Best and last of the season.......

Finally, the high pressure arrived giving us the best weather of the whole season. Blue skies and perfect snow conditions at last! This has to have been one of the poorest winters for getting out and about since we started coming out here for the season in 2001.

The good weather coincided with me using my new cross country skis for the first time. The skis are a bit shorter and wider than the old ones so they took a bit of getting used to - but I've persevered. The problem with this kind of skiing is that I find the skis are less stable and harder to control than downhill skis. Consequently I find myself feeling anxious and having the wobbles far more often than is necessary. At the end of the day I feel as though I've 'got away with it' again - until the next time! Great exercise though especially for my feet and arms which usually do quite a lot of the work.

{First time on the snow}

{Approaching the first corner....}

As the weather improved so did the snow pack so that the avalanche warnings lessened and I felt I could safely go out on the snow shoes. This involves a whole different set of muscles than skiing. By the end of a session my calves ache a little and I'm glad to finally stop the 'stomping'. I stick to well used routes as I'm usually on my own for this.

{Peaceful lunchtime resting my legs}

{Didn't risk this slope - I could see how unstable it was}

{Warning signs to help...}

The downhill skiing in the past ten days has been particularly good. Longer days mean brighter sunshine and the views are magnificent. We have had to start earlier so that when the snow softens we can come home. Old legs don't really like soft snow conditions! Much too much like hard work.

{At the top of a tow at Ceillac}

{Blue sky and snowy mountain tops.....perfect!}

Packing up to come home to Scotland now. I'm going south first though for a bit of a recce of the area around Greoux les Bains in Provence. There's an HF lead coming up for me there in April and I'm going to have a look at some of the walks I'll be doing. If I can, I'll post some of the routes here.

All good training for the Challenge in May!

At last, a blue sky day.......

Downhill skiing on my own isn't something I normally aim to do but, up to this morning, it had been two weeks since the weather has been good enough and more importantly, the roads had been clear enough, for me to set out for any of the ski resorts in the Queyras.

After the last three days which have been particularly miserable with snow and sleet almost all the time I could hardly believe the blue sky which greeted me this morning.

{The view from the windows this morning}

As the van hadn't been moved since Sunday morning I knew the first job (after breakfast, of course) was to dig it out from about 50 cms of snow plus the stuff the snowplough had pushed up beside the wheels. This took me about 45 minutes of work. Fortunately the snow was quite light and hadn't frozen into heavy lumps this time.

Then I sorted my rucksack, made some lunch, packed my ski boots and for good measure, threw in my snowshoes too. I gingerly drove down the hill; the road was still mostly white and a bit crusty in places. As I made my way along the main road into the Queyras I was extremely grateful for 4 wheel drive and the winter tyres!

I decided to go to Arvieux - it's the nearest resort without too much climbing on dodgy roads. Arriving without any problems, I set off to ski the runs at the top of the hill. There was loads of fresh snow - it had all been pisted but was still quite soft and loose in places. This makes for skiing which is slow but can be hard work and a bit 'catchy' on the edges. I managed about six runs in all before my legs began to protest - they haven't done much work lately after all!

{Heading downhill}

{The main tows - not exactly busy!}

The whole resort was very quiet. It won't be like this next week - the school holidays begin this weekend coming! I had parked in the small car park near the bottom of the pistes. The sun was still shining and I decided to take off the skis and drive further on to the car park at the bottom of the road to the col d'Izoard. The road is shut this time of the year and should be pisted for cross country and snowshoes.

I had my lunch in this other car park, sitting on a camping chair in the sun. A rash decision was made to put on the snowshoes and attempt to walk up the road towards the place they call 'La Casse Deserte' on the way to the col.

{Borrowed this photo of la Casse Deserte}

As you can see from the photo above this is quite an amazing place and I fancied seeing it in its winter garb. The sign told me it was 5 kms of snowshoeing to reach it. I set off but it wasn't long before I had to stop and take off my jacket. The climbing wasn't too bad but after an hour and a half I still had not reached the end of the walk. The sun was threatening to drop behind the mountains so I turned round and went back down - just reaching the van as the light changed.

