Skiing in Courmayeur, Italy

When I was younger and living in England, I was amazed to hear from my friend Luca, that he'd just been skiing in the Alps for the weekend. It seemed such an outrageous thing to do and I remember thinking that I really must do that one day. Well, many years have passed, but I've finally managed to make it happen. In fact, we've actually stretched out the 'weekend' a bit too! The timing has also co-incided, with some poor weather arriving in Wales, so it felt even better to be leaving, having only just arrived back there! It was a wet dash onto the plane at Liverpool on Friday evening...

 

After a very smooth transition, with no ques, a nice meal, quick baggage re-claim and a swift transfer, we arrived in Chamonix, France. Great to be able to travel 'off-peak' sometimes! We arrived at our tiny studio and excitedly made plans for the next day, with our friends who live here.

The conditions are very lean at the moment in the Chamonix valley, so our friend Rachel suggested an early start and a trip through the 11km 'Mt Blanc Tunnel' to Italy, where they have more snow. She picked us up at 8am and by 9am we were marvelling at the views of 'Monte Bianco' from the ski resort of Courmayeur. 

 

 

The clear skies meant that it was a very cold start to the day, but the activity and sunshine kept us warm. We've had a wonderful day, whooshing down relatively empty slopes with big grins on our faces.

 

Despite the unseasonally poor conditions off piste, it's actually been a bit of a bonus for us, as neither of us had skied this side of Mt Blanc. The runs are great and the views of the mountains are sensational!

 

Another little bonus treat was that Rachel knew the best mountain restaurant to go for some lunch! It was a small, cute and cosy little chalet that served delicious Italian food. And of course, we finished it off with a classic Italian coffee! Possible the nicest I've ever had!

 

It was a shock heading back out from the warmth of the restaurant's fireside, but some more zooming around kept us warm.

 

Clouds rolled in later in the afternoon, so we returned back to France for more coffee and our first 'pain au chocolate', with our feet up on the sofa, as there's a very handy bakery outside the apartment. Bliss!