After the first snows in October the weather turned bright and sunny again. We had to buy boot crampons but we were still able to do lots of wonderful walks in the mountains. We were joined, in early November, by Iain who was one of Jonathan’s colleagues in Antartica back in 1999.
Ian was Field GA, taking research scientists out into the Antarctic wilderness and leading trips for those overwintering. He was responsible for keeping everyone safe. Since returning to normal life he has had an amazingly varied career using his climbing skills, training as a tree surgeon, now practising as a Homeopathist and is also a published poet.
The pictures below are of Jono and Ian, firstly in an Antarctic field tent (in 1999!), and secondly on a walk to the Sassière lakes this November.
With Ian accompanying us on our mountain walks we were able to learn even more about our local flora and fauna, Ian naming every tree and bird species. It was almost as though he was enticing the animals to come into view as we saw Chamois, Golden Eagles, Lammergeier, Buzzards, Sparrowhawks and ‘murders’ of Ravens. His knowledge of nature is immense and we had a brilliant time in his company.
We returned to the UK with Ian and hope to see him again, a little sooner than 25 years time! We had a very short trip to the West Country, essentially to attend our colleagues’ retirement party but also managed to visit Anne and Martin in Dartmoor and Anna and Alex in Bath. The party, near St Agnes where we stayed with Claire and Ray, was fantastic fun. There was a fabulous band playing, many of whom are doctors we know well. They were so talented that they kept the crowd dancing all evening. We caught up with so many of our Cornish friends and colleagues with hugs galore. It made us very homesick and we look forward to returning to our Cornish home once we’ve finished our travels.
We’re now back in Ste Foy and enjoying the start of the ski season. Tignes opened on 22nd November and Val d’Isere on the 29th. There’s loads of snow in excellent condition, lots of runs are open and, whilst the weekends were busy, the pistes are almost empty now. We had a great time on the Val opening day with free demos of a huge range of skis. We grabbed the opportunity to try out new touring skis and some really wide all-mountain powder skis – great fun.
In between the piste days we’ve still done a few ‘skins’ in La Rosiere which doesn’t open until the 13th. Meanwhile, today is a rest day as Martin and Jeavon arrive tomorrow, after which we’ll be heading up to stay in a chalet in Val, joining the pre-Christmas group for lots of action on the slopes and, probably, even more in the bars!
