Latest update 09/06/2009

The planning for the 2009-10 season is now up and running so you can book as soon as you know your dates. And you'll be pleased that for the fourth year running our prices will remain the same!

Andreas has started a building and renovation company with a partner, and they are now open for business. They have rented a workshop with machines and are equipped to build made-to-measure cupboards and doors etc, meaning they can build fitted-kitchens and whatever else your apartment may need. No job is too big, nor too small so don’t hesitate to get in touch on (33) 612447645 or andreastansy@wanadoo.fr

I've put TJ's avalanche story back on top (it's been at the bottom of the update during the winter) to give you all some summer reading and to remind us all of why we have safety procedures to follow. TJ will write a follow-up about how he feels two-years after his accident, so stay tuned!

Time is running out to sponsor Tony Watton, who's finished a 10-day charity bike ride from Lands End to John O' Groats for the Birmingham Children's Hospital. Bravo Tony! Tony and his team rode 90 miles a day for a great cause and you, like Lance Armstrong, can sponsor Tony. Help the Children's Hospital charity and contribute via this Link

Check out Jean R's photos taken during this amazing season. Perhaps you can spot yourself on this link

If you have any complaints or praises on what's going on in town you can reach the STVI at stvi@compagniedesalpes.fr and the Tourist Office at info@valdisere.com (I can't find the e-mail address for the Marie.) And don't forget to mention the dog poo, which is always critical!

Jean Marc Pic and Olivier Carrere have created a personal web site with the latest in touring news at the following address Also look out for JM's excellent photo gallery on their site.

June 9th.
So far Tony and his team of riders have raised over £22,000 for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and the donations are still coming in. Tony was chuffed to bits as none other than the greatest cyclist of all-time, Lance Armstrong, found about their quest and kindly donated £100 to the cause. How cool is that! (Anyway, it’s still possible to donate to a very worthy cause through the link above.) On the sports front, I was incredibly pleased for Roger F as he finally won the French Open to complete the full-set of Slams and to tie Pete S with 14 career Grand Slams. Bring on Wimbledon as some pressure has been lifted of Roger‘s shoulders and I feel he‘s freed himself to get back to his best. It’s also great to see Jenson Button winning and driving beautifully after spending ten-years at the back of the pack in second-rate cars. Poor Lewis now knows what Jenson had been going through. Bummer about United’s poor performance against Barca, which only shows how well Chelsea handled them. And speaking of Chelsea, what a good win in the FA Cup final to help ease their disappointments. I’m really looking forward to the golf Majors this summer with some of the Europeans playing well and Tiger being healthy again. Also I'd like to thank Mike C for a wonderful day at Wentworth, brilliant! I hope you are all enjoying your summer and stay tuned for periodic news.

May 27th. Tony has successfully completed his 900-mile ride and would like to thank all of the 'Alpine' clients who supported him. It's not too late for those who'd like to contribute to his very worthwhile cause.

May 14th.
We’ve had plenty of comments from a certain Ski Club Member who seems pretty upset by the wording in my March 6th news update. I apologise for the use of the word ‘shenanigans’ and the fact that Andreas seemed to think that the group of 12 Ski Club Members was one group, when in fact it was a couple of groups grouped together. I was also wrong in stating that Ski Club Reps are not allowed to ski off-piste with members. They are allowed but as I understand it they must stay within reasonably easy access to the piste. Andreas has been in contact with a Director of the Ski Club, and the Ski Club Directors are aware of, not only our concerns, but also the concerns of other Ski Schools and organisations as well.

Here's TJ's story, written nearly two-years ago. (The 2008/09 Season Diary remains underneath TJ's report)

Avalanche Experiences
Or How to Recognise a Serious Situation When ..it Happens

In no way do I want to belittle the events of 8th April 2007 on the Crête des Lessières, Val d’Isère. There have been too many good people who have been lost to this phenomenon to be flippant about this type of event. A lot of us have known acquaintances, friends or even family who have paid the ultimate price for venturing out in search of the thrills of off-piste skiing.

As off-piste ski guides our job is to try to find slopes and snow conditions which challenge us a little but hopefully produce the soft powder that we all love. After long periods of stable weather these particular slopes become fewer and further a field, especially towards springtime as the heat of the day and the suns rays change the surface snow and gives it a crust. Ultimately we’re only left with the prospect of spring snow skiing which has its own delights, of course, but doesn’t compare with the sensation of floating on air that powder snow does.

This day’s group was made up of good skiers of long experience, used to our way of skiing. They had discipline and patience, and enjoyed the climbing as well as the descents. This included my eldest son, Hamish, who was out on holiday with the family. I put him at the back for the run down as he had the second of my small two-way radios. Everyone had a backpack with their personal off-piste kit of shovel and probe and of course, was equipped with avalanche transceivers.

Hence the decision to take my group up on to the Crêtes de Lessières where I had been eyeing a slope that was a favourite of mine in the days when the Teleski 3000 was operational. This particular day it meant climbing up with skins and “couteaux” but at least there’d be no competition. The climb was easy, despite the hard transform crust on the west face. However, it did mean that the traverse of the ridgeline would be a mixed affaire due to the lack of snow on the same climb exposition.

By the time we had reached the small summit beside the radio relay antennae (a good 100 meters past the closed tunnel), the group was already spread out and with the prospect of the mixed walking/skinning traverse of the ridge to come, I was reaching a decision to look for a shorter route into the Northeast face. Such an opportunity supplied itself with a well-covered entrance into the tunnel slope which I’d spied as we had climbed the ridge. With a week of stable, fine and warm weather since the previous snowfall and what I gauged to be a stable under-layer, this seemed a good option and the first touch was gratifying. There was 20-25cms of fresh snow.

We all knew the drill. I had explained that although this was not the slope I had intended, it would provide a good way down if we traversed out towards the bottom to avoid the rocky section. Not an ideal slope, as we try to choose ones with a clear outrun and no obstacles. Needs must. The snow had been deposited laterally from an easterly wind flow and we had all seen its effect on the Albaron where, at high altitude, an enormous slab had avalanched the previous week. Here, the effect would be to load the right hand side of the shelved slope more than the left. So when I felt the soft texture of the snow I was reassured that I was not dealing with a slab.

It was good to be once again on a good pitch with the prospect of everyone enjoying the powder snow conditions. I was vaguely counting the turns and gauging the moment when I would have to cut out on a traverse. There wasn’t another untracked slope of this quality anywhere near the resort (except the one we were meant to ski, further along the ridge). As I slowed down prior to stopping, finishing a left turn, my right pole-plant started disappearing down into the snow. It was as if my collapsible ski pole was collapsing. I looked to my right at the line of the shoulder beside me and realised I was still moving (“I know this one”) …only now I was lying on my back (yep, been here before) looking down the slope where I was still heading. This is the roller coaster ride just about to wind itself up. I grabbed for my air-bag handle and missed (did I put it in at the top of the slope? It was only a couple of minutes ago, but I had a guilty feeling I’d forgotten). Too late; it’s time to concentrate and spread my weight as much as possible over the surface of the moving carpet of snow that now has me in its power. The terrain drops away further down so I can’t see the slope. I know it’s only my problem as the team is safely waiting at the top. It’s 200-300 metres down to a “replat” where a shelf will stop my downhill rush. Just a few rocks between me and it…….

So far the morning had gone pretty well, but this wasn’t on the agenda when we started. Before describing the next few seconds and the subsequent actions by all the players, I’d like to point out a couple of instants where I could have listened to my inner voice and changed the events of that day.

First day of the week’s skiing for the group (although not necessarily the first days skiing for everyone) and I’m back into our group lesson regime. All this means is that the skiers tend to be a lot more homogenous in their skill level and experience and they like the walking. I was still looking for powder snow whereas all my colleagues were content with the spring snow conditions on offer. The weather’s good and the forecast is good and I’ve decided to equip the last of the group who hadn’t heard that we needed couteaux that morning. Right there I could have decided that the effort to get the extra equipment from the shop was not worth the time… but it was, and I knew it.

When we arrived at the ridge top and I looked at my watch and the line up of the group, alternatives were already being considered in my mind. They’re never as good, obviously, but sometimes take on an unlikely glossy sheen because options are being shed and choices reduced. It would not have been the first time I’d have come to a situation where no option was good enough and back down the same way was the smart choice. But I had no such premonitions or strong forebodings of impending danger. I now have a theory about why the slope gave way but I’ll deal with that later with the rest of my story.

I must say, now, how grateful I am that, firstly; my team reacted so well. Secondly; how efficient the Val d’Isère pisteurs service really is and thirdly; what a fantastic variety of generous people we at Alpine are lucky enough to have as clients and friends. I am recovering slowly but surely and have had an amazing number of well-wishers and offers of help to speed it along. I thank you all so very much.

The second part of this report will not take as long to materialise as the first part, I promise. It is a different story, in a way. Over my thirty plus years of off-piste skiing this scene might sound familiar a handful of times. These things have happened before. It doesn’t detract from the overwhelming sense of freedom we feel every time we arrive at the summit, head of the valley or top of the slope. I guess that’s why we keep doing it….

....Just a few rocks between me and the bottom of the hanging valley that was the end of our pitch. To be precise there were two bluffs that showed rocks coming through the snow. This is the new short cut that I'm taking and I'm floating quite well on this moving carpet of snow. But not well enough. The first thing I'm aware of is that the view has gone but at the same time there's an incredible outside force that grabs my leg, yanks it down and out from me and throws it away just as suddenly. It was like a shark attack. It elicits a cry which I'm sure no-one can hear as I'm underneath this white mantle now..but it goes on.. now I'm thrown head over heels down and hit my head hard on the next contact. Another cry, shorter, more disinterested. I'm tumbling now; another thud on my lower back this time.. just a grunt of recognition this time, as with the last contact above my right eye.. And thankfully it stops. Peace!

The fine white dust settles and I'm lying behind a considerable mound of snow(photo1a, behind David on left), on my stomach, looking obliquely back at the slope that I've just come down. As far as I can see up the hill to my left the slope has been swept of fresh snow. But, although I've been thrown out from the bottom of the slope I can only see a hundred metres or so. I can't see the fracture line or my group.

Taking stock of the situation, I know I've been incredibly lucky. I know my left leg is not good (thank goodness it wasn't the right leg which has already had an arthroscopy). My legs are partially buried as I'm not quite lying in a horizontal position, and this is keeping them nice and cool. My small walky-talky is in my jacket so I reach in and call Hamish up at the top of the slope to let him know I'm OK but damaged. I need to inform the security services of our situation so I put down the small radio and dig out my professional radio from another pocket. Chris Souillac is somewhere below me so I call him and let him relay the message. Blood is starting to make a mess of the snow in front of me from a head wound and I've just grabbed a handful of snow to press on it when I see a wave of snow heading for me down the same avalanche path. Wooah! Head down and hope for the best. My position behind the piled up snow has created a ramp that the new avalanche can't resist so, having buried my head for an instant, I look up to find everything exactly the same .but whiter.

Robert has made his way down to me so I explain what's happened and ask him to look in my back-pack first-aid kit to see if he can find a bandage for my head which is still bleeding.

Things are starting to calm down and I can see some control imposing itself on the situation but my small radio is about six inches underneath my right arm, buried from the last avalanche and I can't get to it. I've lost contact with the rest of the group! I don't quite realise the importance of this till the next minute. "Look out, Robert, here comes another one!" and another wave comes down around the corner. It works just the same as the previous one; bury our heads and over the top it goes.

Now there are four of my clients in front of me (Robert, David, Ray and Jo) and my leg is starting to get uncomfortably cramped. My bandage is trailing around in the snow so I grab bits of it to compress onto my head wound. But the next avalanche coming down is enormous and I cry out for everyone to bury themselves down in the snow. It hurtles down with an altogether more ominous noise. I clasp my hands over my head and hold on tight as the impact, "WHUMPFF!", hits the pile of snow beside me and moves everything. The clasped hands are thrown apart as my whole body is forced up and sideways and this time I find myself buried. However, the snow is light and I can scoop it away from my face and uncover my head.

A scene of complete desolation lies before me. A few seconds ago there were four busy people in front of me and now, a white winter carpet with not a soul in evidence... Heads start appearing as the four start to re-emerge from the avalanche debris. Only one of us needs some assistance as she has been bulldozed flat on her face and can't reach behind herself to push the snow away.

All accounted for! The last two members (Penny and Hamish) arrive down at the bottom and it seems there is no more of the slope to come down on top of us. Once more I retrieve the bandage that's trailing in front of me and try to stem the bleeding from my head wound. Hamish is on hand to hold the pressure on to my head.

