ISSUE 1505 | DEC 27, 2019
THE
ECHO
FREE WEEKLY GUIDE TO VAL D’ISÈRE
M A G A Z I N E
FANTASTICAL FIREWORKS
CONSIGNED TO HISTORY
INTRODUCING DELIV’DRINKS
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THE FOLIE DOUCE ART PROJECT COVER ART: JASON ROY Last year, we launched the Folie Douce Art Project, with the aim of adorning the front cover of the Echo with local artists’ creations. It worked! We ended up with 21 stunning magazines and got to meet some thoroughly fascinating individuals over a spot of lunch at La Folie Douce. The famous mountain restaurant, bar and cabaret extravaganza generously support this project and we’re thrilled to announce their continuing sponsorship this winter. We’re now on the hunt for more creative talent. If you would like to see your work on the front of Val d’Isère’s finest English language publication, and featured on the screens at La Folie Douce, get in touch with us now. Whatever your medium, we can almost certainly accommodate it.
To find out more about how to be involved, email: contact@valecho.co.uk. Also you can check out last year’s covers and buy prints of your favourite at www.valecho.co.uk/ folie-douce-art-project We can’t wait to see what the Echo will look like this year.
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24 EVENT LISTINGS
CONT ENTS The Val Echo CCK Intergalactic Ltd www.valecho.co.uk contact@valecho.co.uk
What’s on this week: - Town events - Bar nights - Sporting competitions
26 CONSIGNED TO HISTORY Attitudes and behaviours that we would prefer to be left in the 2010s.
34 HENRY’S AVALANCHE TALK An in depth look at the snow conditions and up-coming weather for off piste skiers/ boarders
Please recycle the magazine once you have read it. Or, better still, hand it on to someone else.
40 SEASONAIRE OF THE WEEK
Contributors: Sam Box, Ben Pryor, Caitlin Kennedy
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This week, Bryoni Heartridge spills the beans.
RESORT GUIDE
The down-low on everything from the best restaurants to the numbers to call in an emergency
NEW STYLE
10 SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTIST We chat to Jason Roy the designer of this week’s cover art. The Echo’s cover is generously sponsored by La Folie Douce
Everything you never knew about the most ubiquitous way to bring in New Year with a bang.
Coiffure & Massage Sur rendez-vous à partir de 14h
design www.athoms.fr
14 FANTASTICAL FIREWORKS
Hairdresser & Massage By appointment From 2PM
21 DELIV’DRINKS We caught up with front-woman, Gemma to find out how this drink delivery service works.
+33(0)4 79 06 02 00 info@avancher.com Arrêt de navette UCPA / www.avancher.com
Remise Carte Vie Val d’Is
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SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTIST Artist: Jason Roy
10 And what are you up to these days? Now I’m doing more writing. Technically I’m working for a magazine but I’ve only written one article for them so far. It’s a small, mostly digital magazine called 1883 and my first article was an interview feature with the artist, Patrick Hughes. What do you want to write about next? I know a lot of people who on social media are just complete freaks (including myself) and don’t take it seriously at all. We’ll just constantly be changing our names to stupid things or trying to embarrass ourselves as much as humanly possible. And I want to write about what prompts that. It’s like a cloak in a way- if you’re only ever taking the piss, no one can ever criticise you because it’s not serious.
What did you focus on when you studied at Central St Martins? I mostly worked in the medium of film, initially by myself and then for my final year, collaborating with someone else, which was carnage. We were friends and then started working together and we would argue the entire time about whether or not something was worthwhile artistically. So, we decided to use these arguments as the basis for our final show. Essentially, we recorded all these segments of our heated discussions and turned it into a film. We ended up with 5 or 6 hours of recordings, which we had to trawl through, finding bits that we liked, changing things around a bit and then we got a couple of actors in to come in and perform certain segments.
What’s the inspiration behind the cover? Well I’ve not done anything within the realms of “fine art” for ages because that wasn’t my focus at art school. So it’s been about 4 years since I’ve properly drawn something for a project. My cover takes inspiration from things that are aesthetically pleasing that I’ve been immersed in recently. At work, I’ve constantly been having to un-frame and re-frame this optical art picture by Victor Vasarely and so there are elements of that in there. But it is the complete opposite to the approach that I would normally take when making something, because I had to just start the cover and get it done. Whereas at art school, we would be in the planning stages, analysing whether something was interesting, new or worth doing for ages. Was that an overarching theme at art school; whether something had value artistically? That was definitely an overarching theme, yes. You can’t just rock up there and make something and say you thought it was nice. It has to be saying something more. But now, no one knows how to challenge the status quo anymore, so art is in this weird self-
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conscious limbo.
