You know the day is going to start well when you survive a double ski eject on the first run of the day!
waking up to a fresh snowfall in town
before it snowed
What a week it's been. In the space of a few days we've had gale force winds, over 30cm of fresh snow, the first 45 minute queue at the bottom of Medran, and actual traffic jams on the roads! Verbier is finally in full swing again and the pistes have turned from a chaotic rock and ice slalom to a softer and more agreeable surface. There has been some good powder to ski over the last few days, but a lack of sufficient snow for a base means that there are plenty of 'sharks' (hidden / semi hidden rocks).
Christmas week was a busy one on the pistes, partly due to the lack of snow and the influx of people. The two days of heavy fog and falling snow on the 25th and 26th made for challenging but quieter slopes.
Christmas lights in town
Savoleyres has finally opened bit by bit and I headed over to check out the conditions earlier this week. At the time, only the telecabines and le nord were open, and it was packed. Going in the afternoon with fresh snowfall and the pistes had turned to fun soft mogul fields,with perfect variables training on the side. a few people had skied the front side down to Verbier, but with the lack of base you could see the grass popping through - it looked very much like skiing in the UK!
On the way up to Savoleyres in the vintage telecabine
Looking down the piste on the quieter side of Savoleyres
Savoleyres pistes, busier than it looks!
Le Rouge today, still closed but now very skiable
Other than the skiing, one of the best things about spending Christmas in Verbier is that it is not over the top. Decorations are put up at the start of December, cheesy music does not follow you around town, and most people celebrate on the 24th, giving you a great excuse to open your presents early!
Although we have only had a few cm of snow, settling generally above the tree line, it has yet to make a substantial difference to the pistes. With more forecast over the next week it looks like the slopes will be on the edge of survival with the influx of holiday-makers over Christmas week. This afternoon, when skiing, small rocks scattered all of the pistes, although it was beautifully quiet, and the Gentianes slope was in much better condition than a week ago.
Here are some pictures from yesterday:
The last section of the 'M25' to Ruinettes
Just above the path to La Chaux below Attelas
Repair work on the piste above Ruinettes marked out with poles
On a more positive note the trail running conditions are good, compressed snow in the forest and snow free trails above the patier side of town and below Savoleyres. Yesterday morning I had a great time running a loop above town in the sun.
View from above Patier on a forest run looking across to Croix de Coeur and Col des Mines
Only the sections of the trails in the trees had snow on, still easy running though!
Looking down towards Verbier, feels like Spring!
You can just make out some deer above the snow ahead of me near Mayen de Bri
Saturday:
Formation ski school training in the morning, home for lunch, working in the afternoon, ski tour race in the evening. Today the bus timetable in town was extended so there's no need to wait ages any more and you can do you food shopping after work and avoid carting it up the hill!
Sunday;
Last day of formation for the 13/14 season, telemark training all morning, home for lunch, working in the afternoon, Xavier De La Rue movie in the evening, late to bed having forgot to do my washing!
Monday:
Lie in, woohoo
Ski conditions on the hill are still relatively ok. Verbier was 13 degrees C today, and the slopes on the Savolyers side look barer than ever. Piste conditions remain similar to last week and the pisteurs are putting in lots of hard work to keep them going, with snow machines on most nights and shifting the snow around to repair areas in need. However, Chassoure Tortin is now closed, and many parts of the piste now have rocks and grass showing through. (I still can't understand why so many people are skiing around on fat skis with ABS bags on though. What do they know that no one else does? - maybe we don't need an answer to this one!)
And some positive news, snow is forecast for Thursday.
Quick review of the cinema screening on Sunday:
First we were treated to a preview of his steeps movie that is in the last stages of editing. This was incredible and, dare I say it, more exciting than anything I have seen yet, even some of the Andreas Fransson clips. Truly mental and 'bringing freeriding to the steep slopes' the highlight was a descent of the Lenzspitz, a ski that I dream of doing one day.
Next up was Mission Antarctica. This was a film documenting Xavier and friends trip to Antarctica to explore and board some steep lines. Not quite as exciting as the Steeps movie, but awesome. Super scenery, filming and animals, as well as some good riding.
Saturday night was the annual vertical ski tour race in town. It is the first race of the season in Switzerland, and in addition to the popular race it also forms part of the Swiss skimo (ski mountaineering) cup. Leaving Carrefour by headtorch the aim is to skin the 4.24km and 962m of ascent to Attelas as quickly as possible.
With smooth pistes, unsually warm temperatures and good weather a new record was set by Valentin Favre, 39mins, 50.48seconds. In the season of the Patrouille des Glaciers and with more people skinning up the slopes for training than ever before, it was a big turn out of over 270 competitors.
