At last some pictures that don’t involve socks.
The weather was forecast to be pretty good so we decided it was time to head over to Val Thorens which, as we first reported 2 years ago, is now referred to a ‘VT’. The first lift took us up through the cloud and by the time were at the top of Mont De La Chambre the view down on to the top of the clouds was incredible.
The sun in ‘VT’ was wonderful and it made a change to be skiing on something you could actually see. We headed straight for our favourite runs from the base of the Peclet glacier. You can see the end of the glacier clearly as you pass beneath it.
The snow is in really good condition as it stays cold, it was -10degrees at resort level and colder above. Here is a video to make you jealous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtsO1lOi_UQ
A huge amount of investment seems to have gone into this resort in the last few years. As well as their double cable gondola things which can cope with the wind high up, nearly all the chair lifts seem to have been upgraded to these 6 man express chairs which allow two chairs to load at once.
There have also been quite a few seriously expensive looking hotels built like this one
(Don’t worry, it is straight, that is just my GoPro lens….)
In amongst all this new stuff the same café with the waffle stall has been there, owned by the same guy for 23 years. He does not work there any more, he lets out the waffle facility to other people to run a business.
The current guy is now in his second season, and this year he has been working since 5th December without a day off. A better range of toppings than before, so it is even more highly recommended than it was (as if that were possible)
Rather than try and get anywhere specific we spent our time on runs with good snow in the sun, and had a thoroughly enjoyable day. We skied a long way, but by pacing ourselves a bit better I can actually walk this evening…
