Les Portes du Soleil

[Markie 0]

Hi everyone. Happy Chinese New Year!

I just got back from Switzerland/France. Skied for a week in www.portesdusoleil.com and it was awesome. Supposed to be the biggest linked skiable area in the world. Had to continually be taking off my skis and jumping on trains and buses to move from one ski area to another and I only managed to cover a bit more than half the courses in my one week there.

The views were also incredible. At one end, we could see Lake Geneva and at the other end we could see Montblanc....always criss-crossing between Switzerland and France.

Anyway, I am back safe and sound and even did a "mini-Yamakashi-type" rescue! On the last day, it was snowing very hard and one of my friends unwittingly ventured a little off the piste, skiing over a 5 foot ditch with was covered in fresh soft snow. The ditch was V-shaped and as he skied over it, the fresh snow gave way and he ended up in it, ass first, head and legs up, also in a V-shape. Actually, his skis were still on, so it looks a bit like the Roman numeral for 5. He couldn't move and was afraid of falling even deeper. Guess who happened to have some string in his pocket! Markie to the rescue....at least I learned a little something from my Hakuba days with Fattwins. (Actually, Fattwins, what I had in my pocket was two lengths of those cords I used to tie my ski-bag which you also used to tie your overhead crate to your jeep. The one you ask me: "Is that mine?") So I used that to haul him back up. He was fine. No injures or anything, but that kept us laughing for a few days!

[sunrise 0]

- Fats, your BC skills have rubbed off!

Good on you Markie for the skillful rescue!

Sounds like you had a great time.

[Markie 0]

Thanks, sunrise. It really was a smashing time, could hardly have been better except if you were there too!

[echineko 1]

 

But I happy you enjoyed it. When is next time to Japan?

[Markie 0]

When would you like me to come?

[echineko 1]

Same time as me! (or maybe just after)

 

Will you coming to Japan again for ski?

[BagOfCrisps 24]

That deserves an "oo-errr"

[Markie 0]

O.K., tell me what dates are good for you. Would you like to go to Hokkaido?

[sunrise 0]

Now that's what I call an invitation!

 

Hey now echi, that " " sign surely wasn't a little sign of jealousy was it? If so you have nothing to worry about. Markie just ain't the least bit interested in me. The road is all open for you. He just likes laughing at me.

 

As for fun and laughs, Mr M - maybe I'll hook up with you there next year... I'd love to get to Europe.

[Markie 0]

Oh, you'd love the group that I go with. They choose budget accomodations which are comfortable and economic. Although I always prefer luxury if I'm given the choice, I don't mind going economical as long as everything is clean and comfortable. Furthermore, they always cook dinner in the apartment we share. This further saves some costs and it means you get to have French food on the mountains for lunch and Chinese food in the evenings.

For skiing, some will take lessons with instructors and for the rest, we split up into several groups daily according to skiing ability and also acording to our daily itinerary. The beginners and average skiers usually choose easier courses nearby while the more competent skiers usually split to two groups with more adventurous destinations.

During this last trip, in order to try out as much terrain as possible, our group usually had to hit the slopes early and ski at a fairly fast pace to reach our planned destination each day. We would then have lunch at some cottage restaurant on the mountain. This is fairly expensive, usually costing between 5 to 15 Euros depending on what you eat and drink. After that, we still have to ski quite quickly to get back to our home base before the lifts close. And we have to factor in the queueing time at each lift or train/bus stop, something which I don't often have to do in Japan!

Another negative that you have to factor in is jet-lag. Finally, one negative for me that you might not mind is that during the whole time there, I did not see a single nihonjin.

[scouser 4]

What was the snow like over there Markie?

[Markie 0]

There was no fresh snow for the first 6 days I was there (Feb 5 to 10) so some places were a bit icy but off piste was pretty good. Then it dumped big on the last day (Feb 11) and every time we had to go down a big valley to cross to another mountain, we were hit by rain and slushy conditions. But high up was great.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Markie:
Anyway, I am back safe and sound and even did a "mini-Yamakashi-type" rescue! On the last day, it was snowing very hard and one of my friends unwittingly ventured a little off the piste, skiing over a 5 foot ditch with was covered in fresh soft snow. The ditch was V-shaped and as he skied over it, the fresh snow gave way and he ended up in it, ass first, head and legs up, also in a V-shape. Actually, his skis were still on, so it looks a bit like the Roman numeral for 5. He couldn't move and was afraid of falling even deeper. Guess who happened to have some string in his pocket! Markie to the rescue....at least I learned a little something from my Hakuba days with Fattwins. (Actually, Fattwins, what I had in my pocket was two lengths of those cords I used to tie my ski-bag which you also used to tie your overhead crate to your jeep. The one you ask me: "Is that mine?") So I used that to haul him back up. He was fine. No injures or anything, but that kept us laughing for a few days!

Im glad everybody gets a good laugh at my expense mukatsuku!!!

[echineko 1]

I prefer staying Nagano or Niigata

[SKI 15]

Brings back memories, great place.

The only problem is what I feel are the inconsistent conditions. We're really spoilt here in Japan with almost (relatively) constant good conditions in peak season.