MegèveSki

++Technique

Helena and Brian both had lessons today, one after the other, so we skied around with the one who wasn't on the lesson and then all met up for a late lunch and a ski home. Unfortunately for me, today was the day when a steepish run lost its steepness for me, I hate it when that happens...

Helena had her lesson first so we skied down to the Arbois chair via the Les Vardasses red and then did a couple of runs down the Michel Dujon black, then it was down Les Sources to the Mt Joux chair. Getting off to the right we skied down the bumps and I had a good run with a few interesting recovery moments where I did something stupid but then managed to keep going as if I hadn't - thrown back once by a bump that was more of a kicker than a bump and then, later, I somehow landed on the wrong edge of the wrong ski and shrugged and just kept going... In the past there would have been many more of these kind of incidents and they'd each have landed me on my arse.

Next we headed back up Mt Joux and went left and down the left hand side of the piste, near the bumps, a nice fast run down past the lifts and on to the Ideal chair. On the way to the chair I realised that we had 20 mins before we needed to be at the top and that the trip up would probably take under 10 so we did a crafty hoon down La Rare. At the top I had a momentary "right leg incident" (fraction forward of where it should be) which corrected itself on the next turn and was probably induced by the steepness and icy nature of the top of the slope. Down to the Ideal chair and up to meet Lucy and Helena with 1 minute to spare, I love it when a plan comes together ;)

Helena needed the bathroom and the Mont d'Arbois water problem is still in full effect so we took a run down to the bottom to use the facilities there. After that we went up to the top and down on the red to the Monts Rossets chair, then down the red to Arbois and finally down Les Sources to the Ideal chair. Helena had a fall on the green on the way down to Ideal and bashed her hip pretty badly and so was happy to stop a little early for our meeting with Brian and lunch.

We ate at the self service at L'Igloo and mostly had pasta, which was good. The self service was open until around 15.30 so we only just got served and were the last to leave the back section of the restaurant before they closed it off.

After lunch we took a run down Pylones, Helena avoided the top face by using the road, and then before heading back to Rochebrune I took Brian up the Grand Vorasset drag lift and then down Les Voltigeurs. Voltigeurs has been a favourite, easy access, steep black. The two steep faces being at that 'slightly intimidating' level of steep that I enjoy. Today I top to bottomed it in complete control the whole time and, from the first turn, it didn't feel at all steep; scratch another one from that list and add it to the 'comfortable hooner' list. The snow on the top face was wonderful, I had been expecting it to be worn and icy due to the pitch but it's pretty sheltered and looked as if it hadn't been skied much and so was very nice indeed. The second face looked slightly icy in the centre but I skied a narrow line near the trees on the right and the snow there was as good as the top face. Time to ask Lucy for some recomendations for some steeps, I seem to have used up all the ones I know.

We met the girls at the Rocharbois and Miche and I were the last through the turnstiles before the cabine was full; we did a run down Caboche and the slalom course in pretty poor visibility as the long promised snow was just starting. Once Brian and Helena got across the Rocharbois Brian came up for another run down the same route, vis seemed slightly better but both runs were good. We then headed home.

Today was another good day for me. The time spent focusing on my technique earlier in the trip really seems to be paying off now. What I seem to have gained is the ability to feel when my body position is wrong and adjust accordingly. I'm not always in the correct place but when I find that I'm not I often seem to move to correct the problem intuitively rather than having to think about it. This pays off big time in tricky situations, like bumps and steeps, where before I'd get thrown around or find myself intimidated into the back seat and then set off on a voyage of pain, now I may still find myself momentarily off balance but I recover far better; which is good, long may it continue.

The waxing seems to have worked fine, two days on the newly serviced skis and everything is good; Miche's edges are holding better too.