The helicopter can be heard in the distance so I know it won't be long before it arrives and brings it's own type of confusion to the scene. I try to organise everyone to clear up and secure all the equipment around the site as all too quickly it arrives and drowns us with it's propeller wash. Clouds of fine snow particles are whipped around us and the effect of this, melting on the skin and then evaporating in the wind current, freezes all exposed skin. My hands are exposed, gloves lost, and Hamish, I see, is wearing just a short sleeved shirt! I think we're all heading for mild hypothermia shortly.

The rescue team are quickly disgorged from the helicopter and it it's off again to stay clear of the exposed slopes above. I know the team leader well and he doesn't hesitate to bemoan my choice of ski slope. Unbeknown to me, his message back to the rescue centre is being overheard by my wife, Joanna, who is by now down at the bottom of the Lessière Chair. "..55 year old professional." rings a bell and it's dawning on her that this is not great news for the family.

The evacuation is a pretty speedy affair as I'm able to give the pisteurs all the information about the group and my injuries. As standard procedure, a "matelat coquille" ( a sort of bean-bag which has all the air sucked out of it so that it forms a rigid stretcher in the shape of the body) is placed under me, pumped and wrapped around me, ready for the helicopter to take me down to the valley floor. The total weight of this load is not light and the team do well to man-handle me to a safe position for the pilot to land and load. It's all down hill from here. This whole operation has taken about 15 minutes and the short ambulance ride to the medical centre another 5. It's impressive. I've always realised how efficient the Val d'Isère Security Service is, but once again the proof of it's high standards is something to behold.

Of course my vantage point has limitations, staring up from my stretcher, but up until now I've been lucky to have been fully conscious and quite exceptionally focused. Being wheeled into the x-ray room and partially unwrapped I start to lose a grip and any control I thought I had on events going on around me. I stutter out my answers to the doctor as hypothermia starts to wrack my body with violent shaking. Everyone leaves the room as the x-ray camera tracks over my body automatically with reassuring mechanical whirring noises. The full scanning process seems to take no more than three minutes and the report comes back that there are no broken bones. So, there's just enough time for a quick family reunion before I'm bundled back into an ambulance for a half hour trip to Bourg Saint Maurice Hospital.

From here begins the next stage in the saga which is still on-going. Recuperation. In the background reports are being filled out, plans made, transport arranged and doctors time booked. The French health system has kicked in and as time goes by I'm left to wonder at the complexity of all the different organisations co-operating to give succour to my abused body. All went well until they delivered me to the wrong hospital in Grenoble and wheeled me around awhile before finally deciding on the right one. The fellow patients I met along the way were generally in a worse state than I was but with injuries that would probably have healed faster (they were a lot younger). I was certainly lucky that the painkillers they gave me worked pretty well except on the first night at the Hôpital du Sud. At 2.00am I awoke with a spasm around the tendon under the kneecap that felt like I'd just re-enacted the accident! However, I wasn't allowed another of the painkillers they'd been giving me. They ended up giving me another anti-inflammatory and that did the trick.

The operation was carried out on the Friday afternoon. Dr. Saragaglia and his team reattached three ligaments with the aid of some fancy material and three staples, then left a sign saying "Don't Touch!".

Coming around from the general anaesthetic was really bizarre as I'd had a dream that slotted in perfectly (as they do) and was in the process of informing the nurse that there was some mistake (can't remember what it was) when I had to apologise because I just realised where I was. I thought the operating theatre was a garage with fancy lights. The staff were fantastic and it wasn't long before the physios was pushing me to do several circuits of the third floor corridors with the aid of some crutches. I even had some very kind visitors to drop by and cheer me up. Believe me it all helped.

A week later I was let out and managed to organise an ambulance back to Val d'Isère to pick up luggage that was strewn over various parts of the resort. The change in status from a captive invalid to a (semi-) mobile being with liberty is quite astounding. Not necessarily easy as relative fitness is quite an issue. For a long time the question of keeping the leg up at regular intervals becomes important. The swelling and discomfort that it caused is something that preoccupies your mind when it starts to become obvious. Wayne was the perfect host even putting on a welcome back/farewell party at the end of the week when it was time to head down the valley and catch a plane home. It was great to see so many familiar faces again and heart warming to have so many well-wishers build me up for the trip home.

I did manage to buy some wine and a card for the pisteurs who don't actually like being singled out but like to have a collective "thanks" at the end of the season. Of course everyone at the shop lent their support for my leave-taking. Plenty of insults and bad jokes.

So now it's down to the exercises, physio and time to get the this leg back into some sort of shape for what ever comes next. I'm planning on going back out to Val d'Isère again towards the end of this coming season, hoping that in the intervening four months I'll regain the flexion, stability and strength which will allow me to work professionally again. I've had time to reflect all these long months without a clear future, about the responsibilities that I have back here with my family. Although my wife Joanna has supported me through a long career of skiing that I have enjoyed over some thirty something years, I am conscious that there should be a limit to the hardship that these absences inevitably cause. Historically, I have had the longest retirement notice of anybody I know and it's (probably) time to .think seriously about it.

Thanks to Min and Charlie, my friends from Aime, a shuttle was arranged so that I could leave on the Sunday, nine days after my operation and two weeks after the accident. A pretty fast turn-around from the previous physical state to the crutch wielding figure that needed three seats on the plane trip home. The new reality has grown on me over the intervening months as I've tried to concede the least amount of ground possible to my normal existence. Having to sleep on my back for the first month meant sleeping in another room for fear of waking the household with bouts of snoring (who, me?). I discovered Crocs and a zip-legged pair of cargo trousers for changing the dressing. Bit by bit the healing process has advanced through the varying stages of rehabilitation so that today, on my penultimate Consultants appointment, he has announced that he is very pleased with the recovery so far. The flexion hovers around the 90º mark but will improve more slowly if I keep at the exercises and physio.

There's a plan ahead to try to get back to Val d'Isère for a short time in March/April and to ski/work if all goes well. However, I remain cautious about the extent to which I will regain the flexibility of my left leg.

Meanwhile the summer has been very busy with the embroidery business not to mention the comings and goings of family members. Hamish is well into his third year at university in Edinburgh and Roland has started an agricultural course just outside Edinburgh, having really benefited from his year at Brymore School in Somerset. My rugby coaching continues at the local club and school and I even ran the touchline today (hobbled, really). It's still not a pretty sight but it's a what you might call a "functional gait".

The photos that were sent to me after the avalanche have been and still are very useful so I want to thank Ray and Penny for those as well as later ones that Hamish took. It was one of these that caught my eye as it was taken just a short time after the accident. It showed a line of cloud coming from the East intersecting with the Lessière ridge and would indicate a warm front passing over Val d'Isère. This would certainly explain the more fragile nature of the snow pack and would possibly have helped to trigger the catastrophic collapse of the under layer when I skied on that slope. These are signs that we are aware of and look for as the day progresses. There seemed to be no sign of this front as we left the ridge to descend the northeast face, but the weather in the mountains can always change so quickly.

In the end it comes down to "margins for safety" and you can apply that to the snow pack stability, weather condtions and forecast, as much as to the choice of slope and route choice. There could always have been a longer period left for the snow pack to stabilize (the longer the better) but the original choice of slope didn't have the same risk factor that the slope I found myself on did. So, again, emphasis must be placed on the importance of second choice or alternative choice itineraries being selected for their safety merits. This is not always easy to carry out when the you feel obliged to come up with the "goods". The scales by which you measure these considerations start to move out of focus, even for short periods. My first choice slope was skied next day with no problems being encountered.

Lastly, the potential for complications after the initial avalanche took me to the bottom of the pitch was obvious if one was aware that only part of the slope had slid. Because of the configuration of the pitch it was clear that the first 20 metres would be the trickiest as it was narrow and the same exposure. After that the slope opened up to the left and changed orientation, facing more easterly. Of course there was less snow on this face as was evidenced by the number of rocks showing through. Which was the safest route down for those still at the top of the slope?.. The right choice is dictated by the loading of the slope. As I explained to the group before I skied down; the pitch was cross loaded by a southerly wind (from right to left), so the right flank had to be avoided. Side-slipping down around the left hand side, joining up the exposed rocks would have led everyone to the part of the slope that had already slid and then down over the avalanche path. If everyone followed the same track there should have been little risk of aggravating the unstable nature of the snow pack on our pitch.

It's true that "depth hoare" snow crystals are more prevalent around exposed rocks but the weak layer in this case was a shallow temperature -gradient (depth hoare) layer isolated on the north-east exposure on the right hand side. I hadn't fully appreciated the extent of this layer until some weeks after the event, I had quizzed Hamish on what he had seen from the top. As soon as he mentioned hearing a "whumpf" sound and seeing a wide plume of snow shoot up from the snow pack I realized the extent of my error of judgement. Two layers of unconstituted snow were superimposed on this exposure and the lower one had transformed into this weaker "hoare" crystal. The fact that it didn't collapse the whole slope at the same time but peeled away in sections, was an indication that the danger was more localised than it had been earlier in the week. The extra pitch angle and lack of support for the top snow layer at the spot where I set it off was just enough provocation to set the avalanche in motion.. and the rest is history. Having lost any support it might have had from underneath, the snow-pack that was left became more fragile, not less. It was, perhaps, unavoidable that the subsequent slides came down as members of my group made their way towards me. Having lost contact with them at this point it was too late to warn them what was happening. Lesson 1. Don't put your radio down on the ground. Group contact/communication is too important.

So now that the new season is almost upon us, you must not hesitate to sign up and learn more about this side of skiing. It really is less about personal performance and all about supporting each other and enjoying the adventure.

The supporting photos are helpful in understanding the pitch angles and orientations so I'm hoping they can be posted in a way that will make it easy to refer to. One of our plans for the new season is to up-date our web site so that everyone can post their points of view and benefit from the inter-reaction of our groups. I'll certainly try to update the site on further advances with the injured leg. Meanwhile, let me again thank everyone for their generous support which has eased the load during my rehab.

I hope to see you all again soon.

TJ Baird

May 8th.

For your interest there is a property for sale in the Laisinant. One can contact Allan Hawkins directly at allen_hawkins@hotmail.co.uk or ring 0044 (0) 1534730031.

May 5th.
We had a great finish to the season on Sunday with a light freeze followed by another beautiful sunny day. My team started with a very atmospheric Kern, way out above the cliffs on lovely ‘clean’ snow. From there we skied the Altiport/Lavachet, followed by a run on the front-side of the Aiguille Percee, then an excellent Sachette with a Familial to finish off a wonderful season. Henry was staying overnight in a refuge while Chris and Suzanne and Jean Marc were all off touring somewhere. Ray and I jumped in the car after skiing and drove straight through to England so I could see the girls for the Bank Holiday Monday, and I arrived home at 4:30AM. Time is running out to sponsor Tony and support his very worthwhile cause, so please log-on to his link and send him a few quid. Stay tuned for periodic news during the summer and many thanks for your support this winter. I just noticed that Chris has been doing some updates. Thanks JC!

May 5th.

Thank you everyone for having made it out this season and hope everyone will ride out this economic storm safely. Also a big thank you to Lionel for having taught Suzanne and Chris how to drive the big trucks. Lionel who is from Victoria, Australia where many of the bush fires where, also made it to Val d'Isere for a few days and learnt how to ski with Pipo who also teaches in Thredbo, Australia.Well done gentlemen.

May 4th.

Jean Marc did a small tour with his team above Chalet Colin in overcast weather conditions. Pam was again ecstatic after her efforts. Jean Marc and Olivier will soon be heading to Greenland for a ski tour in May. All the best to them and safe travels. Chris and Suzanne heading back to another winter in Australia. Driving trucks? probably not due to the current economic situation and also the Snowy Mountains has had its first snowfalls last week promising a good winter for the antipodeans!

May 3rd.

We awakened to another azure day, our last day of the winter. A very special mention to Pam, John Anderson's partner who only in her third week ever of skiing achieved Calabourdane, Col des Fours and Les Lores for her first ever skin yesterday and today achieved the Col du Montet on to the source de l'Isere on the French and Italian borders. A stunning tour. Chris also went with Suzanne and an old friend Preston from San Francisco. Wayne stayed classic with his team and then drove out of town with Red Ray back to the UK terminating a stunning winter. Henry (Blue Tongue) also stayed classic before going for an overnighter.

