Off to zermatt

Off to Zermatt
    we got a bum steer from the barman at the yeti bar the night before he was saying the lifts to Zermatt would be closed for sure, we lay in bed in the morning thinking no point in getting up early all the higher lifts are closed due to winds the knowledgeable barman had said, we were wrong and so was the barman! Bob was dropping Calum at ski school we arranged to meet him at the plan maison for a day at Zermatt. He text to say the lifts were open we got a shift on and met him,

Once up the second bubble car at the crossing between Italy and Switzerland we headed over its flat crap cross over section from plan marinan lift to the Zermatt ski area , we were now at altitude and because of the altitude it was bloody freezing cold even with my six layers on and gloves under mitts long johns under sallopettes I was still shaking when we stopped and scared to take of my mitts to take photos because it hurt my fingers , which was a shame as we were in sunshine and now had the better side of the Matterhorn to view , the perfect triangle mountain I had seen for years on toblerone and wanted to see for myself was now glorious looking in the sunshine , bob proceeded to tell us all about the climb where the guides take you the mountain refugees his mate Graeme’s close escape all good stuff even the history of its first ascent he truly is a font of mountain knowledge our man bob

 We opted to ski all the way down to Zermatt from where we were which our plan from the start was a visit into town. The red runs were good wide well-groomed slopes. Then we hit a section we had to go through if we wished to ski down to Zermatt, there was a big sign and barrier saying black expert skiers only beyond this point! oh well then black ski routes to town it is then it actually wasn’t that bad I’ve been on worse reds in other resorts but it was narrow in places and I wondered if it was the steep and narrow that made the difference here between reds and blacks ,

Once down into town we ended up at a bus stop near a chair lift we had no clue where the centre of town was and where we could get lunch? we got the next bus and ended up in what we could only guess was the centre of town , we took a short walk to a town square it was a typical alpine town and it appeared we were in the wrong area for lunch but it was time to eat and we chose a creperie where the team had crepes I ate nothing as I am off dairy for now I did have a beer though , then but a Swiss postcard to send to mum we knew we had a fair distance to cover to get back so we marched back to the bus station we got dropped off at

            Zermatt has a policy of zero combustible engines all cars buses taxis gritters and even the police cars are electric and they were a different shape from normal cars strange looking small squares , the bus was full to bursting when it eventually arrived we got ourselves squeezed in , from the inside of the packed bus we easily spotted the lift out of town that we had originally skied down to , the bubble car out of town is called the  Trockener Steg is used all year round by outdoor enthusiasts and mountaineers in summer, the ski area (21 km of piste in all) finishes at the Trockener Steg sector. In winter, the options for skiers and snowboarders throughout the terrain of Matterhorn glacier paradise (3,883 m) are endless the actual trip starts in Zermatt, from the Valley Station, at an altitude of 1640 m. You then board the gondola to mid station Furi at 1867 m. The route crosses the forests and meadows just outside Zermatt. Here the gondola doors open people get into empty ones here, but we are on the long haul up we sit tight through the station and the doors shut again and heads of uphill at a sharp angle. After bits of forests, the cable car goes over a rough, rocky, high alpine landscape. With cracking views out our window of the Matterhorn in the sun, bob entertained us to a talk about all the local peaks he had trekked nearby .he pointed out the mountain refuge huts he had visited and was able to name all the local peaks, and it was warm enough inside the gondola for me to take my gloves of for photos, after two further station pass throughs We eventually reached the mid station Trockener Steg at 2939 m.

You need to leave the gondola here to cover the final section: the long awaited cable car ride to Klein Matterhorn at 3883 m. There are two parallel cable car routes on this leg: the Matterhorn Glacier Ride it features a few extra luxurious cabins, named the "Crystal ride", with a glass floor that turns transparent during the ride .unfortunately we didn’t get one of those ones. We were now starting to feel that the thin air was making us tired, the entire ride from Zermatt takes about 45 minutes.

