The lead up to Christmas in London seemed to be a flurry of activity with plenty of shows attended, work functions and a few trips to the Christmas markets. We had such a good time snowboarding in Val'disere with our friend Kate last Christmas that Jake and I forego the orphans Christmas parties in London and went for a short jaunt back to the French Alps. This time to a town called Chamonix. We didn't exactly enjoy the 24 hours bus ride to the Alps from the UK last year and knowing we were only going for four days rather then the week we forked out a bit more for flights to Geneva and a short transfer to Chamonix. Now although it had been pretty cold in London and the odds that it might snow on Christmas had dropped at the TAB it hadn't been a very cold start to winter in Europe at all. I had been trying to ignore it and had been hoping for the best but on Christmas eve before logging off from work I checked the weather report. In Chamonix or Cham as the seasonaires call it there was only three runs open across all of the mountains. It wasn't looking good for a white Xmas this year. |
We arrived into UCPA which is conveniently located in the centre of town in Cham just in time for the Christmas festivities. In France and I think in most of Europe, Christmas Eve is the actual holiday and celebrations. We had an amazing spread last Christmas eve in Val so were hoping for the same here. As we had come mid week and late in the evening we didn't know about the secret Santa that UCPA had set up. Everyone had bought a gift for 5 euro and before the first course everyone received a gift. As a result we were sat in the quiet room with the other late comers- which made you kind of feel like you were being left out of the festivities but luckily we were sitting with some lovely people to chat with. One of the couples at our table had actually been at Val with us last year but we never met them as there was over 200 of us for Christmas last year. I had also sat next to a Latvian girl on the plane who was in Val with us last year and said she remembered Jake and I, which made me feel pretty bad as I couldn't for the life of me place her. I think we met her whilst out partying one night.
I remembered Val and UCPA as being really good and I may have talked them up a bit whilst we waited for dinner. Our first course was a large prawn and some sort of seafood cocktail on the side. It sounds good but it tasted pretty average and that it was about an hour wait until dinner. No turkey or ham for us this year, the mains were salmon and duck but the chef had burnt the duck and the salmon was full of bones which is never fun picking out of your teeth. We decided to skip the desert.
I remembered Val and UCPA as being really good and I may have talked them up a bit whilst we waited for dinner. Our first course was a large prawn and some sort of seafood cocktail on the side. It sounds good but it tasted pretty average and that it was about an hour wait until dinner. No turkey or ham for us this year, the mains were salmon and duck but the chef had burnt the duck and the salmon was full of bones which is never fun picking out of your teeth. We decided to skip the desert.
Christmas day we woke up pretty early so we could get our boards and be first on the slopes. I should say slope. there was only a handful of lifts and runs actually open and they were all on either sides of the valley so you had to pick a run and stick to it or bus to the next one. We were sent to La Houches which took about half an hour by bus to get to and caught the lift over some bare rocky slopes and green forests to the top where the only run open was a green baby slope. Determined to make the most of our day Jake, myself and Dasha, the Latvian girl, threw ourselves down the run a few times. Dasha said she had had enough and went in search of a longer slope on another mountain. I was enjoying the empty slope to ease myself back into boarding and trying to remember all the tips our guide gave us last year so Jake and I stayed until our tummies started to grumble and a few more ski schools came out to play. The slope was pretty cut up and icy by this point anyway so we decided to call it a day and left the mountain praying for some snow overnight.
Luckily our lift passes allowed us to see a few of the other attractions in Cham and after a hot lunch and a quick nap I dragged Jake out of bed to catch the gondola to the top of Aiquille Du Midi which means needle of the South. When we stayed in Italy with our friend last year her brother had told us about it as he had caught the gondola from the Italian side up to it and highly recommended we go check it out. It's the closest you can get to the top of Mont Blanc without climbing it. A few people were attempting to climb it whilst we were there but I enjoyed taking in the view the easy way. From up top each direction you look is towards another country be it Switzerland, Italy or France. The gondola to Italy was closed and so was the 'step into the void' which is basically a glass box hanging out over the edge of the mountains- kind of like being in the Sky tower in Auckland except 100meters below you is a glacier.
There is a small exhibition in the caves at the top which showed some of the crazy and amazingly talented people climbing, tight rope walking and base jumping on Mont Blanc. The record for ascending Mont Blanc and then descending back to Chamonix is held by a dude called Kilian Jornet who did it in under 5 hours. Considering it takes 20 minutes on the gondolas alone to get to Midi which is only at 3842 Meters and Mont Blanc is still another 1000 meters higher at 4810meters this is a pretty incredible feat.
