© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
A chance of snow this coming Friday
Busy pistes but still pockets of fresh snow if you skin up hill a little
The weekend started off much better than forecast as on Friday we had a bright sunny day for the most part when we were expecting overcast skies and flat-light.
I was going to head to Tignes for a change of scenery after spending the week around the Charvet, Manchet and Fornet sectors but the Tommeuses chairlift had technical problems and by the time it was repaired there were people everywhere and I decided to go for a ‘skin’ instead to get away from the crowds.
I always go on about starting early during the busy weeks to avoid the crowds but I was still surprised at the difference between the first lift of the morning and a half-hour later when all the ski schools are in full-swing as well as the late starters. It was enough of a mess that I changed my plans and headed to Mont Roup for a 45-minute ‘skin’ that rewarded us with total solitude and pretty jolly good snow as well.
On Saturday night we ate at the Lodge and had an excellent meal. I promised Ellie a ‘restaurant review’ but I didn’t take a camera but I’ll just give you a flavour for the place. It’s run by a great guy called Wally and it’s the type of place that has something for everyone, ranging from pizza’s, steaks, fantastic ribs, salads, spring rolls, frites or gratin, jumbo prawns, duck, soup, pasta and much more and it’s all fairly reasonably priced. The Lodge is the type of place the kids absolutely love, nothing fancy, tasty food with fun staff, and I’d definitely recommend it. Yum!
On Saturday I had my first day off of the season and skied the morning with my wife Gill and two daughters, Millie and Katie, and we started with the Face du Bellevarde, which is a steep east-facing black run that is always superb first thing in the morning when it’s perfectly groomed and not icy. We then skied the ‘L’, which is another great run early in the day before heading up to the Fornet to ski off-piste in the Pays Desert and Vallonnet.
After lunch we skied with Millie’s friend Rosie, who is staying with us and she’s only in her third week of skiing. We skied the afternoon off the Marmottons Express on Bellevarde that services greens, blues and red pistes that are always in great condition. It’s a fast lift and you can pack in a lot of skiing in a short period of time and it’s in the sun during the afternoon.
On Sunday I skied with three gentlemen that I’ve skied with for 30-years! John (79), Jean (76) Richard (68) and I met up at the Gourmandine and skied a mix of piste, off-piste with a twenty-minute ‘skin’ and we also worked on a little technique. We don’t get the chance to ski with each other that often these days and it was really good fun and a real pleasure. Bravo boys!
The forecast calls for full sunshine Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with a partially sunny Thursday and a chance of snow on Friday. That sounds pretty good, especially if we get a little snow on Friday. Have a brilliant week and log-on for another update on Friday.
If you’re a piste skier check out Ollie’s piste reports complete with video and commentary.
Follow more from Wayne in his Daily Diary.
NB. Some of the areas Wayne has been skiing this week are off piste and not suitable to all skiers. Wayne has 35 years experience in these mountains. If you're considering going off piste you should always take a guide with you.