I had been looking forward to taking this 3s cableway since I first booked the flights and it didn’t disappoint it took around two-and-a-half years’ construction work to complete the "Matterhorn glacier ride" – the world’s highest 3S cableway – It only opened last year as planned, and Zermatt  gained a new attraction. From the beginning of the 2018/19 winter season, and we were now able to use the new cableway to reach the Klein Matterhorn the new 3S cableway connecting the Trockener Steg mountain station and the "Matterhorn glacier paradise" on the Klein Matterhorn (at 3,883 metres above sea level) the views out the crystal glass windows on the way up out over the glaciers of the alps eternal winter region is awesome, here is the web site description –

The journey to Europe’s highest mountain station, situated at 3821 metres above sea level. Four of the gondolas are the special "Crystal ride" cabins, encrusted with thousands of Swarovski crystals and featuring an integrated glass floor through which passengers will be able to observe the 200 m drop below their feet – not a view they will forget in a hurry and perhaps one that will set a few nerves jangling. With a carrying capacity of 2000 passengers an hour, waiting times at Trockener Steg will be a thing of the past. The nine-minute ride offers first-class comfort and a fantastic all-round view of Zermatt’s majestic high-alpine panorama.  How will you react to the lift and the "Crystal ride" glass-floor cabins?

 Once we were up at this end of cableway station (did I mention it’s the highest in the world)? it was a weird feeling being at this altitude with no acclimatisation the oxygen level drops from our normal 20.9% to the shocking affective oxygen level of 12.7% . If I was conducting an air quality test at work you would not be allowed to work in an atmosphere like this! We were all feeling the effects the slightest work was a chore and we were huffing and blowing, there’s a glacier tunnel and an exhibition you can visit but we just had a look around the gift shop and got our layers ready for going out onto the slopes, we knew it would be bitterly cold up there even though the sun was out the panorama was fantastic

                    It was now all red runs back into Cervinia now we were back into Italy, and the first section of this was steep and heavily mogulled worse to ski than the earlier black but certainly wide enough, once past that section the rest was smooth well piste`d slopes and before long moving at the pace we were kicking up we were back into the main ski area where we chose to go left down the reds back to bring us right to the door of our apartment , when we were within walkie talkie range to base ( Gary at the Apartment) I radioed in to say we were approaching and Gary came out to film us on his phone coming down the last section of the run, A  truly wonderfull day out on the slopes
          now it was time for some apres 

Early booking for 2019 !

The easy jet flights went on sale late April and set our skiers group on wassap into hyperdrive what to do? Where to go? Which airport? Do we book through an agency again? Or book flights and apartments? Will it be self-catering big chalet big group? Or lots of double rooms in a hotel? Two - three weeks later on the 10th of may flights and hotel was booked for 4!

              originally I suggested Zermatt as it was somewhere new and near the Matterhorn I would like to see the Matterhorn, but Zermatt is in Switzerland, you need a lot of Swiss franc’s to buy beers! like all of Switzerland its an expensive resort so we ruled that out , after much discussion ali came up with a good compromise I would still see the Matterhorn and there was lots of beginners slopes for Gary ,


          We chose Cervinia it’s an Alpine resort in the Valle d’Aosta region of northwest Italy. It’s known for its snow-capped mountains, including the pyramid-shaped Matterhorn. A network of slopes connects Cervinia to the Swiss Zermatt, and to the Plateau Rosà and Ventina glaciers.


               Bob wasn't in a position to book just yet at that time but we were keen to get it booked, Cammy is working and living in Germany now so we didn't book his flights, we originally booked two double rooms at apartments with Ali and Gary one room me and Cammy sharing another room. we booked these rooms and paid our deposit bob and his family then decided it was a goer and booked there accommodation, then Ali had a new plan we would book an apartment with air B&B and cancel the original booking all good the ball was rolling, we changed our apartment bob got flights booked for him Joyce aunt Alison and the boys, then Ali had to pull out for family reasons! This will be the first time in over 10 years me and Ali won’t be skiing together


           

