During our Christmas holiday we went to our house in France, for a week of skiing, like we did last year as well. We left The Hague, covered in 20 cm of snow, and we were dreading the drive though wintery Western Europe. It had been mayhem on the roads, airports and railways the weeks before, so we decided to take an alternative route, avoiding the hilly Belgian Ardennes. This was probably a good move, as we were treated to sleet in Northern France, turning into heavy rain further south. In our village there was no snow left due to mild weather and rain, but it turned around on our arrival and temperatures stayed below zero during our stay.
Arriving late afternoon at the house we found out that the heating was not working, and it was bitterly cold inside. With the help of our neighbour Jean, and in the end Philippe the plumber (who had to replace a part) it was fixed late in the evening. We spend the first night shivering in our beds, waiting for the house to warm up, and next morning it was already comfortable. We were ready for the holidays!
A thin layer of snow had fallen during the night (the only snow during our 10 day stay), which was just enough for some cross country skiing around the village, and Paula and Dorien had a go. The next day we went up to Alpe d'Huez for our first day of skiing. The following days had our usual routine: get up at 7.15, breakfast, coffee, gather our gear, drive up to Alpe d'Huez, put the ski gear on and go to the lesson area, for a 9.15 start. Paula and Dorien had lessons every morning, as we are mediocre skiers and can't teach them anything anymore. As part of the lessons they have a number of races, during which they can qualify for higher levels. Due to the lack of fresh snow the pistes were quite hard and icy, and it was difficult for them to ski fast; only Dorien managed to pass one of the levels. In the afternoons we skied together throughout the whole area, only the mythic "Tunnel" descent is missing from our list (as it is very steep, and not groomed). The weather, especially the second half of the week, was very good: sunshine, little wind and just below zero temperatures.
New Year's Eve was as usual: no activity whatsoever in the village. Lights are out early as almost everybody is working in the ski resorts. We lasted to midnight....
On the last day we cleaned our gear and the house, and Paula and Dorien had a visit by their friend Pauline from Bourg. We drove back through the Ardennes this time, but we got stuck in a long traffic jam, as that road had not fully recovered and was reduced to one lane for a stretch. It was a long day in the car... And now back to our regular lives again: work, school and horse riding!
Paula and Dorien are ready for their cross country run, Swallow is looking on
Cross country skiing along the Romanche
Dorien's ski class is ready to start
Paula and Piet on the black Sarenne descent, claimed to be the longest in Europe
Paula and Piet on the Chalvet run, overlooking Alpe d'Huez
Mary and Dorien on Lievre Blanc, above the clouds
