Love is in the Air in an Eventful Week!

It may be some time since I last posted a blog but I'm going to make up for it with a very eventful week! We'll start at the beginning with some more corporate skiing. We left the chalet heading for Mont d'Arbois with 7 guests. This may not sound particularly challenging but when they're hanging out of their arses (for want of a better phrase) it's a challenge! To add to it we were also experiencing the heaviest snow of the season so far - so much in fact it was sticking quicker than the ploughs could clear it and we were skiing in about 6 inches of fresh snow on each run! We enjoyed the blue and red Princesse runs with a trip in a dry telecabine at the end of each run and then it was time for coffee so we skiied all the way back to the bottom of Mont d'Arbois and enjoyed an hour in the warmth of the Club Mont d'Arbois. We did have to de-snow before we went in but luckily the radiators were pumping out hot air and my gloves dried whilst I enjoyed a hot chocolate.

It was a little bit windy as well so when we first started skiing our route to lunch at L'Alpette was not open but by some stroke of luck by lunchtime it was open and we took the lift across, skied to the chairlift and quickly lost three to the warmth of the restaurant! The more hardy of us skiied a red run and then a black run - properly earning our lunch - before heading in to enjoy copious amounts of Savoie wine and food! Needless to say after lunch we skiied one run and retired to the chalet!

Our next guests arrived, a group of 5 gentlemen with a penchant for red wine, and a couple who spend a lot of time in Megeve with Ski Royale. We guided the gentlemen for two days and were rewarded with one gentleman declaring it was one of the best days of his life! Sadly on the second day one gentleman took a couple of big tumbles and the second one resulted in a lift down the mountain on a back-board sledge. Luckily he was ok, although not happy he missed out on lunch at the Forestier.

We're now back onto corporate skiing and whilst rather well behaved on their first night, last night was much bigger and this morning's guiding was a challenge. Add into the mix the heavy snow and it's not surprising we didn't start skiing til 1030 and stopped for lunch at 1230! Phil and I enjoyed lunch at Le Face au Mont Blanc very much but I think the others were struggling slightly! I enjoyed the salad buffet and soup followed by the dessert buffet and Phil had some salad, chicken and chips and then destroyed the dessert buffet! Needless to say there was no more skiing and the only things happening this afternoon are hot tubs, football watching and sleeping!

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's day whatever you got up to. We were very lucky and had the day off so we had a lie in, a late breakfast, a box of Ferrero Rocher, went for a swim and then went for pizza in the evening. Whilst we might not have had the most romantic night, from what I can gather, there was plenty of romance on the cards for other members of Ski Royale with a hot date in the Wake-Up bar and a market-fresh meal for one lucky lady!

We've got a busy couple of weeks with a French family for half term and another family with twin 4 year olds after that! Then we're into March and the season of family visits. I've been checking out things to do with my niece and nephew and at the moment, if they're being a little bit trying, the threat is no horse sleigh ride! There are plenty of horses to choose from - I just hope they choose the right one!

Chalet Girl Swear Words Number 3: 'In the chalet last year I...'

This week we have three lovely ladies staying in the top rooms and 4 men staying, three of which seem pretty normal and pleasant but one of which seems dead set on telling us indirectly all about the things he's done in previous chalets he's visited to annoy the chalet hosts! If there's one thing you probably shouldn't tell the people looking after you, cleaning your room and cooking your meals it's probably how you 'searched through every cupboard looking for the red wine'! When you've had your allocated wine and some more on top of everyone else's then it's probably time to stop drinking or pay up! At least he hasn't been through the fridge and helped himself to tomorrow's dinner!

Yesterday we had a lovely ski with our guests. Phil went off with Martin the ski guide and the men and I went with our ladies and a few other people from the hotel and Michelle down some blue runs. I enjoyed my gentle ski, practising my small turns and trying to get to grips with a 360 flat spin but somewhere along the way I get stuck facing up the hill! The visibility wasn't very good at the top of the hills and skiing to coffee was like skiing into the unknown - luckily I know that part of the piste well! By lunchtime the clouds were starting to clear out which meant the guests had a fab afternoon on the slopes.

I received a parcel in the post this week from my Auntie who, having read my blog, decided I needed some fur and sent me a fabulous headband/earwarmer from Jack Wills. I have to say I now fit in perfectly in Megeve and it's also very warm and hides a bad hair day amazingly!

I've also been chatting on Skype with my nephew and niece who are paying us a short visit in March. They've seen their room, argued over who gets the big bed (although I have a feeling Daddy will have that bed!), seen the hot tub, the swings, the sledges, my skis, the snow... I also told them they'd have to make a cake for the ski shop so they can get skis and Maurice told me he needs to make a big cake in order to get big skis!! Good 4-year-old logic if you ask me! We're also going to go on a horse sleigh ride which caused rather a lot of excitement! Here's Beatrix in her new ski suit - can you guess what colour is her favourite?!