            I was looking at prices for ski passes for cervinia it wasn’t as straight forward as other resorts because there’s options for cervinia only or cervinia –zermatt and other variants, The prices are on the cervinia website. Here is briefly what I found out its 299 euros for a ski pass that covers zermatt and cervinia if bought from the cervinia /italian side (its more expensive for the Swiss )! Its 230 euros for a cervinia –valtour pass and then you can buy one day top ups for around 30 euros to go to Zermatt! So If you go to Zermatt twice during the week, it is cheaper to buy one-off top up’s. BUT If you go more than twice, it is cheaper to buy a 6-day international pass and you don’t have to que pick days etc., SO! I think for me I am going to probably go for the all slopes pass for 6 days as I will probably do more than 3 days popping into the Zermatt side of the mountain, A week pass also has the advantage of No queueing for top ups. And you can be more spontaneous - just pop over for a few hours when you fancy it, rather than feeling you have to get up early and spend the whole day in Zermatt, to get your money's worth. But I bet many people who buy a week pass do not go over more than twice, so it may well end up being cheaper to just get daily top ups! We will all need to make personal choices on this especially the beginners in the group, Cammy will be with me so he is getting the 299 euros cerv-zer pass! Bob I am unsure of as he may spend a bit of time with Calum this year is he in ski school? I checked children’s prices? They are free for under 5`s but need to be booked with the parents pass

Some stuff I considered for our decision - There are 20 lifts in Cervinia and 34 in Zermatt, serving up 160km of Italian pistes and 200km of Swiss ones, joined up into a shared ski area via Plateau Rosa. But buying a joint Cervinia/Zermatt pass costs £100 less if you buy it in Cervinia than it does in Zermatt, and you can then pass freely between the two resorts. Europe’s highest ski lifts take you up from Zermatt into the heart of one of the world’s biggest ski areas – crossing the Swiss border to the Italian resort of Cervinia and also including Valtournenche in the Aosta Valley.  The area includes incredible runs for all standards, with the world’s second biggest lift-served vertical drop (2,379m), and an epic 20km descent down to Valtournenche 20-kilometre red run The 3^rd longest run in Europe Access one of the world's longest ski runs from the Klein Matterhorn, also known as the Piccolo Cervino. Europe's highest cable car whisks you up onto the Klein Matterhorn over gigantic glacial crevasses. From its lofty height of 3,883 metres, take an epic 20-kilometre descent down red runs to Valtournenche at 1,524 metres, Cervinia's lift-linked neighbour. Alternatively, from the Klein Matterhorn, you can ski the 13-kilometre descent down into Zermatt, Switzerland. Whichever direction you choose - Cervinia or Zermatt - this is one heck of a run which begins with enormous glacial fields and drops into steeper mogulled terrain. Due to its altitude, the ski runs from the Klein Matterhorn are consistently skiable from late November to mid-April. For something slightly shorter, try Cervinia's red Ventina piste, an 11.5-kilometre descent from Plateau Rosa

          BRING IT ON cannot wait  

               

As part of my research I had a look at what people were saying on trip advisor -

            Personally I think the entire swiss project is disreputable so if you can avoid contributing to it financially all the better. If you do go over turn off your phone and under no circumstances eat over there, the lads got stung around 40 euro for a salad not realising the exchange rate. There’s enough Great food on piste in Italy and its always very affordable.

Another unfortunate scam is if you buy the international pass allowing you to go into Switzerland you DO NOT get access to the other resorts in the Aosta valley. Whereas if you buy a local pass, which is much cheaper, you can also ski (at least one day if not all the time - check this) in Pila or any of the other resorts in the Aosta valley. This is important as lift closures due to high wind in Cervinia are quite frequent. I was there for four days and bought the international pass at significant expense. Days two and three, and half of day four the entire resort was closed due to high winds (in fairness when I got up for the first half of day four I realized this was entirely justified, winds were absolutely unbelievable). This meant days two and three involved a one hour drive each way to Pila where I then had the indignity of having to buy another pass which would have been free if I had just bought the local pass. This can only be the Swiss' fault I think.

