Les Arcs Diary - March Week 1

Saturday 8th/Sunday 9th March

In a change from the usual routine I am getting a lift over with Dave, so I have to get a train down to Portsmouth Harbour where we catch the overnight ferry. Fortunately though storms are predicted the crossing isn't too bad, and we sleep well if only for five hours or so. We land in Le Havre at 8.00am and set off for the Alps. Dave handles all the driving, and I do a poor job of keeping company as I keep dropping off to sleep (between motorway tolls). We arrive in Vallandry at 6.30pm, but although it's dark we can still see there is no snow around in the resort. How hot has it been since I was here three weeks ago? We're too tired to go out, so settle for takeaway pizza and an early night.

Monday 10th March

The early night hadn't solved our travel fatigue, so it's 12.30 by the time we set out. There is plenty of cloud cover but no sign of snowfall and it's pretty warm. As we head up on the 74 and Derby (the replacement for 69) lifts it is shocking to see the lack of snow cover off piste. I don't think I've seen it so bad for a long time, mind you I've been lucky with the snow the last few seasons. There is going to need to be a serious dump. We take it easy as Dave is nursing an injured right ankle, sustained on his trip to Fernie in February. As we are on our last run the snow starts falling, it's very light but it's a start. We pop into the Blanc for a couple of apres ski beers and see a very ill looking Alison and Tracker. A big seasonnaires party at The Vache last night is to blame. The snow starts coming down thick and fast, and by 7.00pm when we go to the shops the village is transformed with two inches of snow down already. In the evening we go to the Squirrel Bar for quiz night, and team up with Brynn. A good night, though our pooled knowledge leaves something to be desired! Where's Ben when you need him. We didn't stay long after the quiz though, the snow was still falling and the first powder day for five weeks lay ahead.

Tuesday 11th March

Dave and I head up to the Mont Blanc for 9.00am, passing cars covered in snow several inches deep. A crew gathers and is on the 74 lift as soon as it opens - Tracker, Toby, Kim, Anna, Josh, Alison and Brynn from the Blanc. The conditions look fantastic, confirmed by a boarder passing below us at the top of Aigle without making a sound as he makes first tracks. The sound of silence. By the time Dave, Brynn and I are off the lift and strapped up the others have set off in the direction of Plan Peisey. Unfortunately I lose sight of Brynn and Dave and don't see them pass me while I wait at the lift. As they head off after the others I ride over to the Derby to find them. A bit of telephone text tag ensues, but when I catch up with them at the top of the Derby we do the off piste off the back, catching up with the rest of the group plus Tara, April, Jo and Izzy from the Blanc and others. The group swells to around twenty, and we stick together for a few tree runs down off 69. Eventually the group splits up, and Dave and I find ourselves with Tracker and Izzy, both very good skiers, Anna and a boarder called Tim. We do a few runs off the black from Derby. They are very challenging, deep undulating powder in a series of crests and bowls tackled at high speed. Anna keeps us entertained with some spectacular stacks along the way. Then it's back to the Blanc at midday for an early lunch.

Dave and I go out on our own after lunch, but the hard riding of the morning has aggravated our injuries and the pistes have become chopped up. Every bump I hit causes a flash of pain in my knee, and as the visibility goes it becomes hard to avoid them. We stop for a hot chocolate and rum at the Blanche Muree on the mountain, and decide to call it a day. A quite evening in the Blanc and an early night rounds off the day, only spoiled by the snowfall turning to rain in the evening. Strangely it is raining despite feeling pretty cold, hopefully it is snowing higher up the mountain.

Wednesday 12th March

I'm often asked by people who don't do winter sports what I do when it doesn't snow. Of course powder days are great, but so is charging around the pistes or messing about pulling tricks in the slushy snow that results when you get hot spells in March and April. It's all good. Except days like this.

We wake to find the rain has destroyed a lot of the snow at resort level, and the grey skies promise poor visibility on the mountain. We're in no rush to go out, so sit around taking turns to ice our injuries with a packet of frozen haricot verts.

Thursday 13th March

We're up early as we have decided to spend the day in Tignes. Tignes is a higher resort (Tignes Le Lac, where I stayed in 2004, is about 500m higher than Vallandry) and according to internet reports had snow yesterday, not rain.It's a 50 minute drive there and we find excellent conditions, despite it being very warm under the clear blue skies. The afternoon is spent entirely off piste. We start with the Chardonnay bowl, which looks heavily tracked but is a good run. From the top of the next lift I spot an off piste route from the Aguille Percee, a couple of kilometres awaythat nobody has done. Dave thinks there must be a reason but we take a look, and it turns out to be great. So great we do it three times before calling it a day. We have spent the entire trip on one small part of the mountain, resulting in me getting sunburnt on only one side of my face! But it's been a good day. On the way back we pick up some supplies and I cook us a chilli, before we join Jan and Pippa in Jimmy's Bar where palns are made for the next day's riding.

Friday 14th March

Dave and I meet up with Jan for some riding from mid morning. The snow is surprisingly good after the rain, on and off pisteThere are plenty of tracks down the Grieve, though a couple of big slides too. We spend our time jibbing around. Jan works on his front flips, Dave on his 180s and I pull off some 360s without carving off big lips, using my upper body to force the spin, a first for me It's also my first time out on my new board - a Ride Kink - that I have bought especially for pulling tricks. Jan leaves us at lunchtime and we spend the rest of the afternoon on Renard filming each other and working on our freestyle tricks. It's truly spring conditions, very warm and slushy snow, and great fun.