The lower slopes were better
This is me on my way down the hill. As it isn't all that steep, I am holding my ski sticks in front of me to try to keep my weight forward.
Saturday, 12 January 2013
More Foggy Scenes
You couldn't see much on the upper slopes
The lower slopes were better
This is me on my way down the hill. As it isn't all that steep, I am holding my ski sticks in front of me to try to keep my weight forward.
The lower slopes were better
This is me on my way down the hill. As it isn't all that steep, I am holding my ski sticks in front of me to try to keep my weight forward.
A Foggy Day
The view from our apartment is a bit different in the snow and fog
You can't even see the peaks!
There are some alternatives to skiing - though we haven't sampled this yet
You can't even see the peaks!
There are some alternatives to skiing - though we haven't sampled this yet
Days 6 and 7
Friday 11th and Saturday 12th January
On Friday, it was still snowing, and had been snowing all the previous night, so the snow was wonderful. Unfortunately, the higher slopes were also still covered with fog, and Paul, who went up and tried it, said it was much worse than the previous day, so he suggested we stayed on the lower slopes; he took some video so he could be sure I was skiing parallel.
The snow was very good, soft and fluffy and not at all icy so my turns got a lot better and I stayed out for longer than usual enjoying the snow. I was keen to go out again after lunch, but by the time we had eaten I realised that my left knee was quite painful and was looking very swollen. So, I had to abandon the wonderful snow and rest the knee.
Paul went out on his own, but to my great surprise was back in quite a short while. He had gone up on a chair lift with a Russian family and when they got off the chair, the mother of the family had got her skis entangled with Paul's skis. She fell over, the liftie failed to notice and didn't stop the chair, so Paul fell over too and the chair went over them both. The result was a twisted knee for Paul, and though he said it wasn't very painful, he felt it was safer not to ski on it. So we were both sitting inside looking gloomily at the wonderful snow which we couldn't enjoy!
Saturday was the most beautiful blue sky day. The sun shone from a beautiful unclouded blue sky, the snow was inviting, deep and gleaming white and fluffy, and the pistes were quiet since it was changeover day. This was the idea day for me to be on the slopes. Unfortunately, my knee was still swollen and painful, and even walking was difficult. I suggested Paul go out and enjoy the wonderful snow on his own, but he was unhappy about the state of his own knee, so he felt he too should have a day of rest. This was even more gloomy than yesterday! It seemed such a shame not to be able to enjoy the weather and what would undoubtedly be the best snow of the holiday. Instead, I was stuck in the apartment with an ice pack on my knee.
In the late afternoon I decided to try walking on the stupid knee. We caught the shuttle bus to Plagne Centre and had a look to see what we could see of the pistes there, in case it was worth my visiting there for different slopes. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see the pistes from the town, as there were so many high buildings and I wasn't sure how we could get to a nice looking piste from the bus stop, without a very long walk. There was a very interesting looking Saturday market in the town centre which I hoped to see round, but the shuttle bus seemed to stop running quite early so we played safe and jumped in to the one that appeared and gave the market a miss. We just did our shopping in the supermarket when we got back to our village. Still, it had been an interesting ride and an opportunity to see more of the beautiful scenery with dark green pine forests on the slopes and white peaks entirely surrounding us. Taking pictures through the dirty bus window wasn't entirely successful though - and the tall pines which line the roads have a habit of jumping into the picture just as you click the shutter.
I'm not sure how my knee is getting on. It is still quite swollen and, though walking is OK, climbing stairs is painful.
On Friday, it was still snowing, and had been snowing all the previous night, so the snow was wonderful. Unfortunately, the higher slopes were also still covered with fog, and Paul, who went up and tried it, said it was much worse than the previous day, so he suggested we stayed on the lower slopes; he took some video so he could be sure I was skiing parallel.
The snow was very good, soft and fluffy and not at all icy so my turns got a lot better and I stayed out for longer than usual enjoying the snow. I was keen to go out again after lunch, but by the time we had eaten I realised that my left knee was quite painful and was looking very swollen. So, I had to abandon the wonderful snow and rest the knee.
