Currently in LDA!
First 2 days were grim. Bleak weather, absolutely zero visibility. Dank feeling everywhere
Thankfully yesterday the village was shrouded in cloud but luckily jt was an inversion so everything above 2000m was in glorious sunshine.
Over and out for me for the season. On the whole it has been a good one but February - I kind of fell out of love for a bit. Weather meant lifts were closed, half term week so huge queues at the base and then witnessed a fatal avalanche (inc the fatalities) as a 1.5km long slide / 500m wide came hurtling down the side of Rendl (Arlberg). We witnessed two people (of the three that passed) in their final moments and it was really harrowing. But brought home the risks of offpiste to us in a different way. Ordinarily you consider the risk (and we are risk averse) that you yourself are creating - but this also made me think even more holistically about the terrain you are on and who or what is (in this case 1km) above you... - It was avi risk 4 that day so we were not going anyway. Yet some did and didn't live to tell the tale. We passed the area again last week...the debris has thawed enough to see a solitary ski halfway in the slide. And a small candle vigil at the bottom which is where we last saw one of the guys. (we were stood at the lift watching it unfold).
To end more positively - my son has taken his racing skills up a notch this year following a broken leg in 2025, he stood on a podium in Austria last week and we had some great days as a family on the snow. I didn't think my knee was going to let me... but a lot of physio, gym work and a knee brace meant I could squeeze more than I thought! - Some great skiing, great closing parties and now saving up to hopefully get back out there in 2026/27 - Trump permitting......
First day in Les Deux Alpes, it’s incredibly warm in the village but thankfully cold enough up high above Toura and up on the glacier that the snow is holding up very well. Time the slope based on aspect and altitude and you’ll have a good day (I did). Only downside was my nephew taking a fall and his hire skis (nice sharp edges) cut through his trousers and leg needing seven stitches. He shrugged it off well and is skiing tomorrow no matter what.
To this end we are heading to Alpe d'Huez on the 3rd of January for a week, staying in Vaujany.
How did you get on with this? Would you recommend it as a base from which to ski?
my nephew taking a fall and his hire skis (nice sharp edges) cut through his trousers and leg needing seven stitches
Eeek. That did happen to Mrs NBT many years ago in Whistler - full on body-bag sledge from just below the roundhouse. Sliced right across the kneecap
I'll let Mrs NBT (@Bunnyhop) tell you what happened later...
He shrugged it off well and is skiing tomorrow no matter what.
How did this go @tuboflard?
When I had this injury (also with 7 stitiches), I wasn't allowed to ski for several days (due to the chance of the stitches bursting open). Of course I did ski after a few days (very tentatively) and got told off when I went to have my stitches removed 10 days later, wearing my skiing clothes. Dr said "why are you in your skiing gear"? I say "because I'm going skiing", he replies "no you're not" and he said the wound wasn't ready to have the stitches out, so that happened back home 4 days later.
The knee was bandaged up so tightly and was too bulky to get trousers on anyway.
