It was a fabulous day off for Joe, who took the opportunity to leave his ski boots off and came for a walk over to Mt Caly with Delilah, Roxy and me. A simple but delicious lunch of omlette and fries washed down with a cold beer was just what the doctor ordered!

Today the boys are all hard back into it with six and seven hours each of lessons to deliver and it is very obligingly snowing again, ready to welcome all our newly arrived guests! Can’t be too smug, this week is the French half term week which is generally even more hectic on the slopes but with the entire area open and with excellent cover it should ease the congestion for everyone.

More good news, the freezing weather (not totally unwelcome in a ski resort since it obviously helps keep everything in good nic) is on it’s way out and tomorrow the temperature is forecast to be in plus numbers for what seems to be the first time in an eternity! Joe can put away the extra pair of batteries he bought for his boot heaters and I daresay most of the instructors will be relieved to shed a layer or two of clothing!

It’s a great time of year for Joe & I to take advantage of our surroundings and remember why we chose this life-style (it really isn’t about the money, ALC pays the bills but it’s never gonna make us rich!). Last week the boys had an off-piste excursion together and enjoyed a blue-bird day with excellent off-piste winter conditions.

Yesterday Joe & I took time out for a date – ski, followed by an excellent lunch at Altitude Lodge (courtesy of one of Joe’s regular clients, thanks Eric Hughson, when you are back in April we recommend belly of pork or pigeon breast!) washed down with a bottle of St Emilion. Once again conditions are fantastic, winter sun, blues skies and squeaky cold snow underfoot. Admittedly it’s getting a bit scraped off and shiny on the busier or south facing slopes but more snow is forecast for Thursday & Friday which is perfect timing!

Monday I went for a clinic with Mo from TSI, he’s a  competitor here but first and foremost a longstanding ski-buddy of Joe’s (I still reckon they should have opened a school together and called it MoJo Ski!) and one of BASI’s excellent Alpine training body. Since I stopped teaching 5 seasons ago I have not put much into my  skiing and it is beginning to show, so I consider myself very lucky to have so many good teachers around I can turn to for help – spoilt for choice almost! And I’m now really psyched for the next one.

It is a source of frustration for ski teachers that so many recreational skiers reach a reasonable level and just stop taking lessons – Why? Any conscientious instructor will tell you that they still work constantly to maintain their skiing level and improve their teaching knowledge, long after getting that rubber stamp. It is all too easy to get into lazy habits and stop challenging yourself. Like anything in life, you get out of skiing (or boarding) what you put into it – let’s face it, ski holidays are not cheap, so you owe it to yourself to spend that few extra quid to brush up your technique, try something you’ve never done before or boost your confidence and maximise your time here. Come on – surprise yourselves!

Our plans are to go on a little off-piste adventure, up with the lark, first lift up to Chamossiere followed by a 45 minute walk to the pointe D’angolon- which seemed like longer for me as the heaviest of our team- whereas they go ankle deep I go knee or thigh deep on nearly every step, I must lose a few pounds or the new nickname of Homer will stick.

Finally I reach the top not too far behind the boys Ed and Nathan and a beautiful view awaits us.

Then the descent, quite windblown and scoured icy to begin with but then absolutely brilliant soft powder for a good long way on a big wide expanse of a slope that funnels into more tree and bush lined narrower gullies all the way down into the Valley de la Manche, where they’ve cut a few trees down and created a new clearing down onto the track that takes you back to the Nyon cable car.

Up to the 2 crickets for a well earned hot chocolate followed by a couple of runs on piste and our first day off is complete, what a great morning, cheers guys!!!

more pics on our facebook page

We hope you all have enjoyed the festive season and that the prospect of returning to work (with or without a hangover) is not too daunting!!

For us we are now moving into one of my favourite parts of the season. The resort is relatively quiet, the snow is good and we have the opportunity to take a breath and enjoy our surroundings before the hurly burly of February hits us once again.

If you are not one of the many folk who have enjoyed the festivities in the Alps this year a cheeky weekend or mid week break skiing may be just the tonic you need to ward off winter blues! There are so many great deals around at this time of year and Alpine Learning Curves are here to make learning to ski affordable and good value for money:

Check out our Workshops for a one off group lesson to hone your skills or have a taste of something new.

During low season we are offering special reduced rates for half & full day privates, whilst 5x2hrs groups are down from 225 euros to 210 euros per person.

And at any time of the year we will offer discounts on block bookings for private lessons!

Want to know more, then give us a call or just fill out our enquiry form – see you on the slopes soon!!

We hope you all enjoyed yesterday as much as we did. For us it was an absolute Bluebird day on the hill, wonderful clear winter skies and crisp cold snow underfoot.

After enjoying a few runs on Chamosier (the black run was in amazing condition and is now all the more accessible thanks to the new 6 man chair that went in last year, replacing a cranky old four man that was well past its sell by date!) we headed over to our favourite restaurant, Chez Nannon for Christmas lunch. There were 21 of us this year feasting on Cote de Beauf, Lamb and Chicken in Cream Sauce.

Then it was the usual dash to make the last chair lift before heading down to the bush for a final beer and home.

Christmas may be over but this will all still be here for you to enjoy in January at excellent low season prices so why don’t you join us for a few days! Check out our Facebook page so you can see from the photos exactly what you are missing!

There IS snow in the Alps, ours has just arrived on schedule for the ski fields to open and if there is one problem is getting to anywhere when the roads are such chaos!! Seriously, the Les Gets/Morzine/Avoriaz lift companies have all hands to the pumps getting the ski stations open and the lifts working and poor Joe has just spent his entire morning digging out our car park.

We did get some good runs yesterday although it was a limited opening the snow was still fabulous, so check out our Facebook page if you want to see for yourselves.

Some awesome off-piste where I manage to do a front flip out of both skis after hitting a compression, much to the delight of Ed, who says, “I’m not saying that made my day and made me laugh but it made my day and……”

Quite a bit of wind around but lots of cover in the tree-lined runs on the Linderet side that winds down through “the stash”, some really nice bumps starting to form there too by the end of our time there.

Lots more snow falling and more forecast for the next few days, so looks like the season could be on for one of the best starts for a while and we might forget the bad season we had last. As an aside this might stop the British press doing their usual doom and gloom and irresponsible reporting. Les Gets and Mt Chery open this weekend so watch this space

If you need to contact us please take note, the UK mobile has been switched off now until May!

There seems to be some anxiety in the air about the lack of snow (although as I write it is sleeting here in Pont Des Gets and I can see the snow line on the heights gradually creeping down). Of course, our perfect season would begin and end with a couple of weeks free – skiing or snowboarding in Avoriaz before and after looking after our clients but in reality it seldom works that way.

Last season we had an early start but then an unseasonably warm spell brought rain and we were left valiantly limping along with marginal snow from February onward. No offence SAGETS, the work done by the piste bashers and the snow cannons was truly awesome but it will not go down as one of our best ever seasons!

On the other hand if we do not have a decent snow fall until the eleventh hour historically we have had good snow conditions when it really matters (peak season) and even a good snowfall at the end of March to see us through comfortably until Easter. I know which I prefer!

On a completely different subject, it has been business as usual for Joe who has already been working for BASI since October. Today he left to deliver a two day training course to the TUI hosts working in another part of the Alps for the season. Then he will be home here with me waiting for the slopes in Les Gets and Morzine to open – probably mid-December.