Skiing (Day Three)

Or the 14km run...

One of the supposedly good things about Flaine was that it had links to close by resorts which doubled the number of runs available to skiers. Called the Grand Massif it linked Flaine with Sixt, Samoens, Morillon and Les Carroz. Starting in Flaine there was a 14 kilometre run called Cascades which was described as a 'beautiful tree-lined run'. Thinking this might be a goer we decided to do a couple of runs on the old faithful Crystal and then spend the rest of the day (apparently it would take that long to ski the 14km and make your way back) doing Cascades.

The first part of the run was awful. Most of it was uphill which involved a lot of pushing or taking skis off and walking. But it was pretty scenic so we got a number of photos. The middle part was quite fun for all involved. However the last 2km were pretty horrible. It consisted of steep thin runs with very tight (180 degree) turns. But we all made it to the bottom. We were now in the Sixt resort. From here we had to catch a bus to Samoens where we planned on having lunch.

The resort was packed with people and the restaurants were no different. We finally found a table at one place but after waiting for ages just to have our orders taken I cracked it and left (they were not gonna get any of my money). So we decided just to ski back to the apartment (it was about 2:30 at this point) have a light snack and then go out for dinner.

There was only one link between Samoens and Flaine and because it was getting towards the end of the day so it was pretty busy. First off we had to get on this ancient chairlift. The queue was huge and it involved going down hill (so it was just chaos). About 45 minutes later we made it to the top and had to ski down a blue run before catching another chairlift to Flaine (and our feared Tourmaline run). Anyway the run (called Dolomie) was horrible. Because it was a link run it was packed with people and it was full of moguls. Jules, having lost her confidence on the last part of the Cascades run, took a while to get down and was pretty annoyed, tired and hungry (as we all were) when she got to the bottom.

We then had another long wait for the chairlift to the top of Tourmaline. Peter and I had agreed with Jules to ski ahead and prepare some food cause she thought she would take a while. As expected it was pretty awful going down but we made it to the bottom and headed back to the apartment. After a couple of beers we were still waiting for Jules. She finally showed up about an hour after us. Someone had run into her and hurt her pretty badly. So she was upset and in pain. A cup of tea and a game of cards (which she won of course) calmed her nerves.

After showering we headed out to find somewhere for dinner. After a few days of bread, cheese and salami we wanted a change. We found a pretty nice place and ate up big (had a great hot chocolate crepe for dessert).

Back home to get ready for another day of skiing.


Sick of Walking




Almost got it!




Cascades




Race Time!




The Valley




More Scenery




A nice place to stay!




The horrible last part of Cascades (the run follows the orange fencing)




Cascades Waterfall




Top of Samoens




Bottom of Dolomie Run




Dinner (with a crazy waiter...)