{The start of the col d'Izoard road}

{Brilliant conditions, fresh snow, blue sky and no wind}

It's quite a popular route. I saw several skiers who passed me on their way down, a whole group of snowshoers, and a couple of walkers. When I got home I checked the map and there was probably only about a kilometre left to climb when I turned back.

{Looking back down to the village and the downhill skiing}

 The walk had taken me about two and a half hours. It was possibly another half an hour to get to where the piste stops and you can look down at la Casse Deserte. If I hadn't been downhill skiing first I would have had more time and more energy. But it was most enjoyable. Perhaps when my new cross country skis arrive I'll try them out on this route.

Next time I'll run the Viewranger to keep track of where I've got to - the signs weren't much help - they all said 5 kms!

{Signpost - repeated all the way up the piste}

Playing catch-up.....

Oh dear, it's been a while since I sat down to write anything here. Not deliberate, but I have been busy doing things. Plenty of walks in December, by myself, with Louise and with the Friday walking group. Some decisions were made about what to take on the Challenge in May - although I constantly keep changing my mind (well, I am a Libran) so I won't write about it until I've properly decided.

Christmas was spent in the Alps. It was really dreich weather and so the skiing didn't get going until after that. The snow is a bit wet at the moment and the avalanche warnings have been somewhere between 3 and 4 for the past two weeks. There's enough to downhill ski on and there have been some good days in the limited sunshine of early January.

I have shelled out for a season pass for the x-c skiing too. It's a good way to make me go and do it! Had a second day out yesterday even though the snow was a bit hard and icy. I have been looking to buy some more cross country skis, the ones I'm using are probably 20 years old, and I find them rather long. I know they're supposed to be long but there are some available now that are slightly wider so it's possible to use a shorter length. Keeping a snow plough with the longer skis puts a strain on my knees that I can do without!

After the last post I wrote about the Inov-8 shoes I reconsidered the wear and tear and decided to contact Inov-8 to find out if this was a problem they know about. In response, they sent me a leaflet about lacing shoes properly. However, an arrangement was made with the retailer (outside.co.uk) and I sent off my shoes for Inov-8 to look at. I then got a full refund as they said they were 'faulty' but unfortunately they didn't answer my question about the shoes. I still have the second pair I bought more recently and I'm pondering whether to wear them for the Challenge or not. If I can keep my pack weight down, even try to lose a few pounds from my body weight (!), then they may be ok.

One of various problems I'm having with my computer is that most of the time it won't read my camera's SD card so there are no photos for the moment. If I can get it all to work without the gremlins I'll post them up later......... That's the photos not the gremlins......

In the meantime - Happy 2014 to everyone.......

Last week of the Season....

Today is the last day of skiing in the resorts of the Queyras. The weather this week has been mixed, several days of snow, sleet then rain, along with a few of the best day's skiing this season....

{View from St Veran}

We tried a picnic with some skiing......

{Favourite picnic bench}

Then some skiing with a picnic......

{As high as you can get skiing in the Queyras}

The skis are packed away now and the ferry is booked........

{Over St Veran}

I'm bringing the snowshoes home - I believe I might be needing them......

Oooops!......

I was preparing a post to herald the arrival of Spring........a foolish thought, as it transpired! I'd been listing (in my head) the various signs; the fisherman, the lycra-clad cyclists, the bush burning, the crocuses, the birds in brighter colours, and so on.....

For forty-eight hours we were treated to temperatures which never rose above freezing, a strong gusty wind, and heavy, heavy, persistent snowfall. Just before the weekend we had been skiing happily on really good snow and at home, watching the crocuses popping their heads up into the increasingly warm sunshine......

{The view from the window....}

{Driving might be difficult - that's the road....}

On Tuesday morning we emerged, dug our way out of the house, freed up the van and drove off to sample some new snow - more than 80 centimetres had fallen! The problem with new snow is that once the sun touches it, it turns rather soft and heavy making it harder work to ski.  We only managed a few runs and a coffee before heading back home.