Today we're not skiing. Instead we walked down the Calvaire Way, a 19th Century walk,  into Megeve to write some postcards and drop off a lamb shank for Charlie in the hotel. We had a lovely walk down past the small churches, chapels and other buildings, stopped for coffee whilst we wrote the postcards and what a difference 30 minutes makes!

We looked outside and it was snowing, not just a few flakes but proper snow! We walked over to the bakery for a tarte citron meringue and a croix de Savoie, posted our postcards and made our way to the bus stop, abandoning our plan of walking back up the Calvaire walk.

I looked something like a snowman by the time we got back to the chalet but it's all good because it means that tomorrow we have all morning to ski on new snow! I'm also going to watch some amazing mogul skiing (skiing over very tight bumps with a few jumps added in just for fun!). We have a changeover tomorrow with 2 guests arriving for dinner and 5 more at midnight. We're then guiding them on Friday with a lot of others joining the group before stopping for lunch at the Alpette. It could be interesting trying not to lose anyone, if we find them all to begin with, as the forecast is currently for heavy snow all morning!

We then have a day off on Saturday when the forecast is better and are very much looking forward to it!

Beautiful Megeve

Today is one of the most beautiful days I have ever seen. Yesterday the fog was down low, the skiing difficult as visibility was down to 2 metres in places, the snow was occasionally falling and it was cold. We welcomed 2 guests and enjoyed a dinner of 'clean out the freezer' which turned into scallops on pea puree, honey and balsamic glazed duck breasts with mixed vegetables and strawberry and mango Eton Mess!

This morning I enjoyed a sunrise with the mountains turning from black to deepest blue and slowly gaining definition against a dawn sky. The sun then starts its path down the mountain, highlighting just the tips first before steadily making its way down the sides to wake the village. The sky is now bright blue with the odd wispy cloud and a few vapour trails from the local little planes. We've also seen the early morning balloons making their way through the valley and what views they must be seeing!

Phil had to take the car to the airport this morning to help with a mammoth transfer. I am stuck in waiting for 5 guests to arrive but have been outside to defrost the van and take the guests we already have to the slopes. They are a lovely older couple from Australia and one has never skiied before! I've had to lend them our ski trousers and gloves as they had no stuff and then take them to the ski shop, book a lesson, get lift passes, equip them with maps... I've also cleaned the chalet, made dessert, done afternoon tea and now I'm watching the Australian Open and Andy Murray trying to make his way against Federer.

We have a rather complicated few days with people arriving and leaving at various times and then on Wednesday we get 8 men with a 9th arriving on Friday! I think after that we're back to corporate but I'm not sure - they like to keep us on our toes!!

This week we've got the horses in town for some polo matches which I can't wait to see. Last week was the dog sled racing but I was rather disappointed to find that in actual fact most of the dogs looked like random strays and there were very few husky dogs around. We also didn't get to see any proper racing as they did a 'Megeve challenge' in the evening before moving on over night.

Our guests last week had a lot of fun on the fabulous snow and one pair even decided to try and ski back to the chalet on their first day out! They were in the right area from what we could make out on the telephone, but walked the wrong way (away from the chalet) before coming back, finding the horse field and eventually the chalet! not happy that he'd provided his wife with a suitable story of adventure for the week, the next day, our gentleman in question, took his wife off-piste through some trees, one of which she became rather entangled with by all accounts! So on sunday we skiied with the pair of them and had a fabulous time on piste whizzing around Jailet.

We're having a staff ski afternoon on Friday followed by Adam cooking some ribs I think was mentioned. I'm looking forward to it and we should have some amazing snow and new powder as the forecast says it's 'dumping' on Thursday night! 

How to Scare a Frenchman!

Yesterday afternoon the snow started to fall and I think it probably kept going most of the night. It was certainly enough for the lady next door to be snow-blowing our drive before 8.30 this morning. I don't mind the noise because it can only mean one thing: fresh snow! It also encourages Phil out of bed and into action!

Sadly it was still snowing and the cloud was right down in the valley so we had breakfast and made the beds upstairs for the guests arriving tomorrow. We then skiied to the bus stop, missed a bus by two seconds - the driver refused to stop even though we waved at him like crazy yetis - and we had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. We filled the time with a quick game of snowballs and were soon on our way to Mont d'Arbois.

We decided to stay low whilst the cloud was down and stumbled our way around the pistes down to the Mont Joux lift. We bumped into Martin, the ski guide from the hotel, who was enjoying the snow but probably not at the speeds that he's used to! There was also a mention of Mont Joly (a huge off-piste area for crazy nuts) tomorrow when he was free of guests! 

