heading to work

I’ve found my morning routine now.  I get up just before six, pass by the bathroom, put the kettle on and spend fifteen minutes involved in stretching and breathing exercises.  (the first chapter of a Tai Chi book that I started a couple of years ago)  I’ll proceed through the rest of the book one day, but for the moment this does me the world of good,    Make a cup of tea and enjoy a bowl of fruit and nut porridge, slow cooked in a thermos that I start off the night before.  Put on my outdoor gear over what I am already wearing, thick ski trousers, my big jacket, equip myself with snow boots, gloves, goggles, wooly hat and ipod and set off towards Saint Lary at around seven ten/fifteen.   Have to be there by seven thirty.  It’ll have to be earlier when it’s snowed hard, but for now, that’s not happened.  During the brisk walk through the village I listen to Michel Thomas teaching Spanish.  Fifteen minutes every morning gets me to work with a few extra words and I go over and over the class till it sticks in my head.  If I get other opportunities, such as alone in a ski lift, of an evening or on the way home, I listen to more, but it gets me to work every morning in a productive manner.

I say to work, it’s the meeting point for where everyone who works in the refuge or another restaurant on the slopes, the Merlans,  has to meet to start the communal journey up the mountain.

There is a mini bus that takes nine of us, any one else has to take the cable car and a bus for the first leg of the journey.  Twenty minutes or so drive up the windy mountain road to the next stage of the journey, the ‘eggs’  enclosed pods that seat six that take us another 600m up into the ski resort.  Before we leave on these there are usually a couple of lorries waiting with deliveries for

the two establishments.  

The deliveries are unloaded outside the building and the boxes carried upstairs to the departure level by hand.  Once all there and the ‘eggs’ are ready to go, some of the team heads off to the top to receive the boxes.  Down below, one or two people load each pod with a couple of boxes, making sure that they are easily retrievable as the pod passes by at the top.  

The lift takes eleven minutes to reach the top when running well, a lot longer when there are technical difficulties or it is windy, the longest ascent for me has been over half an hour, howling sub zero winds outside, swirling snow and minimal visibility in the dawn twilight (if there is such a thing).  

At the top, the team manhandle the boxes out of the pods, pass them along a human chain to be loaded into a snow scooter trailer for the next leg of the journey.  There is frequently too much merchandise for one trailer, so it heads off to be unloaded before returning for the remaining items.  My, our, goods always get loaded second as they go to a different location where they are unloaded once again, in preparation for a downward journey by chair lift to the refuge.  To catch up with the snow scooter and our goods, we either take a ski lift on it’s descent, which takes five minutes or so if it’s running, or a brisk fifteen/twenty minutes by food along the edge of a ski slope, way before any skiers are about.  Not too bad when it’s calm and sunny, but when the weather sets in, all that clothing I mentioned earlier comes in mighty useful.

We then wait with our goods until the lift team arrive and go through their start up procedures and ensure that the lift is running.  Sometimes they are already there.  Our goods are then manhandled again and precariously placed on individual chairs on a chair lift, one person sets off ahead to receive them down below.  Smaller items go in large plastic crates, though care must be taken as the crates then have to be lifted on and off of the ever moving chairs as they pass by.  (Never would this be allowed in the UK, Health and Safety would have a field day)

This lift then drops down into the most remote and inaccessible part of the resort.  Frequently accessible by ski slope, but this season, due to the lack of snow, only by this lift.  A glorious setting overlooking wild mountain scenery where mountain beasts roam and birds of prey circle overhead.  No lights are visible at night and the only sounds are from the constant torrent of water in the stream and the wind in the trees.  

The boxes are grabbed off the chairs as they pass then walked, barrowed or sack trucked the last twenty metres to the back door of the refuge where they are sorted and stored immediately.

