The Stag and the Powder

I had a very surreal moment in the mountains this week. A guy I went to school with and haven't seen since I left (so 11 years ago) arrived at the hostel as he was out to celebrate his stag do! Couldn't believe it - what a small world. So I, of course, got involved with the stag do! The first pic above is of me and Bruce - if you'd have told me at school that I'd have been on his stag then I never would have believed you! When we got home, some of the guys had blocked off the gate way to the hostel by making a giant snowman - great effort!

I wasn't supposed to still be up in the mountains on the night of Bruce's stag but the weather was so bad that the conditions were too awful to get down by car. That meant that when I woke up in the morning, me and the lads at Chalet Arc could go and make the most of an incredible powder day. It has to be said, and this is a big statement, that that Friday was the best day of snowboarding I've ever had in my life! We got up early to make the first lift and made fresh tracks down the piste which was an epic feeling as the snow was soooo fluffy. BEST DAY EVER! I enjoyed sharing a lift with the new lads as they introduced me to their style of chair lift picnic that involved very dry chicken sandwiches and cans of Kronenbourg! That night I finally made it down the mountain to start my stay at The Loft. More about that later.....

Pow Pow POWDER!!

For the first time since being in Les Arcs, the snow started to fall. And BOY did it fall! We all got up for the first bus of the day which was definitely a new experience for me and it was totally worth it. The view had completely changed from the day before as you couldn't see any of the skyline or anything that resembled a mountain. We had to queue a while for the first lift to open and on the chairlift up we tried to decide which route to take. Somehow, the boys convinced me to go down the black run (only the second time I've gone down a black one - the first time was by accident!) but it turned out to be the best decision of the day. I was thigh high in fresh, buttery powder and was gliding down the mountain and it was glorious! I was cheering and wooping the entire way down, accompanied by a few beautifully cushioned splats! We were all a bit excitable (it was James' 30th birthday and he was like a kid on E numbers!) as it was so much fun but then I had a spectacular face plant that gave me whiplash which wasn't so great. BUT I manned up and dealt with it and carried on til the afternoon where the visibility then got terrible and the snow kept falling. It was a challenging day but rewarding all the same. As you can see from some of the above shots, the scenery was amazing - obviously that includes my epic frozen helmet hair! Roll on another powder day!