youth member of the team, on his first outing of the season, found that his skiing improved markedly once he’d done up his boots. Hot drinks and banter raised the spirits and with the visibility improving we headed towards Avoriaz to enjoy the Coupe du Monde and other long runs.

Lunch was taken at an old favourite, the erstwhile “soup kitchen” above Prodain whose menu now included fondue and tartiflette. After a tasty draught IPA we were soon tucking into the afore-mentioned fare plus wine and coffee for a very reasonable €40. For the information of our only €uroland dweller it’s a cash only establishment. He has now ratcheted up a debt as well as sundry fines.

Timid blue patches of sky were now turning into the forecast sunshine and we spent a pleasant afternoon playing on Arare and Fornet. The exciting off-piste was the scene of much sitting down skiing by one of our number, who complained that an old war-wound was giving him some gyp.

Returning to Switzerland, we rather sensibly opted for a descent of Chavanette by chairlift and enjoyed(?) the spectacle of numerous skiers who had clearly overestimated their ability to handle one of the most fearsome mogul fields in the Alps. Stephen left us at Les Crosets to ski back to Morgins and tired legs was the excuse for the rest of us to head back to Champéry the shortest way.

The return home in just over 1h30 was surprisingly easy and thanks to Ralph for his excellent driving and general bonhomie. Thanks too to Stephen for his guiding, to Henry for fitting in so well and lowering the average age of the group and to Mark for his customary good humour and displaying unorthodox drag-lift technique.

We were so busy enjoying ourselves no one had time to take any photos. Nor was distance or denivelation recorded, but it seemed lots.

Enjoying the High Life in Vaud

A rather short-notice proposal for a ski day on Tuesday, to take advantage of recent good snow and very favourable weather resulted in just two of us, Joe and Mervyn, heading off in Joe’s car to the easternmost end of the canton, Les Diablerets, for a high-level adventure.

We duly arrived at the Col du Pillon, boarded the téléphérique and were quickly up at 3000m by 10:30. The sky was stunningly sunny and cloudless, the snow deep but firm, and crowds absent. After taking a few moments to absorb the view we decided to test our legs firstly on the relatively easy slopes on the top of the glacier. Indeed the T-bars were the most problematic feature, the skiing being effortless on the pristine pistes. Suitably encouraged we ventured down the magnificent Combe d’Audon, the first of several descents on this 7 km long, empty itinerary piste to Oldenalp some 1200m lower. The only disappointment was that the normally forgiving powder was crusty and uninviting.

Time for a mid-morning coffee at the only open restaurant on the mountain, the recently restored Le Carnotzet at the summit, Scex Rouge. My all-time favourite watering hole, Refuge de l’Espace, nestled beside the iconic Quille du Diable is closed (for ever?) and the Cabane des Diablerets had its shutters firmly closed and no sign of a flag flying.
One cannot visit Glacier 3000 without making the exhilarating Peak to Peak suspended walk, widely promoted throughout the region and the country. It was the perfect day to do so and we were rewarded with a breathtaking full 360° panorama, extending from the Jura, the cloud-covered lake, Gstaad and the Saanenland, the Bernese Oberland, the Valaisian Alps, to the Mt Blanc massif.

After more runs we took an al-fresco lunch at the cowshed at Oldenalp, now bathed in sunshine and transformed into a pop-up bar with barbecue. The menu was limited but wholesome – bratwurst mit rösti – and almost made the infuriatingly long wait worthwhile. Perhaps the cowherd needs to stick to his day job, or get some extra help.
The afternoon saw us completing all the available runs and repeating the best of them. We were relieved to see that the recently constructed and infamous Black Wall was closed, requiring us to descend to the Col du Pillon by cable car, but with a clear conscience. A long 46° icy black run is not recommended at the end of the day! We were back in the car by 4:15 and home well before 6pm.
All in all a great day and one to repeat, but only in sunny weather and preferably after fresh snow has fallen.

The ski blogs are coming thick and fast now.

Two outings were scheduled on consecutive days this week due to the excellent prevailing weather conditions at altitude. The call to action received a disappointingly small response due to injury, sickness, therapy, travel and work(?) commitments. Time for some realignment of priorities, surely.

Bright (or rather, foggy) and early on Monday morning Mark and Mervyn set off to Champéry. The autoroute traffic in our direction was pleasingly fluid and we were soon booted, ticketed and on the 10am téléphérique and up into the glorious sunshine. Some gentle cruising on empty pistes saw us rendezvous with Stephen and Kate for an early coffee at Les Brochaux. Stephen was making his first GIN outing of the new year, having led us to expect him to be hors de combat for the season. Having a stubbornly gammy knee has done nothing to reduce his speed on skis but has required a modified technique for getting on and off chair lifts.