Having last put my skins on in April, done no training, and only been in town for two weeks I paid my 20chf and entered the popular race. Rucksack complete with warm clothes for the descent was chucked in the from of the piste machine, and the start began at 18:30. The first half of the race went pretty well, taking 35mins to get to the James Blunt chairlift, the second half was slower. I had set my heart rate monitor to beep if I went above 170bpm, where I knew I would get too tired, and it's constant beeping accompanied me the majority of the way up. Despite the cheering at the top I couldn't muster up the energy to run the last flatter section. Exhausted and starving, I hobbled inside to be greeted by hot tea and the free pasta party. The spaghetti bolognese was amazing, and having scoffed the whole plate I changed into my warm clothes, removed my skins and skied home.
In some ways the ski home was the best part. With clear skies, a bright moon, and freshly made pistes I hardly noticed my knackered legs skiing down. Straight to bed ready for telemark training in the morning - I must be crazy!
I'm now super psyched to get out training and do some more races later in the season and skin to Attelas in less than 1hr 15mins. Having averaged just under 700m an hour in the race I'm still a long way from the dream of 1000 vertical metres per hour. One day...
Yesterday was day 6 of our formation. The snow conditions have not changed much in the last week, and we are all praying for more snow soon. Eagerly checking the various forecast sites each evening it looks as though we have a 40% chance of a few cm's of snow next week.
This was super as she is really experienced with this age group, we all learnt loads, and were able to pick her brains on the best ways to introduce skills. A chance to spend the day playing loads of games with our ski poles, hoops, cuddly toys, cones and pieces of string made a change too! One of the group favourites was using a piece of rope to act as a mouse tail behind you, turning across the slope and seeing if the kid behind you can grab it. Some people tried skiing with an edgy-wedgy at the front of there skis which was very amusing. (an edgy-wedgy is a piece of plastic or elastic that you use to connect the two skis together at the front which helps smaller children make a snowplough). By the time the day ended my brain was knackered from taking in so much information, so it was back home to refuel with some freshly baked banana bread.
As the proud owner of some atomic infinity storms, all mountain and generally looking ace skis, I still had to get some 'proper' ski boots too. And so I trotted down the street to Surefoot to finally get my first pair of 100% surefoot fitted boots, custom moulded liners, custom moulded footbeds, the full dosage (except the boot heaters, which, being a 'reptile' I will eventually be investing in).
Some of the main reasons I chose Surefoot for my boots:
The custom moulded liners - I heard they were super comfy
The ongoing service - if you have a problem with the boots or a small niggle you can just pop back in and they will fix it free of charge - earlier this week I had the boot widened slightly to accommodate my freakish wide feet, and it only took 5 minutes
The super friendly and knowledgeable staff - they make you feel welcomed into the shop, guide you through the whole process and answer any questions you have.
I've now skied in them for a week, and so far they have been excellent. Comfy, not too stiff, and great to ski, especially after I've only skied in touring boots for the last 5 or so years!
Most of the ski schools have a formation week at the start of the season. For us it's a 9 day long training week, a chance to sharpen up our technique, share teaching ideas and get to know our colleagues.
Day 3 complete, with technique in the morning - shorts and longs, all on video so we can't deny any faults! and teaching in the afternoon - intro to snowplough turns today. After the afternoon I can say that one of the things BASI do get right is the emphasis and time spent on the snowplough and early progression within your level 1 and 2 exams.
On to the snow conditions...
Throughout the morning the snow is grippy and good to ski on - if you stay above Ruinettes to avoid any small rocks in the piste. At the moment it is not too busy, and most people are skiing in a formation or ski school training group, so you merely have to wait for them to pass and have the piste to yourself.
The afternoon, is a little different. Lets just say that the piste turns into a mesh of rocks, moguls and ice! It's good training but I wouldn't choose to ski it!
Over the weekend we skied a few itineraries:
Tortin-Chassoure - good snow, but pick your line carefully to avoid the rocks.
Mont Fort - surprisingly good, nice sized moguls, quite soft snow and grippy. This was a great run, and it enabled me to see the view behind to check out the off piste conditions - still lacking in snow, however there were a few tracks here and there, and some coming from the Rosablanche too.
Tortin Gentianes remains closed, and you can definately see why from the Telecabine - it has very little snow cover.
Quite a few people have been booting up Mont Gele, and skiing lines off piste everywhere, but in general there is still limited snow coverage, so those that do either have rental skis, are lucky or know the lines well and have good reactions!
There have been lots of promising looking snow clouds in the sky, but, with more sun forecast and the temperatures set to increase, the pistes are only set to get worse. Trail running here I come...
The annual snow commute went like so:
Day 0, fit winter tyres, after much debate, and can't wait to become a safer driver abroad (although last year the scariest moment was actually driving up the pass from Capel!)
Day 1, drive along the North Wales coast and begin packing
Day 2, drive to London, finish packing
Day 3, squeeze in a check up at the optician, drive to the Eurotunnel terminal, camp overnight at the services near Reims
Day 4, arrive in Verbier, woohoo, to snow in the village and powder on the slopes.
Day 5, admin and unpack - moving house for the 2nd time in as many weeks!
And so far the main difference between driving here and back home... here everyone is in a shiny shiny car that they insist upon driving right up your backside! Not that I'm bitter about owning an old white french van.
