Les Contamines, France

Our last day, as we would go home tomorrow ...  a test to see if we could eat the crowds and have a less stressful drive back.

The weather had turned again, and the sun was back.. buoyed up by the fresh snow form over night we headed out early for the slopes.

Initially the aim was to make the most of the early sun and head over the ridge and down the Hauteluce side, so we dropped down to the junction and picked the first chair up to the ridge.

From the ridge we took the scenic route down the other side - we cut right over tot he Eastern edge and followed the very gentle path down to the main gathering point. Sue was feeling her knee so everything was calm and relaxed.

We took the opportunity for an early drink, before the crowds, on a very nice sunny terrace, taking in the new outlook on the scenery.

From here we made our way back up to the ridge, but not before discussing what we would do next.  Steph was very interested in exploring the long descent from the very top to the bottom drag lift, whereas KT would stay with Sue and take a gentler route.


Back up at the ridge we dropped to the junction and caught the lifts to the very top (3 of them), leaving Sue and KT after two so they could go down the motorways.

Steph and I went up to the very top and I took some photos before we set off. First of the Hauteluce, then from the notch at the top of the off-piste (direct) descent.

Hauteluce side of Les Contamines

Megeve side of the ridge from the viewing notch.

From here we took off ...  straight down the off piste, to the lift change over, then, by-passing the slope where the melt had occurred the days before, to the right, then back on course direct down the gully. It was as we were parallel with the black that Steph finally admitted that her thighs were hurting ...  I had already lost feeling in them several hundred meters above!

A brief pause to get oxygen to the muscles and we were off again, then joining the black for the last section across the tow an down to the drag lift start.

Here we could have gone back up, but the purity of continuing down as we had yesterday all the way to the bottom got the better of us and we kept going ...  almost sliding up the uphill section, and then making the most of the off-piste all the way to the bottom.

We met the others just as we got to the apartment ..  a great final day.