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.