We dropped off the back of Mont Joux and headed for the Clementines blue run down towards Saint Nicolas de Veroce. After a rather steep drag lift we arrived at the top and carried on down. I'm not sure what piste we were on as it all seemed like off-piste to me as the snow was way above my knees!! We arrived down into Saint Nicolas via the Chattrix run and took the lift of the same name back up. The cloud had cleared out and we had some lovely views over the valley.

Phil had trumped me today by changing his skis to some fat all-terrain wide jobs ready to float through the powder. We had fun under the Croix du Christ lift (well he did, I sweated it out with the effort of keeping my sinking skis afloat!) and once back at the top decided it was time for lunch. As Phil missed out on Le Boitet the other day I decided we'd pop over there. I led the way and without too many diversions (I overshot one lift and had to get a drag lift back up) we were soon enjoying duck liver salad and local hams by the fire.

Phil hadn't had enough powder yet so we skiied down a bit further and went to play under the Monts Rosset and Princesse lifts. I did the obligatory recording of Mr Professional and after my fabulous attempt

it wasn't long before I was back into 'Kate style' and stacked it in a big heap right under the chairlift where everyone could see!!

The cloud was starting to come back down again so we headed back down the hills where I duly landed in a heap somewhere on a green run before we crossed the farmer's field back to the chalet. 

Now, onto the question of how to scare a Frenchman: Ski all day, jump in the hot tub (minus the swimsuit you left at home), wait for the French chalet owner to come and clear snow from his solar panel above the hot tub, et voila!! Thanks to Phil's hasty turning on of the most powerful bubbles, Alex's eyes and my dignity still remain intact - I think! However, the poor gentleman feeding his chickens at the bottom of the garden, who happens to be Alex's dad, may well have got more than a view of the mountains as he locked his chickens up for the night!!

Corporate Skiing and Alain Prost!

What a few days we have had! On Thursday evening 5 gentlemen arrived to Chalet Megeve, closely followed by another in a beast of a car - I'm led to believe it was a long-base Landy - for some skiing courtesy of PVM Oil Associates. A lasagne, salad and chocolate brownie went down well before a trip into Megeve to explore the bars. Phil and I were invited but declined the offer as we were 'preparing' ourselves for the next day when we would be guiding these lovely gents around the mountains.

On Friday morning one more gentleman arrived and after a late night and a large donation to Megeve Casino, bacon and eggs were a very welcome start to the day. We visited Fred in his ski shop for skis and I took one gentleman into town for Telemark skis before making our way up the Mont d'Arbois telecabine. Keen to get going, we skiied at least three runs before a coffee stop was requested so we made our way via a green run (no one fancied the black?!) to our new find - Little Freddy's - for hot chocolate, coke, rum, coffee, and more hot chocolate! 

Lunch was booked over at the Alpette restaurant so we made our way back down to the Rocharbois to get across the valley. We arrived at the Alpette and as I took my skis off, a gentleman came and took them for me, stood them up against the racks and attached my poles to them too! A whole new type of valet for me! The Alpette has a reputation for being the best mountain restaurant in Megeve and I would agree with that completely. The service was great, the food fabulous (especially the dessert buffet), the staff completely unflappable and the company wasn't too bad either! 

We managed to enjoy lunch outside in the sunshine with a great view of some very interesting cloud formations gathering round Mont Blanc (which I now know exactly which one it is) and Alain Prost, Formula 1 driver extraordinaire!

Once Phil had finished the dessert buffet and several bottles of wine had been consumed, it was time to head down the mountain before the lifts closed for the day. After hot tubs and showers and a couple of beers with afternoon tea (and maybe a sneaky nap), we found ourselves on our way to the Beef Lodge - a lovely hotel and restaurant in the heart of town. Two more guys joined us and after a couple of pink mojitos, we sat down for dinner at 1015!

Our starters were all really good, especially my prawns wrapped in a basil leaf and filo pastry, but the main courses were a bit of a let-down as quite a few were not cooked the way they were ordered and sauces were mixed up. The accompaniment of potato puree was tasty but a few vegetables would have been gratefully received! We beat a hasty retreat as the clock crept up to the early hours of Saturday morning and somehow ended up in the Casino hoping to claim back the 'donation' from the night before!

Needless to say, the Casino came off better than the players and we left with our tails between our legs! 

On Saturday it was left to me and Phil to decide a ski plan and lunch stop so we took our enthusiastic bunch over to Jaillet. It was a beautiful day and some hot air balloons were making the most of the gentle breeze to cruise the valley.

