Week 13- Back Home-ish, on holiday...
Week Ending 5/2/6

John gave me my rota this week with Tuesday and Wednesday off instead of just one of them, so I decided to do something constructive with my time and get out of the resort. I was planning on going to Geneva for a couple of days because I’ve never been there before. Then the day before I was going to go, I got a text from my mate Billy saying he was in Val Thorens in the Three Valleys, ‘do I want to meet up?’ I gave Phil (the new driver) a few quid and got him to drive me up there after I finished work on Monday.

It turns out that Daryl (another guy who I travelled with in Oz) was there too, as well as Bill’s sister, her fiancée and a few of their mates. I went out with Steve (her fiancée) and his mate Jim the next day. I wanted to cross the three valleys over to Courchevel 1850, to visit the hotel where I worked last season.

It was snowing and the visibility was changing from not very far to white out. But on all the runs I felt comfortable as if I was coming home. Getting into Courchevel was a strange experience, I’d boarded the runs so many times with so many good friends, that it was weird to think they had all gone home when I did last year.

We went into my old hotel, the Hotel Dahu and had a hot chocolate. There were chalet staff milling about but it was really surreal, I wanted one of my friends to walk out, one of the guys I lived and worked with. But everyone was different. The building was the same, the uniforms were the same, but the people weren’t who they were supposed to be.

We didn’t hang around long because we wanted to get back to Val Thorens by lunch, which was a little optimistic, I’d forgotten how long the journey is across the three valleys. We hardly stopped all the way there and it took us about an hour and a half.

As I sat in the ‘Verdons’ bubble lift, a lift which traditionally would’ve meant the start of the day’s snowboarding, I felt a weird happy sorrow to be leaving again, without everyone else, but knowing I’m still out here with a new load of friends. It was a confusing feeling of loss, but also gratitude.

It was bloody cold on the way back, at least minus 25, it was the coldest I’d been in France this year. I also got a strange dizziness as I went down a piste in a complete white out. The piste was at an angle but because my brain couldn’t work out what was flat or not, my head spun like it used to after being spun too fast on a roundabout.

The next day, Steve, Jim and I went out into the fresh snow on the far side of Val Thorens, it was glorious. I’ve never had such a good day’s boarding. Snowboards come into their own in the deep powder as they glide through like a sailing boat in the wind. The board seems to lift off the hard snow and makes a beautiful swooooshing sound and you pick up speed while carving fresh tracks.

Back in the chalet I made sure I got on with their chalet host by talking shop about seasons and seasonairre life. It was nice being on the other side of the fence while he made us three course meals and ran around after us.
On my last morning I felt really sad to be leaving, they were all a really good bunch of guys and they didn’t seem to mind my sudden appearance and inclusion into the group. They all live in and around Romford so we’ll definitely meet up when I get back. I had that feeling that you get at the end of holidays where you don’t want to go home, but then I realised I was heading back to Val, to the friends that in a few weeks I’d be leaving, maybe forever. We’re in March now, which means we’re definitely on the downward slope to going home.

A bus into Moutier, a train to Bourg St Maurice and then another bus back up to Val and I was back to work. And normal life. Living here in the Alps. I think now going home is in sight, I’m appreciating what I have out here more.

Oh and it’s also snowing again, massively. It’s been going on for about 6 days now and its not showing any signs of stopping, which is great, now all of Europe has gone home. Roll on the sunshine and some top quality boarding next week!