After our great ski trip to Courchevel last month, I am totally hooked on skiing (for now at least ).  I have been on 4 weeks of business trips to Seattle over the past 5 weeks (was home for 1 week in between), so decided to take advantage of this second one to get in a ski trip in to Crystal mountain, which is about 1 hours drive from Redmond.

We started the day early, I met Karen and Gavin in a park and ride car park at 7am.  The day didn’t quite start as planned, since when I stepped out of the car and felt how cold it was, I realised that I had left my ski jacket in the hotel! Luckily we were only 10 mins from the hotel at this point, so there was plenty of time to turn back. 

Once we had picked up my jacket, the picturesque journey to Crystal began.  Karen had a big 4×4 Infiniti car which was spec’d out with every gadget and comfort item I can imagine – it even beeped at her if she got too close to the edge of the freeway lane!  Here is a little clip of the comfortable journey…

Since we were running a little late, Karen was in a hurry, so decided to overtake some slow (ish) moving vehicles, which attracted the attention of a local law enforcement officer who decided to pull us over with a blast of his siren and some pretty red and blue flashing lights.  Karen spectacularly talked her way out of a traffic ticket, although I did have to drive the car for the rest of the day (being the only one who had a driving license).  Quite the journey…

We did eventually arrive, with all of our stuff, and with no traffic fines.  The lifts opened at 8:45 and we turned up at 9am, so not too bad considering

The snow at the bottom of the mountain was a little icy and slushy, however further up and on faces exposed to the sun, the conditions were great!  I had both layers of my jacket on, so I was actually too hot at some points.  I cooled down by waiting for some of the ski lifts in my t-shirt.  There were actually a bunch of guys skiing and snowboarding in just t-shirts or vest tops!  I’m not quite confident enough to do that – it would be very painful if they fell over!

We started off with a few easy runs, but progressively took on more challenging slopes, until we eventually headed for the double black diamonds!…

Double Black Diamonds

These are sections of the mountain which are off piste, and considered to be fairly advanced (as you can tell from the warning sign).  We successfully managed to get down the slope.  I started off a little cautious, but after I made a few turns and built up my confidence I managed to get down the slope at a reasonable speed (relative to the speed I started at least).  Gavin had a little tumble on the way down, and then struggled for 5 minutes to retrieve his skis on the very steep slope.  The rest of us were too far down to go up and help him, so we had planted out ‘butts’ on the snow and waited patiently.

So besides Gavin’s little adventure, the run in the photo above did not actually turn out to be too bad, however it got worse!  We took a lift up to the top of the mountain and were faced with a choice of icy moguls or a VERY steep drop (check it out in the first pic below!!!)…

Here is Karen waving from above as we attempted to ski down…

Gavin and I attempted to get down the slope gracefully in our skis, but failed miserably.  We ended up cutting through some trees on to a more powdery (although just as steep) slope.  Eventually we managed to get ourselves down to the piste and picked up the pace.  Here is a little video clip of Gavin and Tom emerging from the trees…

It is an amazing feeling to be on the side of the mountain in snow that no one yet skied! I want to do it again!! Here is Karen sitting on some of the fresh powder…

Lunch and Apres Ski…

Whilst the variety of bars and restaurants did not match larger ski resorts, the atmosphere of eating and drinking outside was not lost. 

We had lunch and after ski wine/beer at the Bullwheel, which is right at the bottom of mountain in the same place where cars are parked to get on the first ski lift.  We happened to be there on the same day as ‘Brew Fest’, which was essentially a beer festival and bar-b-q on the decking area.

There was a good selection of food, although typically American (I had a chicken burger and fries).  The only downside was that the place was PACKED, so it was a little tricky to find a good place to sit outside (plenty of room inside).

At the end of the day, Gavin and I finished the day off with a glass of beer/wine whilst we waited for Karen and Tom to do one more suicide run of the double black diamond! (they survived).

The drive home seemed to take longer than the journey there – most likely because Karen was driving at a ‘little’ above the speed limit on the way there, and I was driving with a accurately configured cruise control speed on the way back. 

The season will be way over by the time I am next in the U.S., so all there is to say is…”Crystal Mountain, thanks for the ride, see you next season!”…

Huge thanks to Karen and Tom for guiding me and Gavin on the mountain, and an extra thanks to everyone for great company and an awesome day out! Can’t wait for next year’s ski season – roll on November!

I wrote this blog post on the coach on the way back from Courchevel, but completely forgot about it until now (fell asleep after I had typed it)…

It’s 6am (EST), –12 degrees Celsius and pitch black outside.  We are on a very quiet coach dotting around Courchevel, La Tania and other parts of the 3 Vallies ski resort to pick up various Crystal holiday makers, for the journey to Chambery airport which marks the end of a fantastic week of skiing.