I had made my mind up that completed my research for ski passes it was time to look at ski hire!

The nearest ski rental to our apartments is called Genzianella Sport I checked it out for ski and boot hire and read the reviews there was a a lot of bad reviews of this shop which is a shame as it seems to be the independent local shop , I next checked out cervinia 2001 not much further away than our closest but in the opposite direction still very close . they had lots of good reviews a much better website and were giving you 15% off for booking on line which seemed good, next I checked nol ski which is a bit further up the same road but still close enough they had really good reviews it was one or two euros more expensive than cervinia 2001 but said it was offering 20% off line bookings so they were much more expensive to begin with and still more expensive with a supposed extra 5% off than 2001! Still on our street a little further than the other 3 is called top one! It has a few bad reviews and a few good the price list had no online booking discount and looked 10 euros more. I recommend we go for 2001!

I got home from work on the 14^th of January leaving me only 12 days to get organised for skiing among other things for example I get home on the Saturday and have a trail race including a lot of specialist equipment’s and foods on the Sunday I shall have to be prepared for that and going back to work on the Monday all before I leave, this doesn’t take into account the normal everyday stuff of training visiting mum shopping cooking nights out. Thankfully I have a list I prepared on previous years so my packing wouldn’t take long I got the big ski bag out the loft and consulted my packing list!  

Packing for ski Holiday

1. garmin watch with its charger,  (garmin inreach device possibly but it’s not on a subscription so pointless unless I activate the subscription )
2. ski goggles and helmet 
3. Prescription Glasses spoggles and sun specs
4. Hats - woolly and thin 
5. First aid kit with sun cream sachets , gaviscon , lip salve and compede, support bandage ,ibrufen gel, deep heat, crèmes ,
6. Buff`s maybe a scarf
7. Swimming shorts for sauna
8. Utility knife Head torch
9. Ear plugs
10. T shirts – 7 technical T`s couple of dressed  T`s
11. Fleece/jumper/hoody
12. Body warmer /Gillet
13. Down jacket the big one and a small one rolled for pack 
14. Waterproof jacket gore Tex one and lightweight plus possibly a ski jacket
15. Gloves lots of pairs thin and thick
16. Underpants 8 pair
17. Long johns x 2 
18. Trousers casual possibly a dressed pair and maybe Ron hills
19.  Ski boots
20. Socks 3 -4 pair normal plus 6 pair ski socks
21. Walking boots crocs/flip flops , 
22. small backpack with camelback
23. mac book-reading book- Ipad
24. Toilet bag
25.  walkie talkies
26.  sallopettes
27. Trek bars, nuts, drinks, food, spices herbs ,whisky , some lemons , porridge ,almond milk ,coffee
28. Passport and Brewdog passport for airport bar ,Halifax clarity card travel wallet
29. Headphones
30. Flight booking printouts & copies of holiday insurance and any other booking details
31. Mobile phone and charger 

Pens, notebooks, go pro, mobile phone, various chargers, reading & guide books, Selfie pole!

, possibly buy a new carry case for my digi camera and take it make sure its charged 

Ok that’s as much for the packing list I can think of!

back country ski purchases

SHINY NEW GEAR 

               

                On return from st Anton I had a meet up with bob and yet again we discussed the possibility of ski touring in Scotland, he hadn’t made his annual winter ski trip to the alps and was missing his skiing , I said well im game to buy some gear or book some courses but only if your coming and im not buying until you buy ! so a deal was struck we have talked about the freedom we could have in the Scottish winter mountains if we had the gear and knowledge to use it so now after all these years we were gonna make some purchases ,

