It’s great to be back on the Tour of the Vanoise once more. The weather Outlook is good and we are now at the Col de la Vanoise below the Grande Casse the highest peak in Savoie. Saw Chamois today, edelweiss too. Time for a genepi!
Safety on the Ski Slopes
An interesting article in today’s Dauphine Libere newspaper regarding safety on the pistes.
“Yesterday morning at the court room in Albertville magistrates, lawyers, mayors of ski resorts and piste directors, police discussed and shared their experiences on the issue of regulations in ski areas.
This season has been busy but it’s also finishing with a number of major accients, notably collisions.? There’s been an exponential in severe trauma said a local orthopedic surgeon from Albertville.? An occasion to remind mayors of their need for vigilance on the matter of safety.
If the finger is pointed at the speed of skiers, drunkeness and drug taking has also entered into the debate.? The subject of restaurants and “night clubs” on the pistes has come up with clients leaving on ski in a drunken state.
A number of piste directors have also condemned the theft and damage to safety equipment on the pistes with sometimes dramatic consequences.
The 10 rules of the pistes already exist but who takes the time to read them? asks the legal and financial director of the 3 Valleys Company.? The difficulty is in making people aware in a holiday situation.? People come to relax and are not very receptive to these messages. A team set up to make skiers aware has been set up in Meribel-Mottaret and to talk with dangerous skiers.? A first review has linked this with a reduction in the number of rescues and these patrols have been appreciated by clients.”
This idea will be introduced more widely next year.
You can read the original article in French here.
Snowshoeing above Meribel, Savoie
The amazing spring-like weather continued today when Tim, Christine and I traversed the long ridge starting from Tougnete, via the Montagne de Cherferie and ending near the Col de la Lune. The traverse to the refuge de la Traie took about 4 hours with most of it above 2000m.
The panoramas were outstanding with clear blue skies alllowing a fine view of the Grande Casse, Le Meije, Mont Blanc and the myriad of other mountains.
It was so warm that I was in base layer top for the whole day and the sun was really strong. Once at the refuge Pascal provided a filling lunch and we finished off with some “viperine”.
Avalanches Galore at Champagny-le-Haut, Vanoise
This winter has been exceptional for the amount of snow.? Last night it snowed heavily again and according to the ski patroller at Champagny le -Haut approx 80cm had fallen.? Unsurprisingly with this substantial fall and a rise in temperature forecast most of the ski de fond pistes were closed.
We did a few circuits on the limited pistes open before going for a wee stroll.? Every now and again there was a roaring sound as another avalanche thundered over the cliffs on the south-facing slopes.? The avalanches ran out of steam when they hit the flat ground at the valley bottom.? Most of them appeared to be “full depth” i.e. the snow had slid on the underlying ground, in this case grassy slopes, and the snow was relatively damp so none of them went airborne as would a dry powder snow avalanche.
The small hamlets at Champagny were well plastered with at least a metre of snow on the roofs.
Ski lift staff at Meribel, Savoie on strike today
I passed a group of striking ski lift operators whilst in Meribel today.
They are protesting about job insecurity and the level of their wages.? This is probably true for many seasonal staff employed in the tourism industry.? The one advantage they have over many of the British seasonal staff in the resorts is that they will be paid at least the SMIC (the French minimum wage) of around 1300 Euro / month.? British seasonal staff reportedly earn as little as 200 Euro a month and work 60+ hours a week.
On a more positive note the snow is excellent both for skiing and snowshoeing!? There’s been another recent fall of snow and my son, working at Montalbert, reports the cumulative total for the season there is now over 3 metres.
Les Saisies – again!
I decided to make the most of having a meeting near Albertville and head for Les Saisies and some more cross-country skiing.
Typically I drive up via Queige but having been in Ugine I drove up via Crest Voland, a small ski resort linked into the Espace Diamant.? I parked at the Le Lachat entry point to the pistes and set off on the “black” rated run Raphael Poiree, a former Olympic Champion.? This trail is 22 km with 350 m of ascent which on skating skis adds to the energy expended!? The snow today was a bit damp and I soon discovered that my skis need a re-waxing as they weren’t gliding as they normally do.
It was good to be out and breathing in the fresh air away from spending too much time on this website!
I passed 2 other skiers nearing the plateau and heard English spoken, a rare event, on the cross-country ski pistes and Les Saisies alpine skiing domaine doesn’t see many either.? I stopped a chatted for a few minutes before heading on.
Eventually it was time to lose some height and a quite steep and technical descent led down to the Les Saisies entry point but just before I bumped into Doris who I’d taken snowshoeing the previous week.? She has an appartment in Les Saisies and is regularly out on the pistes on the more robust ski nordique type equipment (wider skis, heavier boots, and used in the classic style).
The last kilometres back to Le Lachat was quite hard work with the skis noticeably “sticking” which sometimes upset my balance.
