Anniversary Ski Tour Celebrations

How time flies. Five years ago, we were getting married! What better way to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary, than a door to door ski tour. Another big snowfall last night meant that we could literally ski straight up the mountain side behind the Refuge les Marmottes.



All we had to negotiate was one tarmac road above the chalet and we were off. There were still snow flakes falling, but the forecast suggested that we should keep the faith and continue upwards.

High above the village of Le Planay, we came out of the woods, but the mists remained.



The snow was fabulous and the visibility, just about OK to ski in, so we pressed on...



Near the summit of our intended peak - the Cote 2000, the clouds started to part....



But only for a bit, then a huge down pour of groupel snow belted down on us! Like the filling of a bean bag, the small rounds started to fill in our tracks.



We decided to call it our high point for the day and did our best to get an anniversary summit photo, but the light was so white and bright, that we couldn't keep our eyes open without our goggles on!



Sensing another opening in the clouds, we decided to get skiing!



We togged up, got skins off, helmets on and prepared for the downward ride.



Clare put in the first tracks...



I followed shortly after...



And ended up face first in deep powder snow!



Thankfully it was about a soft a landing as I could have had.



After adjusting ones technique, we carried on in much better style!...



And then, hoorah! The views opened up!



It was a magical descent through great fresh snow on a wide open mountain side.





Then down through the trees...





This photo shows how deep the snow was - we came across these little chalets which were almost buried!



Clare skied across the edge of the roof!



Lower down the mountain, the snow became much wetter and heavier and harder to ski, but we were delighted to ski all the way back to the chalet!...



Where we'd left champagne chilling in a bucket of snow on the balcony!





A great way to finish a tour and celebrate another year of fun together.





After a shower to freshen up, we hit the town (village). There was one cafe still open, so we ordered some delicious crepes, which arrived moments before closing time! They thought we were mad to want to eat outside, but the views were so good! Our peak is the right hand one... A day to remember...