First day ... clear and sunny, but bitterly cold.
We planned a day at Le Plannay.. to check out the snow conditions and covering. Initially a stop at Areches for skis for Dom, the up to LePlannay ... no problems parking as there was plenty of space.
Up the chair, lift then the second set to the top ... the initial run, showed that the snow was hard packed and little icy in parts, but generally spring snow.
A second go around the top chair and then down to the bottom for food.
The afternoon saw Dom drop out, but the rest of us returned to the top for a couple more runs ... the off piste was very hard, and small sustrugi .. like riding corrugated iron. not a lot of fun, so the piste remained the only viable options.
Back at the bottom we gave up for the day.... no pictures as the cold kept the hands in gloves.
On the way back I stopped into the sports shop in Le Plannay for some new boots. the orange devils had been good but there were a couple of issue , first they did not stop the blisters (the blue ones had only got them later in life) which was one of the prime reasons for changing, and second the forward tilt was a little fierce for an old armchair warrior.. this coupled with the occasional refusal to lock into down hill mode (subsequently solved by Katie - if you undo the top Velcro strap) had annoyed me enough to shop around.
Boots not being something I wanted to take a punt on over the internet, meant trying on a number of pairs. the ones that fits best on my feet (wide, short, high arch) was a strange looking thing with a wire tensioning device on the top of the foot and Velcro and lever leg brace. All in a vivid green colour.
so wallet emptied and the skis in for adjustment (the new boots being much lighter were also shorter and needed a binding adjustment,
We planned a day at Le Plannay.. to check out the snow conditions and covering. Initially a stop at Areches for skis for Dom, the up to LePlannay ... no problems parking as there was plenty of space.
A second go around the top chair and then down to the bottom for food.
The afternoon saw Dom drop out, but the rest of us returned to the top for a couple more runs ... the off piste was very hard, and small sustrugi .. like riding corrugated iron. not a lot of fun, so the piste remained the only viable options.
Back at the bottom we gave up for the day.... no pictures as the cold kept the hands in gloves.
On the way back I stopped into the sports shop in Le Plannay for some new boots. the orange devils had been good but there were a couple of issue , first they did not stop the blisters (the blue ones had only got them later in life) which was one of the prime reasons for changing, and second the forward tilt was a little fierce for an old armchair warrior.. this coupled with the occasional refusal to lock into down hill mode (subsequently solved by Katie - if you undo the top Velcro strap) had annoyed me enough to shop around.
Boots not being something I wanted to take a punt on over the internet, meant trying on a number of pairs. the ones that fits best on my feet (wide, short, high arch) was a strange looking thing with a wire tensioning device on the top of the foot and Velcro and lever leg brace. All in a vivid green colour.
so wallet emptied and the skis in for adjustment (the new boots being much lighter were also shorter and needed a binding adjustment,