Why is that? I don’t know. It’s a question that a lot of people have considered. Maybe because of the immediacy of information that the internet offers, everyone has already seen everything. 200 years ago, painters were being trained by successful painters in certain schools and you would have had no concept of whether or not what you were doing was intellectually valuable. Now however, when you’re aware of a wider context, it becomes impossible to avoid that question. Which makes art school so ridiculousit’s kind of a nightmare, because whatever you create, everything always reverts back to the question of whether it is relevant.
It gave me a different perspective and certainly made me more aware of the gulf between the art world and the rest of the population. It’s very easy when you go to art school to get dragged into a vortex of art and become completely unrelateable to anyone. I do think you have something of a responsibility to be relatable but then from a personal perspective, I don’t make things with that thought in the back of my mind. So it’s a fine line between being relevant and not making anything new. Thanks Jason!
Is there a show you’ve seen recently that stuck in your mind? Yes, there was an exhibition at the Tate Britain by Mark Leckey. He’s a Liverpudlian and used to hangout under one of those big concrete underpasses. He did a huge installation where he recreated that space in the gallery and had all these videos playing around the outside of young people today in the same place as he used to spend time, as well as media from when he was young. It felt like it spanned so much time. That’s the kind of thing I’m normally really interested by. Does coming from a family who aren’t immersed in the art world affect the way If you’re looking at the scary baby shaving its own face, so you work at all? are your potential customers. To swap out this ad for your own, email advertising@valecho.co.uk.
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14 across the crude chemical recipe for gunpowder. Supposedly, they had been searching for an elixir for immortality.
NEW YEAR’S EVE A foray into fireworks before we give you all deets on where to go and what to do for the final night of 2019.
The black, flaky powder that resulted from their accidental concoction was later poured into hollowed out bamboo sticks (and later stiff paper tubes) forming the first man made fireworks.
New Year’s Eve; also known as the night of a thousand bangs, nightmare on dog street or the Great Gunpowder Massacre. Around the world, approximately 27 million fireworks are released on New Year’s Eve, causing an indeterminable number of ooohs and aaaahs (or in the case of dogs, howls and whimpers). We decided to shine a sparkly light on those most prevalent of celebratory things and present the most fascinating firework factoids that you can mull over whilst sipping on mulled wine.
This “fire drug” (or huo yao) became an integral part of Chinese cultural celebrations. It wasn’t long before military engineers used the explosive chemical concoction to their advantage. The first recorded use of gunpowder weaponry in China dates to 1046 and references a crude gunpowder catapult. The Chinese also took traditional bamboo sparklers and attached them to arrows to rain down on their enemies. On a darker note, there are also accounts of fireworks being strapped to rats for use in medieval warfare.
Many historians believe that fireworks were originally developed in the second century B.C. in ancient Liuyang, China. It is thought that the first natural “firecrackers” were bamboo stalks that when thrown in a fire, would explode with a bang because of the overheating of the hollow air pockets in the stalk. The Ancient Chinese civilization believed these natural “firecrackers” would ward off evil spirits.
So the invention of fireworks led to the invention of pyrotechnic weaponry—not the other way around.
Sometime during the period 600-900 AD, legend has it that a Chinese alchemist mixed potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal and inadvertently stumbled
Fireworks made their way to Europe in the 13th century and by the 15th century they were widely used for religious festivals and public entertainment. The Italians were the first to make them colourful by using metallic powders to create specific colours. In the 1830s, Italian pyrotechnicians developed aerial shells (still used today) which resemble ice cream cones. The shells contain fuel in a cone bottom, while the “scoop” contains an outer layer
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of pyrotechnic stars, or tiny balls containing the chemicals needed to produce a desired colour, and an inner bursting charge.
chlorine with barium or copper creates neon green and turquoise flames, respectively. Blue is apparently the most difficult to produce.