                First up for me was new skis ( bob got his boots first ) We spoke at length with the knowledgeable staff at a new store in Edinburgh called freezepro about various different ski types, the range nowadays is huge and some skis are very snow type specific proper big deep powder fat skis or skinnier twin tipped carver all mountain skis , We were looking to get something all terrain Scotland doesn’t get much powder even in a good season so We required something we could control on icy steep slopes ( and possibly take to the alps for on piste skiing ) so I opted for a pair of black crow camox freebird at a lengh of 178cm, Bob opted for black crows also but he got the orb, I reckoned mine would be the best all rounder for me and I had skied on them previously at glen more lodge, we shall just have to wait and see if bobs decision was the better ! unfortunately the Edinburgh shop had none in store in my preferred size they did have a longer pair but the longer the ski the faster but also the more tricky to control I was sticking to 178cm , bob helped me out and searched the web and found a pair on sale at ellis briggam £145 off in sale the retail price was £580 so I reckon this was a bargain at £435 and I jumped at them, bobs orb freebirds cost him £425 so he was £10 less than me  

     

my ski's like me are getting shorter and fatter with age !

           Next was boots if your buying ski boots you really need to give them a good trial in store some brands sizes just don’t match your feet and you really need to get this right ! the wrong boots will ruin the hills for you , this is important for ski boots but especially for ski touring boots as you will be walking trails in them possibly climbing but definitely moving over varied terrain with skis on and off ( for example I am lucky I have an old pair of crampons that I can take with me to use with my ski boots in case I need to do a bit of scrambling on icy peaks in my ski boots )  so after spending a couple of hours in the freezepro shop in edinburgh I opted for the scarpa maestral boots , the shop does price matching and yet again bob had came up trumps and sourced a pair on the web for £382.40 the shop price matched this ( we both got the same boots and same size ! markers required for bobs car boot or my van ) and a I joined their loyalty points scheme and gained loyalty points on this purchase which came in handy later

                With boots and ski`s you need bindings! this is another difficult purchase that requires a fair bit of researching and I was very grateful again for bobs help and knowledge on this as the shop wanted me to go for a fixed style of binding a modern lightweight professional style but definitely at an expert level not required for me and bob , we would require something more stable and yet flexible for slope types. the type of this more old fashioned  bindings we opted for was a marker f12 for my skis bob chose marker F10s as his skis are slightly narrower at the foot area than mine. the retail price for these is £288 but yet again bob sourced me a pair on ebay at a buy it now price of £179.99 brand new, that’s another £100 saved ,His F10s were £192which he got in store costing £12 more than my ebay purchase, but it did mean that because I wasn’t buying skis and bindings from the shop then freezpro charged me £25 for fitting the bindings to the skis , so bob saved on that

              While I was in the shop with cammy this time! to collect my skis after the bindings were fitted I had a look at the shovels ,there’s lots of uses for a lightweight shovel in ski touring such as checking snow layering, making a shelter, finding your friends or other people who may be buried in an avalanche , but its even handy to have a lightweight shovel for the car in case you get snowed in , the shop has a huge range varying in price from £30 to £160 , I loved the look of the shaxe which is a combination of a walking axe and shovel I already have a walking axe so I didn’t need to buy a new one but this combo made for a lightweight walking axe and it would save me from carrying both ! but it was £125 reduced to £88 in the sale ,considering I could get the plane bottom of the range shovel for £30 this was a lot extra , I asked the shop assistant to give me a look at it ! he went into the store and found another brand of shaxe that he could give me for £65 and with the loyalty points of for my boot purchase it took that down to £46.87 a bargain price for such a fine looking gadget , bob opted for the basic shovel and price matched and used loyalty points getting his shovel eventually for the bargain price of £20 ! but he did buy a probe which I have yet to purchase so he saved on the shovel but bought a black diamond quick draw 2.4mtr tour probe at £27, so we were much the same spend in store for those