The morning team frequently don’t arrive and finish putting away the delivery of the day until way gone ten o’clock.

on top of the world at sunriseo 

loading our delivery onto the snow scooter trailer

last weeks rubbish heading down the moutain

en route - walking down an empty ski slope 

we came from right up there in the distance

going down again with boxes of stores

and down further

this is going to look amazing covered in snow

to the refuge - new wooden fascade on the left of the photo, the Lac de l'Oule dam is visible on the right.

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

cabin in the mountains

I had a day before heading off, so Pierre and I made the most of the following afternoon and headed up the mountain to enjoy the scenery.  We went on snow shoes, giant, tennis racket type contraptions that strapped to your hiking boots to stop you sinking too far into the snow.  THey took a little getting used to, big high steps over the snow in front, with feet a bit wider than normal to allow the rackets to pass one another without catching.  We were thankful that there were already tracks to follow as walking across deep snow for the first time was exceedingly energetic.

Pierre had a plan in mind.  His landlord owns an old barn in the mountains that he is renovating.  We had talked about visiting for a while but never had the opportunity. He thought that it might be inspirational for my much discussed project, a tiny space, basically furnished, with all the necessary mod cons for living.  He wasn’t wrong, though Felix still has some way to go before the barn is finished.  

We got there in good time,  two hours instead of the three that his neighbours had suggested, though we did go at a fair pace all the way.  Just as well really, as the weather was coming in again and grey clouds loomed over the adjacent peaks.  That didn’t stop us having a good nose inside, though it was challenging to see that much after the brightness of the sun drenched snowy landscape outside.  I loved the solid basic stairs and the double use lift top bench, storage seat, it’ll be tin lined to keep the mountain critters out, else they’ll eat the food or nest in the blankets and shred any clothing.  The table had bark covered legs to match the counter top support and another long curved freestanding bench allowed a probable five to sit the same distance from the open fire.  

We didn’t stay long enough to light the fire, we just took a couple of swigs of wine to fortify us for the twilight descent down into the village.  Just as well, as that cloud kept on coming and it was almost too dark to see until we rounded the corner into the street lit glow of civilisation.  Inspired, invigorated  and set for the next chapter.

fancy effects from having a frosty lens

me and Pierre 

that much snow and it's not even December yet

our destination

we only just got in

percy in the snow

The snow remained pretty much everywhere from that morning on.  I left later that day for a week in the UK, fully prepared to return to a damp grey valley, how wrong I was.  It had continued to snow sporadically throughout the week and as I returned to the mountains became increasingly worried about retrieving Percy from his mountain hideaway so that we could continue our travels.  Way down at 500m there were mounds of snow on the sides of the roads, evidence that the snow ploughs had been out already.  Further into the mountains, climbing, there was more snow than I could remember from previous years when arriving at the start of the ski season.  Now, there was another month to go and it looked like a midwinter scene.  The tiny road up to Barrancoueu, Pierre’s village, was clear, just, with deep snow everywhere around,  it was odd to see the poor trees struggling under thick coats of snow, still clinging on to their autumn leaves and fields that had been vibrant green not that long ago transformed into a black and white wonderland.  Time to get out there and enjoy.

all covered in snow

a good bit of insulation!!

it snowed all night

11.11.13 at 11:11 in front of the church of Barrancoueu            Lest we forget

It snowed all night and the morning view was something of a surprise.  Yes, I know that it had been snowing the night before, but so often a few evening snowflakes fail to fulfill their mission, especially during a mild autumnal spell when one wakes up to the same view that had faded into the sunset the previous evening, the snow an temporary flirtation with winter and nothing more, leaving the weather to continue its gradual seasonal decline. Not this time, this snow meant business.  The sky remained grey, heavy with precipitation and the white carpet continued to thicken as I stood watching  from the window.  I had been right, winter has arrived.

up there in that tiny village

the following morning

everywhere

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.

a visitor in the mountains

Nic came to visit with Dolly his dog which was a great surprise.  The original plan was that he was going to spend a few days here and then continue on into Spain to visit friends for the rest of the week.  At the last minute plans changed and he was here for a swift day and a half.  We crammed a whole lot in.