I have not been skiing on snow for about 15 years, and not even on a dry slope in about 7 or 8 years, so I was really please to discover that I was still able to ski and more importantly, that I was able to keep up with my group of friends on green, blue, red and even a couple of black runs!

I have been very lucky to spend the week with a fantastic group of friends!  The chalet which Ed found for us provided a great social hub to get to know the other guests, a cosy lounge for chilled Top Gun evenings, a party zone with a constant supply of free wine and food and a collection of cosy bedrooms to get a good nights sleep before hitting the slopes every morning.  Despite loosing a game of 21s very badly, a couple of drinking sessions starting at midday, late night conversations over wine, après ski and a lot more partying, we managed to hit the slopes at around 9am every day and make the most of the beautiful snow conditions…

I have not been skiing on snow for about 15 years, so I had forgotten the difference between good and bad conditions.  Whilst it is reasonable to assume that lots of snow = good skiing, I now realise that heavy snow is only good for skiing if it happens BEFORE you want to ski.  Cloudy and snowy conditions mean that the bumps in the slopes are practically impossible to see, and if the conditions are really bad it can be hard to see the pistes, or even the people skiing in front…

The day was we arrived it was snowing fairly heavily, and had been for at least two days.  This meant that there was lots of lovely powder snow waiting to be carved up by eager skiers.  Thankfully, the day after we arrived (which was the first day of skiing), the sun was shining beautifully, so conditions were absolutely perfect!

The first day of skiing was fairly chilled, giving everyone a chance to get their ski legs back, but with a few red runs to get the adrenaline going.  The girls and Ed decided to get ski lessons, so Mark and i spent half of the afternoon messing around and filming each other skiing, and the other half chilling on top of the mountain listening to house music.

Après Ski

This is the first time I have been skiing as an adult, so is the first time I have experienced ‘Après ski’.  The term literally translates to ‘after ski’, so I had assumed it just referred to the evening activities after skiing…this really is not the case, après ski really is a unique experience which deserves it’s own term in the dictionary.

Après ski is the opportunity for all of the skiers and snowboarders to relax in their ski clothes and boots, have a drink, talk about their day’s adventure on the slopes and take some time to reflect on the truly breathtaking higher than cloud location they are lucky enough to be in.  Après ski is a chance to drink cheap beer, vin chaud (mulled wine) and cocktails.  Après ski is a theme which most of the bars in a mountain resort use to encourage laid back socialising, encourage you to let your hair down and have inhibition free conversations with members of the opposite sex.  Après ski is the student union, the warm country pub in the middle of winter, the trendy wine bar, the noisy rock club, the energetic dance club, the sports club with no dress code and the open minded travellers hostel all in one.  I LOVE it!

Mountain huts

One of the things I love about skiing are the mountain huts which vary in quality and price enormously, but consistently provide both a cosy indoor drinking and eating section, along with an outdoor terrace to sunbathe at 2000 metres and –10 degrees Celsius.  If a restaurant in the UK placed a bunch of deck chairs and a DJ in their garden whilst it was snowing, they would probably make the local news for being slightly crazy.  In the mountains however, people (including us) want to sip cocktails, lie back in a chair, enjoy the sun and be entertained whilst they watch the direction of the snow clouds moving over the mountains.

Ski lessons

Despite the fact that I have not skied in a long time, I decided not to take lessons.  I remember my first lessons at the age of 11, and I remember constantly being told to bend my knees and lean forward more.  Whilst I didn’t have an instructor to correct me, I did still have the same problem with leaning forward.  During the first half a day, I could feel the backs of my ankles rubbing against my ski boots as I went downhill.  As Ed put it, you can never lean forward to much when skiing, so if you feel like you are leaning back too much – you probably are.

I was fairly confident on the first day (even if I was leaning back to much), but then had a couple of falls on the second day which made me loose my nerve.  I really stopped enjoying the skiing during this phase, as I was at the back of the group and finding it really difficult to ‘attack the mountain’ (another of Ed’s phrases).  I was scared to make turns whilst the memories of landing face down in the snow, and tumbling down the slope were still in my head.  I decided that I had to just push myself to get over it, so I ended up taking on the slope by bending my legs, heading parallel down the slope to pick up speed, so that I had not choice but to turn efficiently (or fall over again).  It’s amazing how heading down a slope at 30 or 40 mph and seeing a big mound of snow in front of you, makes you forget about what may go wrong and simply get on with making the turn!   After that I had no problems, and took on each slope in a similar fashion.  