                The final piece of the jigsaw to get you out ski touring is your skins they are still called skins as they were originally made from seal skins!, but are now mostly mohair yet again freezpro didn’t have the made to measure skins for my skis but they had other brands that they could cut to suit , I opted to just get on line and buy the black crow skins that are designed for my black crow skis , the cheapest pair I could find online for my size of ski's was £156.50 including delivery which I had no option but to go for as I was going skiing that week and required those skins ASAP , they ended up delaying my trip north by a day ,Bob also opted to ordered on line the black crow skins to match his black crow skis at £142 so a bit cheaper than mine, but the delayed kick off all turned out well as me and bob got a chance to thoroughly discuss transceivers ! the cost of this hobby is mounting radically and we were both keen to cap it now so more equipment meant more expense that we were really struggling to justify to ourselves , but a transceiver is a vital bit of safety kit at £175 ( bob got the same one a BCA tracker 2 for £173 )the one that was on sale we liked , it wasn’t cheap but bob felt necessary so that was the final piece of new kit bringing the total amount spent to £1401.51 for me to take up back country ski touring , I need to buy a probe but can make do with an old tent pole for now ,Bobs total was £1361 so we were very close in our prices in the end
           The other kit you require I fortunately already had from piste skiing ,walking ,running,cycling and climbing etc! now I need to pack to go , my climbing backpack is suitable for attaching my skis to and hanging my helmet from and it takes my 2ltr platypus inside that pack I've already got my bothy bag packed in it , I checked the old crampons were suitable with my new ski boots and packed them in , I put in my gore tex jacket and a squashed into its bag down jacket , spare gloves a warm hat and merino wool helmet liner , vision is important to me so I packed my goggles my prescription spoggles and sunglasses , a buff & a fleece which will take my overall available layers to 6  . a flask of soup some sandwiches and fruit , I will be wearing merino wool long johns below my sallopettes so I wont need to pack waterproof trousers .with all that in the bag with the shovel ( the axe part hangs outside the bag ) there was virtually no space for my map and compass or my basic first aid kit , I already have a pair of ski poles bob is going to just use his walking poles, I'm not going to bother with my better camera or go pro or my garmin in reach sos device as I've binned the monthly contract on that so its no use as an sos beacon anyway without a contract ,
         thats it i think we are good to go !  

                  

summarization of our time in st anton

its easy to see why st anton gets such a great name it certainly is a fantastic place , the varied slopes in both distances and technical enjoyment were really good , if there was a complaint to be made it would be that its definately not a place to learn to ski , we loved the slopes the chairfts gondolas and cable cars were all good ceratin ones at certain times became a bit busy, but in general you could make your way over the valleys really quickly , the crystal ski app we had downloaded to use would have been a very handy tool had we chosen to use it more , the features on this app were great giving you directions from where you were to were you wanted to go with estimated times friend finders and handy tips , we just didnt use it enough we were too busy checking the map and moving ,

    the chalet was really good and even though we paid a fair bit more this year than we normally would to go catered chalet through crystal . it was worth it the food was lovely and I dont think we would have been able to find the time to go shopping and do our own cooking which would have put the costs up to what we paid crystal anyway ,the view from our balcony was stunning and the rest of the hotel facilities were also nice we just never had enough time in the chalet to take advantage , there was two other guests that had broken bones which meant they spent a lot of time in the chalet and they were happy with it ,
          the apres ski was way better than we thought it was going to be and we thought it was going to be good ! from 15:30 to 20:00 the apres bars on or near the pistes are proper jumping with loud music and people on tables , theres at least 8 main apres ski bars dotted around st antons pistes and they are all really good the best two in my opinion being krazy kangaroo and our personal favourite the mooserwirt but we didnt sample the apres in at least 4 so we can only say it was good enough in the ones we visited to make you not needing to visit the others , the hype about the apres ski in st anton i had read about in previous years was true , i had previously thought you couldnt beat the apres in val Thoren or val deser ive now been to around 11 different ski resorts and st anton has by far the best apres ski,
       after dinner at nights the pleasant walk into town had two decent bars to stop of at before you hit the main street of bars and restaurants these bars would be good if we werent normally so tired from our days skiing and apres ski beers we generally found a corner in the busy bars or tried to find a quiet bar to sit and have a chat over a decent pint , the pints were expensive generally over 6euros a beer but we knew they would be before we left , the main town has plenty good bars and nightlife if you have the energy left and can be sure to get up in the morning for skiing
        our last morning we had to sit for ages after checkout before the airport transfer bus, but there wasnt much conversation we all lazed trying to recover from too many beers and a hard weeks skiing .when we eventually got on the bus there was atunnel blocked on the road and we sat for about an hour waiting in a traffic que , there was peopel nearly late for their flights that the crystal reps rushed through its at times like that you are glad you didnt book easy jet , we had a sandwich and a medicinal beer at the airport before going through security and i bumped into russel that works beside me , on our flight over once we landed at innsbruk we bumped into gerry fitzpatrick a black bull regular, he was heading to mayerhofen and sure enough was on our flight home also, so we had a good chat with him about mayerhofen , its been about 8 year since me cammy and ali were there so its hard to remember all the places , I never kept a blog then so i couldnt even look that up to remember stuff , it had been a fantastic weeks holiday there was an hours delay for some unknown reason at baggage collection and that was about the only complaint i could make of the week ,that and i couldnt fill my water botte while we waited on the luggage as there was no cold water tap, roll on next year  

