Category: Skiing

Another sunny day, another ski outing.

This time a different trio – Mark 2ts, St.Cergue Stephen and myself signed-up for a day in the Grand Massif starting from Samoens, where we met up shortly after 10am after an easy drive.

By 11o’clock we were coasting down towards Flaine to enjoy the still surprisingly good snow above 2000m. We weren’t alone as the half-term holidays were still attracting lots of intermediate skiers who bloated the lift queues and littered the slopes. However they seemed to head for the restaurants before noon leaving the well prepared pistes down from Grandes Platières delightfully empty. Stephen, fresh from his numerous outings in Les Rousses, but venturing into the Alps for the first time so far this year, exhibited fine form on his unforgiving GS planks.

An al fresco mid morning coffee was followed by a late lunch at Le Blanchot. Were the portions too generous or was Mark just too exhausted even to finish his salad?

Under continuing clear sunny skies we headed back up to the top of Flaine for a final descent before covering the several kilometres back to Samoens. We set off for the return drive at 4pm after another glorious outing. Thanks guys!

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.

It was another alternate Thursday for Joe to continue his training in the art of retirement from the indomitable Mervyn. Although we suffered through the traffic at the Nyon exit of the Autoroute, we made it to Samoëns just after 10 and were at the top of the Grand Massif Express by 10:30, ready for what would still be a full day’s skiing.

The promise of nice weather and good snow was accurate…especially at the higher elevations in Flaine. It was another beautiful day in the mountains, with close-up views of Mont Blanc demanding our attention, even for the occasional high-risk photo op.

As with our earlier outings, we explored most of the area and attacked pistes of all colors. One of us did so quite smoothly, while yours truly inelegantly navigated deep moguls on a steep black run below the 2561 meter peak of Tete des Lindars…but lived to tell the tale. Confidence was built as the day went on…

Surprisingly, the good weather seemed to have led many lift-pass-paying skiers to take a day off from school or work to join us in the mountains, resulting in the occasional queueing. But the crowds thinned out during lunch time while we continued till 2pm before taking a break for an outdoor lunch.

It continued to be all downhill after lunch, and we gradually made our way back from Flaine through parts of Les Carroz and finally back to where we started by 4pm, with the snow becoming a bit slushier as we descended. We stopped for a well-earned beer in the picturesque village of Samoëns.

The return home was very smooth, and we have more evidence that rush hour on the autoroute in Geneva is considerably easier than the crawl of Lausanne-Morges. It seems the only way we can solve our traffic struggles will be to combine heading east in the morning with heading west in the evening.

In any event, all routes so far this season have led to fantastic ski days…looking forward to more of these to encourage my transition to retirement.

Another Thursday, another ski outing. And what an outing it was!

Whilst I’m sympathetic to those of you with understandable excuses for a no-show, the rest of you really did miss out on an absolute humdinger of a day. The chosen venue was Glacier 3000, because your humble correspondent was staying with his brother-in-law, David, in nearby Les Diablerets and 50cm of new snow had fallen at altitude in the previous 24 hours.

The two of us headed up to the Col du Pillon to rendezvous with Stephen (Langton) and catch the 9am cable-car. Stephen was driving up from St Cergue that morning and was delayed by the usual motorway traffic and roadworks on the mountain road above Aigle . We couldn’t wait to get up close and personal with the acres of fresh powder on the glacier so decided to meet up later on the mountain. 

Without doubt these were the best skiing conditions so far this season – and indeed for several seasons. The gentle runs at the top had just been lightly groomed and it was like skiing on silk. Those with steeper gradients were untouched, giving endless possibilities of skiing in deep, light powder. It was a thrilling and all-too-infrequent experience and perfect to build one’s confidence in off-piste skiing.

The weather that day, which had initiated an early start to the GIN biking season, was sensational in the mountains. There were breath-taking views in every direction from the 3000m summit at the Scex Rouge where we even decided to forgo our skis for a short climb up to the celebrated Peak to Peak walkway. David just about conquered his fear of heights to cross the 110m “floating bridge” and live to tell the tale.  A welcome coffee stop was taken on the other side of the glacier at a favourite of the writer’s, Refuge de l’Espace,  which is situated beside the Quille du Diable, an impressive column of rock towering out of the snow and ice and overlooking a 1500m sheer drop to the ruined hamlet of Derborence (familiar to some of the GIN hikers and immortalised in C.F.Ramuz’s novel of the same name) and the Rhone valley 1000m below that.

