Fresh Powder in Val Thorens
Mike, Rich, Cecilia, Jen, Kane, Maria, Doug, Steve, Andy and I arrived in Val Thorens on a sunny Saturday, and expected warm temperatures and slushy conditions for the entire week. We looked forward to seven days of sunning, playing cards, drinking beers, and hanging out with friends....but not actually doing any significant skiing. Boy were we in for a big surprise. The first two days went as expected - icy slopes in the early morning followed by blistering sunny afternoons. Suncream and sunglasses were of the utmost importance. Then, on the third day the unexpected happened - it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. For almost two days it dumped fresh powder. Visibility was terrible, snow fell nonstop, temperatures stayed cool, and the powder increased to obscene levels accordingly. When the clouds finally cleared we were left with several day's worth of dream conditions - falling was only an inconvenience, as the deep powder offered a soft landing to any tumble.
Early in 2004 I decided to make a permanent switch from skiing to snowlboarding,
and I made initial progress over a long weekend in Valmeinier. But
it was here in Val Thorens, thanks to the incredible dump of powder that
we received on the third day, that I really reached a level of comfortable
fun on the board. What a week! A few images from the slopes:
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The only drawback of having incredible ski conditions is the energy
it takes away from potential partying at night. The majority of evenings
we ate dinner at the apartment - we took turns cooking our respective specialty
meals, ranging from Irish stew, to Spanish omlettes, to Greek salads.
The apartment sauna became the featured post-skiing activity, and new high
temperature records were set every night. We attempted to go out
to the bars each night, but always fought the inertia of fatigue and full
stomachs. It was sometimes too much to resist, and we were often
well satisfied by having drinks at home and going to bed early in anticipation
of another early day on the powdery slopes. A few images from the
apartment:
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Thanks to Doug for choosing the lodging and organizing the entire weekend
logistics - it was a job well done. A new gold standard has been
set that I hope will repeat itself in the coming years. And thanks
to everyone for a week of great skiing and fun in the Alps. A few
more good images from the weekend:
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