last day on the slopes

Gary didn’t want to join us skiing he wanted to stay around the green beginners ski area not holding us back and resting when he wanted to , the sun was out in a cloudless sky  the alps don’t get more beautiful than this , 

         we took fullest advantage of this and we went flying down all the local routes just ticking off good runs we hadn’t done yet , its very difficult to explain the kind of pleasure it is skiing down beautiful alpine pistes in perfect weather , for me the pleasure is in the turns getting your flow just right and making an perfectly executed turn at speed is the thrill , the team were in my opinion going a bit fast I’m maybe just different though because its the good turns i love ,t i think its the thrill of the speed for cammy and ali which meant we spent a lot more time on lifts than actually sking 

lunch time came very quickly and we stopped in a lovely big mountain restaurant bar with easily the biggest disco ball I’ve seen in my life ,lunch was excellent and alls rack of ribs were particularly tasty (made me regret my spag bols ) 

       we had done all the runs in this area and the conditions were still perfect for sking gary had messaged to say he had done enough and was heading back so we were having such a good time and with it being the last day we wanted to continue until the light was fading , the sun is a huge factor in your sys skiing and when it starts to dip behind the western peaks of the valley in the afternoon it casts big dark shadows on the slopes , cameron was no longer sticking to our normal formation both his and Alis ski technique and performance on the slopes this year were impressive , after cammy changed his boots at the start of the week he totally found his mojo and skiing impressively well , ali only had one fall all week and was hard to keep up with , what a fantastic last day on the slopes which came to an end only once the light had faded and cammys legs were starting to complain he isn’t as fit as he once was but tired legs and fading light is a recipe for an accident we called it a week ! and took our skis back to the hire shop 

gary met us at fang bar and we had a quick beer and jaeger to celebrate the end of a fantastic week of skiing , we then went for a quick beer at tom doolys before getting a taxi out to the mooserwirt , the mooserwirt is called the mother of all apres ski bars for a good reason its truly awesome , you can only guess how great it is until you have been , i remember reading about it after we were at val thoren and was thinking then how can it be better than the apres there but i can now say through experiencing it and many others over the years that yes the mooserwirt is the best apres bar n the world , its not just the legendary DJ gerhards cheesy euro pop songs or the volume of people there dancing on tables and chairs its such a big place you seem to be part of 20 or 30 other big parties all bouncing to the same cheesy music at one stage we were in a conga snaking through the 8 or so different bar areas fantastic party every day from 3:30 to 8pm we sadly left at 7 it was time for dinner 

 

    after dinner we walked along to bar 37 then piccadilly where i nearly got in a fight with a bloke who blew smoke in my face , the security extracted him before the trouble started thanks to ali , we went to the disco next door then another disco but cammy had enough and went back forgetting i had the room key , i couldn’t wake him from the chalet sofa and he’s too big to carry up the stairs now so he spent the night on the couch !