Introduction


The My Tracks data (when I managed to turn GPS on on the phone!) can be found here.
Pictures here are licensed under a Creative Commons non-commercial attribution license.

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Day 18: Meribel, Les Menuires, Val Thorens

Over dinner last night I discovered that Peter runs a choir, and is also one of the people responsible for Ted Fest. Here (video) he is as one of the "Christian Brothers" singing his own composition. So, we spent most of the evening going through choir songs, arrangements etc. I expect he'll contact Ali and Dee to talk about using some of their arrangements with his choir.
Up late since it's Mary's rest day so no breakfast to get up for. The sun comes in through the big windows in my room on the dot at ten a.m.. I decided to go in the other direction today, over to Les Menuires and Val Thorens. I had a large omelette fromage frites and demi-pression in Les Menuires. It was so big I was able to resist the "dessert du jour: Tarte Tatin fabrication maison". Espresso Euro 1.90. Les Menuires has improved somewhat since I was last there (maybe 25+ years ago). They've expanded by adding some buildings with pitched roofs, stone and wood, which make it seem less like a couple of blocks of flats from the banlieus dropped into an alpine valley.
Mont Blanc from Col de la Chambre
Up to Val Thorens and around a bit. The snow here seems less icy than on Courchevel, but you still find good "slip 50m" pieces to keep you awake. Probably why my speeds are down! Up on the wacky Bouquetin lift, which is a funny cable car/bubble lift cross. It's like a cable car in that there are only two "cars", so when one is up the other is down, but like a bubble in that there is no stationary cable. The "cars" are like three big bubble lift cars right net to each other.
Up to the Mont du Vallon which the lift top station claimed was at 3000m, but the piste map and GPS reckon less than that 2952m on the piste map. Down the Combe de Vallon red run, which wasn't too icy, but is an interesting run. There's nowhere where it's so steep you think it should be a black run, but it keeps up a decent red-run gradient for its whole length which seemed like > 1km. Just relentless.
No sign of more snow. Meteo France "meteo des Montagnes" had it forecast for Thursday in yesterday's forecast, but it's disappeared from today's forecast.
Time to head out for a snack and then the ice-hockey ("hockey on ice" as the English translation on the posters has it).

2 comments:

  1. Does your camera only take pictures with Mon Blanc in?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Content is awesome , I found very imformative knowledge in it against Meribel Café bar and other resort in france. meribel singing

    ReplyDelete