A firework requires three key components: an oxidizer, a fuel and a chemical mixture to produce the colour. The oxidizer breaks the chemical bonds in the fuel, releasing all of the energy that’s stored in those bonds. To ignite this chemical reaction, all you need is a bit of fire, in the form of a fuse or a direct flame. Specific elements produce specific colours. When an element burns, its electrons get excited, and it releases energy in the form of light. Different chemicals burn at different wavelengths of light. Strontium and lithium compounds produce deep reds; copper produces blues; titanium and magnesium burn silver or white; calcium creates an orange colour; sodium produces yellow pyrotechnics; and finally, barium burns green. Combining
Layers of an organic salt burn one at a time. As each layer burns, it slowly releases a gas, creating the whistling sound associated with most firework rockets. Aluminium or iron flakes can create hissing or sizzling sparkles, while titanium powder can create loud blasts, in addition to white sparks. Fireworks have historically not been the most environmentally friendly of activities. Exploding fireworks releases heavy metals and other air pollutants into the atmosphere. Barium nitrate can cause lung problems, while the oxidizer potassium perchlorate has been linked to thyroid problems and birth defects. The shell is also non-recyclable. However, scientists are
developing more environmentally friendly fireworks recipes. By replacing chlorine with iodine, a team in the U.S. Army has found that sodium and potassium periodate are both safe and effective oxidisers. The same group also found success replacing barium with boron. The work is aimed at making more environmentally friendly flares for military use, but could also be applied to civilian fireworks. Some fireworks that use nitrogen-rich compounds in place of perchlorates have been used in small displays, but the challenge is making ecofriendly products as cheap as alternatives. So when you’re bringing in the year 2020 with a bang and a sparkle, you’ll be able to regale your friends with your astounding knowledge. Everyone will for sure want to kiss you at midnight. In Val, the main fireworks are actually on New Year’s Day, but several hotels have fireworks displays throughout the evening. Aside from that, it’s generally a busy night in the bars, so your best bet is to pick your watering hole and stick there for the night. Here’s what’s on offer: LE PETIT DANOIS Tickets now on sale in the bar. Usual Danois Fun and Madness. DJ Jack Igglesden & DJ James French playing all night (and we mean all night!). At 7am, table dancing becomes table service and breakfast is served. It’s great. HIBOU All the usual antics but with a one-light lightshow. Wings Wednesday to cure the hangover on new years day! BLUE NOTE DJ Jez will be busting out the tunes, all vinyl of course, 10pm until the bar staff can’t stand it any longer! Cash on the door going to charity
16 SALOON Come dressed for success in all your bling and glitter. Bubbles on the house at midnight. Buy your tickets today at Saloon Bar. Ticket includes welcome drink and party from 9pm til late. Music from DJ LUKAS FALL LINE New Year’s Eve Party LA FOLIE DOUCE NYE Party - If they party every day up at Folie, then NY calls for partying even harder. BANANAS Head to Bananas Bar for Great Music and Great Drinks at Great Prices. Finish the famous flavoured shooters bottles off and drink the bar dry. Music by resident DJ Bigkez VICTORS Spend a classy final soirée of 2018 at Victors, with a delicious dinner menu and Cocktail Hours from 9-11pm. A DJ will be spinning the decks all night to take you dancing into 2020. In town, from 6pm to 7.30pm, FestiLight takes over the heart of the village, with a snow covered main road, street performers, musicians, DJ and ice sculptors. There will be new AIRSTAR illuminations all the way down the main street and in the Tourist Office square plus complimentary hot wine and chocolate. Then on New Year’s Day, the ESF instructors present their Spectacular Snow Show, with a Freestyle display by the Valpark Team, Torchlight descent of the Face de Bellevarde and to top it all off, a Firework display set to music. Vin chaud is served for free in ECO cups (1€ deposit) by the ski instructors. It all kicks off on the Savonette Nursery Slope at 6pm.
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INTRODUCING DELIV’DRINKS Deliv’Drinks is a new delivery service bringing beverages, charcuterie and more right to your door every night of the season. We caught up with their frontwoman, Gemma to find out all the info on how it works. How did you start the business? Last year I worked with my mum at the MARGHERIO store in town and then since she sold her store, I had the idea of a delivery business.
provided for 1 to 2 people depending on appetite.
Who is Deliv’Drinks aimed at? Our clientele is very diverse. Some do not want to waste time shopping or aren’t feeling in the mood to go to a restaurant. Others want a soirée in or to continue the party at home.
Have you always been based in Val d´Isère? My mother is a Val d’Isère local. I was born in Paris but I came here every school holiday and then when I was 13 we moved to Val d’isère full-time.
How do you find it working with your mother? I don’t work with my mum, but she helped me a lot with purchasing goods and communication. She comes from a family of merchants and my grandfather had a gourmet delicatessen.
What does Deliv’Drinks do? DELIV’DRINKS delivers good wines, champagnes, spirits, sodas and fruit juices to your home every day from 8pm to 5am. But DELIV’DRINKS also offers light meals such as charcuterie and local cheeses, tarama with truffles, Friborg meringues with double Swiss cream, etc. to your door.
Do you have any recommendations for orders during New Years? Why not get a few bottles of champagne in for the big countdown? We have a fantastic selection, including Mumm Courdon Rouge, Moët & Chandon, Ruinart, Dom Perignon and Cristal Roederer.
What can people order from you? So all the individual products mentioned above, plus we have hampers, which include different selections of drinks and nibbles. Can a person eat a whole charcuterie board by themself? Only if they were really hungry and in the mood for a lot of meat! Food portions are
And finally, how can people order? DELIV’DRINKS is ready to take your order by phone on 06 37 56 61 19 or directly on our website delivdrinks.com The sale of alcohol is strictly prohibited for minors. By ordering alcoholic products you declare that you are over 18 years old. Deliv’Drinks reserves the right to request proof of identity for orders. Alcohol abuse is dangerous for health. Consume in moderation.