Paul went out on his own, but to my great surprise was back in quite a short while. He had gone up on a chair lift with a Russian family and when they got off the chair, the mother of the family had got her skis entangled with Paul's skis. She fell over, the liftie failed to notice and didn't stop the chair, so Paul fell over too and the chair went over them both. The result was a twisted knee for Paul, and though he said it wasn't very painful, he felt it was safer not to ski on it. So we were both sitting inside looking gloomily at the wonderful snow which we couldn't enjoy!
Saturday was the most beautiful blue sky day. The sun shone from a beautiful unclouded blue sky, the snow was inviting, deep and gleaming white and fluffy, and the pistes were quiet since it was changeover day. This was the idea day for me to be on the slopes. Unfortunately, my knee was still swollen and painful, and even walking was difficult. I suggested Paul go out and enjoy the wonderful snow on his own, but he was unhappy about the state of his own knee, so he felt he too should have a day of rest. This was even more gloomy than yesterday! It seemed such a shame not to be able to enjoy the weather and what would undoubtedly be the best snow of the holiday. Instead, I was stuck in the apartment with an ice pack on my knee.
In the late afternoon I decided to try walking on the stupid knee. We caught the shuttle bus to Plagne Centre and had a look to see what we could see of the pistes there, in case it was worth my visiting there for different slopes. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see the pistes from the town, as there were so many high buildings and I wasn't sure how we could get to a nice looking piste from the bus stop, without a very long walk. There was a very interesting looking Saturday market in the town centre which I hoped to see round, but the shuttle bus seemed to stop running quite early so we played safe and jumped in to the one that appeared and gave the market a miss. We just did our shopping in the supermarket when we got back to our village. Still, it had been an interesting ride and an opportunity to see more of the beautiful scenery with dark green pine forests on the slopes and white peaks entirely surrounding us. Taking pictures through the dirty bus window wasn't entirely successful though - and the tall pines which line the roads have a habit of jumping into the picture just as you click the shutter.
I'm not sure how my knee is getting on. It is still quite swollen and, though walking is OK, climbing stairs is painful.
Thursday, 10 January 2013
More Roche de Mio
I chose this photo to give some idea of the vast expanse of snow.
I took it on the way down. The tiny specks are skiers.
The next photo shows a steep part of the cablecar descent, just above the village.
I took it on the way down. The tiny specks are skiers.
The next photo shows a steep part of the cablecar descent, just above the village.
Roche de Mio photos
This is the view of the paragliders who have just jumped off the roof of the world! That small green curve in the centre is the parachute.
The main slopes are rather crowded.
The main slopes are rather crowded.
Days 4 and 5
Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th January
I've managed to post a few photos, as long as I can keep the iPad on the Internet. I've discovered that the way to do this seems to be to listen to the radio! I still can't seem to manage to post much text with the photos, so I'm doing them separately. As BlogPress no longer works, I can't edit what I've already posted so I'm having to do the photos separately from the text.
I still can't seem to do more than a couple of hours of skiing before flaking out, so I have spent two days concentrating on my skills and doing the beginners slopes again and again. I am feeling more confident, so on Friday, weather permitting, we'll go higher up the mountain and try a harder slope.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a wonderful blue sky day again and so warm it was difficult to find any ski clothes light enough to wear - I was far too hot in just a tee shirt and a fleece, and had to shower and wash my hair immediately on my return.
After lunch, I wanted to go right up to the top of the mountain to take some photographs while it was sunny - Thursday's forecast was for snow, and there was no knowing when we would next have a bright day. So I set off as a pedestrian up the Télécabine in the afternoon. It takes 20 - 25 minutes in this cable car up to Roche de Mio, from which you have access to a huge area of snow, with lots of different pistes. Unfortunately, most of them seem to be quite steep - Paul says there is nothing that won't freak me out. So it's only likely I will ever get up this high other than as a pedestrian. The views were truly spectacular, huge expanses of snow leading away to the far white peaks in the distance. We watched people paragliding off a high point - I'm afraid my photos are nothing special though.
It was amazingly crowded up at this high point. I couldn't imagine how all the people managed to ski and snowboard without banging into one another, but there are a lot of pistes up there. It was also cold, in spite of the sun, and there was a warning that the last Télécabine descent would be at 4, so after I had taken my photos I made my way down again, and Paul skied down. The Télécabine goes up and down some particularly steep, not to say sheer slopes, so I tried to take some of the wonderful views from inside the little car; unfortunately the windows were spotty and badly scratched so I wasn't really able to do it justice.