May 2nd.
For the fourth day in a row, Ray said, “That would have been a good try to quit on!” We had a cracking good morning of ‘classic spring’ starting with a very good Banane. From there we skied a very tasty Tour du Charvet way out skiers-left and exited through the Couloir du Mont Blanc, which is always atmospheric. We then skied the Cugnai, which was firmer than I’d like so we stop for a beer, in Colin’s case two, and waited for the west slopes to soften a little. We then skied an excellent Col du Madeleine followed by an equally good Marmattons to finish. Jeremy R joined Colin, Derek, Paul, and Ray this morning as his pals were fighting off hangovers. Chris and Suzanne ’skinned’ to the Col des Fours and Lores while JM did the same via the Col de la Calabourdane. The forecast is for a lighter freeze tonight but the sun should be out and we’re hoping for a great finish tomorrow. I won’t be doing an up-date tomorrow as I’m off around 2PM to drive back to the girls for the Band Holiday on Monday. Chris however, may do an up-date and I’ll write one once settled in England.

May 1st.
As forecast the sky was cloudless and as blue as it get this morning and after a solid freeze last night the only question was powder or spring? Either was taking a bit of a chance as we were expecting an ‘in-between’ day, so both Chris and I opted for powder and were rewarded with some great skiing. Chris and Suzanne ‘skinned’ to the Col des Fours and then over the next little Col and enjoyed skiers winter snow, meaning not perfect but it’s the first of May and it was an excellent result. Bravo you two! My team of Colin, Derek, Paul and Ray ‘skinned’ to the Glacier Pers and also had a great result skiing powder for the first half of the descent, followed by a stretch slightly trickier snow before arriving on spring snow towards the bottom. We left perfect ‘Alpine’ tracks top-to-bottom, even in the more ‘educational’ snow, which is a tribute to the continuing development of our skiers and well done Colin, who being the least experienced of the group, skied really well today. Once through the gorge Derek went home as he was feeling unwell and Ray returned home also because of his knee, so Colin, Paul and I skied the Marmottes to check out the spring conditions. As predicted the spring slopes needed another day to set-up properly but we stayed on top and had a nice finish to the morning. JM is in town for a few days of touring with some of his team that will be going to either Greenland in May or Chile this September, but I haven’t yet heard from him. More sun is forecast for the rest of the weekend, and what a way to wind up an absolutely stunning season! Below in Olivier’s own words, is a report on his last tour. I think he writes in English incredibly well, especially when he’s fluent in French, German, Spanish, and English. PS. Well done Stocky for sponsoring Tony on his big ride. Thanks!

Just to let you know I come back of a fantastic tour de la Meije, done in good snow conditions and sunny weather. Mariannne Debrie, Philippe Sorlin and Katherine Kerr were part of my little team and we were all impressed by these wild mountains of Oisans Massif (near La Grave).
This massif is offering probably one of the most technical touring area you can find in France and the combinaison of altitude, glaciers, narrow couloirs and steep slopes provide an incredible mountaineering ambiance. The itinerary is both skiing and using alpinism skills. We were lucky with the weather, to travel during 6 complete days and visit three huts which are like eagle nests:
Adèle Planchard hut (3169m) is on a snowy ridge, facing a big North face of 1000m high, and the Barre des Ecrins (highest peak in Oisans, 4088m). In the morning when the sun is rising, all the mountain you are skinning on is getting pink and red, the light is unforgettable... This day we climbed Grande Ruine peak (3765m), a narrow canine with a 360° panoramic view at the top.
Promontoire hut (3082m) is on a rocky shoulder, at the bottom of south face of Meije. This impressive mountain is a long succession of rocky needles pointed to the sky. The access to the hut is impressive and from the balcony you dominate the huge glaciar Etançons valley.
To get the last one, Aigle hut (3450m), you climb with ice axe crampons to brêche de la Meije (3357m), abseil down 60m on the other side, traverse with skins in the middle of crevasses, under the huge north face of La Meije (you can see La Grave 2000 meters lower!). Then the itinerary is traversing under dangerous seracs which are falling down very often, and then you are stuck at the bottom of big cliffs... And a steep snowy 200 meters couloir! Again rope, crampons and ice axe, carrying skis, the outdoor is climbing this couloir in a fantastic ambiance, with stream-lines running down to La Grave.
At the top of this couloir, an easy flat traverse on Tabuchet Glaciar will get you to Eagle hut, which is one of the most emblematic hut in the Alps: a little wooden box at 3450m high, 18 beds, staffed by Marie, a young girl (aged 22) living in La Grave. No easy access, you need to be sure of the weather before to arrive there! But what a view! and what a run down too the day after: 2000 meters downhill, first of all in the middle of seracs and crevasses, and then on a fantastic smooth spring snow, like a soft carpet!
This is really part of my best time in mountain, even I am not very objective!... When I came there for the first time thirty years ago,, this is where I decided I will be mountain guide....

This enthusiasm is becoming a little dark with a bad fall of Katherin Kerr. She got injuried during the traverse Promontoire-Aigle and was very courageous to be able to keep going with her injury to get outside the North side of La Meije. From Aigle hut, she got down with helicopter. Verdict: fibula broken... She got surgery last Monday in Ireland and was very sad to cancel her trip with us in Greenland mid May.

Thank you to all three for this fantastic travel in our french mountains and I wish Katherine a good recovering...

April 30th.
After two difficult days we were due a bit of a break and Ray and I enjoyed a great morning up at the Fornet. After a good freeze the wet snow of the past two days set-up just enough to give us a fragile support layer with 10 to 20cm’s of winter snow on top, and with the sun shining for the first time in days we really profited. We had a nice run off the Laisinant chair and then another good run off the Pyramid while waiting for the Signal to open. Once on top we had two excellent runs in the Grand Vallon, followed by a terrific Combe du Signal. There have been some big slides in the Combe du Signal, which takes me back to around 17 years-ago, when the entire bowl slid at this time of year. It was the biggest avalanche I’ve ever seen with a fracture line about 300 metres wide and at least two metres deep. It took the debris at the bottom until mid-October to melt and Chris has some fantastic photos on file somewhere. Anyway, back to the skiing and as mentioned there was a light under-crust, which supported but we needed to be on our toes because any lack of concentration could be costly. From time to time we’d go from comfortable skiing with 20cm’s to a couple of tricky ‘educational’ turns where the snow was suddenly less-deep and the under-crust more of a factor. From the Combe we went upstairs to check out conditions on the Glacier but the snow wasn’t nearly as appetizing as what we’d been skiing so we went directly over the Col for a very good Col Pers. The top was good powder, then we needed to search out strips of winded winter snow before arriving back on supporting snow at the bottom. Ray’s knee was bothering him so he went home while I went up Bellevarde to check out conditions on that side of the resort. I’m hoping it gets hot enough to transform the fresh snow of the past few days into spring snow or we could be in for an ‘in-between’ day tomorrow. (meaning not quite powder and not quite spring, which equates to bummer!) Anyway,today was a fantastic outing and we’ll hope for the best and have a test of the snow in the morning.

April 29th.
You may well be logging-on to check out yesterday’s skiing news, but here’s today’s as well. Ray and I went out for the shortest ‘Alpine’ ski on record, skiing from the top of Bellevarde down to the half-way station at La Daille where we took the bubble-lift down. We were in good company as we met Rob C at the top of the Olympic and then again for the trip down in the bubbles. A strong north wind was blowing right in our faces and with the humidity it was jolly cold and very uninspiring, so after a half a run we all happily called it a day as we’ve packing and cleaning to deal with over the next few days. We did step off the piste for a test to find an un-supporting crust, which although it was bad for today, it will be better tomorrow. It’s snowing at the moment and ten cm’s on top of today’s crust will make for good skiing tomorrow. It is forecast to snow lightly until around mid-night and the sun should appear to help us put on a good show for the final weekend of the season. Yahoo! I watched the Barca-boys totally dominate Chelsea last night but the Blues managed to hang-on for a draw. Barcelona look incredibly slick and what a final it would be against United at their best?

April 28th.
Bloody hell, what a morning! It had to be one of the toughest skis of the season after 60cm’s of heavy snow fell overnight. After a slow opening we had two excellent runs skiing 10 to 30cm’s of winter snow on pistes such as the OK, and even down to the bottom it was warm but still good skiing. But once we needed to ski off-piste it was a totally different story. The snow was knee deep and in places un-skiable, and when the sun came out the snow thickened even more instantly. When the Grande Motte cable-car opened in front of us we had to give it a go, but even at the top of the cable car it wasn’t easy. Preston, who I first met here 28-years ago, was trying a pair of K2 Pontoons, which are banana-shaped and about ten inches wide, and he managed to turn in places where the rest of us were seriously struggling. Once back on piste Preston was cursing them saying, “I’ll never ski on these damn things again”, although he did enjoy them for a pitch or two. Chris was skiing today with a group who’s guide cancelled their tour due to dangerous touring conditions, and Chris was happy to arrive home in one piece as well. Who knows what tomorrow will bring but I’m really looking forward to Barcelona vs. Chelsea tonight!

PS. I forgot to mention that Dan and Denise were leaving beautiful 'Alpine' tracks in their wake this morning. Nice one!

Sports Report- Andreas had a good day winning the lowest score in the Annecy Open yesterday. He won a Wilson Driver but didn't get the Cup, which went to a high-handicapper. (Most high-handicappers fib about their handicap as well, which makes it all the harder) Anyway, bravo Andreas!

April 27th.
In what was pretty uninspiring conditions we had another cracking good ski! It was grey again this morning, with +5C in town at 8AM, and although the wind had died down considerable, the foehn was still blowing. After spending the past seven days away from the Fornet I decided it was time to return and have a look at what’s developed up there in our absence. By the time we reached the summit of the Pyramid Chairlift I’d seen enough. Surprisingly very little snow had accumulated and the base underneath was uneven and nasty looking so I returned to where I knew the base was smooth and clean so Ray, Penny and I skied the piste and did a U-turn back towards Bellevarde. From there we skied an excellent Lavachet from the top, which was so good we circled back around and skied it again. From there we skied a good Campanules before finishing off with a lovely Familial. It started to snow harder around 11PM and the light became flatter, so we finished up around 12:15 and had lunch at Les Tufs. Chris and Suzanne had Clive, Ray, Penny, Jean, and I over for dinner last night, and we enjoyed a great evening. Thanks very Suzanne and Chris! Jean R put a team photo up and it will be his last until next season. Thanks again Jean as your photos have really spruced up my diary and you have many regular viewers. Speaking of photos, there a few of Penny in great form looking strong through her downhill foot, bravo Penny! Ten to thirty centimetres are forecast by tomorrow and by the look of it at the moment (2:10PM) 30 will be a real possibility. PS Latest forecast shows 15 to 50 cm's.

Sports Report- I watched the 2nd -half of the Blackburn V Wigan match yesterday and was seriously impressed with Blackburn’s spirit and togetherness in defending their lead. Paul Robinson was brilliant in goal and looked like the keeper he was at Leeds several years ago. With performances like that he should be getting an England re-call at some stage soon.

April 26th.
Wow, what a fabulous morning! It had to be some of the best spring snow, without the sun, that I can remember in quite some time. Only a centimetre or two of fresh snow fell overnight, but it was enough for the new snow to ‘eat into’ the surface layer and soften it to a nice texture without the warmth of the sun being needed to melt the frozen surface. It was +5C at 8AM with grey skies and a foehn wind of up to 80kph blowing it didn’t look like it was going to be such a good ski, but once on the snow I knew we were in for a good day. We started out with an excellent Alti-port/Lavachet, followed by a good Cocaine Sud, then a stunning Cocaine Nord, and then a superb Lavachet but from the top through the avalanche barriers. From there we skied a funky Familial to the bottom arriving around 1:20PM to finish off Jean R’s 93rd and last morning of a terrific season. We’ll miss his company and his excellent photographic input to the website. Merci beaucoup Jean! Chris was also in action this morning and he skied the Alti-port/Lavachet followed by the ever-faithful Sachette. He had one skier who has only skied for five-weeks and his team thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Chris, Suzanne, Rob C and I had a fantastic evening last night with Jean, Nicole, Nicola, Juliette, and their three children in their home above the shop. We didn’t leave until mid-night, which at this stage of the season is late, but it was a lovely evening and we managed to behave ourselves. Just! Anyway, Merci Juliette and Nicola. It’s snowing lightly and blowing as I write at 3PM and who knows what tomorrow will bring. And Clive was at Les Tufs in good spirits and is on the mend, although it could take 4 to 6 weeks before he's able to play golf. Fingers crossed for him!

