It has been an unusual month! The huge snowfalls that started in November have continued all the way into December, but with unseasonably warm temperatures that have turned the precipitation at lower altitudes into rain, and made the off-piste at higher altitudes heavy – more like skiing in late March. Through all of that we have sought out the good days to explore the mountains and taken a break early in December to join friends for the traditional pre-Christmas week in Val d’Isère.
Let’s start with the pre-Christmas week. This has become a tradition, led by our friend Martin, who has organised an early ski holiday in Val d’Isère every year for nearly quarter of a century. In the early years it was a long weekend, staying in an old and traditional pension called L’Avancher. More recently, we moved to other hotels and chalets, but this year returned to our old haunt – now rebuilt and modernised (including the name – it has dropped the “L” and is now the Avancher). This year was one of the smallest groups yet, just five of us: Martin, Neil, Mike and us two. Unfortunately, the weather was not kind. Despite the early promise of great snow, and a sunny first day, the weather closed in and most of the week was skied in snowy or rainy conditions. Off-piste skiing was limited or non-existent, and we even had to take a day off on the rainiest day. Still, the conditions lent themselves to boozy lunches, if not great skiing. Martin and Mike stayed on with us for an extra day at the end – joining us in our place in Ste Foy – and we skied in the Ste Foy resort with the same snowy weather.
Typically, as soon as our friends left, the weather improved. With the combination of blue skies and fabulous snow underfoot, Cate and I have been on the slopes for a mix of resort skiing in Val d’Isère and off-piste touring routes. We have skied around the Pays Desert above Le Fornet – bumping into Chris and Suzanne from Alpine Experience, and had one of our best days ski touring over the Cols des Fours in beautiful conditions. It was also remarkable to be able to ski these off-piste routes so early in the season; in previous years we have had to wait until late January for any serious touring routes.
Today – the 22nd – is Cate’s birthday. Another poor-weather day, so we have taken a break from skiing and enjoyed a lunch at Le Monal restaurant in the village. Tonight we will celebrate with oysters and champagne, then it will be back to skiing as we gear ourselves up for Christmas. The tree is already decorated and more friends will be joining us for the New Year.