What a brilliant week we've had here in Méribel. The snow conditions have improved massively due to three separate snowfalls. None of them were huge but each one has really helped, especially during one of the busiest weeks of the ski season.
The 'skiers dream' continued because straight after each fresh snowfall, bright sunshine immediately followed. One day we dressed in full combat gear to deal with the falling snow, the next day we were slapping on the sun block and thriving with awesome conditions and visibility.
Over the last few weeks we have had to choose our pistes very carefully depending on aspect, frequency of piste grooming, snow cannon cover and altitude. Plus regular sharpening of the ski edges also was a must. However, we can now choose our favourite pistes without any of these considerations. This photo is the Lagopede red piste, taken on Wednesday just after the second snowfall.
All week I've been skiing with Helen, and occasionally her daughter Olivia. I've skied with Helen many times before, she is an accomplished skier capable of moving around the massive '3 Valleys', claimed to be the biggest ski area in the world. So we had plenty of options when staying ahead of the crowds, finding secret quiet spots and making the most of the fresh snow.
It was a real pleasure to be able to ski in the fluffy stuff again after weeks of being on firm snow. But, we still wanted to improve our performance particularly in the chopped-up snow the other side of the piste markers. Helen's balance works well, so we looked at the quality of pressuring and edging the skis. It can be tempting when off piste to shove the skis around the corner of the turn quickly and slam the edges in the snow which can result in stressful, jerky and unbalanced results. Instead we looked at the advantage of keeping both skis flatter on their base when steering patiently around the curve of the turn, ie avoiding extreme edge angles.
This is quite a big change to make both technically and psychologically in this environment, and it can take a while to trust this method. But, blow me down, Helen immediately felt the benefits and loved this new relaxed, floaty and energy-efficient way of skiing. Fantastic. Although this all sounds very technical and intense, we still had plenty of time to admire together the beauty surrounding us, including unusual wind ripples left in the snow at the top of Mont Vallon, the highest area of the Méribel valley.
It was an excellent week we shared together with awesome skiing, in awesome conditions avoiding the crowds. A special time indeed after weeks with slightly below-par snow conditions.
BREAKING NEWS: It's been snowing again for the fourth time this week, and heavily since 'Sparrows Fart' today, and it hasn't stopped yet, it's now late Sunday afternoon. I can't give you any official depths but it was easily over 30 cms in places by mid-morning. I didn't have any work today so I went skiing with friends and colleagues Mike Harrison and a new British recruit within the ESF school Lara Crisp. Today is my birthday, and what a present to have. So here is a rushed processed photo of Lara from earlier this morning.
Martin
P.S. I fly to London tomorrow afternoon to have a few days break from work, and spend some time with my wife Harriet. I did take loads of photos today of Mike and Lara, but don't worry I'll post them later on in the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment