here and there

I’ve been to the UK and back.  I spent a wonderful fortnight visiting family and friends, caught some great weather after all those storms and headed back to france with a suitcase full of soft fruit bushes.

Since then I’ve spent two action packed weeks in the mountains, spending time both with Pierre and with Clare at Lou Rider, it was lovely to see out the last of the winter season with good friends and say good bye once and for all to the chalet as it has now been sold (I’m waiting to hear for sure that it’s gone through before posting, so as not to jinx things for Clare).  We had a fairly substantial snow fall just as I arrived back in the mountains, so had amazing ski conditions for a couple of days.  The two remaining helpers at the chalet, Kieran (sp?) and Brian were excellent skiers so it made a change to have to work a bit to keep up.   

The warm weather soon put pay to the amazing conditions and the snow soon turned wet and sticky, catching me out on several occasions resulting in a couple of spectacular wipe outs.  Shaken but not particularly injured, the aches and pains have now departed and am left with the memories of some wonderful descents.  

Clare was busy cleaning and preparing to leave whilst I was there.  I gave a hand, with the tidying and ended up leaving with a van stacked full of useful items for my next project.  It’s all safely stashed in a neighbours barn in Vieuzos now, so don’t have to cart it with me for the next two months.  Thank you Clare.  We ate too, to empty the cupboards and freezers, as nothing could be left this time, a week of scrumptious food, frequently with an asian twist was a real treat and the never ending Sticky Toffee Pudding, that was always such a hit with the guests, finally came to an end.  MMmmmmm.

Somewhere amongst all the excitement I lost my camera, so no photos for the time being, unless I cheat and use some old ones.  I left my name and phone number with the piste services but can’t imagine it’ll be found in a working condition after being outside for so long.  New one ordered, it’s winging its way to me as I write, so won’t be imageless for too long.

It's starting well, 2014

I know, I know, it’s been over a month since I last wrote and I am starting to get emails from close friends checking that I am OK.  Yes, all is well with me, I’ve just been rather busy and not often with internet access.  

The second week of January, I stayed with my good friend Pierre in the mountains, we skied twice, went out on racquets in the snow and generally enjoyed a few cold and sunny days in winter wonderland, though, after November the scenery wasn’t quite as spectacularly snowy.  We even spent a day at Chalet Lou Rider with Clare and her team which was great.  A really good crowd, great fun, but with all that is going on with my land purchase, I am glad that I’m not there this year. 

On that front, things are progressing slowly.  Problems with a farmer neighbour (involving the present owner) have been sorted and all that is needed now is a reply to a legal letter confirming the outcome.  I met the farmer a couple of weeks ago and we have agreed ongoing rights of passage and his use of part of my future land, for an indeterminate period of time, this is an additional area that the present owners are pleased to sell rather than the initial plot.  

For two weeks I have been working flat out with a semi professional team, endeavoring to finish the ground floor plastering of Pierlo and Sandrine’s house as quickly as possible due to a change in family circumstances..  I’ve helped them periodically during the last four years and when I discovered that their son, Jules, had been in a swimming accident last autumn and is still quite disabled, decided to lend a hand.  He suffered an apnea attack as he dived into the pool and was without air for some time before he was rescued.  His lungs did not fill with water, so he had not drowned, but still, spent a couple of months in a coma.  He is slowly gaining his senses, movement and comprehension, but it appears that it may take several years before he returns to some sort of normality.  A huge shock and life changing for the family.  They hope to get Jules home as soon as it is in a fit state to receive him and a great group of friends are rallying round to give support. I’ll no doubt be back to help from time to time, but for the moment have committed myself to another project.

I am back with Cherry and Chris, where I stayed over Christmas and the New Year, where I planted over a hundred trees in the autumn and house sat on a couple of occasions.  They move house at the start of March and have an enormous list of chores.  The offer of £££ for extra hours was a tempting one, so I am working more than full time for them till the end of the month.  The new house is in the process of being renovated and will be no where near ready , so I shall be heading back to  give Pierlo a hand when I finish here.