The rest of the morning was spent enjoying at speed the long, almost empty, slopes around Avoriaz before a welcome lunchtime beer and excellent plat du jour Chez Flo. Stephen departed to return early to Morgins leaving the two elder statesmen to wend their way back the pretty way to Champèry via Mossettes, Les Crosets, Ripaille and Grand Paradis. It was a testament to the good snow conditions that the long itinerary route was skiable, with the delightful Chalet Clavets open to provide drinks en route.

We left at 4pm and were back home by 5:30 after a trouble-free return journey.

The next day, Tuesday, a different trio (David, Ralph and Mervyn) ventured out to ski Le Grand Massif. We drove via Bardonnex onto the A40 to Cluses and thence to Samoens. There was thick fog in the Arve valley and high polluting lorries were forbidden from using the autoroute, which was something of a blessing. We duly arrived without incident and in sunshine and were up on the snow by 10am. The two super-seniors in the party were granted free lift passes whilst the youngster paid his dues with good grace. Whether the same largesse is available to him when he reaches 75 remains to be seen.

This had all the makings of a great day and so it was to be. The slopes everywhere and particularly above Flaine were in remarkably good snowy condition and the mountain vistas quite breath-taking.
The photos don’t do it justice, not least because there are three guys spoiling the view. We enjoyed the long, wide sweeping blues and reds above the treeline from Les Grandes Platières (2480m) before stopping for a late lunch of classic mountain fare at Le Blanchot.

Unfortunately, the long scenic route down to Sixt was closed so we retraced our way back to Samoens the way we came. It’s quite some distance but the lift system is very efficient and the crowds at this time of year are virtually non-existent. There was the suspicion of a fall by one of our number, but as it wasn’t witnessed and is therefore unverifiable, GIN rules imply that it never happened. Three tired but happy and injury-free bodies set off for home shortly after 4pm.

I shall be away for the next two weeks, so if anyone reading this wishes to organise an outing then, please feel free to do so.

The three musketeers, ventured in two separate cars (Ralphs with Mark), and Mervyn making his own way . Bleary eyed we set off at 7.45 ish expecting to hit some rush hour traffic, amazingly it was quiet, especially zigzagging round Versoix and Ferney, to hit the motorway by the airport .

We were well behaved with our speed and saw no camera flashes apart from the occasional French lunatic flashing his lights to pass . Surprisingly we reached les Contamines at 9.20 well before our planned meeting time with Mervyn and another friend of Ralphs, Brian, who is also known through Ex DuPont colleagues .

Brass monkeys was an apt description when we arrived being a balmy -10.5 deg C at the car park by the lift. Yes you can guess fitting ones boots is bad enough at 5 deg c but -10 is indeed a challenge , however with a lot of heaving and grunting this task was completed leaving ample time to Mark and Ralph to partake Coffee and croissants. These were eagerly consumed .

Brian arrived just after 10 am and we headed off up to Signal , sharing catch up stories of what’s been happening recently , plus latest
Medical issues .

What a glorious day with clear blue sky and a crisp dry air , Mont Blanc showing all her might and glory. It had been dumping snow on the Friday and Saturday hence the snow conditions were excellent above 1700 metres , disappointingly below , it had been raining , hence with cold temps this had frozen , so edges had to be sharp to ski on this .

We were also pleased that it was not too windy , the day before in Geneva, there were serious gusts , fortunately not many lifts were closed , only ones where avalanches are a big risk .

From Signal we did a few blue runs to get all moving parts working , then headed up to Montjoie , skiing down Aig Croche , followed by Tierces and Coins a few times , aiming to stay in the sunnier slopes.
The snow conditions allowed for easy carving

Around 12 .15 we headed off for lunch at the farm at Rouelle,
Whilst I was taking off my skis (Ralph) I found myself on the ground trying to bend my ski pole straight , with my thigh . Falling over whist drunk I guess is acceptable but being stone cold sober was a first. Landing on a pole on ice is not that much fun , still have an enormous bruise as a reminder , however a great lunch dulled the pain .

Plat de jour (duck and spicy chips )washed down with beers. ( Not too sure that eating on the terrace was a great decision though )

Brian had to depart after 2.30 pm to pick up his wife from the station so the 3 -standing die hards , managed to do some interesting runs like the Olympic ,
Doing this without stopping suggests ones fitness is not too shabby .
Choucas , far right slope from top of the col du Joly , is usually a very enjoyable run , however today it was bobbly and icy .
We skied several runs on the col side avoiding north face slopes , then back over for another blast down the Olympic before returning back to signal .

It’s possible to ski all the way back to bottom of the lift in the village , however due to the icy slopes we skied to the top of the first bubble then stopped for some well- deserved refreshments. Taking the bubble down was a sensible decision , all arriving safely to our cars.

Great day out , and super company indeed a very enjoyable time.