The first afternoon, after one of Marks amazing thai curries we headed out in the mist to walk to Pla d’Adet, the view wasn’t there just thick cloud. Along the path, evidence of several avalanches, one of which had caught several walkers the week before, It worried me slightly that they weren’t over and I didn’t fancy being someone else winched to safety by helicopter in a dramatic rescue.  We arrived safely and I waved to one of the bus drivers that I know as we walked into the village,  he stopped the bus and we got an impromptu lift home.  

DAY 2

The weather was sunny but threatening a bit of snow so we took the dog for a good walk on a route that I have been meaning to do for ages.  I always decide that skiing is a better idea but with a dog a walk was a must.  We checked with the girl in the ticket office who said that there were no rules forbidding dogs on the station, so we went.

Up in the ‘eggs’  which felt odd without ski equipment and then down on a chair lift, towards the lake.  There was a grumpy attendant who wasn’t at all sure that a dog should be allowed but we went, ignoring his protestations. We held the dog tight and I discovered why everyone looks frozen when they take that lift down the hill, it catches a cruelly cold wind. Half way to the lake we crossed an area of  ski slope to get to the next lift, Dolly was so excited, running round in huge circles, surprising everyone there, it isn’t often that you see a dog in the middle of a ski resort, miles from habitation.

She got the hang quickly and snuggled between us on the second descent.  The scenery was beautiful, the trees sparkling with a slight dusting of snow and their trunks glowing orange from the sunlight reflected back from the snow.  Slowly, the huge dam and lake came into view, the water level low and completely covered in snow.  It is always a surprise to see the water levels so low but then, most of the water is still stuck on the mountains as snow.  It’ll be full to overflowing when it all melts this year.

More surprised faces and comments from folk passing in the other direction and when we arrived at the bottom.  It’s a weird sensation descending and alighting a ski lift without skis, Dolly didn’t think so, leaping off at the right moment and knowing exactly where to go.

We set off, not sure how far we were going to walk.  The lake looked huge and there was an enormous amount of snow everywhere.  The track was evident only by following the tracks of others and not by any of the usual markers.  We made good progress and soon decided to go right the way round the lake.  We discussed cutting of the far end but decided it would be too dangerous as there was no way of knowing how deep the snow was or if the ice would support our weight.  Dolly was in her element, tracking scents and chasing and destroying the countless sticks that we threw for her.  Boundless energy.

Nic and I caught up on news since I stayed last autumn, discussed plans for the future and bandied about ideas for his land and making ends meet.  He’s started a bee keeping course and is excited about getting his first hive.  We explored an old shelter with a vaulted stone ceiling and theorised about winter trekking in the mountains.

Ancient shepherds huts and shelters were visible deep in the snow, and a bridge that we crossed had a good six feet of snow across its top, making it feel rather fragile and unsafe.  It was great to be outside in the elements away from the crowds and in complete silence.  I no longer notice how noisy the ski station is, but in contrast all there was to hear was the occasional bird in the stillness of the winter landscape.  Pictures are always easier than words, so here is where we were:

We had a true mountain lunch of Tartiflet at little refuge by the dam before heading back.  Dolly was much more independent on the lifts, commanding her own chair when possible and fascinated by looking out over the slopes, skiers and landscape.  The lift attendants surprised and happy to see her so confident on the return journey.

A flying visit needed a bit of calm so we headed to the thermal baths of Balnéa for a soak.  It’s a hit with all the guests that go and my brother absolutely loved our visit last year, so I wasn’t concerned that Nic wasn’t going to enjoy it.  Two hours of soaking, floating, steaming and sauna’ing under water music and a pile of snow to roll in, what more could one ask for?  Nothing.  

We left without a trouble in the world, clean and slightly wrinkled from the hot water and me, feeling better than I have been in a long time.  It was just what I needed after the holidays.  Nic loved it too; he continued on his journey to Spain and I came back to the chalet for the soundest nights sleep in ages.  Wonderful.

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