Sports Report- What a belting second-half performance by Man United yesterday. Tottenham were hanging on to a two goal lead when United were given a poor penalty decision, which they fully took advantage of. From there they just outclassed a very good side and they were very impressive to watch as they scored another 4 goals. (Even if you’re pulling for Liverpool to win the title.) Anyway, you can hardly begrudge them their penalty when they lost their FA Cup semi-final to Everton when they weren’t awarded an obvious penalty. Harry wasn’t very happy though!

April 25th.
Before reporting on today’s skiing I must back-track to yesterday when Mick D created a new and fortunately rare award, the ‘splash du jour’. After a stunning Sachette Mick managed to spin himself around and ended up with a splash in the little creek. He was soaked but in good spirits and was impressed with the wicking qualities of his clothing. Nice one Mick! As for today, a few centimetres fell yesterday but we did get a good freeze and with it another excellent morning. Chris’ team of Gron, Myfanwy, Graham, Rupert and Suzanne had a big outing skiing great snow over the Col des Fours followed by a perfect Lores. Well done and you deserved your beers in the Sport Bar afterwards. Andreas was back in action with John D and Co. and they had a great morning around the Charvet and Manchet. My morning was a little more complicated. We started with wonderful Kern, which was very atmospheric as well as having lovely snow. From there we skied a very good but fragile Face du Charvet and then I decided to back-track towards Tignes. We were traversing across avalanche rubble into the Spatule when Clive hit some debris and fell head-first down the mountain, landing on more debris. It took a few minutes to get Clive on his feet and we ended up needing a pisteur to cart Clive off to Doctor Al’s in a blood-wagon. Penny phoned Mark to meet Clive at Al’s and we continued on to ski a terrific Campanules, followed by the bowl off the Fresse, and then the Spatule (passing Chez Clive) to finish. It was another top day except for Clive’s injury and Ray and I went up to Doctor Al’s after lunch to see Clive. He was in good spirits and it seems he has torn some muscles leaving him very sore but not too seriously injured. As for the weather, our sunny run is over and it looks like off-and-on snow for the next five or six days. Hopefully it will clear up in time for the last weekend as it’s too late in the season to deal with too much flat-light. Stay tuned for some sporting news if the Hammers get a good result against Chelsea!

April 24th.
Yesterday’s heat finally melted and compressed the snow enough to give a good depth of transformation and combined with a good cold night it was game on this morning. Chris and I skied in Tignes starting with an excellent Altiport/Lavachet, which was perfectly clean. From there the Super Cocaine was also superb followed by a as-good-as-it-gets Sachette. We then had some bonus turns off the edge of the piste en-route to the Aero-ski and finished with a lovely Familial. We saw about three other skiers all morning, which always adds to the experience and it was a wonderful ski. (Nice photos Jean) I had a great lunch with Blue, Nina and their friend Bill but after last years ‘chemical reaction’, which was of proportions not experienced since my days here with my brother Denny, along with Hort, Stretch, and Webby, I took it easy and escaped undamaged. (Blue is a great chap but a dangerous lunching partner!) It snowed lightly during lunch and hopefully the clouds will disperse so that we can get another good freeze tonight. At the moment it’s 50/50 whether we get our re-freeze followed by sun tomorrow. Fingers crossed! PS Will's latest weather report shows a better chance for a cold night.

April 23rd.
I awoke at 4AM because of a glass or two too many after a spontaneous dinner party with Chris, Suzanne, Ray, and Jane Seaford, who is visiting from New Zealand. Anyway, at that hour I looked outside to see cloud cover and knew we were in for a minimum freeze and a potentially tricky morning. Having doubts about how set-up the spring slopes were made it a tough decision but after testing some lovely snow off the Verte Chris and I decided to take a chance and ski ‘Val d’Isere classics’. My team started with a good run off the Borsat en-route to the Grand Pre where we skied an excellent top-half of the tour, way out skiers-right. We were an hour early but still at mid-altitude the snow was becoming fragile so instead of exiting through the Couloir du Mont Blanc we cut out early to change exposures and find firmer snow. On the way out we came across a carcass of a dead chamois, which had been stripped to the bare bones by feasting animals and birds. From there we had a really good Cugnai and even though the snow was on the firm side, you could still punch your pole through as the support layer wasn’t very deep, confirming our theory about it not being perfectly set-up yet. From there we skied two from the Col du Madeleine and we just made it to the bottom on the second run as the ’freeze’ was starting to give out. We finished with the top of the Marmottes before cutting out above the cliffs and back to the piste. Chris opted for a little ’skin’ to Mont Roup and I would have bet £100 that he wouldn’t have made it, especially after needing to cut out of the Charvet. Anyway, Chris’ team had fragile but wonderful run and that just shows how much I know and bravo Chris’ team! Chris also finished with the top of the Marmottes and cut out to avoid ‘quick-snow’ at the bottom and we all had another great outing in potentially tough conditions. Unfortunately Blue is still out with his injury after hitting a nasty snowball on the piste and won’t ski off-piste again this holiday. Blue sky is forecast again for tomorrow with a chance of some snow towards the Galise. Now that’s cutting it fine on the forecasting front! (Please check Tony's link on top of page)

April 22nd.
The morning started off cloudy but Radio Will promised that it would clear quickly, and how right he was. It was another in-between day, meaning the only powder left would be dead-north and extremely high, and after the amount of snow that’s fallen, the spring slopes haven’t really had time to transform properly, except down at lower altitudes. So even with a minimum freeze Chris and I decided on the alti-port/Lavachet, which was excellent followed by a rather superb Sachette, which worked right to the bottom. From there I tried a Campanules, which just worked but was really fragile and justified why we chose the lower slopes while Chris finished with a Familial. It was a cracking good ski and thoroughly enjoyed by Steven and Kaye, who had a trip skiing in Kashmir in January. Hopefully it will have ’baked’ enough this afternoon to transform the higher slopes, as the Face du Charvet, Tour du Charvet and the Manchet sector all beckon and are clean. I have my doubts and think we may need to wait another day but we’ll be testing the snow first-thing tomorrow to see if we can head that way. Another minimum freeze is forecast for tonight, which doesn’t really help very much. Stay tuned! PS United fans will be thanking Arsenal for last night's stunning match and Liverpool dropping two points.

April 21st.
We had a nice surprise this morning as the sun made an unexpected appearance and it was great to see blue sky again. We all headed up to the Fornet again, but the amount of snow up there is quite incredible and after one knee-deep-but-slightly-educational run I did another U-turn and returned to Tignes. Chris continued on with Tejina and Suzanne for a couple more runs before heading to the Motte and Henry tried his luck on the Glacier but with 120cm’s of snow it was hard work. My team skied a good run off the Borsat en-route to the Motte where we skied 119-turns on the Rosolin and Chris had a great run off the Little Face Nord of the Motte before ‘skinning’ out. Thomas had a special day today skiing with Pierre Tardivel, who is a famous extreme skier with many first descents world-wide to his credit. (Google him for more details) Thomas had a superb day skiing nothing but steep-and-narrow and needed to be roped into a few places and was seriously impressed with Pierre. Kristina also had a great day free-riding in the Grand Vallon and said, “fat skis and speed was the only way to do it today”. Well done Kristina! Radio Will has been down the valley having a foot operation and we wish him as little pain as possible and a speedy recovery. Sebastian, who some of you may have skied with this season, had a climbing accident on the indoor wall and broke his L-1 vertebrae . He’s been down in the hospital in Grenoble for the past twelve days and is being moved to a re-hab centre in Marseille tomorrow. Kristina says he’s positive and really looking forward to getting out of the hospital. Good luck Sebastian and everyone at ‘Alpine’ wishes you a full and speedy recovery. A sunny day is forecast for tomorrow so hopefully we’ll get a decent freeze so we can ski good spring snow at lower altitudes. (With the amount of snow we’ve had it will take some time for a proper transformation up.) If I had the energy I’d watch the footie tonight but I need to hide from Clive and Ray for a couple of nights!

April 20th.
It snowed cricket-ball size flakes at times during the night and being somewhat optimistic we headed up to the Fornet. After a quick ‘feel’ and the usual slow opening Henry, Chris and I decided to make a U-turn and bus back to Bellevarde en-route to Tignes. From there we skied a nice run off the Verte, followed by an excellent Borsat Nord from the top. The Fornet was socked-in so we were well pleased with ourselves as the snow was much lighter and the visibility was significantly better Tignes-way. We then had two great runs off the Leisse before skiing the Rosolin, where the snow as cold and wintry, but a bit of work to get to and exit. From there we skied the Cairn and finished with a surprisingly good ‘funky-Familial’ to finish off Tony W’s 47th birthday ski. Happy birthday Tony and well skied Alex, who has made some serious progress over the last couple of seasons. Anyway, it was another pretty good outing and after moments of sunshine this afternoon followed by massive snowflakes, who knows what tomorrow will bring?

April 19th.
Another five to ten centimetres fell overnight and we awoke to light snow falling and flattish light. Chris, Thomas and I decided on Tignes and it became apparent pretty quickly that it didn’t snow enough to cushion the base underneath and that we’d need ‘clean’ snow underfoot to have comfortable skiing. The only place we were going to find a perfectly smooth base was the Sachette and although the new snow insulated against a re-freeze it still froze enough for us to ski excellent snow right to the bottom. We had some powder turns on the first pitch before needing to turn to the spring slopes, which had about 5cm’s on top of a nicely supporting base. We decided to continue on to the bottom where is was fragile but still keeping us afloat. Unfortunately Blue hit a big ice-ball on piste that had been left behind by a piste-basher, and he needed to take a taxi home. Hopefully he hasn’t damaged himself too badly but it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to ski for a day or two and I’ll update you when we find out the extent of his injuries. Thomas had a new client Pascale skiing with him this morning and it is her birthday today. Happy Birthday Pascale and what a good ski to celebrate with! It’s now 3:46PM and huge snowflakes are falling out of the sky with the forecast calling for 40cm’s by tomorrow morning. At this time of year 10 to 20 cm’s would do nicely so that we’d have a morning or two of powder before the new snow could transform to spring snow. Forty cm’s will make for potentially dangerous skiing in places and that volume of snow takes a long time to transform back into spring snow. Anyway, we’ll have to deal with it and don’t forget your air-bags! A Blue and Sports Report will follow later.

April 18th.
Five centimetres of snow fell over night and after yesterday’s heat Chris, Henry and I had a good chat about conditions at the Gourmandine. Chris decided to go for a walk in search of powder up high and north and had a great result in the Col des Fours with Tejina and Suzanne. They then had some bonus turns over the next little Col and then headed to the Grande Motte this afternoon for more winter snow. Well done Chris’ team! Henry and I stayed low and skied mostly spring snow and my team skied off the front of the Borsat followed by a beautiful Lavachet way out to the skiers-right. From there we skied the Cocaine Sud followed by an excellent Jardinie. Henry started off the Borsat as well and then stayed on the Val d’Isere side of the mountain, and I’m not too sure what he skied. Anyway, we all had a really good ski on a morning that could have been in-between and tricky. Gideon finished his season today and made some great progress this winter and Jane skied with me this morning while Kev took care of their children. It was very warm this afternoon so even more spring snow will be setting up although we my see a few more flakes of snow tonight. (I'll come back with a Sports Report if the Hammers get a late equaliser).

Sports Report- Yes, yes, yes! Late goal for the Hammers for a 1-1 draw away to Villa and a big point. And well done Stoke and Sunderland for massive wins!

April 17th.
The skies cleared during the night so we all headed up to the Fornet to take advantage of yesterday’s snowfall. (check photos on Jean’s link) We needed to stay dead-north on anything except gentle terrain as it cleared briefly yesterday afternoon and the heat put a crust on what would have been great snow. I started in some lovely snow off the Laisinant before trying the Combe du Signal. It was ‘touched’ and we needed to traverse all the way across to the northern exposures before the crust disappeared , but once north the steep slopes were excellent. From there we skied two great runs in the Pays Desert before heading over the Col. Andreas had Peter and Clare C with their children, Niamh, Tara, Rory, Caitriona, and their pal Ross, and they laid perfect ‘Alpine’ tracks all morning long. Bravo Equipe Campbell! I had Ellie and Mike C along, and Mike wants David B to know that he missed a good one today, very cruel Mike! Neither Ellie nor Mike have skied much powder for a year or two and they both skied really well. Gill and the girls are back in England after an emotional farewell at the airport where Millie and I were blubbing. I miss them already but boy is it quiet around here! The forecast is for a clear night and colder so tomorrow will be interesting. After today’s heat we need to decide if it’s worth chasing powder high and north, or has it transformed to spring snow lower down? Tough call and stay tuned.

