Les Arcs Diary - Week 9

Saturday 28th February

Paul and Dave take me over to Tignes. Dave is joining his girlfirend Debbie and friends for a week's holiday and I want to board with the boys for another day before Paul returns on Sunday. I still have a bed in the apartment but I'm not sure how long I'll stay. Conditions aren't as nice as in Les Arcs as there hasn't been much snow here last week, but the pistes are empty and it is nice to race down without fear of taking someone out. Good to be back and see everyone.

Friday 27th February

Paul, Dave and I drive over to St. Foy for an afternoon's boarding. It is a new resort for us, a tiny place with only three chairlifts but renowned for huge amounts of off piste. As it was snowing most of yesterday it is an ideal time to go and we have a great time in the powder. There are no queues, which makes a nice change after the last three weeks in Les Arcs. Stay overin their apartment in Bourg St. Maurice.

Thursday 26th February

Paul and Dave arrive for a short stay in Les Arcs and it starts snowing. We get in a good afternoon's boarding as the pistes are quiet, though it is snowing on and off and we can't see where we are going! Pop in to Oxygene bar in Plan Peisey after dinner, only to find it is drum and bass night again. The place is busy as the usual Mont Blanc crowd turn up in force, and Paul and I end up having a late one.

Wednesday 25th February

I am forced to take the morning off to recover from the usual Tuesday night excesses, and take Matt on an off piste mission to take advantage of the fresh snowfall. Only 5cm in Vallandry but plenty more higher up. We do the bowl under the 69 lift, some tree runs and some stuff in 1600. Disaster strikes, however, as I miss the last Arpette lift and cannot get up the mountain for the usual route home. I have to traverse all the way across Arcs 1800 to Vallandry, with a fair bit of walking involved. Just make it back for dinner, completely knackered. Go to the Blanc in the evening to see Ralph, who was the rep last season and is over from Meribel for a visit. the place is packed for drum and bass night and I end up staying until closing at 2am.

Tuesday 24th February

I join a dozen of the Planet Subzero crew, many of whom I haven't riden with before, for a trip to La Plagne. Plenty of fresh snow has fallen overnight and we reckon it will get tracked out slower over there. And we're right! The group splits and I end up with Graeme. We find some fantastic off piste after hiking up a narrow ridge for half an hour, a fifteen minute run making fresh tracks. Awesome. Then take a closed piste down to Champany to meet Matt. Great at the top, unpisted and like a boarder cross course, but there is literally no snow at the bottom and we end up walking. That's snowboarding! It is my mate Troy's last karaoke night and then onto the Marlu.It's board hard, play hard!

Monday 23rd February

I waste the afternoon with a futile journey to Arcs 1800 in an attempt to persuade the only hairdresser around to relax my hair. End up having to do it myself. The small amount of fresh snow makes for very choppy pistes but for the first time in weeks I can get some tree runs in. I have a quiet evening in the Blanc with Jess and Danni the Nanny, watching Danni trying to chat up a very reluctant Graeme from one of the Planet Subzero chalets. It's his birthday, he's drunk, but he's still not interested! Meanwhile, the snow is falling again.

Sunday 22nd February

I wake up with very sore thighs, the legacy of the 45 minute, 450m in height, walk back up from Peisey last night. I ride in the afternoon with Tony, the new kitchen assistant at the Blanc. We go over to the Snow Park, meeting Tristan in Arcs 2000 on the way. It's only my second visit, but I do the red jumps again and have a go at a rail (didn't do it but at least I didn't fall and hurt myself - I'm no good at rails). The snow is very sticky and wearing thin and yestarday's wind has blown in sand from the Sahara! There are brown patches all over the place. We desperately need a big snowfall. And guess what - overnight we get some. Not much, but some.