Les Arcs Diary - March Week 1

Saturday 4th March

The coach arrives in Vallandry at 9.30am, ending a 21 hour journey for me. For once I've got a good seven hours sleep, and wake as we arrive in a snow bound resort. It is still dumping and I am grateful to Tim, who has come out to do some guiding, who helps me get my bags up the hill to the Mont Blanc - especially as the shoulder strap of my board bag breaks on the way. I can't move in to my apartment until the afternoon, so I hole up in the Mont Blanc with Tim drinking coffee and beer. Every now and then the kitchen staff come back from riding telling tales of knee deep powder on piste. it's been the biggest dump in years.

I pick up the keys in the afternoon and drag my stuff down to the apartment, which is just past the shops by the 74 lift. It has a double bedroom and a bunk room, both disappointingly pokey, but the living room/kitchen/dining area is very spacious with a double sofa, well decorated and furnished and a south facing balcony. It should make a comfortable home. Rich and Fiona, who are out for a week, arrive in the evening and we go to The Refuge for dinner

Sunday 5th March

It is still snowing when I meet up with Rich and Fiona. The only lifts running in Vallandry are the 74 lift from the village and 66 lift that serves the begiiner slope, Grive, at the top. The visibility is terrible but there is a huge amount of fresh snow off and on piste. We do the off piste to the left side of Grive over and over again. Its great fun, even if the occasional mishap occurs through not being able to see where we are goig. Dave, who I am sharing the apartment with this month, and Ben who is staying with us this week, arrive from Samoens in the afternoon.

Monday 6th March

It has been snowing most of the night and is still going as we all meet up at the 74 lift, which is very quiet as most of the skiers wait out the storm. All the better for us, as what unfolds is the best day of off piste boarding without hiking I have ever known. After a warm up run back down to Grizzly we drop off piste off the top of La Floret, and down through the trees to 69 just as it opens. We come down the big open face to the left of Belette before it is tracked and back up 69. We meet Tommy at the top, ride the off piste below the lift and stop to watch Djerk from Jimmy's Bar do the huge rock drop under the lift. From there it is onto Access Transarc to do the tree run onto Rhodos and back to the 69 lift. The powder is deep and untracked, the best I've ever known it there. I try the rock drop above Blanche Muree for the first time and land it. We end up in the Mont Blanc for apres-ski, exhausted but exhilarated.

In the evening we go to Arcs 1800 for a night out. It's a forty minute walk via a piste but well worth it as we have a good meal at the Jungle and a couple of beers in Benji's. Ben and I stay behind for a drink at the Red Hot Saloon, and get into some doubles pool action with some very drunk Dutch and English tourists, before being chased down the piste by a bored pisteur on the way home!

Tuesday 7th March

We go for a cruise in Arcs 2000 expecting all the off piste to be tracked out, but I spot a new (to me) off piste run dropping off the Col de la Chal piste to the Grand Col lift down onto the piste below, Plan Des Eaux. It is a short but steep untracked face that I record 38mph down with Dave's GPS gadget - the "hoonometer" - and so much fun we do it three times. The evening sees Rich and Fiona come over for take away pizza, beer and snowboarding DVDs.

Wednesday 8th March

We wake to find it is snowing again and it gets heavier as we get ready to head out. We decide on a change of scene, so after a couple of runs in Vallandry we head over to Arcs 1600. The snow there is even deeper, and although we are a little disappointed that Les Deux Tetes draglift is closed (it takes you to a great off-piste run) we get in a good run down Mont Banc and three great runs down Cachettes. This has great off-piste to the right hand side with rock drops, powder, and lips for jumping back onto the piste. Dave and I practice our backside 180s and buttons. My nine year old goggles die on me, leaking black all down my face and filling up with snow and condensation. I get myself a new pair of very expensive Dragon goggles from Cyrille at Twinner when we get back, my first major purchase of the season.

In the evening we go to the Mont Blanc to eat so that Dave an watch his team Arsenal play Real Madrid. Unfortunately Liverpool are also playing and happen to be the team of bar owner Tracker, and the bar is full of scousers, so Dave is out of luck.

Thursday 9th March

For the time being the snow has stopped and it is a beautiful clear, cold day. We go to Arcs 2000 in the hope of getting up to the Agille Rouge but it is closed whilst they blast the snow to prevent avalanches. Plan B is to get the Combourcie lift at the bottom of Arcs 200 to Arcs 1600, but this is also closed. We end up in a huge queue at the Bois De L'Ours lift to get back to Arcs 1800. A wasted morning, but in the afternoon we build a small kicker off Villards, filming the session on video and digital camera. Afterwards we take in apres-ski at Jimmy's, and gather at mine and Dave's for home cooked three course dinner.

Friday 10th March

We wake to a bright sunny day and fresh powder, as it has snowed overnight again. We all meet up at the 74 lift, by which time it is clouding over. by the time we get off the 69 lift it is snowing again. We head down to the tree runs off Access Transarc and take turns to film each other. Ben, Dave and I all have a go at the rock drop above the Blanche Muree. We ride through lunch to make the most of the empty mountain before going to 1800 for lunch at the Jungle. It snows all the time we are in there, and by the time Ben, Dave and set off for the Transarc it is coming down heavily. Forced off at the mid station we drop into the field next to the Blanche Muree to find a foot of fresh untracked powder.Amazing. Later we all meet up to eat at the Mont Blanc and have a few beers.