Kevin Watch-
Day One- Falls and goes for a slide on the Lavachet. Saves himself with a brilliant ‘self-arrest’.
Day Two- Falls traversing in the woods and kisses a tree. Lips and face aren’t seriously damaged and Suzanne pulls him out.
Day Three- Clean Sheet-Bravo Kev!
Day Four- Loses a ski and Suzanne finally finds it after entire team pokes about for awhile.
For more, check pages 93 and 94 in my book.

April 16th.
Light rain fell throughout the night with it turning to snow around 8AM. The foehn was still blowing but we decided to head towards the Fornet anyway, as that was where the most accumulation of snow would be. We were rewarded and had a great morning of powder snow although the visibility was a little tricky at times. Chris and I skied the Grand Vallon, Combe du Signal, two off the T-Bar on the Pissailles and a Col Pers to finish. Chris did a great job navigating over the Col as it was pretty white in places and it wasn’t easy. Well done Chris! Meanwhile, Andreas and Henry had an excellent morning concentrating on the Glacier as the best snow was up high. Gideon skied really well today and picked up the coveted ‘skier of the morning’ award. Nice one Gideon! Kevin had a quiet day today after he followed up his self-arrest on day-one by kissing a tree yesterday. Pat Z invited Chris and I to Top Ski for drinks as Peter CB, who we worked with twenty-plus years ago, is in town with his family visiting from New Zealand. We had a great evening and it was probably only the second or third time we've been in Top Ski since we left all those years ago. Merci Pat for a top evening! It started snowing huge flakes around noon and I’m a little worried about the roads as I need to drive to Lyon to drop Gill, Millie and Katie off as they fly back to England tonight. And brilliant wins for Arsenal and Man U last night, with Ronaldo scoring an absolute cracker!

April 15th.
It was Gill’s last morning of the season as the girls leave tomorrow, and we had another really good ski. Radio Val reported +5C at 7:30 and the clouds were arriving from the Galise aided by 50 kph foehn winds. The only sunny area in the resort was towards the Aiguille Percee so the entire team headed towards the sunshine. I started with an excellent Alti-port/Lavachet before skiing the big face off the Aiguille Percee en-route to the Sachette, which was great top-to-bottom. From there we had a few bonus turns off the Aiguille Rouge chairlift before finishing with a lovely Familial. Andreas skied the Cocaine Sud before arriving for the Sachette and Chris did a little ‘skinning’ in the Sachette to access some longer slopes. Considering the minimum freeze along with the clouds and wind, we all had great morning making the most of our options. Bravo boys! Andreas had Clare and Ewan G along this morning and it was nice to see them both again. Millie is spending her last afternoon with her boyfriend Achille so I hope she won’t mind having Katie and I along. Anyway, we should see a little snow above 2200metres this evening, especially towards the Fornet. And what a football match last night! Liverpool did themselves proud scoring 4 goals away and almost pulled off what seemed impossible before game time. Hopefully tonight’s games will be just as good, although I won’t be able to watch them.

April 14th.
Gideon summed up the morning perfectly when he said, “that was awesome!”. The sun was blazing again and with Radio Val announcing +1C in front of the Tourist Office at 7:30AM, we knew it was cold enough last night and it was game-on! I opened up with an excellent Face du Charvet followed by an even better Tour du Charvet, way out skiers-left and then through the Couloir du Mont Blanc. From there we skied a good Col du Madeleine before finishing with a superb run off the 3000 poma. Andreas ’skinned’ to the Crete du Genepy and then Mont Roup, where he found excellent skiing before joining in on the Arselle-side of the spring tour. Henry also skied the Face du Charvet and Tour en route to the Arselle and Thomas skied ‘classic’ Val d’Isere spring snow as well. Chris had an adventurous morning as Kevin fell on the Lavachet and needed the ‘Giles Green Self-Arrest’ to stop himself from ending up in the lake below. We all know that Kevin is experienced with this sort of thing as he features on pages 93 and 94 of my book. Bravo Kev for not panicking and keeping it together under pressure! Anyway Chris’ team continued on for a great Cocaine Sud followed by the Sachette and Familial. Pietro finished his holiday with a Col du Montet and everyone at ‘Alpine’ had a cracking good day. I put on shorts, sandals and a t-shirt and walked around town with the girls this afternoon while they biked. We stopped for ice-cream and drinks on the terrace of the Perdrix and had a great time soaking up the sun. Meanwhile Gill was having lunch on our terrace with Bonne Sante's excellent team of physios, Louise, Laura, Emma, and Ginny. The Perdrix reminds me that we had a good wildlife show this morning as we saw several Perdrix Blanches and a Lievre Blanc, and then some marmottes. A similar day is forecast for tomorrow with potentially some rain/snow later in the week.

April 13th.
The sun returned in all its splendour this morning so we all headed to the Fornet to get the last of the powder before it turns to ’wishbone’ snow as it transforms to spring snow. It turned out to be an action-packed morning as three local skiers (they call themselves ‘riders’ these days) decided to ‘skin’ up to the Point Pers. Andreas had warned them to think again as a plaque on the same exposure had already popped out and the warning signs were there. Anyway, they triggered a slab about 350metres wide (fortunately it wasn’t too deep) and all three were taken. All three were equipped with air-bags and the two that pulled their handles and inflated the bags stayed on top, and the one who didn’t inflate ended up buried. (An excellent advert for the air-bags I’d say) Pietro, who was returning from a tour just happened to be the first to the rescue and found him immediately and dug him out. Well done Pietro! Andreas and I were there fairly quickly but Pietro had it under control and we went off with shaky legs to continue our morning. As for the skiing we had a great run in the Pays Desert with powder up high and more spring-like snow at the bottom, followed by an equally good Tour du Lechoir and an exit through the gorge. Millie went skiing with her cousins Wils and Rosie, followed by lunch at Les Tufs were she apparently took fifteen minutes deciding what to have, much to the annoyance of the waitress. Little Madame! I’m not too sure about the forecast but it looks as if we’ll be in for another sunny day again tomorrow, which won’t be too hard to take! (Wishbone snow is crusty and tries to rip your leg off!)

April 12th.
The day started early with Easter Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies followed by opening Gill’s birthday presents. Meanwhile, outside it was +4C, grey, windy and it had been raining lightly during the night, but no one arriving at the Gourmandine was really expecting a superb ‘maximum-turn’ morning. After several great days in Tignes it was time to test the new snow up at the Fornet, so Chris and I headed up into the cloudier weather and were rewarded with excellent skiing. Although it was overcast the light was good enough to easily navigate and ski and we covered a huge amount of terrain. My team skied the Pyramide, two in the Grand Vallon, one Combe du Signal, a Combe du 3300, and a Col Pers through the Gorge to finish. Brilliant! The snow varied from 10 to 35cm’s, mostly slightly compressed, but excellent snow for mid-April, and it was lovely to make tracks again. Gill had a birthday ski with Millie, Wils, Rosie and Rob this afternoon while Katie and I toured town. Andreas had the day off and enjoyed a family ski and I forgot to mention that he and Peter skied an excellent Couloir des Pisteurs yesterday to finish. Well done boys! Thanks Radio Will for Gill’s birthday message this morning and besides happy birthday to Gill, also a big happy birthday to Oscar, TJ’s son and my god-son. And thank-you Laura for my most exquisite steak last night, absolutely mouth-watering! The sun is forecast to appear tomorrow morning after another mild night with a minimum re-freeze. Stay tuned as the good skiing should continue!

April 11th.
It rained lightly in town overnight and snowed a few centimetres above 2200metres and the new snow will help tidy up the spring slopes enormously. As for today, the new snow worked as an insulator against the re-freeze so this morning the snow was much more fragile than yesterday. The wind was blowing up to 90kph up at the Fornet where it was also very grey so Tignes was the obvious choice again today. We had 5 to 10cm’s of lovely snow off the Verte to warm-up in and then similar in the bottom of the Borsat and down into Tignes. From there we skied an excellent Lavachet but it was fragile towards the bottom, which indicated that we didn’t want to try skiing any lower. I headed up towards the Motte where the wind was fierce so after a run off the Leisse we came back down via the flats on the glacier towards the ‘wall’ as it used to be know, and then into the Combe du Lanche. (The Combe wasn’t the best call of the morning as it was a little rough underfoot.) From there we had a pretty good run off the Col des Ves then skied piste back to Les Tufs. Meanwhile Andreas skied Mickey’s Ears with Peter C before joining Thomas on the Lavachet. From there I think they went off to ski the Cocaine Nord and I’m not too sure what else after that. All in all it was a pretty good morning for a potentially tough day. Jean Marc returns from his tour today and Pietro is here on holiday touring with Sue and Mark J. Chris had a day off as he had a touch of the gastro the other night so hopefully he’s feeling better today. I won Gill the Chevallot Birthday Cake for tomorrow on Radio Val this morning (it helps having Radio Will answering the phone) so we’ll be looking forward to that. Millie is out skiing with Gill while I take care of Katie who has a nasty little cough. The forecast is for 20cm’s of snow at the Fornet this afternoon and hopefully the ferocious foehn wind will die down so we can get up there and ski it. And come on’ you Hammers!

April 10th.
It was +5C in town at 7:30AM and the sky was grey with a strong foehn wind blowing, but what a morning we had. It turned out to be one of the best ‘spring’ mornings of the season, both as far as snow texture and the fact that we skied clean slopes all morning long. Because a dusting of fresh snow fell the new snow ‘ate’ into the frozen surface and combined with the warm night all exposures felt good right from the start.(The sun was in-and-out so we had pretty good visibility most of the morning.) I started off on the meadows on the front of the Borsat for a little ‘tester’, then had an outstanding Lavachet, and equally good Cocaine South followed by an even better Cocaine Nord, and a very good Familial to finish. Andreas, Thomas, Chris, and Henry were all in the same neighbourhood and skied the same or similar variations. I was truly stunned by the quality of snow and a little surprised at how low we could ski on such a minimum freeze as the partial cloud cover and wind help keep the snow good to the last drop. I then went out with Millie, Wils, Natasha, and Anthony again this afternoon for another big ski and was a little frightened by the ‘air-time’ my 5-and-a-half-year-old and her pal Natasha seem to seek. Thank goodness they aren’t boys! It’s been socked-in up at the Fornet all-day long and I’m sure some snow has been falling up there, but we’ll need to wait and see what happens with the visibility tomorrow. Anyway, I’m still smiling about this morning’s brilliant outing!

PS Some of Andreas' team were looking a little jaded this morning after he had his team down to his place for a BBQ yesterday afternoon, which became rather 'jolly'. The Lavachet certainly woke them up and got them in the mood!

April 9th.
After a really good re-freeze it was game-on and all the boys showed their teams a cracking good ski. Chris, Andreas and Thomas ‘skinned’ to the Crete du Genepy and had superb snow before continuing on with the ‘classic’ Val d’Isere spring tour. Well done boys! The cold night with clear skies today will have been fantastic news for Jean Marc as he’s day-two into his four-day tour. I had a bit of a ‘funky’ start today with a very atmospheric Kern, way out skiers-left above the cliffs with a great views and impressive exposure. From there we skied ‘Adrian’s Couloir’ on the Lavachet, followed by the big face on the Aiguille Percee, the Sachette, and the Familial to finish. I watched an ESF group ski by this morning with, get this, 18 children in the group. I double-checked to see if there was another instructor at the back but the leader was solo and had his hands full. Ray skied his 100th day with me this season, well done Ray. And thank you very much Joe for the fabulous piece of venison you gave us, it was fantastic. Thanks also to David and Chrissy for Gladiator, really looking forward to it. I didn’t get home until 5:45PM after a huge ski with Millie, her cousin Wil, J and M’s grand-daughter Natasha and son Anthony, and Rob and Rosie. It was really great fun while Gill took Katie out for a big ski as well. The forecast is ’iffy’ with a minimum freeze, strong foehn winds and potential cloud cover as well. Wish us luck and stay tuned for more news tomorrow!