Looking further into the spring, hopefully I will have signed for the purchase of the land by then, I have 2-4 months for searches and official paperwork before completion.   There are already three possible straw bale building projects available that want help (more arrive as we get closer to spring) and with Percy at the ready I am easily able to move from place to place to head off and lend a hand, learn still more skills and better formulate how I plan to proceed.  Hopefully the current owners will allow me to plant a vegetable plot during the transition period so I am not too far behind with the season and then in early summer there is the possibility of a 6 day professional course in straw bale building near La Rochelle.  I can use the trip north to visit other friends on route and then head back to the UK for Percy’s MOT and a long awaited visit.

Not sure how it’s all going to pan out and in what order it’s all going to happen but its going to be a challenging, exciting and demanding year.  I am almost bursting with anticipation and am finding it difficult to hold back on planning and getting stuck in to my next chapter.  I must be patient and bide my time until the formalities are over.  There’ll be plenty of time afterwards for it all to unfold.

snow capped Pyrénées

winter sunset

my current abode

Suzy, the bestest french dog I know

stripey

Suzy

newly planted beech hedge

the new residence

snowboard

The last few weeks have flown by and taken ages at the same time.  The weekends extremely busy with guests and week days occupied with chalet maintenance and enjoying the great outdoors.  Normally by now the weather is a little too warm for a ski resort and the snow melts faster and faster up the hillside, the mountain sides start to green up and spring tries to make an appearance.  This year it’s still snowy.  As I write, three days before the end of the ski season, it is snowing, the snow plough has been working through the night and it feels like January again.

It has been sunny, we have had some wonderful days, but like elsewhere in europe it has remained on the cool side.  

After much deliberation I rented a snowboard and gave it a go.  All the comments over the years are true, plenty of padding is needed.  I fell all the time for the first two days, thankful for a helmet and wrist protectors that undoubtedly saved broken wrists and concussion.  More padding would have helped for just about everywhere else, ribs, elbows, shoulders, knees and the like.  I quickly realised that the softer spring snow was more forgiving both for getting to grips with the board and for falling onto.  An early frosty start was not in the least bit enjoyable and I quickly swapped back to skis.

Five half days in and I am starting to enjoy snowboarding.  Getting the hang of linking turns and finding out the tricks of balance and movement that are so very different to being on skis.   It is strange to move sideways all the time and frustrating to buckle and unbuckle a boot to move anywhere once stationery, the alternative is to scuttle around like a crab with both feet strapped in.  I now know why boarders like to board with skiers, the skiers can always give them a tow when they get stuck.   It’s a different sensation to skiing, that uses more energy, especially at the start, and involves more whole body movement.  I’m not one of those numerous people who tries boarding and never uses skis again but I shall return for more next season.  For now, though, the last precious days in the mountains, I shall be making the most of my trusty skis.

Heading back to Pierlo and Sandrines to check out progress at their straw bale house, give them a hand in the garden and get back into speaking french all the time, followed by a couple of weeks on a small farm where they make jams, chutneys, conserves and honey, have a small B n B and are new to HelpX.  They’re close to my departure airport for my spring trip back to the UK.  Looking forward to seeing family and friends back home next month.

the calm after the storm

The end of the french school holidays is here accompanied by a huge sigh of relief from everyone working at the chalet.  It’s been a tough four weeks all in all.

Busier with guests than ever before, an additional lunchtime challenge of feeding between twenty five and forty kids who arrive at 12:00 midday with their ski school instructors for a meal before our normal lunchtime restaurant service.  One, then two missing from the team rather than an extra one that we had hoped for at the beginning of the season, so four doing the work of six/seven, then on the second week some guests brought a flu virus with them that they promptly shared with everyone.  Mark the chef was laid up for 24 hours the same time as I couldn’t get out of bed for the day, I have no idea how the others managed but they did. Both Clare and Jessie were rough with colds that have gone on for ages.  I  was knocked for six and have very little recollection of the following ten days or so and a good two weeks later am starting to feel on form again, perhaps it was a good thing to have done the most challenging part of the season without much of a memory, but I think that I’d rather have been there.  

