Flaine and the Gang
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| The Flaine Gang |
Early on in the planning of our motorhome ski adventure, Zoe and Hugo decided they would come out and ski with us in the Grand Massif. As their plans materialised Hugo's dad Adrian and their friends Faye and Charlie also became part of the gang and decided to book their stay in Flaine, the highest of the resorts, to ensure they would have snow in late March. This was great news for us as we do love to ski with others as well as each other.
| Right from start of this ski adventure we would sit on the ski lifts spotting slopes and off-piste areas and say, 'They are going to love that', or come across fun-parks we knew Hugo and anyone else crazy enough to do jumps would love to have a go at. As time got nearer we also made it our 'mission' to tour the mountain cafes for good coffee stops 😉 knowing that skiing in a gang is very sociable and requires many chances to stop to refuel and plan the next routes. |
Another important consideration for us would be where we would stay during their time here. We had spent most of our time during January and February in the lower villages of Samoëns and Sixt-Fer-A-Cheval, around 800m, due to the weather conditions and the availability of camping areas with water and toilet disposal. However, we knew it took us a good 40 minutes to get up to Flaine in a morning on the ski lifts but the last lift down was at 4:45 meaning we wouldn't be able to spend evenings with the gang. Chris was unsure if he wanted to drive all the way to Flaine, 1650m, as there was still snow on the ground at this time and so in early February we drove up the windy mountain road towards Flaine to see if there was anywhere to stay. This was an unsuccessful trip with no campsite or anywhere really to park up. So Chris took a ski-tour over to Flaine one day when I was teaching. He reported back that he'd found a car park near the Sal Picnic where we could get fresh water and empty the loo if need be. As March drew nearer, we kept our eye on temperatures and snow reports - what we needed was good snow for skiing yet no snowfall leading up to the gang's arrival! It was a pretty tense 10 days prior to their arrival as temperatures had risen, snow had begun to melt and we'd had bad rain and some of the lower slopes were getting a little slushy. We knew how much they were all looking forward to skiing and we wanted them to be able to experience the whole of the ski area.
Great news - the weather was kind to us and we got up the mountain relatively easily just a little before the gang arrived to set up our camp at the base of Flaine. Chris and I were very excited to see them and of course especially Zoe. It was a great meet-up the first night and we sat and planned the next day over beers and burgers.
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| Chris waiting for Zoe |
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| Home for the week |
On the first day under blue skies and sunshine, Chris was our slope guide and led us around the blue and red runs of Flaine and we lunched on a rocky outcrop - the gang soaked up the sun and the amazing views. We even found a new area of Flaine that Chris and I hadn't skiied before, a lovely foresty part with undulating slopes that ended down windy slopes through the trees.
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| Flaine 2500m |
On a grey day two, Chris led us over to the villages to see the different mountain terrain, all tree-lined slopes and pretty chalets. We'd arranged to meet up with Uncle Nick, Chris's cousin who'd contacted us the week before to say he was coming out with his mates. However, by 12:30 we were sheltering in the Salle Picnic, wet through and wondering what to do next. We decided to abandon the meet-up and headed back to Flaine to escape the wet and slushy slopes with the promise of returning later in the week. An afternoon of skiing in Flaine dried us off with a couple of beer stops too! Later, in a cute little restaurant, snow began to fall as we ate our traditional tartiflettes, tartes, cheeses and charcuteries. It was such a magic moment! The young 'uns took us to a great bar, The Social, for more beer, a round of digestifs, Genopie, and a couple of rounds of 7-card Knockout Whist - a great laugh especially as I actually won a round much to Chris and Zoe's amazement!!
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| Snow! |
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| Crazy mirrors! |
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| Up the Genopie |
On Sunday, we met-up with Nick and his mates Mark, Mick and Chris at the mountain cafe Le Blanchot on the slopes of Flaine. It was weird to 'bump' into someone you know in such a remote lace and we shared piste stories and got to know Nick's friends. We did a couple of runs together as a group of 11 but this proved a little difficult with a larger group number and as Mark said later our young ones were too fast for him. The young ones and Adrian 😉 went off to do some off-pisting and other crazy, knee-crunching stuff whilst Chris and I skiied at a more sober pace with Gang #2. Chris and I felt so lucky to have two lots of people wanting to ski with us and it was joyful with more chat and laughter. We didn't get to ski with Nick and his gang again as they decided to ski Chamonix for a day but we did meet up later.
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| Lunchtime |
The next few days were such beautiful weather, blue skies, warm and great snow conditions. Chris and I enjoyed watching Hugo and then Zoe, Adrian, Charlie and Faye start to go off-piste for a bit of adrenaline skiing but declined. As the week went on their adventurousness became infectious and Chris and I tentatively followed them down black runs, off-piste crazy skiing and even on the jumps in the fun-parks. Although at times I was reluctant to follow, I did it with the encouragement and patience of all them and took inspiration from their joi de vivre, it was great to see their excitement and hear the joy in their laughter. And...Adrian was doing it too, so why not me and Chris? On reflection, I wish I had tried everything they did but it took a while to be brave and try things we hadn't done before. What have I learnt from this? Just do it as Nike would say!
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| Eyeing up the Black run |
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| Black run |
Black run video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTYPS7zZHag
We ate some great food, our own mountain picnics, sharing out sweets, chocolate, crisps etc... and at night in various bars and restaurants, this was a great rest for Chris and I as we had mostly self-catered on this trip. But the best part was being with them all, chatting, laughing, playing cards and planning our days together. Our gang was a nice balance of us parents - me, Chris and Adrian with our kids and their friends Charlie and Faye. Chris and I didn't make the mash-up après ski, but we did feel very much part of their holiday, with 'prinks' and a ukulele jamming session in Homer on our last night together.
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| Après mash-up |
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| Les Carroz boy band 🤣 |
To round off the week, we planned a mountain breakfast for Chris and took coffee, pastries and a surprise birthday cake with candles to 2000m! As with all plans, it went a bit pear-shaped as the blue-sky weather had turned and we sat trying to hold down our coffees, pastries and Chris's birthday cards. He didn't get a candle-lit cake but we did sing to him and later had a farewell birthday lunch together before the gang departed back to Manchester.
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| Birthday boy |
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| Birthday breakfast 🥐☕️ |
Chris and I felt a little bereft but busied ourselves driving down the mountain back to Samoëns to our regular wild-camp stop. Luckily we met up with Chris's cousin Nick and his mates later that evening and we spent the evening sharing ski and life stories, beers and pizza. Although, Chris and I are very happy in each other's company, we do love to be with others, especially family and close friends.
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| Cousins |
It's less than a week until we set off on our journey back to the UK and we have a lot of wonderful memories to look back on. This last week has been a true stand-out time and we've loved sharing this beautiful and amazing place with people who were great fun to be with and shared their passion of skiing with us. 😊
This blog was written by Melle 👩
Videos below 😉Apres ski mash
Top of the Black run 😬
Great reading MELLE. Loved the pics and videos.xxx
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Melle and what an amazing time you had in Flaine. Such great photos as well .
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