{More digging required...}

{Finally - blue sky, sunshine and gorgeous fresh snow....}

We weren't the only ones confused by the sudden reversion to Winter. On our way home from the afternoon's skiing we came across a badger on the road. He'd either been hit by a vehicle or was just terrified and half asleep but he didn't move very far from me. Eventually we thought it best to leave him. 

{A confused badger...}

Catching up.....

More than two weeks of mayhem with the family has landed us neatly into French School Holiday time. Last week's  invasion from Marseille was just the start of it........

{From the cafe at Molines - chairlift full, and proper queues...}

If you're used to skiing in the larger resorts then this probably looks quite quiet but I can assure you that normally there are no queues here.

The bizarre thing is that even the retired or those without children at school still choose to take their holidays during this month of madness. At Ceillac a couple of days ago we chatted to a French couple with a holiday apartment in the village. They had come from Valence where they lived after retiring. They were very knowledgeable about Scotland as they had a daughter who had worked in Aberdeen. They weren't skiers but had been walking. I did ask myself why they had chosen to come during such a busy time.

Of course, during this month everything operates at full throttle - supermarkets are open longer, restaurants spring up everywhere, there are plenty of non-skiing activities to try. On the down side, the roads are busy, the shops are crowded and the prices go up!

{Waiting patiently behind the wheel.......}

Our skiing days are now confined to arriving at the car park around mid-day - when quite a few leave for lunch. The pistes are emptier until just after 2 p.m. when the hordes return. We stop for our picnic lunch while they get themselves organised on the chair-lift, in ski classes or go up the drag lifts. After that we join them on the slopes, trying to avoid any crowded parts. It's amazing how used you get to skiing on more or less empty pistes!

{At Ceillac, finding a good view at lunchtime}

There are loads of cleaning and tidying jobs to do around the house after our visitors from Shanghai have gone. Both children loved the skiing and their parents had time to relax. They all enjoyed the fresh air and lack of pollution in the Alps. I haven't downloaded all the photos yet but here's a sample......

{Playing in the Igloo at Abries....}

{Brodie confidently on the tow...}

{Maree trying to beat Mum down the hill....}

Time to load the washing machine....again!

Whatever the weather..............

The local weather forecast has been promising snowfall for a few days now. There's been a sprinkle overnight from time to time but nothing serious. The last couple of days were not entirely sunny but we downhill skied anyway - until the light failed in the afternoon and we went home early.

On our self-imposed 'healthy' diet sandwiches are forbidden, so I have been racking my brains to come up with alternative lunches. As the temperature is still low the food we choose has to be hot - hence the new toys! So far I've invented spicy rice, mexican bean stew and various curried vegetable dishes.

{New toy - the food flask}

Two flasks were dispatched quickly courtesy of an ebay seller and they work very well. The little spoon lives in the top of the lid. Very neat.

However, even a hot flask of food couldn't tempt us to ski in a thick, cold mist yesterday so we had our first walk out on the snowshoes instead.  I think we went further than we meant to - but it was good exercise. There was quite a lot of snow in the valley at Ceillac and it took us a long time to find a tree to huddle under to eat our lunch. Our food was still hot enough to enjoy though.

{Bit gloomy but still magical...}

Lunches in mountain restaurants are restricted to Saturday only - partly on health grounds and also because of the cost. Eating out every day on a ski holiday for a week is part of the fun but as we're expecting to be here for most of the season it could get very expensive.

{Our lunch venue last Saturday - Abries - double click to read the menu}

After the meal we had at Abries last Saturday it might be my chosen restaurant for the rest of the season. A courgette, goat's cheese and mint tart with side salad and chips was delicious and there were other choices for vegetarians too - most unusual in France.....

Unfortunately the predicted poor weather has really arrived today. A small amount of snow has fallen here and probably much more at the ski resorts. The snowshoeing yesterday was quite strenuous for my shoulder and I could feel it this morning so a day at home catching up with the washing and hoovering was a good option.

{Resting snowshoes...}

Just us.......

After the Christmas holidays things get quiet around here. The small village ski resorts we go to don't get very busy except during the February school holidays and they don't have enough beds for huge numbers of tourists. So our first week of skiing has been without any queues for tows or chairlifts and some gorgeous well-groomed slopes. The weather has been kind too. Blue sky and sunshine......

