25 fevrier – 16 mars
After our wonderful Rhône River getaway, we returned to our chalet and prepared for some company. Throughout our “study abroad,” we have always welcomed visitors. It’s fun to share our nomadic life and, we get to spend quality time with people we miss.
Lisa and her daughter Hanna arrived from Paris bearing both requested and surprise gifts. Anyone who brings Andy chocolate from his favorite Paris chocolatier gets special status and for the second time this winter, Andy got a taste of Jean-Charles Rochoux’s truffles. Merci ladies for the truffles and my beautiful birthday gift.
With only three days in the French Alps, we wanted to give Lisa and Hanna a highlights tour. This included Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens with some experiential slope-side dining, unique to the Alps. On day one, we stopped for lunch at Courchevel 1850’s Le Cap Horn, a restaurant that has been around since 1954 and the epitome of Euro-trash chic, a real scene. We sat on Cap Horn’s huge terrace which was the perfect place to people watch and take in all the conspicuous consumption before us. The highlight of our lunch was a top-of-the-bar performance by a Michael Jackson impersonator who gave us a show of dance and acrobatics to Man in the Mirror. The next day we returned to Maya Altitude and had a late mountain lunch en route to Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, our “base.” Too full from lunch, we enjoyed a charcuterie platter by the television for movie night: A Complete Unknown. On Lisa and Hanna’s last day, we took a protein bar break on beach chairs at the Val Thorens peak, something Andy and I do quite often. That evening we celebrated my birthday with a delicious dinner at La Ferme de Reberty in les Menuires. Our three days together ended up being a highlights tour for Andy and me as well and lucky for them, we had beautiful blue sky days their entire visit.
We had a day to turn things around in our chalet and welcomed Lorraine, Kenny and their son Jason for four superb ski days. Again, we made sure to get our guests to all the areas of les 3 Vallées, enjoy lunches on the slopes including Aiguilles de Peclet at the top of Val Thorens and some special dinners (even one homemade plus an evening of charcuterie and Anora) and dining out for traditional Savoyard cuisine (think fondue and raclette). With Andy as our tour guide, Jason sped down the slopes and the rest of us tagged along. Àpres-ski and sometimes even before, the laptops were out at all hours for work: East coast, India, China; our chalet was both an international and academic business hub. And Happy Anniversary to Lorraine and Kenny, who we hope enjoyed their anniversary eve with us.
We are now on an unintended guest hiatus. Lori and Paul had to cancel their visit to les 3 Vallées due to Lori’s broken wrist. Heal quickly, Lori and we look forward to future ski adventures with you and Paul.
With eleven days between guests, we have been busy skiing, working, writing and planning out our return. Also on my agenda was new ski research; when my skis were tuned in December, I was told my bindings were on their last season (plus my skis were pretty old). I now know about appropriate length, waist, radius, rocker and camber. I demo’d a pair of Völkl Secret 84s that seemed to fit the bill: a little longer in length, a little narrower in the waist and a little higher in the radius than my old Nordica skis. So far so good!
On Sunday, March 16, we did some of our most aggressive skiing with about eight inches of new snow. Armed with a protein bar and a water bottle, we skied for five and a half hours, 14 runs, 41 miles and 22,000 vertical feet, much of it off-piste, in powder.
I conclude today’s post with ten points on skiing with Andy Frankle on a powder day:
- You get to ski powder.
- BONUS if it’s so cloudy you can’t see the tips of your skis.
- You get a cardio workout.
- You burn off that pain au chocolat🥐 that you had for breakfast.
- Be prepared to ski off-piste.
- You are skiing with a 61-year-old teenager.
- Snow is 7” higher if you are 4’10”.
- Go with him or you might lose him (also you can bring him his pole or his ski if he loses control).
- You see and ski parts of the mountain you would have never seen otherwise.
- You earn the “Damn Great Ski Wife” award 🏆.
À bientôt with twelve days left in les 3 Vallées.
The Innocents Abroad, 21st Century Version 