Amazing conditions

6th February 2010

The past two weekends we’ve had bumper snow falls, with at least 50cm of fresh snow last weekend and a further 40cm this weekend, it’s off piste heaven.  I’m very fortunate and off to Canada at the end of the month so need to get my off-piste skiing up to scratch and with this glorious snow now’s the time.  So, I’m taking almost (Philippa don’t worry I am working over here honestly!) every oppotunity to get up there and get ski-fit for this trip of a life time.

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Last Sunday (I decided to give myself a day off) a small group of us headed up to Meribel early to get first lifts and make the most of the 1/2m snow fall the night before and the blue sky.  It’s not often in a season that you get such superb conditions so you have to make the most of it.  So the 5 of us – Badger from Magic  www.magicmeribel.com, Del from Marmalade www.skimarmalade.com, flatmate Jamie, our very own GB Ski Cross champ Emily Sarsfield and me – wrapped up extra warm (as -25C), got our beepers and fat skis on, and off we went!

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Following the Meribel experts, Badger and Del, we did an off-piste circuit starting from the top of the Tougnette and finishing at the bottom of Mt Valon covering well known pitches such as the Spot and Mario Land.  There is so much terrain to be covered in the Meribel valley alone, we’re very lucky with the vast expanse of skiing on offer here.  It was absolutely incredible although I just wish I’d been able to do it justice, but practise makes perfect!   Watching the others ski this and especially Badger doing it all on telemarks was pretty awe inspiring and they make it look so easy damn it.  Huge credit to Jamie who did it all on a snow board – walking out time and time again in such deep snow would have finished most people off.  After 4 hours of skiing in thigh deep powder and trying to keep up with all these professionals (again!) it was certainly time for a lunch stop.  Pizzeria de Mottaret filled the hole and we just about managed to thaw out in time for GS training that afternoon!

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JamieLe Badge