Seasonaires

When I was in Phi Phi island in Thailand, one of the things I was loved was the way that travellers, island locals and 2 week holiday makers all integrated harmoniously, shared drinks and engaged in open minded, non-judgemental discussions all day and night.  Ski resorts have a similar mix of people in the resorts…holiday makers, the locales and seasonaires (no idea how that should be spelt).  Seasonaires refer to the people who have come to the ski resort to work for the whole seasons (which is usually December to March in France.  The jobs they do usually revolve around the tourist industry, but can be any number of things including bar workers, hotel shuttle drivers, chalet hosts, ski/snowboard instructors, tour reps, etc…

The one thing that all the seasonaires have in common is that they are there to ski and socialise.  Whilst there are certainly a lot of business owners making a lot of money in the ski resorts, the seasonaires get paid minimum wage, but normally get their accommodation, ski pass and other provisions paid for.  They are not going to walk away from the season with any extra money in their bank account, but they will have a head full of amazing memories and a group of like minded friends.  Whilst I love my job, I sometimes can’t help but wonder what it would be like to spend a year like these guys, only thinking about each day at a time, focussing on having fun, meeting new people and making the most of the amazing surroundings. 

The après ski bars are the place where the holiday makers can mingle with the seasonaires, share stories and get advice on the best venues and events to look out for.  Whilst I am sure that the seasonaires must have a different opinion on holiday makers to ‘their own’, most give the impression of a welcoming inclusive culture, and a desire to socialise at every opportunity.

I’m totally hooked on skiing and the mountain atmosphere now! Expect more snow related posts from now on

We were actually trying to find another bar which has an outdoor champagne serving area made of ice, however our navigation of the slopes was a little off and we had to ‘settle’ for the nearest hut we could find….we were very pleased to find this place

Whilst dinners in the chalet have been amazing all week (thanks to Matt and Christie), our lunchtime meals have been a little more basic, usually consisting of burgers, crepes or sandwiches.  A few of us have been craving a spaghetti bolognaise all week, so were very pleased to see it on the menu at this restaurant.  We were even more surprised when our lunch turned up in a glass jar!  The (fresh) pasta was on the bottom, the sauce next and then some parmesan cheese.  Take a look for yourself in this video…

Very tasty! Although next time I will make sure I mix the sauce and pasta up right at the start, as the pasta in the bottom of the jar was a little dry.

Here are a few shots of the interior and exterior of the bar (click for larger images)…

We were skiing mainly around the Courchevel area (which is where our chalet is), on a variety of blue, red and black runs.  I haven’t skied off piste yet, but I am getting more confident each day, so hope to do so before we leave. 

We did not have pack lunches prepared on our first day, so we went to Courchevel for lunch….VERY expensive  I ended up spending nearly 40 Euros on a crepe, so chips and 2 Diet Cokes.  It was a very nice spot though, we even managed to get a bit of a tan…

After getting our ‘ski legs’ back, Mark and even decided to do a bit of filming as we went down the slopes…

We finished the night off with a lovely meal in the chalet, lots and lots of wine and a very messy game of 21s (which I SO lost and ended up passed out in bed by about 11pm). 

Whilst we did actually spend most of the afternoon skiing (honestly), at about 4pm we were pleasantly surprised to get to the top of the chair lift to hear TUNES!

A local bar called ‘Le Roc’, which was a traditional wooden French mountain style building, with an outdoor deck area for eating and drinking, along with a less than usual set of deck chairs along with a DJ playing some funky/electro house tunes to entertain the passing skiers…

We initially stopped to take few pics and videos, but were too energised by the music to ski away, so instead we ended up sitting on a lounger, ordering some mojitos and chilling to the cool (see what I did there!?) tunes…

Whilst we planned to just stop for one drink, the mojitos were (relatively) cheap, the tunes were good, the views absolutely breathtaking, so we ended up having 3 or 4 mojitos each…

The (slightly drunken) ski down back to the hotel was interesting to say the least!  We actually ended up staying a little too late which meant that some of the ski lifts were closed.  A nice French lady who was in charge of one of the closed lifts instructed us to ski down the bottom of the resort, get a cable car back up to the top of the mountain and then ski back down to the hotel.  That worked a treat and we got back to the 17:45, plus we met a nice Chinese lady during the trip up the mountain – good times!

Ed and I are sharing our room.  We have the smallest, darkest room, but it doesn’t really matter too much.  I think we’ll spend most of the chalet time in the communal area which has a huge dining table, a fireplace and a TV area…

We have just been down to get our hire skis.  There were three standards of skis available – Bronze, Silver and gold.  We opted for gold, although to be honest there was not a noticeable difference in the quality – will probably go for silver in future and save 25 Euros. 

It’s been a long day, so we’re chilling tonight, having dinner, maybe watching the rugby down in the bar, and then get a good nights sleep in preparation for a full days skiing!

Will try to stay active on the blogging front, but to finish it off today here are a few photos of the view from our chalet…