Fred & Pauline's Global Stimulus Package

(or Tour de Dundy*)

At the end of each day I think that today is the day I will blog. Then I get back to the hotel/chalet/friend's place and am too tired to do anything but sleep/drink/eat. Yesterday was no exception with getting back to the hotel with last lifts at 4 (having started with first lifts at 9), a quick shower and onsen and then tea and photo uploadage. I went to have a pre-dinner nap at 6pm and woke at 5am. It seems Fred tried to wake me for dinner and when I refused it, suggested room service. I vehemently opposed this plan of action due to smell issues and sent him to have dinner alone.

Where to start? I had two great but very different weeks skiing in France, first in the Morzine and then Val d'Isère. The former had not had fresh snow for some time, but conditions were still excellent. A light powdering during the week helped freshen things up.

11-17 January Highlights:

• the sheer size of the resort: with a guide we managed to not ski the same run twice (unless by accident), and skied across boarders (not borders unfortunately) into Switzerland. Speaking of the guide, he was provided free by the chalet company and took us (and some of our chalet mates) on Monday, then just the two of us Tuesday and Thursday. A private guide, for free!

[afternoon beer with our guide Rob]

• great chalet experience: I've not stayed in this type of accomm before (it being a very British thing to do). It's like a mini-hotel or perhaps a cross between a mini-hotel and a B&B. The set up is a large(ish) chalet run by hosts who cook and clean for 10-12 people who may or may not know one another. Everyone has their own rooms & en suite but share meals with the other guests. Apparently some thought is put into who shares with whom by the company running the chalet, and I now understand the importance of this. And how lucky we were for a first experience.

• the weather was good to us: bright sunny days

18-24 January
The next week in Val was completely different. Val had not any fresh snow since a dump of massive proportions had delivered metres of snow just before christmas. A month later the base was still solid, but again could do with freshening. And lo did the snow fall. We had driven from Morzine (and before that from London, but will blog about that another time) and luckily had just beat out the snow and didn't require the evil chain stop.

The snow just kept on falling. It was so beautiful to watch, especially from the warmth and luxury of the new chalet. Our first day of skiing was quite fraught — lots of fresh snow, poor visibility, no grooming and too many brits on the slopes churning up the snow. I have little experience skiing in such conditions and found that the skills I had earned the previous week had evaporated. The week is beginning to blur in my memory now, but I did find the skiing challenging.

Highlights:

• A brilliant lesson on Thursday was the skiing highlight! It was with a company called The Development Centre and I would recommend them to anyone. As the name suggest, they specialise in development (rather than teaching from scratch) and have special clinics. We covered 'fine tuning' our techniques and then skiing in powder. Brilliant!

• The chalet was fantastic. Really stylish, great position and thoughtful service. They have a 'concierge' service who at the other end of the phone can provide most services required. Including when all the chalet guests found themselves down at the pub when dinner time was approaching a mini-bus was dispatched to fetch us. Oh, and the outdoor hot tub was quite nice, too.

• I must also mention the lowlight, an awful guiding experience in near blizzard conditions that left me in tears stranded on the mountain. Again, I might go into detail later but rest assured that a Letter is being Written.

Then there was the looong drive home. 9 hours through France in unfavourable conditions. At home was a quick wash of clothes and re-packing the bag before turning around 24 hours later to catch a flight to Vancouver.

26-31 January: Vancouver
We arrived Monday evening and headed straight for Whistler. Fred had organised a mini-van transfer which seemed such a sensible idea (last time we rented a car and drove, but that time we hadn't just stepped off an international flight and also had the luck of travelling by day in order to enjoy the fantastic views the Sea to Sky Highway affords). Although completely useful the transfer was mighty uncomfortable. Won't try that again.

Once again I brought the snow with me. Like France, Whistler hadn't had any snow for some time. Unlike France it had suffered immeasurably as a result. The snow was welcomed and helped many pistes, but in some areas the hard packed ice showed through. There is nothing I loathe more than ice.

The first day skiing was so-so. I think I was suffering from ski overload. I even sat out a day and napped. The day after was a great improvement with the Symphony chair opening and allowing us into the bowl. That night our friend Len travelled up from Vancouver and the next day the three of us had a snowboarding lesson. It was a first for all of us and quite difficult, but no, did not convert me (sorry Ting). I am however determined to give it another go... it's just that it's so hard to take time away from skiing! Am considering it here in Japan (night skiing, perfect!).

Back in Vancouver we stayed with Len and Gabrielle and dined (out) like kings, first at Fuel and then at Le Crocodile.

Which brings us to Japan, our current location. I'll try to update later.