Still, guests have arrived and departed without major hitch, everyone has been fed and accommodated and enjoyed their holidays seemingly as much as usual.  Plenty of folk staying elsewhere have returned time and time again for lunches and occasionally evening meals and our Sticky Toffee Pudding is becoming famous throughout the resort.  Clare should publish a chalet cook book, it would make a small fortune, as everyone wants the Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe.  It’s a secret!

Now we have two nights with absolutely no guests. Peace and quiet, no one to look after and only a smallish pile of washing and ironing to get through.  Maybe even that will be forgotten for a couple of days.  There is enough food and drink in stock to keep us going and nothing pressing to do.  It’s not often that I relish the thought of being lazy but for the moment, I can’t wait to do nothing.  Sleep perhaps or maybe a good book, I might go out and ski for a bit if the weather is nice, but even the thought of exercise is tiring today.

A couple of days reprieve will be enough to charge the batteries.   With the knowledge that there will be fewer guests from now on and no more huge lunchtimes it’s time to enjoy the slopes again.  It’ll be good to get outside in the sunshine and fresh air again, which is the main reason that I am here.

yes, still more snow

How fast things change.  The excessive snow seems weeks ago now and the resort is back to normal.  There is still plenty of evidence on the hillsides, with bare earth and vegetation exposed by the countless avalanches and huge piles of snow along the roadsides where clearing has been necessary.  The signs on many of the pistes are buried or are poking out through the snow even though they are on poles that are a good six feet tall.  Netting safety barriers are stretched to their highest positions or in some places completely buried.  Many of the drag lift routes have been cleared so that there is enough room under the wires for them to work properly, giving the impression, in places, that one is in a corridor of snow.  The huge icicles and overhangs of snow on the chalet are beginning to melt and drop from the roof causing hazardous areas underneath, hopefully they will all be down by the time we are inundated with children next week.  It’ll be impossible to keep them away.

Chalet wise, we have a full team again, all up and running well, it’s taken a couple of weeks of additional input and encouragement to form the team but the results are well worth the effort.  Unfortunately two of the three newcomers are only staying for a shortish period of time, so we’ll be doing it all over again before too long.  Each time it gets a bit easier, though learning peoples characters and how they respond to learning/teaching methods always takes a bit of time.  Slightly disappointed that there aren’t any real skiers amongst them, I go out on my own a fair amount or occasionally find guests that are happy to have a guide from time to time.  Whatever, it’s great to get out at every available opportunity right now as the holidays are about to be upon us and then we’ll be too busy and the pistes too crowded for skiing to be so much fun.

I am still toying with the idea of trying snowboarding.  Each season I arrive here, at the start of winter, with the thought that I will donate a week or so to learning, but so far have not actually mustered the enthusiasm to spend the better part of a week arse or face down in the snow.  I have been as far as the ski hire shop to get equipped for the mission several times before turning back to get my skis and enjoying the day.  I don’t know if I shall this season, but if I do, it will be after the holidays and I have more than sufficient time to study video tutorials and get myself mentally prepared for the challenge.  But then again, it’ll depend on the day.

the usual table shot to see the depth of snow

two cars

yes, I am standing up

tree with snow and sky background

they blocked the road with snow to stop people getting caught in avalanches lower down

the only way in, and out....

amazing morning light over Saint Lary

clearing the road ..........   again

still more

Avalanches around the chalet last week 

Icicles on the washing line

Lea enjoying a forest walk

snow everywhere

where it's sheltered the snow sticks to everything, beautiful.

The latest news from the Pyrenees is that it has the number ONE resort for snow fall this year, Cauterets has over 5 metres so far, beating the number two position of Mammoth Mountain in the US of A.  Impressive for such a small mountain range and challenging for the maintenance teams here to keep the ski stations open and running.  

We’ve just had another good 48 hours of with strong winds, closing the resort for another day and the road down to the valley for fear of avalanches.  So far, close to the chalet we are OK, though they didn’t bother to clear the snow from the road, concentrating their efforts on the other side of our little valley.  