{Saturday afternoon at Molines - coffee time}

Most of the resorts now have at least a couple of snow cannon to augment the natural snow fall. There was a  reasonably big dump of snow in December and the temperatures have been quite low - so a good base is there.

{From the top at Arvieux}

The advantage of skiing on an empty piste is the freedom to turn or stop whenever and wherever you like - it's a great privilege! My arm/shoulder has been reasonably ok with the extra exercise. Just a bit of an ache in the evening. There are two major worries - if I fall or get bumped and getting on and off the poma lifts. I can do the lifts with my left arm (just) although I've had to adjust my balance a little.

{Last run - down another empty slope!}

The biggest pleasure has been the prevalence of  DAYLGHT which was sadly lacking in Scotland.

Flash-back to Winter.................at last!

Although still somewhat tender, The Toe is now able to spend a couple of hours (including Lunch - of course) in a ski boot.  So off we went for a long overdue last bit of skiing for this year.

The Queyras ski de fond has all closed this week but the downhill ski resorts (particularly Ceillac) are still open until the end of this coming weekend. 

Ceillac was just a tad parky (not least 'cos I didn't put on my long-johns) but the snow was pretty good for this time of the season so we had a great time until the un-used muscles protested and we came back home...........

We were entertained by a large group of French late-holiday-makers singing songs and enjoying the sunshine, all through lunch. Other than the group already mentioned there were very few people on the snow so we had the pistes to ourselves.

We'll probably go back and do it again tomorrow..............

Introducing....my new rucksack!

Until this year I have always used a small Vango rucksack for my winter activities. I've probably had it since about 2001 - and it's been well-used (and abused!). Sadly it's reaching the end of its life - the material is rather sun damaged and the tags on the zips have ripped off. It has no pocket for carrying a water bladder - which I now would rather do than take a bottle. This season I've been using it for leaving our packed lunch at the bottom of the pistes instead of carrying it all morning.

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed in the photo (previous post) I was using a yellow Deuter sack for x-country skiing - but it's not ideal. It's really my summer walking sack as it has a mesh back and is marked as carrying 15L.  While skiing I found it wasn't comfortable - the back is away from me so the bag tends to swing unless I tighten it up hard. Then I found my arms felt rather constrained and occasionally snagged on the bag. It also doesn't have quite enough room for all the extras I need in colder weather.

So I did a lot of research and found the Deuter Speedlite 20.  Wiggle.co.uk were prepared to send it here for no extra charge (FREE delivery!). I sent for the black version.

I've used it now a few times and I'm impressed. All my other rucksacks have mesh backs with one notable exception - I'll come to that later...... This has a padded back and therefore carries closer to me. It also has no pocket/top lid covering the body of the bag. There is a small zipped pocket though - useful for my purse, tissues, keys, etc. The zippers all have big loops on them for opening with gloves on. It should take 20L of stuff and has a large bladder pocket inside. It weighs about 530g, so it's lighter than my walking rucksack.

{Small top pocket has a useful key tab inside it}

One of its best features are the double compression straps on the sides. They are arranged so they can also be clipped together across the body of the bag. This means you can carry skis or snowshoes easily.

{Carrying snowshoes easily and safely on the outside of the pack.}

I'm also impressed with two other features - the hydration tube outlet which is not on the top of the bag but further round so minimising the length of the tube exposed to the elements. I do use a neoprene cover, put the tube under, not over, my arm if it's freezing temperatures and blow back the water into the bag every time, all help to stop the tube icing up. There's a velcro tab on the front shoulder strap to secure the tube for drinking.

{Low exit for the hydration tube}

The other feature I particularly like is the tapered shape so there is no chance of catching the bag with my arms. There are also four tabs on the front where you could attach a extra carrier (e.g. for a helmet) so it might make a good cycling or downhill skiing sack too.

{One of the four tabs arranged on the front for attaching extras}

Apart from two stretchy pockets at the sides of the bag there is also a 'kangaroo' type pocket on the front through which a jacket would go or could carry a map, gaiters, snacks etc.