I used my best French and booked the 'P'tite Ravine' for lunch - a tiny chalet with simple, good food and great views of Mont Blanc. We skiied well on good snow, enjoyed delicious hot chocolates, did some mud sliding on the barer patches and water skiing on the more melted sections before coming to rest at our lunch stop. Somehow we got to 4pm again and, once back in the chalet, it was my turn to do dinner. Thankfully I had thought ahead and cooked the lamb shanks on Wednesday so all I had to do was make the lemon tart. 

This morning I had to guide our guests by myself as Phil was not feeling too good (there's a nasty virus going round). I think the guests were a little nervous as I had previously shown very little knowledge of knowing where I am at any given time on the mountain, including pointing out Mont Blanc from places where it's not even visible! However, I am now in possession of a very useful panoramic postcard view of the local mountains, and can tell you the names of 4 different mountains! We did not get lost and I did not loose or break anyone, I found our lunch stop (one I've previously never been to) and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves! 

Over the past two days Phil and I have been treated almost as if we were one of the group. We've been very lucky to experience some famous restaurants, meet some great people and have been made to feel like we weren't really working at all! Thank you PVM, and we're looking forward to welcoming the next groups in February.

Just now I'm off to bed before I go shopping tomorrow with Charlie, who very kindly invited me for breakfast at the hotel before we go. I'm currently undecided as to whether poached eggs and bacon will win over 20 minutes extra sleep...

The Best Changeover Day Ever!!

We had a very early start on Sunday with guests leaving at 7.30am. By 7.15 they were all up and ready to go having enjoyed bacon butties and porridge with lots of coffee! We had planned on getting the first lift up the pistes at 9am but it was snowing and very low cloud so we got on with the cleaning. We stripped all the beds, cleaned 3 out of 4 rooms and then the sun came out, so that was us changed and up the mountain by 10am! What a changeover day we had...

We went up the Mont d'Arbois telecabine and then over the back towards Bettex and St Gervais. These runs are fabulous and, if you don't stop, give your legs a really good work out. We then came back up and played around the Ideal lift and Mount Joux before taking the plunge and heading up to Mont Joly. This is one lift you would not want to do on a cold, wet day as it takes about 15 minutes to get to the top! 

The wait is worth it though as when you get to the top the view is amazing and Mont Blanc is so close you feel you could reach out and touch it! Feeling inspired, and knowing I need to improve my off-piste skiing before I can do the Vallee Blanch on Mont Blanc in March/April, we set off down a red run. With fresh snow on top it was a lovely ski, but then we hit a path. Watching people side-slip down an icy path is almost as terrifying as being on it yourself, so I took the plunge and went into the powder! It was all going very well until I decided to start turning and having made two successful turns, the third didn't go quite so well and I ended up with my head down the slope and my skis firmly planted in the soft stuff and sticking straight up in the air. Unfortunately for you, Phil had no camera so couldn't take a picture and I can assure you getting out of these amazing positions is much harder than getting into them!

Having got myself out of a big hole and navigated the rest of piste with a greater degree of success, we decided it was time for a hot chocolate (well I did!). We wanted to find a little restaurant in the trees on the blue piste 'Raviere'. We'd seen the signs from a chair lift but the chalet is well hidden from view. We had so much fun riding the bumps on the slope that we shot straight past and had to try again! Having explained to Phil where it was I managed to stop on our second attempt, however Phil shot past a second time and had to walk back! I slipped down a little track and shot off the snow onto the restaurant's balcony and almost made it through the front door! It was well worth the effort for the delicious hot chocolate and the amazing views of the valley.

The reason for navigating the trees and ice is that this week we have a corporate group coming and thought they would enjoy this place if it was a bit of a snowy day. Anyway, we enjoyed another hour or so of amazing skiing before our legs were well and truly worn out and then skied all the way down from the top of Mont Joux to our chalet and I have to say my little wiggly tracks over the farmer's field left Phil green with envy!

Sadly, the temperature has risen and the snow is once again disappearing but with the big freeze in America, surely it won't be long until it reaches here?! Our lovely chalet owner, Monsieur Alex, said that if you have Christmas on the balcony, you'll have Easter by the fire, so I'm crossing everything for a big snowfall anytime soon! 

We don't have any guests just now so have used the time to clean some windows, catch up on emails and, of course, ski. Phil took his skis back to Fred, the happy ski shop owner, and asked for some faster ones as his wife was faster than him! The boys got to work and found him a couple of pairs - one for giant slalom, one for slalom! He chose the slalom skis but was regretting it this morning when we went up Rochebrune and quickly discovered a lot of ice! We made our descent and tried Mont d'Arbois instead which was much more friendly before it got a bit sticky in the sun.

We have a number of men arriving at various times this weekend and we're looking forward to doing our first bit of guiding. There's also rumours of a lunch at L'Alpette restaurant - the most expensive place on the mountain. I'm just hoping there's some snow on Thursday night so we can get there!