I did get an amazing day on the slopes yesterday, blizzard conditions but great fun none the less.  There was hardly anyone out and very few lifts open, but the pistes that opened were knee deep in powdery snow.  Our baker, from down in the village had a day off and asked if I fancied skiing, it was great to hit the slopes with someone new and a good skier who knows the resort well too.  We made the most of the morning, returning to the chalet for a late lunch, one of Mark’s amazing curries before heading back out to finish the day.  

I’m finally mastering the skill of skiing in new snow, it’s been an ideal season for it so far, and very different from enjoying the flat groomed surfaces that are usually there.  I got the last bus home, tired and a little achy from trying too hard just in time for a shower, change and dinner.  

Today has been entirely different,  I started at 7.30, baking croissants and sorting out breakfast for our guests, followed by an hour of ironing whilst the snow howled past the chalet.  The wind dropped, giving me the opportunity to start clearing a bit of snow.  I’ve given up trying to calculate the volume of snow that I move to any exactitude but am guessing a good 30 cubic metres each time it snows.  The wind blows and all the access paths get filled in and then the sides get higher.  It took a good two and a half hours today to clear the necessary paths and also uncover one of the cars, it ended up being a pointless exercise as the car couldn’t gain traction with it’s snow tyres and ended up remaining in it’s place outside the chalet.  My fear of not getting enough exercise is well and truly put to bed for the moment.  I’ll surely sleep well tonight.

avalanches

We waited another two days before the weather was clear enough for the helicopter to see what it was doing.  The afternoon was clear sunny and incredibly bright.  The helicopter landed on the car park, probably to pick up explosives and headed directly to a high crest above the chalet, it dropped so low all we could see was a cloud of snow billowing about for several seconds and then backed off the mountain a fair distance.  There was a tiny plume of snow/smoke followed by a boom before the whole slope of snow started to slide down the mountain.  It was all miniature and distant, but having been up there in the past, I could imagine how large the slide was.  Huge billows of snow rose up in the valley, catching the sun and causing a giant brilliant white glow for several moments.  The helicopter moved on to the next probable site and repeated the drop.  Again a plume followed by boom and another silent slide of snow, whole valleys of silent billowing movement in the distance, the scale was impressive.  It continued into the distance and out disappeared of view for a while, appearing again above the chalet but further down the valley.

They had already decided that the other side of our valley was safe enough to use the road so I took a chance to see what was going on.  I was itching to be outside and also wanted to get to the other part of the resort to say goodbye to a friend who had been staying there,  there were no busses so I thought that I would walk there.  I passed a couple of groups of official looking people in uniforms and we passed the time of day.  The helicopter was high up on the mountain doing its thing and the evidence of avalanches were clear to see in the bright snow.  Looking back above the chalet, there had been several, all small and had stopped way short of the buildings.  It looked as if the job was done.  I set off on my way down the hill taking photos and enjoying the stunning snowy scenery, the helicopter returned to the car part to pick up more explosives and passed directly overhead on its way down the valley to continue its work.  I passed the crossroads and another group of resort officials, they waved whilst watching the drama on the hillside and I continued.  A van approached, I stuck my thumb out, getting a lift from one of the local guys directly into the resort village.  On arrival we met the Gendarme who were holding up the traffic until the avalanche clearance had finished.  No one was allowed from where I had just come from........  I’ll never know if I should have been there or not, but the view had been great and I got a ring side view of avalanche clearance in action.

I got to say good bye to Cecile, we’d met last summer on the donkey farm and she’d been staying in resort with a group of schoolchildren for ten days or so through work.  We hadn’t managed to ski together as she’d injured her ankle over New Year but it was good to catch up and pass the time of day.  She looked happier at the end of the visit than the start, a bit more tired but thankful that she wasn’t looking after kids for the whole season.  I can only imagine.    Hopefully we’ll cross paths again, she’s promised to come and give me a hand with the house when I get that far.  I hope she does.

