Fresh snow in Chamonix

 

After yesterday's excitement, we decided to take it easy today and ski on the local Pistes of Les Houches again, which are at the end of the Chamonix Valley. The main advantage of this was that we could have a lie-in, then nip out of bed, get fresh croissants from the bakery outside, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and still be on the slopes relatively early!

 

We did use the lifts all day, but we hardly took it 'easy' as we managed to ski the height of Everest before calling it a day! It was an overcast start to the day and cold enough to need to be well wrapped up on the chairlifts.

 

A few centimetres of lovely fresh snow had fallen during the night, so the slopes were in pretty good condition still. And being midweek, virtually empty again. 

 

Then the snow started falling!...

 

The visibility remained relatively ok, so we carried on skiing as the snow flakes fell. Each time we returned to the top station, the snow was a little deeper. 

 

We made the most of having the apartment so close, by going home for a hot lunch! Cous-cous, boiled eggs, baguette, brie and fresh coffee, got us rested and fuelled up for a final afternoon session. By now the snow was coming down hard, so we opted not to use the chairlifts - only the cable cars, so we could get out of the weather and shake off he build up of snow before the next run!

 

As the visibility wore out, so did our remaining time.

 

At 4pm, we unclipped our skis for the last time, crossed the road and got into a lovely hot shower back at the pad, before getting our kit sorted. 

The timings were like clockwork. Once we'd freshened up, packed and had a bite to eat, we stepped back outside as our transfer bus pulled up and took us directly to Geneva airports. Smooth indeed...