Off Piste Skiing Deaths
Monday 8th March saw Chamonix centre witnessing a dramatic rescue on the Pre De Rocher which is close to the lower section of the Aiguille De Midi telepherique. A group of skiers mistook their route and one of them finally fell 80metres to his death down an icy couloir. The helicopter team recovered the body and also rescued the rest of the group bringing them safely back to Chamonix. It was a tragic day and illustrates that you need to take a mountain guide when skiing or boarding off piste even when so close to the town centre.
On the same day a snow boarder died after falling down a crevasse on the Valleé Blanche and a skier died in Megeve after suffering a cardiac arrest.
New Watersports Centre and Spa for Chamonix
Chamonix is to get a new 5-8M Euro watersports centre and spa. The planned centre will sit behind the existing sports complex and concentrate on well-being and body-care, in contrast to the existing sports centre's focus on activities and physical recreation. The complex will consist of three areas: a recreational area with thermo-aqua pools, Jacuzzi whirlpool baths and another spa area with a sauna steam-room and a third area focused on the care of the body. The complex will be heated with biomass boilers. The lakeside area will have a new restaurant to complement the recent development around the lake and new outdoor pools.
Servoz Restaurant in Michelin Guide
Marc Serres and his team from their new restaurant "The Gorges Diosaz" in Servoz in the Chamonix valley have entered the Michelin Guide in 2010. (He already received the same distinction when he worked at Chamonix in the "Panier des 4 Saisons").
In the restaurant he uses very good quality fresh seasonal products and new techniques. The lunch time menu costs 18 euros (starter, main course, dessert and coffee), a dinner menu is 26 euros and a gourmet menu 36 euros.
www.hoteldesgorges.com
2010 Coupe De France Handisport De Ski Alpine.
If you think skiing is hard then try it with one leg, or perhaps with no legs; or maybe with limited or no sight. Then try skiing a slalom in a snow storm at night. Well thats what these guys and ladies were doing at Planards one evening last week prior to heading off to Vancouver for the Olympics.
Free Ride World Tour.
The Free Ride World Tour consists of a handfull of Free Ride competitions held in the top ski areas of the world. Two of this years stages were held in Chamonix.
The worlds best free ride skiers and boarders hike through deep powder to the top of a mountain and take the best route back down again. The climb takes up to two hours and the descent under five minutes. The competition was halted at one stage to allow a helicopter rescue of one of the competitors who damaged a limb on a landing after jumping a cliff, but otherwise all went to plan including excellent pre-competition snowfall and blue skies on the day.
October Holidays.
The October school holidays take place in the last week in October and part of the first week in November. This year we celebrated the holidays in the sunshine with a multi-activity week. Day One was a walk from Montenvers via the Signal to the Aiguille De Plan in warm sunshine but with snow underfoot. Day Two was an afternoon at the swimming pool. Day Three was spent playing tennis at the Courts in Les Houches. Day Four was an afternoon on the bikes from Chamonix up the valley via the river with a stop off at Paradis Des Praz. Day Five was spent climbing at La Fayet and Day Six was back in the mountain again with a walk up to Lac Cornu and back down via Charlanon. Day Seven (November 1st) saw the kids playing tennis in the park again while we took what was probably the last high mountain run of the year from Planpraz, up to the top of the Brevant via the Col De Brevant and on to L'Aiguillette Des Houches before descending down to Les Houches. It was quite surreal running in shorts and trail shoes in the sections of snow, particularly to the rear of the Brevant where the path normally turns into a rock scramble with sections of via ferrata, the snow and ice made the scramble particularly spicy in trail running shoes, an ice axe and crampons would have been more appropriate in places. Addtionally the top of the Bozon black piste was covered in snow, making it more suitable for skiing down than running up.
All changed that evening with snow down to about 1300metres overnight and at the time of writing on Tuesday 2nd November there is no sign of it stopping. We'd better get the skis waxed up and put the running shoes away......
Picnic in the snow at Col Cornu on Halloween.
The last major event of the Summer took place on the 27th September, the course involved running 52km over a combined ascent and descent of 3200metres. Over 600 runners started in the dark and rain at 5.00am in Vallorcine and followed a difficult and remote route through the Aiguilles Rouges Mountains before emerging back in the Chamonix Valley at Servoz.. The route did not finish there however as the weary runners had to then run another 12km out of Servoz up a steep hill to Vaudagne and on to Les Houches, before the final circuit around the lake to the finish. (The rest of the day was dry, clear and beautiful. Like Camelot, it normally only rains at night in Chamonix).
Runners in the Aiguille Rouges Trail on the Aiguilette Des Houches