There is a small exhibition in the caves at the top which showed some of the crazy and amazingly talented people climbing, tight rope walking and base jumping on Mont Blanc. The record for ascending Mont Blanc and then descending back to Chamonix is held by a dude called Kilian Jornet who did it in under 5 hours. Considering it takes 20 minutes on the gondolas alone to get to Midi which is only at 3842 Meters and Mont Blanc is still another 1000 meters higher at 4810meters this is a pretty incredible feat.
After about half an hour taking pictures and breathing in the fresh alpine air it was time to head back down with both of us starting to feel a bit dizzy with the effects of the altitude. By the time we got back to UCPA Jakes head was pounding as we had just gone from 1035m to 3842m and back again. Him and altitude do not really seem to go so well probably no climbing Mount Everest for him.
That night we headed out to a friend from schools place who was doing a season at Cham. Him and some of his friends from Cham held a Christmas dinner which looked a whole heap better then what got served at UCPA and after he showed us what he had to use (hot plate, microwave oven and then borrowed a tiny oven from a friend a few floors below them) was pretty impressive. We celebrated Christmas with a few drinks before we called it a night and went to bed hoping that a late Christmas present of snow might turn up.
That night we headed out to a friend from schools place who was doing a season at Cham. Him and some of his friends from Cham held a Christmas dinner which looked a whole heap better then what got served at UCPA and after he showed us what he had to use (hot plate, microwave oven and then borrowed a tiny oven from a friend a few floors below them) was pretty impressive. We celebrated Christmas with a few drinks before we called it a night and went to bed hoping that a late Christmas present of snow might turn up.
Boxing day was a little better so instead of attempting to board on ice we caught the train up to Mer de Glacé or the sea of ice. The train completed and open in 1908 bringing a lot of tourism to the area. From the top of the train you look down over the Glacier and you can catch a gondola and walk down a whole heap of stairs to the mouth of the glacier. Every year workers dig into the glacier and create a little ice grotto for people to wander around inside. They even create little rooms with beds and chairs. It was pretty amazing being inside a glacier and gave us a feel for what to expect when we go to the ice hotel in Sweden for new years. Climbing down the stairs wasn't too bad but the 400 odd step journey back took our breath away in more ways then one. Every flight of stairs or so a plaque was drilled into the rock face showing the glacier level in each year. The top of the stairs was where the glacier was around 2000. Seeing how far the glacier had receded in the very recent past was incredible and a reminder of how much the world is changing. Although glaciers tend to retreat and advance It was a very visible and stark mark of the effects of climate change. |
We woke to snow on the 27th. Footpaths were covered in it, cars hidden and road were starting to be cleared. Finally! we wolfed down some breakfast and headed to the bus stop where we squeezed onto a jam packed bus heading to Grand Mont. It was still snowing. The bus stopped at La Flegre and the bus driver told us all to hop out. Grand Montet was closed and La Flegre had the only lift and slopes open. On the bus we ran into Luke and Jacqui the kiwi couple who had also been in Val with us so caught the lift up with them. We had a few good runs down and the snow was amazing but my legs quickly seized up so Jacqui and I stopped halfway down for a coffee at the café while the boys went for a another run. Half and hour later they joined us in the café , in that time they had only managed one run down as the lines were so long for the lift. It was almost lunch time anyway so we headed back to UCPA. After lunch we thought we would head back to the luge where Jake and I had a brief but fun time screeching around a track on a luge on wheels the day before. Due to the snow and ice it wasn't open but we hired out a couple of toboggans instead. One of the chair lifts for a red slope was closed so we hiked halfway up and then let lose down. For some reason us girls could fly down and had a bit more control but the boys seemed to wobble out and crash into the powder after 15 meters. I think riding the toboggans was more dangerous then snowboarding with the amount of air time Jacqui and I were getting over some of the little jumps. By the end of the afternoon my tailbone was feeling very bruised and we went back to the hotel to recover with a few beers.
Our last day we were up early again to make the most of the powder from the nights snow fall. Quite a few slopes had opened which meant less people and less lines. It was amazing to finally be out on the mountain doing what we came for. By the time it came to head back to catch out bus our legs were aching but we were still wishing we had more time. Looks like we might have to book in another ski trip this winter sometime!
For now it's back to London for a day before we head to the arctic circle to bring in the New Year.
For now it's back to London for a day before we head to the arctic circle to bring in the New Year.