Tuesday 5th February
Bonjour! Having arrived sucessfully in Val d'Isere I am currently enjoying all the usual things that are so great about France, and although there has been no snow here for quite some time, the boarding has been really good. The first two days were absolutely fantastic with clear blue skies and no wind. The snow is starting to run out now, but there is some forcast for tonight - so am looking forward to a big phat powder day come morning... (here's hoping!).
Am currently in a little internet cafe listening to Reggae, having a beer and wondering how much sun block to apply tomorrow. Relaxation has already consumed me, and if it werent for the fact that there is all sorts of neat runs to do I would sleep all day! The lifts here are also worth a mention - there are two furniculars that run up inside the mountain to take you to the top, as well as the cable cars and regular lifts. I went on one today that has two queues and every second chair is for each line. One set of chairs gets dropped off half way and the other carries on to the top. Pretty cool! This week is the 10th Anniversary of the Alberville Olympics, and I was contemplating doing the run which Annalise Coberger did when she won silver for NZ tomorrow - as they have set up a replica of the course used, but on a snowboard maybe it wont quite be the same.
Thursay 7th February
Well, we got the snow, 29cm of new white fluffy stuff- so now my legs are shattered and I am back in the groovy internet cafe this afternoon having a rest. I have been exploring the area a bit over the last couple of days, Val d'Isere is seperated into three different sections one is a for beginners but the other two, Solaise and Bellvadere have some excellent runs, as does the adjacent resort called Tignes where the top run Le Grand Motte on the glacier is at 3500m above sea level. On a clear day (and Ive had a few) you can see a fair view of the Alps from up there.
I have been going pretty hard during the day, usually meeting Michelle for a couple of easy runs after lunch which is a welcome relief. When you are not boarding in a group you tend (well at least I do!) to not stop at all, then fall down in a heap after four hours. Two sleeps a day is the current norm, and I could easily do another one!!
The time here has raced past so quickly, and tomorrow is packing before the monster trip on Saturday which takes me from Val d'Isere to Geneva to London to Rio. Here's hoping that there are no significant delays en route.. or the next entry here might be from London!
Click here for the continuation of my trip to South America
Feel free to send any messages to me at ryananglem@hotmail.com