April 8th.
Radio Val announced +5.5C at 7:30 AM (too early for Radio Will) and with light cloud cover it was looking to be a potentially tricky day. Jean Marc started a four-day tour this morning and we wish him luck and some decent weather with some cold nights ahead. This morning Chris headed to Tignes and skied the big slope of the Aiguille Percee before skiing the Sachette and Familial to finish. It held up for him and they had a really good result. Andreas and I chose the Fornet for a change of pace and hoped that a few flakes fell yesterday afternoon and evening, which would soften the surface of the spring snow without needing direct sunlight. We were right but unfortunately when we arrived on the Glacier a thick cloud-bank arrived as well leaving us in nearly white-out conditions. We didn’t fancy that so we headed over the Col into better visibility and had good skiing in the Col Pers with Andreas exiting through the gorge and my team over the Grand Torsai. We then both circled back towards Bellevarde to finish the morning. It turned out to be a pretty good morning, which beats a ‘stinker’ any day. Millie and Katie are now on holiday and their cousins arrive tonight, so I’m really looking forward to skiing them all over the next few afternoons. It cleared during the afternoon so hopefully we’ll get a good freeze tonight, especially for Jean Marc’s sake.

April 7th.
Wow, what a day! It was cold enough overnight to give us a decent re-freeze and the sun appeared and stayed with us most of the day. So much for forecasts! A foehn wind blew all-day long, up to 50kph in exposed places, but for the most part it helped as it cooled the snow and kept us afloat all morning long. Andreas skied an excellent Mont Roup while Chris and I ‘skinned’ to the Crete du Genepy and we all had superb spring snow. We all then joined Thomas and Henry, who were skiing ‘classic’ Val d’Isere spring and we had some great skiing off the Cugnai and the Marmattons. Henry and I ended up finishing around 1:30PM as another Cugnai just needed to be done. You can easily forget how big and impressive those Arselle/Cugnai slopes are from the top, and there is no doubt that you want to stay on your feet as falling over isn’t really an option. Jean Marc did a couloir off the Motte and then ‘skinned’ up to the Col de la Sana, and again he also enjoyed excellent snow. David B is having a wonderful time and is in his element because although he loves his powder, he also enjoys to ‘work’ his skis and today’s snow was perfect for that. Gideon is also enjoying the big slopes and is being pretty brave as he suffers mildly from vertigo, and for those who are affected it can be very debilitating, Bravo Gideon! The forecast is for a few flakes above 2000metres before it clears during the night and hopefully gets cold enough to give us another great ‘spring’ day again tomorrow.

PS. We'll be thinking of TJ tomorrow as it's the 2nd anniversary of his avalanche.

April 6th.
It was another great day on the mountain as Ray celebrated his 100th morning of the season. Nice one Red! After a cloudy night with a minimum re-freeze it could have been a tricky day but all the teams enjoyed good skiing. Jean Marc was off for an excellent day skiing the Col de la Calabourdane, the Col des Fours and the Lores, with Tony W, Chris and Matt E, and Kristina. (It was a nice change for Tony to get away from the Rond Point with his own equipment) Andreas had a new group so he re-traced his steps of yesterday and skied the Sachette and Henry skied Tignes-way as well. Chris and I were off to ski powder but after testing the snow off the Verte decided to divert to ‘Plan F’ and ended up skiing excellent spring off the Borsat, followed by Mont Roup , then variations off the Arselle and Lessieres. Mont Roup was delicate and we needed to play with the exposures to avoid ’quick snow’, but we managed to stay afloat and had a really good ski. It clouded over during the afternoon and an even lighter re-freeze is forecast for tonight with the possibility of a little rain around 2200metres and a few flakes above. The forecast also calls for cloudier skies over the next couple of days so we may have a couple of difficult days ahead, but who knows? This place rarely fails to deliver and we’ll hope for the best.

PS Update from Rob Cochran on Jean U.

"I revere Jean Ughetto, the eponymous Jean of Jeansport. He can repair anything. He comes from a generation when you repaired things. Now, you just replace them. The internals of my crappy fridge stand as mute testimony to his skill with plastics. I have often watched with admiration as the quiet and self-effacing Jean repairs ski and boots which would be consigned to the poubelle by a lot of present day ski-men.But this weekend, I saw him do the ski repair of all ski repairs. My next door neighbour is a french doctor. He had damaged the tail of a new Dynamic 8000. Did I say "damaged?" All the professionals in the shop who looked at the ski asked "How on earth did he do that...?" Imagine shooting a point thirty eight bullet into the tail of your ski close to the edge. No; make that a .45....!. Is the good doctor a secret freerider? You would need to drop from 5 metres onto a suitably pointed rock to get a dent like this one. The shop where he had bought the skis said that the damage was non repairable.I suggested we take the ski to Jean Ughetto. A myopic inspection of the edge revealed that it was still in one piece: what looked like a clean break was in fact a deep scratch. "Yes. I think I can mend it,"says the ever modest JU. Well, the result. I wish I had taken a "before and after" photo. It looked like a new ski. Unless you knew where the damage had been, you couldn't find it. The only evidence was a hardly visible remnant of the deep scratch we had observed on the vertical of the edge. The cost? € 20."


April 5th.
We enjoyed another absolutely wonderful morning combining some powder pitches with perfect spring snow. It was slightly overcast with a minimal freeze overnight but Tignes promised the best chance of sunshine so the team headed that way. After testing the snow off the Verte we had a nice powder slope in the bottom of the Borsat before bussing over to the Palafour. We skied the big steep slope to the left as you ride up to the Aiguille Percee, and it was smooth with just the right texture. From there we skied two excellent pitches of powder in the Sachette before skiing as-good-as-it-gets spring snow right to the bottom. Then we all finished off a great morning with a really good Familial. Andreas had Derek L’s children Tina, Heather, and Gregor, and they had a fantastic time and put in a top performance. Well done! And Happy Birthday to Dawn, and what a ski to celebrate! Gill took Millie out for another ski this afternoon as their time here is now winding down as the girls leave on April 16th for Millie to re-start school on the 20th. It turned grey this afternoon but the forecast is for a good re-freeze tonight and we should have excellent skiing again tomorrow.

PS Jean Marc skied a brilliant Couloir 3500 off the back of the Grande Motte and neutral hearts were broken while United fans went ballistic with Man U's 95th minute winner. Liverpool hearts will have stopped as well! I've also started writing a more detailed account of yesterday's avalanche (besides what's below) but don't want to publish anything until I'm happy with it, as it is a very sensitive subject.

Avalanche Update- Yesterdays avalanche involved a guided ESF group with a father and his two sons, one 16 years-old and the other 21 years-of-age. All four were buried and three are now out of danger, but the 21 year-old was transported to Grenoble in a coma. The avalanche took place between two lifts, the Cugnai and the Glacier Express on the Tete du Solaise sector, in full view of the rescue services. Had it taken place out of sight of the Pisteurs all four would have died before help could have arrived.

April 4th.
What a day! It was another day of superb skiing and happy faces and also a day of tragedy. For the good news first, after a cold night we all headed towards the Fornet for some great skiing. Although it was cool yesterday there was enough heat to put a heat/sun crust on what was perfect powder yesterday, and nothing but dead-north with altitude worked today. Andreas did a double ‘skin’ and skied the Glacier Pers and then up towards the Gros Caval, while Chris skied the Glacier Pers. Jean Marc had a day trip over the Col du Montet and up to the Grande Aiguille Rousse, and Henry skied off the lift system. I also had a double ‘skin’ as we skied the Pointe Pers followed by the Glacier Pers. It was another really good days of powder skiing as there isn’t much left because of the heat and rain from a few days back, and we may need to turn to spring snow in a the next day or two. It’s now official (for those of you who didn’t already know) that I am a total ‘berk’. For the second time this week I took Tony W’s skis and poles from the Gourmandine and fortunately again Tony’s team was heading the same way and we could swap without causing any serious delays or stress. Sorry again Tony! At least I saved Anthony Ellis from the ‘berk-of-the-day’ award as he skied the Pointe Pers in ‘walk-mode’. Nice one Anthony! I had a wonderful ski this afternoon as well with Millie, Natasha, Anthony E, and John E. Natasha is John and Margaret’s grand-daughter and we really covered some ground. Finally on the good news front, I was fist-pumping as Radio Will read off West Ham 2- Sunderland nil, as the injury-plagued Hammers continue to please me. Now for some very sad news. There was a serious avalanche today involving an ESF-guided group who were caught on the front-side of the Cugnai. Details are sketchy for the moment but a group of four were taken together and buried very deep because of a terrain-trap. There wasn’t a run-out zone and the snow accumulated against an embankment leaving them deep enough for the Pisteurs to really struggle to find them with their beeps. All four were buried but the first three were dug-out alive and the last was found up-side down and not breathing. He was flown to Grenoble and I’m not sure whether he survived or not. I’ll up-date you tomorrow when the details emerge.

April 3rd.
The sun reappeared this morning towards Tignes but after a cold night we headed to the Fornet knowing the snow would have dried out, and we were rewarded with a stunning day of the highest quality. We warmed-up in great snow right from the start off the Laisinant Express, then had a good ski in the Combe du Signal en-route to the Glacier, which was absolutely brilliant and knee-deep in places. We skied just about every variation of gullies, couloirs and big slopes and as Jean R said, “It was 20 out of 20”. Although it was clearer in Tignes we had enough visibility to really travel and ski at ease, and the in-and-out cloud cover helped to keep the snow cold. Hats off to Lyndsay who had a great week shaking off her demons after a serious knee operation, and Andreas, Philip, Henry and Alex were well proud of her! Robert and Caroline had a wonderful two-weeks and made some real progress, as did Chris and his sons Joe and Sam. Thomas is still skiing with Adam’s children and finishes with them tomorrow. Ray skied for the first time in a week because of a calf injury and after a massive morning took Millie out this afternoon for a ski. They must have had a great time as they didn’t return until 5:15PM after a huge ski followed by hot chocolate and tiramisu at Chevallot. (They both seemed very pleased with themselves although Millie gave the game away pretty quickly) The forecast according to the Val d’Isere website is for ‘a largely sunny day and the wind will be weak and the temperature will be sweet’. Funky!

April 2nd.
It rained heavily during the night, up to about 2400metres, and it was still raining this morning. The sky was grey, the wind was howling, and we had an absolutely brilliant day! The wind was stronger towards the Fornet and there was a rumour of 60+cm’s on the Glacier so we all headed to towards Tignes. (60+cm’s is too much with the warm temperatures and wind) We warmed up off the Verte before skiing two crackers on Bonnevie’s drag while waiting for the Borsat to open. Then the Borsat was excellent as was the Cairn and Genepy off the Motte, and Henry and Andreas did a little Spatule and Familial. Needless to say the snow down low was very warm and heavy but it was good skiing anyway, and the snow up top was really pleasurable. The afternoon was even better as the visibility was much improved and I skied with Robert and Caroline until 4:45 and Chris’ team was in the same area as we saw his tracks everywhere we went. Lucky Henry had a group 5 lovely young ladies this morning, chaperoned by David N, brother of Harry and Ian. Jean Marc has arrived in town for a week after a successful trip to Morocco and it will be nice to have him around for a bit. Some sun is possible tomorrow morning and hopefully it will calm down up at the Fornet or it might take them ages to get open up there. Stay tuned for more news tomorrow.

PS The twins Henry and Alex tried the old 'swap-jackets-and-fool-everyone trick' this morning, but we were fairly astute and didn't fall for it a badly as Mark B' stunt a few days back.

April 1st.
No joking, I was half expecting a ‘stinker’ this morning after looking out the window at 8AM to see grey skies and drizzle accompanied by a strong foehn wind. It wasn’t looking too good but when we arrived at the top of Bellevarde there was a patch of sunshine around the Borsat and the snow was supporting with some fresh snow in the gullies and on the lee-side of little rolls. Andreas, Chris and I all had a great run off the front of the Borsat in some lovely soft snow and the three sets of ‘Alpine’ tracks really stood out. We then skied the Lavachet en-route to the Sachette as it was clearer that way and we enjoyed sunshine and good snow all morning long when the rest of the resort was in cloud. Henry was doing a ‘HAT’ day and was in the same sector but I lost track of him. Chris skied off-piste with Tim and Gill in the afternoon while I skied with Chris, Joe and Sam. At this time of year the snow becomes a little more ‘educatif’ in the afternoon but it was jolly good skiing anyway and the sun continued to follow us around. Thomas is working hard entertaining Adam P’s kids who like jumps, bumps and everything else youngsters enjoy. Hang in there Thomas! Strong south and south-east winds are forecast this evening with a decent amount of snow, especially towards the Fornet, so fingers crossed!

