Julie and I have now been snow boarding in the French Alps twice and yet again we have had brilliant luck. With most airports in London closed due to snow it was hit and miss as to whether we were even going to get to the alps. Julie, Duncan and I were going to the resort of Tignes which is one of the highest and largest ski resorts in the world. There is year round snow due to the glacier at the top which meant no matter what the weather did there would be something to slide down.
Our luck meant we arrived without a hitch on the 20th of December and were not leaving again until boxing day which meant I would be having my first white Christmas. The others were not so lucky and had flights cancelled or delayed but eventually made it after travelling for almost an entire day.
Our luck meant we arrived without a hitch on the 20th of December and were not leaving again until boxing day which meant I would be having my first white Christmas. The others were not so lucky and had flights cancelled or delayed but eventually made it after travelling for almost an entire day.
On arrival it was a mind numbing -20C which was a bit of a shock to the system. When breathing in the moisture in your nose would freeze. My gloves froze so that I could not close my hands. It was even colder with the added wind chill the next day. Luckily we all had balaclava's. If skin was shown to the elements it was instantly red and burnt.
We were staying with the same company, UCPA who we had stayed with two years previous in Flaine. This meant we knew the food, equipment and accommodation would be top quality. To save some money we stayed in a four person dorm. This only lasted one night though as Duncan snored so badly the neighbours came into our room in the middle of the night. Julie and I paid a little more and got a private room of our own for the rest of our stay. I pity the fools who had to stay in his room for a further six nights.
The resort had almost completely opened for the season, however they hadn't had any fresh snow for a week so it was pretty icy. That was of course until we turned up. Every night we were there it snowed. In the morning the snow would stop, visibility would improve revealing endless fresh uncut powder. On two mornings it was complete blue bird skies. Some people even claimed it was better than sex!! Our last day snowboarding was on Christmas day and to really put the icing on the Christmas cake the snow had fallen all Christmas Eve. Four hours in the morning was spent waist deep in powder.
We had lessons almost every day for half the day. Julie can now ride switch down pretty much any slope which is amazing considering it is only her second week snowboarding and she had a broken shoulder. My group basically missioned all over the mountain is search of more powder. I got stuck deep many times so deep that I had to dig down and unclip to get out.
The French celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve as we would on Christmas day itself. They definitely didn't disappoint. Free French champagne and endless supplies of canape's were followed by a huge meal of rare cooked duck with all the trimmings. I developed an unhealthy but extremely satisfying eating obsession which has taken me a considerable amount of time to get over. The rehab has been hard but I am now fully on the road to recovery. 21 buffet meals in 7 days for someone with eyes as big as mine is a deadly combination.
Best wishes and a belated seasons greetings to everyone. I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years Eve.
We hope to see you all soon!!
We were staying with the same company, UCPA who we had stayed with two years previous in Flaine. This meant we knew the food, equipment and accommodation would be top quality. To save some money we stayed in a four person dorm. This only lasted one night though as Duncan snored so badly the neighbours came into our room in the middle of the night. Julie and I paid a little more and got a private room of our own for the rest of our stay. I pity the fools who had to stay in his room for a further six nights.
The resort had almost completely opened for the season, however they hadn't had any fresh snow for a week so it was pretty icy. That was of course until we turned up. Every night we were there it snowed. In the morning the snow would stop, visibility would improve revealing endless fresh uncut powder. On two mornings it was complete blue bird skies. Some people even claimed it was better than sex!! Our last day snowboarding was on Christmas day and to really put the icing on the Christmas cake the snow had fallen all Christmas Eve. Four hours in the morning was spent waist deep in powder.
We had lessons almost every day for half the day. Julie can now ride switch down pretty much any slope which is amazing considering it is only her second week snowboarding and she had a broken shoulder. My group basically missioned all over the mountain is search of more powder. I got stuck deep many times so deep that I had to dig down and unclip to get out.
The French celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve as we would on Christmas day itself. They definitely didn't disappoint. Free French champagne and endless supplies of canape's were followed by a huge meal of rare cooked duck with all the trimmings. I developed an unhealthy but extremely satisfying eating obsession which has taken me a considerable amount of time to get over. The rehab has been hard but I am now fully on the road to recovery. 21 buffet meals in 7 days for someone with eyes as big as mine is a deadly combination.
Best wishes and a belated seasons greetings to everyone. I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years Eve.
We hope to see you all soon!!
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