{Sun cream bottle in the kangaroo pocket which is behind the front of the bag}

The rucksack seems well made and well designed. As you can tell I'm pleased with the purchase and hope to get a few years of good use out of it.

I mentioned the other rucksack I have which doesn't have a mesh back - that is my new backpacking one from Granite Gear. I hope I can get on with that just as well. It's waiting patiently at home for me to give it its first real outing.

Making the best of it.............

The Toe is still not healed - so no downhill skiing for three weeks has meant a lot of time for me to do some x-country and a bit of snowshoeing. Unfortunately for the snowsports, the increasingly warm weather has made ice and mush where there was lovely powdery snow before. We're now approaching the end of the second week of daytime temperatures around 18 to 20 degrees. The overnight temperatures have also risen and sometimes are barely below freezing. All this means the end of the ski season seems to be arriving a bit early this year.

HI kindly offered to take me to where I wanted to ski and wait in the sun with a book for me to do a couple of hours on the snow. I have taken him up on the offer otherwise he would be sitting in the house with no transport while I went away to enjoy the day! Some days we have had a packed lunch and others we have found a reasonable restaurant to have lunch together.

{That's me - disappearing into the distance...}

I've been trying to visit a different cross-country skiing venue each time. Now with the deterioration of the snow it's becoming difficult to find good pistes. I'm not keen on the icy bits!

Other days we decide to do something together - this gives my toes a rest (they tend to get bruised in the x-c ski boots) and lets us explore the area more fully. On one of these visits we went to look at the lake that I spent so many days walking around in the summer last year - Serre Poncon.  The water level is really low, possibly the lowest I have ever seen it. The island with the little church on was completely exposed from the water - there were even some people on it, having walked across the mud. The only way to get to it in summer is to use a boat.

{Chapelle de Saint-Michel - on its tiny island of mud}

On the other side of the lake, there is an interesting site, geologically. The action of water on the hillsides has left tall pillars of earth, protected by a harder rock on the top. These pillars are called 'demoiselles coffees' and occur in various sites throughout this area. We went to have a closer look at a group of them. Unfortunately we didn't take the microspikes and walking up to them was too icy without. We took some photos though.

{The information board}

{The young ladies with their fancy hair!}

Queyras Regional Park.........

While I'm here in France I often write up my trips to the Queyras Regional Park. From the house here, we are looking straight over the Fort at Mont Dauphin and east towards the park.

There are four main downhill skiing areas in the park - Ceillac, Arvieux, Abries, Molines/St-Veran. There is also a smaller area at Aiguilles. For x-country skiing there are tracked routes at Ceillac, Arvieux and between Abries and Molines/St-Veran. It is also possible to ski some of the forest tracks if the snow conditions are good.

{A simple map to show the area}

Throughout the park there are plenty of walking paths and mountain routes, usually signposted, along with Refuges and campsites.  The villages are very old; the houses typically built with wood (usually larch) and stone.

Just thought I'd give you a better idea of the area...........

Slipping and sliding......

After a night of wet snow the road was frozen to a kind of choppy ice-rink. We set off gingerly to walk to the van, which due to the snow forecast we had parked more off the road than usual, allowing the plough to get past.

{Not good for driving - or walking!}

I had had to put on my microspikes and John's new 'stabilicers lite' were getting their first outing! Both enabled us to make a safe passage across the ice. Then, as we backed onto the road in the van we hoped the neighbour (Sylvie) wasn't going to appear round the corner - of course, she did! However, all was 'cool' and we were invited to her birthday 'soiree' in the evening!

{White roads all the way to Molines}

We had a good time skiing at Molines/St.Veran where they have installed a new chairlift replacing two rather ancient drag lifts. The new lift has one of those 'magic carpet' starts which is rather alarming especially as the chair comes quickly at your legs and knocks them away forcing you to sit down! I have a bruise to prove it!

One of the downsides of the chaotic leaving of the house had been that I had somehow forgotten the sandwich bag - so it would have to be lunch out again!

'Sorry, the pizza's off' meant another plate of chips for me - it's a hard life!

{Chips - again!}