David Coats Blog

So, a quick update from high in the alps in sunny southern France:

Dimanche 31/12

Arrive a la Hotel Grande Aigle, Villeneuve, Serre Chevalier to sparse old icy snow. Feel a little disheartened but quickly forget as we see the new year in at La Grotte du Yeti, an Englishy bar with live music. Get pretty drunk!

Lundi 1/1

Get up nice and early, straight up the mountain to begin snowboarding. Its raining in the resort and the pistes are slushy and horrible. Really crap start. Once up the first lift onto the higher pistes however, the rain is snow - and plenty of it! Boarding is serre serre hard (compared to the relativly advanced level of skiing I have!) After a whole day of falling over every 5 minutes I finally fell badly on my wrist and ended up at the Center Medical! Its official - I have the weakest wrists ever (a longer account of this story to come). Anyway. Upshot is - its not broken, but is in a cast - more protection than anything!

Went out and drank beer to recover!

Mardi 2/1

Swapped board for skis - best choice I have ever made! Had a fabulous day. Fel only once and that was because some french plonker came clattering uncontrolably down a green run straight into me. I’ll desole you! The snow started at about 2pm and got harder and harder as the afternoon went by. Alex and I ended up in the adjoining resort as all the lifts were closed due to high winds. We nervously got on an unmarked ski bus home, casually remarking ‘at least its in the right direction’. No sooner had the words escaped our mouths, but the bus turned around and went even further in the wrong direction to the village of Brincon! We got off at the next stop, totally lost, with no money, no mobile phones, no cards and, with the time at 18.15 (last bus at 18.00) - no method of getting home!

Alex and I staggered around in ski boots (imagine the most awkward boots ever - these are 100 times worse!) trying in vain to speak to some of the rudest French people ever (again full story to come) until finally, at around 9pm, we ended up at a train station and got a taxi back to Villeneuve. Fortunately, Tom and Will hadn’t called mountain rescue - but they were close!

Mercrudi 3/1

There must have been a foot of snow during the night - well, most of it whilst Alex and I were lost in Briancon! The skiing today was incredible! Really and truely some of the best conditions I have known. Saying that - at the end of the day - the only fall I had was on an easy Blue run composed of sugar crystals over ice with large jagged rocks sticking up in the soft-looking powder crash mats on the side! Lovely! Much less eventful day after the two hilariously farcical preceding days (note - I have categorised this under funny rather than travel!)

More to follow when my legs stop aching enough to walk to the internet cafe!

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