31 December 2018

Megeve, France

Second day no KT today but four of us headed out ... slightly earlier and with the weather much the same as yesterday we set off to explore a little further on the Portes du Mont Blanc ski area.
starting off in exactly the same way and following much the route from yesterday we made our way over to the top of the Pres lift.
From here we dropped down the red motorway (all these runs were in the same conditions of hard packed snow with some accumulations of powder later in the day, and equally the more icy patches to compensate.
Back up the Jouty lift and down to the right on much the same to ride the Pertuis lift back up ...  then having spotted some steeper elements slightly further right repeated the lift. Any further descent from  here to the valley was quickly dismissed when we saw the extent (or lack of) the snow coverage on the tracks.
Lunch at the picnic spot on the top here, but the sun hid behind a tree and the wind came across, so rather rushed.
To complete the discovery of the area we took the direct route down to Ravine and back up. I had missed the cut across to the top of Jaillet and we followed a similar way back as yesterday.
Down at Le plan (the bottom station) there was still time on the tickets to have a final go at the direct descent ... this time top to bottom on the direct route starting to the left.
Back at the van warming up and avoiding the river underneath. then set off back for tea.


30 December 2018

La Giettaz, France

Leisurely start to the day, as we all needed to find everything and sort out bags ... then heading off to the local lift for an explore and learn about the snow conditions. Sue stayed in the apartment as she had a inkling that the conditions would not suit her.
The valley was in shadow and a little chilly when we arrived, and parked up. the ticket queue was not too onerous and I also had some passes that would work here so that helped as well.
Then up the lift ...  the first section was relatively short, and I managed to fall over on the the chair exit, much to everyone's amusement.
Then up to the top (Le Torraz) and out into the sun shine, however there was a vicious wind blowing (which i should blame for the second failure of the day to exit a chair lift, again to much laughter from the others).
The view over towards Mont Blanc and round to the south was spectacular, even if the main attraction had its head in the clouds.
From this high point it is either a long traverse into the Megeve area or else a drop back into the valley. Heading into the wind and with a tricky start we headed east along the ridge line. A shallow bungey lift and a slightly steeper one we the top of Le Christomet - the top of the Megeve side of things.
From here we dropped down the red (hard packed, wide motorway) and black (hard packed, steeper, but still a motorway) to the base. As lunch was beckoning, we ran up the Pres lift and back down again before heading back to Le Christomet to see if there was somewhere to eat.

Everything was packed out so taking the long blue back to the start point ...  exceedingly cold and in the shade all the way back (memories of the long return at areche). there was little in track side entertainment as well so a long push to the bottom.

Down in the valley the sun had reached the village so we stopped at the first "quick" snack bar, but after 15 mns of getting nowhere we found another restaurant, where the service was slow, but the chips (all 5 portions on one platter) were superb.and well worth the wait.
After lunch it was time to go back up and try out the "direct" descents .. black, steepish an hard packed - first to the left of the lift and then to the right finishing on the red back to the middle station. Finally back down the track to the bottom and the van.
A good start to the week, the snow was better than some years in terms of coverage, but it was very compact and the chilly weather had hardened it even more. The off-piste was like riding a bike on cobbles and lots of sustruggi? effects from the wind, so it was best to make the most of the prepared runs.


28 December 2018

2018 Ski Trip, La Giettaz

Another year, and time for a family trip ..  the only time everyone could make was the week of New Year .. and linking up with Chris and M-J.  Unfortunately Dominique could not make this yar, and Bryon had other things to do that week.
we had booked a leisurely trip out leaving home around 9am and catching a 12 o'clock ferry. Everything was on  time and smooth.

We planed to stay at the F1 in Dole and had 2 rooms booked. apart from trying to find the reservation code on arrival all was uneventful. We even stopped a t a courtpaille at a service station on the A5 for steak and chips.

Saturday morning after filling the flasks and porridge pots we headed off cross country to Geneva...  shorter and more direct but definitely longer in time.

After Geneva it was back on the Autoroutes for a bit and with the pass open the shortest way was via La Clusaz. A short visit to Grand Bornand showed it was completely packed out and we quickly retreated to continue.
la Clusaz was equally rammed, and we kept going over the pass to La Giettaz, spotting the chalet on the way past, but being just after lunch we continued to the ski terminus up the valley ... very cold and dark place, but was fairly well flowing and accessible.
Having not seen any big supermarkets on the way through we dropped down the other side to Usine where we knew of several. Unfortunately there was a diversion on the direct route and we have a detour through the hills for a bit.
As we left the supermarket there was a message from Chris and M-J saying they would arrive about the time we would return, so arranging to meet in the cafe, we set off back - the more direct route as the diversion was only one way.

after a coffee the "immo" guy was around to take the tourist tax and hand over the keys with a little show around. he was panicking about our projected leave time until I offered to drop the keys in the post box.

The biggest issue with the apartment was the non existent parking, so we had to unload on the side of the main road and park around the corner in a lay-by. Other than that all was good and a large common area helped.

the heating system had a strange timer and also the ancient radiators were a little "variable" in efficiency across the elements. The walk to the bakery was about half a kilometer across the fields (helped by the frozen snow conditions) but coming back gave the legs and lungs a work out up the hill.


Trip Time Line
|
|Arrive La Giettaz
La Giettaz|
|Megeve
Grand Mont|
|Croix des Butts
La Clusaz|
|L'Eperon and Le Christomet
Return|