March 31st.
The sun did shine again this morning but with a threat of clouds rolling in from Italy (Fornet-way), and we all chanced the weather for the better snow option and headed to the Fornet. Chris and I wanted to ski the Col des Fours and I got off to a flyer from the Rond Point and made it to the Col in record time. But, when I went to put my skis on I found the bindings were miles to big because I’d taken Tony W’s ski and poles. Tony just happens to have the exact same everything but fortunately Henry was coming to the Fornet as well and we could swap. Sorry Tony, normally it’s only real berks who do that sort of thing! In the meantime Jean R led the team down to the Pont de Neige to put on the ‘skin’ and I caught them up. (Gill and Henry made it to the top in about 55 minutes, which is going some and way to quick for me.) Anyway, I was proud of Philip, Henry, Alex, Adam, Jean, and Gill as they skied brilliantly in tougher-than-expected snow and made it look easy with perfect tracks. We then had some excellent snow over the second little Col and some great ambience along the rocks and through little couloirs. Henry and Andreas also had good mornings in the Fornet while Thomas is skiing with Adam’s children. I then took Chris and his sons Joe and Sam for an adventure around the Borsat West from the top. Anyone who knows that route knows it can be a little ‘delicate’ at the best of times and the boys handled it well. Bravo! Ray is still injured and is now doing the school run with Millie and Katie, both drop-off and pick-up. Thanks Ray. The wind picked up and clouds rolled in this afternoon so the 10cm's of forecasted fresh snow tonight looks like a real possibility.

March 30th.
We were greeted with grey murky skies this morning but Radio Will promised a sea of cloud in the valley and clear skies above 2300/2400metres. Sure enough we broke through the clouds on the way up Bellevarde and everyone’s spirits soared and the expectation levels rocketed. We warmed up with a nice run off the side of the Mont Blanc piste and after skiing in brilliant sunshine most of the way we plunged down into the sea of cloud for the last 100 metres to the Borsat. It was very atmospheric but made you appreciate the fact that we’d be in sunshine for the rest of the morning. It was a ‘maximum-turn’ type of morning with my team skiing an excellent Borsat from the middle entrance, followed by the Chardonnet, the big face of the Balme, a run off the Leisse, another off the Genepy, followed by a Familial to finish. I had two brother acts this morning, Philip’s 16-year-old twin sons Henry and Alex, and Tom and Fred (their Dad Tim skied with Chris), and everyone skied really well. Jean mentioned that the average age of the group had dropped by 35 years and he and Philip kept up really well and enjoyed the pace. Chris and Henry were in the same neighbourhood skiing similar slopes and a wonderful day was had by all. (A mention to Rob and Caroline and Huw and Jane who are skiing with Chris). Andreas was skiing with the twins Mum Lyndsay who is recovering from knee surgery, and they were on a confidence building mission before she joins the boys later in the week. Thomas has a private with some youngsters and I haven’t heard what he skied this morning. The feeling is we may have another sunny day tomorrow before more snow moves in on Wednesday, but in the meantime we’ll definitely savour today! (Check Jean R’s photos on the website under links. Jean puts up two or three photos every day.)

March 29th.
I must admit to being a little uninspired this morning with the change of time and flat-light looming, but Penny, Jean and I had a great morning. There was no one about at 8:45AM as you can well imagine and we warmed up on-piste with a lovely cushion of fresh snow. At mid-altitude the light was flat but long-range visibility against rocks and distant mountains was decent so although we needed to be careful of dips and bumps, navigation wasn’t a problem. After an excellent Borsat we rode the Col des Ves (slowest lift in the resort) to access the big North Face of the Balme. We were totally alone and had a smooth base with about 15cm’s on top with great ambience. From there we skied the Combe des Lanches and I was a little worried that there may be some bumps after the ten-day stretch of sunshine, but it was smooth and turned out to be a good result. The Balme was too good to not ski again so it was back up the Ves to access the couloir just before the big face and it was the best skiing of the morning. We arrived and a cloud bank rolled in leaving us in a white-out, but with the rock walls we could ski and navigate without any trouble. I needed to use a little ‘sluff control’ as the top 10 to 15 cm’s was sluffing along with me, which was very atmospheric and jolly good fun (‘Sluff control’ is when you ski a few turns before peeling out to the side so that the accumulating snow can pass you by before you re-enter the slope and keep skiing. You don‘t want to leave it too late or you can get knocked over by the sluffing snow if it‘s deeper than anticipated) It was really good top-to-bottom and we then finished up on-piste as Penny had a flight this afternoon. My brilliant morning was temporarily ruined after reading the Mountain Echo (Clive B’s son Mark’s weekly), which reported that heli-skiing was about to become legal again in France. I phoned Andreas with the bad news and he replied, “Sounds like an April fool’s joke to me”! Anyway, he phoned Mark to find out and much to my relief it was a joke and I’d fallen for it hook, line and sinker. Mark, you son-of-a-gun! More of the same is forecast weather-wise, meaning light snow with some sunny spells, followed by cloud banks moving in and out. That’ll keep most of the fair-weather off-pister's at bay!

March 28th.
The day started off overcast but the visibility was decent and the wind had calmed down significantly. I started with a good Borsat en-route to the Sachette, which was wind-compressed but a good ski. It was nice to have Peter and his daughter Gillian along over the past few days, and Margaret joined us this morning as well. Andreas and Thomas skied the Borsat, then the Chardonnet and Col des Ves. It was a pretty good day topped off with Katie skiing the Verte down to the Folie Douce on her own. At 3-and-a-half she has a lovely little stance and is really at ease on her skis. Bravo Katie! We were skiing in a white-out this afternoon on top of the Borsat with some nice snow falling so hopefully we’ll be in good shape for tomorrow as light snow is forecast during the morning followed by a sunnier afternoon.

March 27th.
I’m a bit bummed because I’ve just spent 20-minutes on the up-date to have my computer shut itself off and now I’m starting over. C’est la vie! Anyway, just when it looked like we were in for great visibility this morning the clouds closed in rapidly our vis was in-and-out for most of the morning. Andreas, Thomas, and Chris all headed towards Tignes skiing the Petit Lavachet, Sache and then the Familial on the way home, all in good snow. Henry and I skied up at the Fornet and opened over the far shoulder in the Combe du Signal followed by the Combe du 3300 on the Pissaillas and then the Pays Desert. The snow was excellent but we were shut-down because of high winds, which was unfortunate as the skies were starting to clear and our visibility was about to improve drastically. I had a sticky moment when feeling my way around a cornice in flat-light. I found the edge and started side-slipping down when my bottom ski dropped into a hole and wedged itself in. My upper body almost went head-first, which would have broken my leg or torn my knee. Thankfully I didn’t go over the top and managed to balance myself until John Ellis could get above me and pull me up with my pole. It was a very uncomfortable moment and just shows how quickly things can go wrong. Thanks John! Henry was below and took some photos so they may be on his blog. It cleared up this afternoon but the wind continued to be a factor and when Millie and I went out for a cruise both the Borsat and Tommeuses were closed due to wind. Ray is still injured and took not only Millie and Katie to school, but their little friend Anna as well. Thanks and Bravo Ray! I’m not too sure about tomorrow’s weather as the forecast has been pretty hit-and-miss over the past few days, but there is some good skiing to be had out there.

Ski Club Report- The Ski Club have a pretty interesting debate going on and personally I think it’s good for everyone involved as there is lots to think about. Anyway, someone commented about ‘Alpine’ skiing with ridiculous spacing. We space out however far we feel necessary for the conditions. This might be 10 or 20metres, or it may be 100 metres or more. We ski big slopes after a snowfall one-at-a-time because the Golden Rule off-piste is to ‘only expose one person at a time’. If the day arrives and the mountain decides to let go, hopefully our spacing will keep us in a situation where six skiers are looking for one, not one searching for six. Off-piste is a dangerous pastime and avalanches do happen, no matter how careful one might be or how experienced one is. If you spend enough time off-piste you will be involved in some way or another. The late Giles Green (one of the founding members of Alpine Experience) used to say, “Neither God nor the mountain knows that you’re an expert". As for flat-light, and the day everyone is talking about was as flat as it gets, you shouldn’t be on big slopes unless you’re very confident of the stability. In a white-out I may only ski ten turns of so, so that the first one down has me in sight, or will do after a turn or two. If I was on a slope without any dips and hollows and I was with advanced skiers I might ski a bit further, but I would never give people any chance of losing me. In a white-out you need to keep your skiers close, which is why one needs to be sure of stability and your group should be a reasonable number. So whoever it was that thinks we ski a ‘ludicrous’ distance apart is very uninformed!

March 26th.
What an unexpectedly brilliant ski we were treated to this morning! After looking out the window at clouds it was looking rather ordinary but the skies cleared and by the time we left the Gourmandine the sky was blue and it was game on. We started with the Face du Bellevarde as nothing else was open and although it was hectic it was the only show in town. Then it was trying to work out which way to go, trying to judge what lifts would open first, which isn’t exactly an exact science. I went back up the Olympic to find the Borsat still closed so after deciding to back-track to the Fornet headed down to the Grand Pre to ski some great north-facing powder on the meadows and then continued down to the Epaule du Charvet. I thought the Epaule would be ‘scratchy’ but on the lee side of gullies and little slopes the snow was deep and although a little warm, surprisingly good. From there we bussed towards the Fornet to join Chris just as the Signal poma opened giving us access to an excellent Combe du Signal. From there we headed upstairs to ski a really good Combe du 3300 before an absolutely stunning Pays Desert. (Check Jean R’s link, photos under March 8) It really was gob-smacking! (Chris then took Corrine over the Col as it was her last day and she’s never been through the gorge.) Thomas joined us at the Fornet and he skied the Combe du Signal a couple of times followed by the Grand Vallon. Bravo Thomas! Meanwhile Andreas had Mark G’s family for an initiation morning and they had a wonderful time around Bellevarde and towards Tignes. Henry went Tignes-way as well before heading back to the Fornet for the afternoon. It was an amazing ’bonus’ day and the best morning we’ve has in quite some time. It clouded over during the afternoon and has started to snow lightly and we’ll wait and see what tomorrow brings.

March 25th.
We did have some clear skies for about 45 minutes this morning but it was enough to get us up and running before the clouds and a another snowfall arrived. There was some excellent wind-compacted snow here and there and lovely powder in the gullies and on certain lee-slopes. (The lee-slopes unfortunately are the sunny exposures so you needed to be high enough to stay off the crunchy rubble underneath.) Chris headed to the Fornet while Andreas and I skied Tignes-way and Thomas skied around the Grand Pre and Borsat. I’m not too sure what Henry skied but he was out there as well. I thought it was a cracking good morning and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Ray missed the morning with a calf injury so hopefully he’ll be back on deck tomorrow. It snowed all afternoon without too much wind and we definitely have a new canvas, with unsettled weather forecast for the next few days meaning off-and-on snow during that period.

March 24th.
Ten to fifteen cm’s fell overnight but the wind was ferocious with gusts of 100+kph on the summits of Bellevarde and Solaise and 140kph on the Pissaillas Glacier. Leaving home I thought we’d be lucky to get any skiing at all but the Funival opened on time and the skiing was much better than anticipated. We skied out Bonnevie’s drag in very good snow while Chris skied the Face du Bellevarde and ended up towards the Fornet. We had nice wind-compacted snow off the edge of the pistes as very little was open due to the wind but we enjoyed some pretty good visibility from 10:30 until noon and profited. The wind and snow were a welcomed change from two weeks of straight sunshine but on top of Bellevarde the wind was cold and punchy enough to frost-bite exposed noses and cheeks. (Anyway, today put a stop to 10-days of 'skinning and gave our legs a rest.) Unfortunately it stopped snowing during the afternoon (it was forecast to snow 15-20cm’s during the day) and a clear morning is on the cards tomorrow followed by a stormy afternoon.

March 23rd.
If the forecast is right we enjoyed the end of our sunny streak today and had another excellent ski this morning. Thomas had an initiation group and had a great result after a little ‘skin’ to the Borsat West. Chris skied the first pitch of the Borsat West then decided to climb to the top of the ridge and had fantastic snow from the top. Nice ‘sniff’ Chris! Andreas went down to Ste Foy and had a good outing on the Foglietta while I took my team to the Glacier Pers for some very good snow. It’s difficult getting over the Col at the moment so we had the entire areas to ourselves, which always adds to the ambience. I forgot Mother’s Day yesterday and Ray was feeling guilty as Gill had asked him to remind me and he forgot, so he took the girls into town to buy Gill presents and make cards at his place. Well done and thanks Ray! There was wind on the summits this morning, which really picked up this afternoon as clouds started to roll in and everyone is desperately hoping for some snow tonight. Stay tuned and dance a jig to the snow gods!