The resort slowly started to reopen the following day, piste by piste, as safety barriers got adjusted and lifts de-iced.  Clare and I skid on Friday for a while, the powder was deep and soft but the visibility so poor, due to the clouds and continuing snow that we didn’t last much past lunchtime.  Exhausting after skiing on groomed slopes, I have decided to get a lesson after the next new snow to learn the techniques and make it a more enjoyable experience.  

helicopter on sunny peak in centre of photo

Yes, it really was that deep

proper snowed in

avalanches and snow slides above the chalet

on the road to Pla d'Adet

the valley of Saint Lary Soulan

too much snow

My 20 to 40 suggestion was a bit over the top for lunchtime diners, bit I did get a decent go at running the kitchen whilst mark was away.  We saw 12 diners on Saturday and 11 on Sunday.  I got to prepare a good selection of menu items, Confit de Canard with sarladaise   potatoes, burgers, braised ham, omelettes and double fried chips (home made) and salad, spaghetti carbonara, bacon tartines.  

None of them particularly difficult individually plates, but when five or six different meals have to be ready for service at the same time it becomes a bit more tricky, especially when other orders are arriving and have to be started right away, a calm, straight thinking attitude and order is needed so as not to mess anything up.  The easiest way to monitor success from the kitchen is to look at returning plates, the vast majority were completely clean, the odd uneaten lettuce leaf or remain of burger bun, nothing substantial, no rejects, I was pleased with that.   It was a good fun, challenge that I enjoyed and could cope with more at another time.  Mark can have a few  lunchtimes off later in the season and I’ll hopefully get to practice some of the remaining dishes on the menu.

I got my wish too, the mountain is more covered in snow that I have ever seen it.  So much so that we are stranded in the chalet with strict instructions not to venture outside for fear of avalanches.  It snowed sporadically to start with, then constantly for a good 48 hours.  I knew it was snowing hard when the snow ploughs ran all night without pause, that was Sunday through to Monday morning, (the ploughs pass just outside my bedroom), last night they didn’t run at all, I guess it was already deemed too dangerous on our side of the valley.

The resort remains closed for a second day and the latest news from the authorities is that a helicopter will pass by tomorrow morning to fire grenades into the snow on the high slopes.  These explode and trigger controlled avalanches that can then be dealt with before anyone ventures too near.  Hopefully they’ll give us a call and I get to witness the excitement from a safe vantage point.  Only after that has happened and the safety teams have had time to verify the station, will it reopen for skiing.

It’s weird to watch from inside, for the past couple of hours the temperature has risen a little and the snow here has changed to rain, the almost completely laden trees have dropped their charges of snow and the depth of snow on the balcony bar has diminished considerably.  Fortunately, looking up slightly we can see that it is still snowing a hundred meters or so further up the mountain.  That’ll be the change of temperature with altitude or zero isotherm.  Whilst I have been writing, the zero isotherm has dropped and it is now snowing outside, just, and the rain has been pushed further down the mountain.  Fingers crossed that it’ll continue to stay down there for a while.

spot the cars

road up to the station

picnic tables on the terrace

I've posted a similar photo several times before, but never with this much snow, I cleared the snow from round the tables 24 hours before the photo was taken!!

how does it hold on like that?

the foreground is nearly waist deep snow

another picnic table, complete with parasol that we forgot to bring in.  Can you see it in front of the tree?

Marks' moped

they have all gone

Two weeks later and the rush of Christmas and New Year festivities seem months behind, the chalet is calm and guest free for a fortnight, save for four this weekend.  The weather has been pleasantly warm, though not good for the snow, so I have been out walking a fair amount as well as fitting in a fair amount of skiing.

Mark, the chef has headed north to see his brother for the week, he’s been ill for a while, but recovering now.  Louis, a Canadian helper who arrived well before Christmas has already gone, he stayed for the busyness of the festive period but decided that a whole season here without a ski pass wasn’t an attractive option, his traveling funds had dwindled much faster than he had originally thought and he couldn’t afford one, he’s headed to Ireland to stay with a girl he met and hopefully earn some money too.  

