Ride Earth

Tom here, checking in from the French Alps. I’m writing this from my cosy flat at the back of a ski shop in the traditional forestry commune of Les Gets, now a thriving ski resort. At least, it is now - last week the resort was officially closed due to a lack of snow. This has been the mildest Alpine winter on record, making the headlines in the UK, where the media have pounced on it as another opportunity for doom-mongery. Don’t go to the Alps! No snow in France! Etc…

There is a point; Colorado supposedly had a recent dump in which 8 feet of snow fell continuously, whereas we were dancing in the streets over the prospect of 30 whole centimetres overnight. Being out here since December, I’ve seen some of the worst snow I thought possible in an Alpine resort. I’ve perfected the art of skiing home on the 5mm of slush on the side of the road. My technique is near perfect on bare ice, fake snow, sugary slopeside scrapings, and all manner of phenomenal types of ’snow’ that it is actually possible to ski on, if you’re desperate. In 2 months, we’ve had a total of 3 real snowfalls in Les Gets - and recently, about 2 weeks of near-continuous rain.

But I can have a few days off the slopes and not get too bothered - after all, it’s sure to improve… this is what I’ve had to tell myself every day up until Wednesday, when the heavens finally opened and a half-metre or so of snow came down overnight and throughout the day. Then it was all systems go, first lift up from Ardent and a morning of joyfully crashing down the tree runs in Les Lindarets, going flying and sliding down the slopes under the snow, getting off-piste in Les Crosets and Arare. I’ve never skied in snow like it, having had a miserably bad run of snow on ski holidays so far. Having to learn the art of powder skiing when you’ve spent solid months on the piste every day is quite an adjustment. I went tips-first into a snowdrift on a steep bit of off-piste and lost my skis for half an hour, having to dig around with a borrowed shovel until I struck them amidst cheers from the boarders who had stopped to offer words of encouragement (and occasional mirth). Later, I followed a local ski instructor along a ridge plateau before dropping down into a very steep and narrow couloir and bouncing off boulders, wondering why there were only 3 sets of tracks in front of me. I repeated the same kind of idiocy yesterday up the Mont Chery side of Les Gets, taking great chunks out of my hired skis on the rocks just below the snow.

There’s no real base layer of snow yet, so the conditions are far from perfect. Another couple of good dumps of snow are what’s needed to transform the place for the rest of the season. I’d rather not go back to the luch greenery I’ve got used to, despite the fact that it would be a cracking place for a good bike ride… ah, I miss my bike. Sigh…

This entry was posted on Friday, January 26th, 2007 at 3:53 pm and is filed under Europe, France. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.