On Saturday we bid farewell to our lovely children and their partners as they drove off to Chambray airport ready to return to work on Monday morning- something that we don’t have to worry ourselves about anymore. Their departure wasn’t without drama, as Luke had to drive the car as Molly’s leg was still injured. Luke is rarely nervous about anything, but the prospect of driving a right hand drive car, down a mountain pass in winter conditions seemed to hit the spot. We were naturally nervous for him, but they are no longer teenagers and they need to live their own lives- it didn’t stop us being anxious until we had the text to say that they had made it to the airport safely…after a quick stop off at McDonalds for breakfast!
We had different plans however- we were off for a few days camping in the valley at Camping Huttopia and skiing from there. We just wanted to see what it was like to live out of the van and ski at the same time. If we loved it, it would open up a whole world of adventures for next winter- if we hated it, we would never have to do it again!
On the way down the mountain, we called at the supermarket for provisions, not the luxury shopping list we got for the previous week when the kids were with us, but the simple, fresh foods that fit to our early retirement budget! We had a bizarre experience with the roti chicken man outside the supermarket- once he realised we were from the UK he wanted to chat about his hero- the “Gypsy King” Tyson Fury. His day was complete once he realised that we used to live in the North West where Tyson lived!
We then had a lazy day, settling into the campsite, getting our new rental skis collected and preparing for another big day on the slopes the following day as yet more snow was due at altitude.
Skiing from the camp site worked really well and was snag free. It was the first time that we had chosen to ski from a non-ski-in-ski-out accommodation and we weren’t sure how much of a hassle that was going to be. The campsite had a heated ski locker room which was an absolute luxury. It meant we could dry all our kit overnight, our ski gear was safe and we were able to put perfectly warmed boots on in a morning- this was a particular hit with Jackie! We bought our ski passes from the campsite with a 10% discount that is always welcome. There was a free mini-bus transfer to the funicular railway in town that we booked onto no problem- in fact on the first day we were the only ones on the bus so in effect had our first ever private transfer to the lifts. The funicular was quick and efficient to get us up the mountain, with very little wait time. We timed the transfer and after setting off from the campsite at 0900 we were on the first ski run by 0930- which was just fab.
The snow was scheduled to arrive during our stay and it didn’t disappoint. On day one, the mountain conditions were very stormy, with heavy snow at altitude. We still managed to have a really good explore of the ski domain, but we were very nervous about being stranded if lifts were to shut due to the adverse weather.
On day two, things got even spicier, with heavy snow at altitude and in the valley. We left a green and frozen campsite for the day, had a limited ski as the heavy snow started to shut the lifts, and by the time we got back to the valley, we were in a winter wonderland. The campsite was unrecognisable from the morning- with Nelson covered in a few inches of fresh snow. The snow continued to fall for the rest of the day, and we had a great time exploring the town and witnessing how to deal with huge amounts of snow in a very un-UK way!
Looking at the forecast- that was our skiing done for another year. It was just not worth buying another lift pass for our remaining days as there was just too much snow due. The conditions would be fun- but hard. Skiing in fresh powder looks amazing, and is amazing, but takes its toll on our 50+ year old bodies! We only have so much hard skiing in us every year and we are pretty sure we have used up this years quota!
So after a day of playing in the fresh snow in the forests surrounding the campsite- see our latest YouTube video here- we knew it was time to start making the long journey home. We have to be back for next week as the building work starts on the house- if it wasn’t for that, we could both quite happily stay out here for another few weeks and enjoy the epic conditions that are sure to follow this monster of a storm.
The travel omens were good on Tuesday night, with the snow lightening and a bit of a thaw occurring to make the road conditions 100% better than earlier in the day. However, we woke up on Wednesday morning to more heavy snow, a few inches over night and the skies seemingly full of yet more snow. Let me tell you, a quick nip to the toilet block at 7am in these conditions is not an experience to be repeated! So Wednesday consisted of lots of packing up, digging out the van and tentatively trying to get off the campsite. We reassured ourselves that it was all part of life’s rich tapestry and this is exactly why we adventure in our early retirement!
We think that we may have found the optimum time to drive across France to and from the Alps- 2 days. This has allowed us two steady days of driving north without too much pain. We have covered about 450km each day, in about 5 hours of drive time. It’s still along way, but breaking it up this way makes it way more bearable assuming you have the time available. We stopped off at two beautiful free Aires on the way north- Arc En Barrois and Watten, both of which were situated within a 15 minute drive of the autoroute, they were in idilic, quiet and rural village locations and offered a very pleasant overnight experience.
What hasn’t changed however is the horrific UK based drive home. Well it has changed really- for the worst- if that is even possible! The drive from Dover had to be one of the most depressing and desperate drives in the UK. The Sat Nav happily predicted a 6.5 hour journey, with significant delays on the M25 (standard) and in sunny Doncaster. Not only does the journey north take forever, it also takes in some of the craziest roads in the UK. The A1 is beyond belief, with us nearly getting wiped out on two occasions in less than five minutes by mental truck drivers. We are seriously considering using the much pricier ferry crossing from Hull to Rotterdam in future trips just to avoid this aspect of the journey- it was that bad!
Another learning experience has been to always book a Flexi ferry ticket for the return journey. With DFDS ferries this allows travel up to 72 hours before or after a scheduled booking. It is not so much needed on the outbound route, but on the return leg we have found this flexibility invaluable. We had naively booked a Sunday ferry ready to get home for the builders starting on Monday! On reflection, we realised that this was cutting it just too fine. The heavy snow storm in the alps had wiped out any meaningful skiing for later in the week, so we decided to head home earlier than planned. The Flexi ticket allowed us to do this in a very stress free way and is something that we will definitely build into our future travel plans.
So that’s it for another week. We are safely home in the UK, the steel girder is waiting outside ready for the builders on Monday and we are anxiously waiting the big knock through. Looking ahead, we seem to have a few weeks at home before our next adventure, so we need to knuckle down and get on with the stuff that needs doing in the house. Although we are anxious about the impending building work, we are really exited to spend a longer period of time in the house, getting to know the area that we now call home.
Have a great week,
Richard & Jackie
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