We’re taking advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend and spending a few days in Chamonix. The plan is to climb, but the forecast for today wasn’t looking too good until late afternoon so we decided to enjoy the last of the snow at Grand Montets.
Being the end of season, the queue for the first lift was non existent. There were a reasonable amount people milling around at Lognan, many with the weathered faces of seasonaires and some weekenders like us. Visibility was poor and we hadn’t been on skis for a couple of months so we decided to head up the Bochard bubble lift.
The Bochard is a cheeky little red number with a few steep sections which on popular days is quickly skied out and becomes icy. Today didn’t have that problem, but the descent was still interesting. One of those times when you just can’t work out which way is up or down.
But we made it down in one piece and decided to give it another go.
Visibility hadn’t improved after the second descent so we decided it was time for a lunch break.
After lunch we jumped on the Lognan lift up to the top station. Again, no queues. In the peak season we have queued for 45 minutes waiting for that lift.
Once at the top we thought about going off the back side and having an off-piste adventure, but in the end we decided that the poor vis would be adventure enough so we stuck with the main route.
As we tackled the unseen moguls, trying to relax enough to be able to react to all the invisible bumps and drops, I thought about the visually impaired skiers in the Olympics. It is a good feeling when you successfully react to the terrain, adjusting your weight, making a quick turn, feeling the wind on your face and the conditions underneath the skis. But with such poor vis on the Point de Vue I did have to stop pretty regularly, not least of all to check that we’d not wondered in to crevasse territory. The visually impaired skiers must have incredibly quick reactions, and of course, lots of stamina.
With the poor visibility came that queazy feeling. I was ok, but Pete got it bad, but it didn’t stop him enjoying the conditions.
However we decided that was enough for one day. Time for a stroll around Chamonix.