After another couple of hours skiing our legs off we treated ourselves to Boxer beers and croutes at the Cabane des Diablerets, where the large resident dog was frolicking outside in the deep snow and dazzling sunshine, wearing a pair of goggles. Doggles?

After lunch it was more of the same until we were ready to descend to the cars. We wisely decided against taking, at the end of the day, the recently opened tunnel bored through the cliff which opens onto a seemingly near vertical un-pisted descent of 1000m to the bottom station of the téléphérique. Younger, fitter legs definitely required.

Again, the return journey was not entirely traffic-free, with roadworks and the usual congestion  between Lausanne and Morges – the only negative to a truly splendid ski day. More of the same please.

Next outing is provisionally scheduled for Thursday 21 March –  DV&WP (Deo volente and weather permitting)

Well, for once this season the weather forecast indeed turned out to be both positive and accurate.

Encouraged by the promise of a grand beau I cheekily proposed a ski day on what had already been declared a snow-shoe outing, albeit with no snow. However, none of the skiing members of the snow-shoers could be persuaded to change their allegiance, preferring a meander on Mont Mussy to a day’s piste bashing in the Valais.

So it was only the two faithful stalwarts, Joe and Mervyn, who set off bright and early and headed for Veysonnaz, one of the satellite ski stations in the huge 4 Vallées domain. We arrived without incident and were ticketed and booted and on skis by 10am. Cloudless skies above and a good depth of snow underfoot greeted us. The 360° views were magnificent and even the distant Matterhorn showed itself.

Being so youthful, Joe had to pay full whack for his lift pass so we decided to get his money’s worth by exploring as much of the area as possible. Oldies like me and Portes du Soleil season ticket holders go free! After a quick sampling of the Thyon runs we headed, direction Verbier, to Siviez, Tortin and Nendaz. Lunch was taken on a sunny terrace above Siviez to fortify us for the return journey to Veysonnaz. There we enjoyed the perfectly groomed and empty black runs of Etherolla and the celebrated Piste de l’Ours (twice) before descending down to the village via a much anticipated vin chaud/beer stop.

The return journey was not entirely traffic-free, with the usual heavy evening traffic between Lausanne and Morges – the only negative to an otherwise splendid Leap Day ski day.

Next outing is provisionally scheduled for Thursday 7 March – DV&WP (Deo volente and weather permitting)

Here is the blog of the ski day that never was!

Despite the change of date of this week’s ski outing which was probably wise weatherwise, it was nevertheless unsuccessful in attracting a quorum, nay, even a single participant to sign up.

There were a number of apologies for absence proffered, mostly of an orthopaedic nature, but I suspect the perception of the prevailing skiing conditions – poor snow and potentially crowded pistes – also contributed.

Perhaps also the purpose of these ski outing should be clarified. We are no longer (if ever?) a group of thrill-seeking, dare-devil powder hounds, who are impatient to get the first cable car, think lunch is a Mars bar on a chairlift and ski until the pisteurs clear the slopes. No, we are pleasure-seeking, mountain-loving, epicureans who just enjoy doing it at a high-level and where the uphill effort element is largely removed from the equation. Hikers and snow-shoers take note! Sounds to me like the criteria for a perfect day out with good company.

Next outing is provisionally scheduled for Thursday 22 February. Let’s see what the weather gods will have conspired to provide by then.

Disgruntled from Commugny.

Here is the blog of the third GIN ski outing of the current season – though you wouldn’t know it from the absence of the two earlier blogs!

Skiing is getting to be as unpopular as underwater chess. Apologies for absence this time ranged from the frivolous and feeble to the downright mutinous with talk of a breakaway B team?!!

Nevertheless, two of us, myself and Joe, a welcome young new addition, drove early to Champéry and were soon basking in glorious sunshine at 2000m.  The perfect conditions above were not quite matched by those underfoot. There was still plenty of snow cover but the pistes were hard packed and very icy early on and those exposed to the sun soon got soft and heavy. This didn’t seem to deter a surprising number of other skiers. This “working from home” lark is getting out of hand.

A mid-morning coffee stop and a late lunch provided welcome respite from some serious piste-bashing around Champéry, Les Crosets, Linderets, Avoriaz and Plaine Dranse.  The Domaine des Noirs above Avoriaz was closed (too icy?) and the Swiss Wall didn’t look very inviting, but that still left plenty of other options.  The Welsh ski team (Dragons) were strutting/sliding their stuff but thankfully didn’t need an additional veteran.

We were off the mountain by 16:30 and the return journey was thankfully reasonably trouble-free. 

All in all, a ten hour day but no idea of distance or denivelation skied.  Must do it again.