March 22nd.
Our sunny spell is coming to an end with stormy weather and snow forecast for Tuesday, but we another great ski today under clear blue skies. Chris skied some nice snow on the Rosolin en-route to the Tour du Balme and the big North Face, where he had some lovely ‘chalky’ snow. (Suzanne was back in action after skiing with Laura and Bridget last week.) Andreas and John headed up to the Col des Fours and I haven’t had a report but Jean R said his Col yesterday was “superb” and I’m sure Andreas will have ‘sniffed’ something out. (Definitions of ‘superb’ can change drastically according to what’s on offer and merci Jean for being appreciative of what we deal with.) I skied some good snow on the front of the Borsat before a little ’skin’ to the Borsat West, which was fantastic. It’s not a huge ski but the snow quality really was excellent. (Thomas and Henry took it easy and didn’t ski today.) Gill took Katie out to the Nursery Slopes this morning and Katie skied the poma 9 times on her own, much to the delight of Millie who is very proud of her little sister. On the sports front, what a win for Liverpool who seem to have found another gear and are putting a fright up the Man U supporters. I still think United’s game in hand will make the difference and they’ll hold on for the title. Meanwhile, bad news for Newcastle fans! They couldn’t really go down, could they! Stay tuned as we enjoy the last of the sunshine before getting some much needed snow and a new canvas to work with.

March 21st.
Fortunately the wind died down and the skies cleared leaving us with another sunny day, but it was much cooler. No new snow fell overnight but that really wasn’t a surprise and was always just wishful thinking. We had another cracking good day out of nothing this morning as Chris and I ‘skinned’ up to look for ‘scraps’ over the Col des Fours. When we arrived it looked a little rough but we managed good strips of frisset top-to-bottom. I then ‘skinned’ over the second little Col and had really good snow there as well. Ian N thoroughly enjoyed the trip and it capped off a great week for him. Thomas had an initiation group including Sharon’s husband and they ‘skinned’ to the always scenic Glacier Pers. Andreas joined him with John D and all in all it was another top result. Katie took another big step forward with her skiing today as she skied the Grand Pre on her own and she’s extremely proud of herself. Congratulations to Fred and Liz on their 45th wedding anniversary and apparently it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow so I’m in trouble! Thankfully another sunny day is in store for tomorrow with some snow mid-week.

Sports Report- All eyes are on the rugby this afternoon as Jean R is planning on watching all three games. I was happy with the Hammers point away while United fans are starting to get nervous. Speaking of nervous, Stocky will be feeling the heat as Boro are now in big, big, trouble after losing to Stoke. Chelsea blew their chance of chasing down Man U and it’s looking like it’s all up to Liverpool to keep it interesting. And well done Ireland for winning the Grand Slam for the first time since 1945-or-so. TF2 switched to their news broadcast leaving us unaware of what happened during the final 20 minutes.

March 20th.
It was much colder this morning and with the wind chilling it down Jean R was wishing he hadn’t left his hat at home. Still, we stayed out of the wind for the most part skiing an excellent Lavachet way out to the right where I haven’t been in years, followed by a good Sachette. I had Jules M with me along with her friend Annie G, and it was great to ski with Jules again after about five years. (She’s been swanning about in Verbier, naughty girl!) Meanwhile Thomas ‘skinned’ up to the Col des Fours for another good result and Chris had a day in Italy doing the piste-and-pasta-thing. He had Arlette along and it was nice to have her skiing with us again. Andreas took the day off and sugared-off for a game of golf where he shot 3-over par with a mulligan on the first. (You can hardly begrudge a guy a mullie on the first hole of the season can you?) Henry kept his life in order with one of his once-a-week ‘admin’ days. Good going Henry as my ‘admin’ life is a total mess! Anyway, clouds rolled in an we may see a few flakes of snow tonight, which would be very welcome indeed.

March 19th.
Blue was the colour again today as the sun continued to beat down for about the seventh consecutive day. Chris went off for an old fashioned Tour de Tarentaise, but I haven’t yet heard how he got on. Andreas had an initiation group and skied Tignes-way looking for gently pisted off-piste while Henry skied in Tignes as well. Thomas had a great day after ’skinning’ up to the Lores and skied lovely frisset top to bottom. Bravo Thomas! I took my team up to the trusted Glacier Pers and the only tracks were my group’s from a few days back, and it was very good again. It wasn’t dead easy everywhere but plenty ski-able and Clive picked up a ’skier of the morning’ award. Henry made an interesting comment at the Gourmandine this morning about the on-going discussion about the Ski Club. Apart from the debate about whether their Reps have the experience, knowledge and training to be guiding off-piste or not, Henry mentioned how often he has seen un-professional behaviour off-piste by so-called ‘professionals’. I have to agree with him as I’ve witnessed some incredibly bad ’group management’ over the years by ‘professions’ and I’d like the Ski Club members to know that I do report these stories in this diary. Good point Henry! As for the weather, the north wind started blowing this afternoon and is forecast to continue throughout the night and into tomorrow at 70kph. Bummer as that will ruin some of the north-facing frisset that we’re searching for at the moment.

March 18th.
The sun continued to beat down today but we all still managed to ski powder snow again this morning. Henry went down to Bonneval and had a great day out while Thomas ‘skinned’ up to the Col des Barmes de l’Ours to ski lovely frisset. Chris and I skied excellent snow in the Lavachet before ‘skinning’ out then had really good snow in the Sachette. Andreas also skied the Lavachet and Sache but took it easy on his group and missed out the ‘skinning’. Gill and I skied with Millie and Katie this afternoon and Katie skied her way to a ‘skier of the day’ award as she started turning for the first time. Bravo Katie! We’d like the Ski Club to know that we don’t take any offence to any of their comments and we’re very interested in their debate. Thanks to Mike and Laura for a great meal last night and it was lovely to see Bridget again. (For those of you who don’t know, Bridget was married to Giles Green who was a founding member of Alpine Experience. Giles sadly died of a brain tumour in 1995 and I dedicated my book to his memory) After thinking about Giles the weather seems trivial but another sunny day is forecast for tomorrow with a chance of a few flakes Friday night.

March 17th.
What a great day! Andreas and Henry went down to Ste Foy with some Vikings and Chris and I joined them with our teams and we all had a great ski on the northern side of the Foglietta. We needed to change fall-lines here and there to avoid tracks and winded snow but there were enough clean strips to give us excellent snow (skiers snow in places) and some spring snow to escape on at the bottom. Chrissy creamed it top to bottom and picked up a ‘skier of the morning’ award while Fiona C put in a huge effort on the walk. All in all it was a really good result as the heat-wave continues and only the northern slopes are offering any powder. We stopped in the old village (Le Crot) and enjoyed a wonderful drink of spring water as everyone was thirsty after the hot climb and it was like nectar. Thomas stayed in town and I haven’t had a report from him but I’m sure they had a good time. The sunshine will continue for a few more days with colder temperatures forecast for next week and a few flakes of snow on Saturday night. The Hammers picked up a good point at home last night against last-placed West Brom. They played poorly and are hit with injuries so escaping with a point was a decent result.

PS We’ve had some interesting feed-back about comments made by Andreas and I on March 6th. Here’s Andreas' view of what he saw;

‘At the top of the Signal lift I saw a big group of 12 people with a Ski Club Rep. I thought to myself, ‘surely he’s not going in to Combe de Signal’ but sure enough, they went around the avalanche danger sign and into what we call the “sunny bowl”. It was a complete white out, you could hardly see at all and there where over 50 cm of fresh snow. I was going in to ski a particular line that I trust safe even in those conditions and had very good skiers with me. I had people who I knew and trusted, and I knew their capabilities. It was a morning for people who knew exactly where they were, and even for the experienced it was tough navigating. As I entered the bowl I caught up with the back of the Ski Club group and saw at least 3 or 4 fallen over in the powder as they where all skiing and falling together, which is why I could see them in the flat light! I said something to one of the last members of the group and he justified being there was safe because they had seen guides skiing it before! This is outrageous to me since you can’t make a call on those grounds and a lot about skiing off piste is how you behave and exactly how you ski a certain slope and manage your group, and just because there are tracks doesn’t mean that a slope can’t avalanche!!

The week after I saw another Ski Club Rep in the Familial with 60 cm of fresh, dense snow and once again, people were falling over and struggling. Anyway, as Wayne pointed out, we’ve seen more and more Reps in the off piste, and not just off the side of the piste but in some fairly serious places. I also spotted a Rep leading group of teenagers in a “ski school snake line” at half term, which I captured on video.’

To be a professional in the mountains takes many years of training and experience and the fact that the Reps are taking people off piste and for no cost is disrespectful to the qualified professionals working here, and to the Ski Club Members as well.

We have spoken to many ski school directors and president of the Mountain Guides Association and dear Ski Club member, please don’t think that Alpine Experience is alone in thinking that it has gone a bit too far!

We think the Ski Club is a great organisation. You have done much for the sport of skiing and you organise wonderful trips and information for your members. You have an excellent social guiding service for members, which no one has a problem with and everyone can accept, but only if it remains on the piste and there is no teaching involved.

Any comments from Ski Club Members / Reps / Directors are very welcome! It is a very interesting debate you have going on your website!

March 16th.
It was another stunning day without a cloud in the sky and with snow new snow on the horizon everyone is enjoying the sunshine. We had another great day as Chris’ team laid some excellent ‘Alpine’ tracks on the Col des Fours, which stood out really well from the top of Bellevarde. Thomas and Andreas skied Tignes-way and had a good outing although I’m not too sure what they skied, and Henry was out there somewhere as well. My team ‘skinned’ up to the Glacier Pers to find a trackless mountain, no people, and pretty good snow as well. Even the bottom section had narrow strips of ‘ripples’, which worked quite nicely all the way down. More sun is forecast for tomorrow as we are planning on a trip down to Ste Foy to ski the Foglietta. If I had the energy I’d go to the Pacific to watch the Hammers match tonight, but I’ll probably stay in and watch Gladiator with Gill instead. (Pretty romantic choices there!)

March 15th.
The heat-wave continued today and as Chris had a new group he returned to Mont Roup for another really good ski. It had warmed up a little since yesterday but was still jolly good, and Chris mentioned that after today it will be ‘cooked’. I took my team to Col des Fours and birthday-boy David R did the business in some surprisingly good snow and we had a great ski top to bottom then ‘skinned’ up to the next little Col for some bonus turns. I had a quick ski with Millie this afternoon as some big cumulus clouds rolled in but we’re expecting warm sunny weather again tomorrow. During my brilliant day yesterday I also ran into Bridget (Giles’ wife) and I hadn’t seen her in way too long so we had a nice cuddle on the piste and I’m looking forward to seeing her here in Val d’Isere more often in the future. Thomas also had a great ski down in Ste Foy yesterday on his day off. Stay tuned for news tomorrow as conditions get a little more difficult each day.

March 14th.
Everyone at ‘Alpine’ had an absolutely brilliant day today and I’m really proud of the team for a job well done. With the combination of tracks, wind and heat, our options are limited and good snow isn’t entirely evident, but we took some calculated risks this morning that really paid off. Henry ’skinned’ up to the Cols des Fours with his team and had a great outing, some of which was ’skiers snow’, and his group handled it really well. Andreas had a group of youngsters and they had a couloir session, skiing Couloir#3 off the Balme and Mickey’s Ears, both in excellent snow. Hats off to Jamie, Charlie (4 weeks skiing), and Sanil ( 6 weeks skiing), all of whom really did the business! Chris and I chanced Mont Roup thinking the northern exposures off of east would still be powder, and we had stunning snow top to bottom. We knew no one had skied Mont Roup from the Borsat but didn’t know how many might have arrived from the Grand Pre, and it was wonderful to find only three or four tracks, all of which had gone the wrong way leaving the entire place to us. When we arrived at the top of the Manchet I looked across towards the Crete des Leissieres and spotted some clean snow and was trying to work out how we could get to it when Ray said, “have you noticed the 3000 poma is open” to which I replied, “no, but thanks Ray”. So off we went judging that the snow a little north off the west facing slopes would still be soft . I mentioned to the team that I had better be right or we’d look like a bunch of ass----- standing under the up-and-over chair in sun-crusted snow. Anyway, the snow was still good (just) and the team did a fantastic job skiing down under the watchful gaze of everyone on the chairlift. Chrissy, Ray, De