It is possible to go further up, right up to the glacier at 3000 metres, and walk through the ice cave. If there is any more sunny weather, I might try that. But it's a 45 minute trip each way and stops quite early, so I'd need to make sure I started out early enough.
On Thursday there was snow! Fortunately, it was light in the morning, so it didn't stop me going out. It was still quite warm on the lower slopes, so after my two hours I was once again drenched with perspiration and needed a shower and hair-wash. After lunch, the snow became quite heavy, and the fog descended. I had intended to take the shuttle bus to the next village to have a look at their lower slopes, but thought this wasn't a very attractive option in the fog and snow, so I stayed indoors and kept warm instead.
Paul, of course, went out to ski but said he found it quite difficult. He said the visibility was very poor and it was hard to stay on the piste because it was difficult to see where you were going; several times the fog cleared and he found he had left the piste and was on a different part of the hillside.
I've managed to post a few photos, as long as I can keep the iPad on the Internet. I've discovered that the way to do this seems to be to listen to the radio! I still can't seem to manage to post much text with the photos, so I'm doing them separately. As BlogPress no longer works, I can't edit what I've already posted so I'm having to do the photos separately from the text.
I still can't seem to do more than a couple of hours of skiing before flaking out, so I have spent two days concentrating on my skills and doing the beginners slopes again and again. I am feeling more confident, so on Friday, weather permitting, we'll go higher up the mountain and try a harder slope.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a wonderful blue sky day again and so warm it was difficult to find any ski clothes light enough to wear - I was far too hot in just a tee shirt and a fleece, and had to shower and wash my hair immediately on my return.
After lunch, I wanted to go right up to the top of the mountain to take some photographs while it was sunny - Thursday's forecast was for snow, and there was no knowing when we would next have a bright day. So I set off as a pedestrian up the Télécabine in the afternoon. It takes 20 - 25 minutes in this cable car up to Roche de Mio, from which you have access to a huge area of snow, with lots of different pistes. Unfortunately, most of them seem to be quite steep - Paul says there is nothing that won't freak me out. So it's only likely I will ever get up this high other than as a pedestrian. The views were truly spectacular, huge expanses of snow leading away to the far white peaks in the distance. We watched people paragliding off a high point - I'm afraid my photos are nothing special though.
It was amazingly crowded up at this high point. I couldn't imagine how all the people managed to ski and snowboard without banging into one another, but there are a lot of pistes up there. It was also cold, in spite of the sun, and there was a warning that the last Télécabine descent would be at 4, so after I had taken my photos I made my way down again, and Paul skied down. The Télécabine goes up and down some particularly steep, not to say sheer slopes, so I tried to take some of the wonderful views from inside the little car; unfortunately the windows were spotty and badly scratched so I wasn't really able to do it justice.
It is possible to go further up, right up to the glacier at 3000 metres, and walk through the ice cave. If there is any more sunny weather, I might try that. But it's a 45 minute trip each way and stops quite early, so I'd need to make sure I started out early enough.
On Thursday there was snow! Fortunately, it was light in the morning, so it didn't stop me going out. It was still quite warm on the lower slopes, so after my two hours I was once again drenched with perspiration and needed a shower and hair-wash. After lunch, the snow became quite heavy, and the fog descended. I had intended to take the shuttle bus to the next village to have a look at their lower slopes, but thought this wasn't a very attractive option in the fog and snow, so I stayed indoors and kept warm instead.
Paul, of course, went out to ski but said he found it quite difficult. He said the visibility was very poor and it was hard to stay on the piste because it was difficult to see where you were going; several times the fog cleared and he found he had left the piste and was on a different part of the hillside.
Some more photos
This is the view of the half pipes from our balcony
A snow boarder has just come down the one on the left. We think the one on the right is still under construction.
Below is the night view from our balcony
This was taken just after it got dark.
A snow boarder has just come down the one on the left. We think the one on the right is still under construction.
Below is the night view from our balcony
This was taken just after it got dark.
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