A glorious week in Courchevel

Apologies for the lack of homepage and discussion forecast updates during the first week of February which was due to technical problems preventing me from updating the site remotely from Courchevel where I was staying. Courchevel is part of the 3 Valleys ski domain which is often said to be the biggest in the world. It’s by far the best place I’ve personally skied. Heavy snow had fallen just before we arrived, giving great skiing conditions on our first day. However, things were about to get much better as 20cm of fresh powder fell during the course of our second day there. Skiing in snow can be fun, although I prefer blue skies and bright sunshine. The weather duly obliged on the third day as the snow clouds lifted leaving fabulous conditions with powder snow both on and off piste. Snow had fallen down to a very low altitude in the valley leaving the trees almost completely white. It really did look like the pictures you see in the holiday brouchures and the snow conditions were the best I’d encountered in the alps since the 1980s. In Courchevel there’s a  run called Indiens which bring you face to face with bears (well model ones!) and Red Indians in their Tepees. That's me above with a 'bear' and Tepee in the background.   The rest of the week brought a little more snow in the form of short, but sharp showers, but predominantly it was sunny, dry and not particularly cold. The great thing about the alps is that the air is generally dry, so even when temperatures rise the snow tends not to become slushy and the powder remained all week. Great snow and great skiing in the French alps once again this year, but sadly I don't think there'll be another visit now until next season. ;(   Issued 18:10, 10/02/2008