The day Louis left, Martin and Trudy, the other two helpers decided to leave too, they are an older couple and felt that the work schedule wasn’t allowing them to spend enough time together.  Thankfully they have offered to stay around until some replacements are found, though there is little to do during these quiet weeks.  They have a camper van outside that they are sleeping in and plan to stay around this and other resorts run by the same company for most of the season, so will no doubt see them from time to time.

It’s odd how each season is so different.  We already have one replacement arranged to arrive next week and another fairly soon afterwards.  The first possibility cancelled after confirming arrival next week due to a family related incident.and has decided not to arrive at all.  

With Mark away over the weekend I am excited to be working alone in the kitchen, I guess I shan’t be attempting the full menu but it’ll be great to see how well I cope if we get the usual number of diners at midday.  (Between 20 and 40 during the holidays.... eek).  I thought that I had been paying enough attention, but now that I start to think about how to prepare each and every dish, I doubt that it’s all properly logged in the old grey matter.  We’ll see how it goes soon enough.  Preparation is the key, will be peeling spuds this evening and frying off chips and chopping salad tomorrow morning.  

I’ve got my fingers crossed that it’s fairly busy and that the forecast snow arrives so that come Monday the mountain will be completely white again.

the end of another year

Another catch up posting after having been in the UK for a while.  I am back at Chalet Lou Rider for the winter again, my fourth season here and the place that I have spent the most time during my last four years on the road.

Christmas flew by in a blur of meal preparations, serving drinks, washing up and helping the new team get acclimatised to their new environment.  We are now in a slight lull before the excitement of New Year celebrations kick off, I have time and I am in the mood to write.

Where had I got to?

Matty and I returned to the Dordogne, to Matt and Wendy’s for a couple of weeks for a promised introduction into willow weaving as a thank you for the efforts we put in back during the summer.  Ben, one of the summer team joined us too, it all felt very easy and a bit like coming home.  We laughed, ate and drank as well as we had in the summer, enjoyed gite accommodation (indoors), got to see our roundhouse creation again which looked more amazing than before, and became part of the family for a second time. 

Hurdle making in progress

The finished article

We coppiced various varieties of willow, learned the basics of hurdle making and started a long curving in situ fence for one of their future projects.  Due to a prebooked flight I left before it was finished, but have seen the finished result, it looks amazing,  missed to salmon trap and fan lessons, but with a decent book, can’t imagine that it is hugely difficult to master in the future.

freshly cut willow varieties, with in started situ fence behind

progress with the curved in situ fence

I flew back to the UK at the end of November, in time to celebrate Mum’s birthday, make flying visits to some of my favourite friends and catch up with news and goings on.  It is always great to spend a decent amount of time with folk and share some love where I can.  Work on allotments, choosing Christmas Trees, reading books and playing with children, cooking meals and turning compost, walking dogs and shopping.  It’s all good fun and contributes to making life run smoothly.

My brother was home for a week too, so we got to spend a day together and almost has a whole family Christmas meal, unfortunately not everyone was able to make it.  He, however is much happier than when I visited him in Portugal and his house project is coming on leaps and bounds.  The track is finished, the house reroofed, has a new floor inside and a temporary wood-burning stove, he and his partner moved in on Christmas eve after several months in a caravan. I am so glad that they have somewhere warm and cosy to spend the rest of the winter. 

Windy's new roof

The land that I am looking for has been somewhat elusive this last year so I decided that another winter season at the chalet would allow me to pass the worst of the winter somewhere enjoyable, warm and in a location that might allow me to visit land possibilities should they arise, continue to improve my french and learn further kitchen skills from our great chef Mark.  I arrived by Eurostar again, by far the most comfortable way to travel with extra luggage, complete with hundreds of tea bags and other english supplies, straight into a busy chalet.  

Chalet Lou Rider

My quiet morning is disappearing fast, with reservations coming in for lunchtime, new guests arriving and an extra ten eating tonight.  I’ll be needed in the kitchen soon to lend a hand and keep things running smoothly so I’d better upload this whilst I have time.  Wish you all a Very Happy New Year and hope that the coming year is a good one for you all.