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In the Galerie de Thovex at the corner of the Tourist Office Square
SATURDAY 28 THE FALL LINE Super Seasonaire Saturday with Live DJ SALOON Beer-pong specials VICTOR’S Seasonaire Saturday. 5€ beer, 4€ wine, 6€ cocktails 21-23 10% discount on food PETIT DANOIS DJ James French 22h VIE VAL D’IS Pole Dancing Class 7.30pm @ Leisure Centre.
EVENTS LISTINGS
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SUNDAY 29 PETIT DANOIS DJ Jack Igglesden 22h THE FALL LINE Super Seasonaire Sunday with Live DJ SALOON Beer-pong specials BANANAS DJ James Greenwood
TIGNES SALOON Beer-pong specials
HIBOU Sunday Funday! Live music and Happy Hour all day
WEDNESDAY 1
TIGNES SALOON Beer pong specials
VIE VAL D’IS Free boxing lesson at the Leisure Centre 7.30-9.45pm LA FOLIE DOUCE WTF! Party SALOON JOSS Wednesday – your number 1 hangover cure! Only 3€ PETIT DANOIS Live Music The Mardy Johnny Depps 17h. DJ James French 22h SNOWFRONT ESF Snowshow on the Savonette slope 6pm HIBOU Wings Wednesday.
BONNE SANTÉ Power Flow Yoga with Rose 10.30am at Le Hibou CINEMA Cats in English 8.30pm T- SALOON Pyjama party and JOSS Wednesday! Number 1 hangover cure! Only 3€
THURSDAY 2 VIE VAL D’IS Free French class at the Maison de Val 7.30-8.30pm SALOON Pyjama Party- wear your Jammies and jam on! PETIT DANOIS Live Music: The Blazin’ Strings 5pm. DJ Jack Iggelsden 10pm BACKSTAGE VISIT Discover how the Olympic Cable Car and Snow making facilities work. Sign up @Tourist Office. CINEMA Star Wars in English 8.30pm T SALOON 15€ long island iced tea
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MONDAY 30 BONNE SANTÉ Mountain Flow Yoga with Rose 10.30am at Le Hibou VIE VAL D’IS Free Kung-Fu lesson at the CCAS 7.30-9pm SALOON Messy Monday 15€ Headfucker
TUESDAY 31
LA FOLIE DOUCE Back to the 90s PETIT DANOIS Live Music 5pm Mullit & the Machine. DJ Jack Igglesden 22h AVALANCHE SAFETY TALK Free talk at 5.30pm in English on the Snowfront CINEMA Frozen 2 in English 8.30pm TIGNES SALOON Messy Monday – the wall 15€
FRIDAY 3 PETIT DANOIS Live music with Karen & Andreas 5pm. DJ Jack Igglesden 22h SALOON J-bomb Friday, 3€ a pop SNOWFRONT Dynastar Night Parallel Slalom. Split into men, women and kids. Free to enter and prizes to win.
SEE PAGE 16 FOR ALL THE FESTIVE FUN ON IN TOWN.
ALL WEEK BANANAS Happy Hour 6.30-7.30pm and 10.30-11.30pm HIBOU Happy Hour 4-7pm. Kitchen open from 12pm for lunch SALOON Happy Hour 8-10pm: all jugs 15€ . 2-4-1 at après (4-5pm). LA FOLIE DOUCE Seasonaire Meal Deal 12€ @ Petite Cuisine
TIGNES SALOON 3€ J-bombs SO BAR Karaoke Night! From 9pm
VICTOR’S Cocktail Hour 10-11pm. Any cocktail 6€ THE FALL LINE Happy hour everyday 3-5pm- 4.50€ pints. Beer Pong every day 12€ a jug. BLUE NOTE Happy Hour everyday 3-6pm, Hot Sloe Gin & Tonic plus great complimentary nibbles during Après. SO BAR Open 4pm everyday w/ free aprés pizza& a fab new cocktail menu
OUT OF THE BUBBLE
By Ben Pryor It’s Christmas message season. BoJo thanked NHS staff and others working over the Christmas period, expressing solidarity with Christians around the world facing persecution… before jetting off to Mustique with his girlfriend for New Year. The Jeremy said it was the time of year when ‘the scale of injustice and inequality is in plain sight’; the pasting he took at the ballot box was pretty plain two weeks ago, but having Red Ed analyse his defeat is a bit like asking Ed to watch Gordon Brown eat a bacon sandwich. The Queen used her Christmas message to refer to the importance of reconciliation and
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how small steps can heal divisions; assume she’s not just talking about Prince Andrew’s dating history. Channel 4 chose former Speaker John Berk Ow to give its alternative Christmas message about courtesy in politics. With two independent reports suggesting he presided over a culture of bullying and harassment with former employees paid off or leaving with PTSD, that’s like taking a pyromaniac to a forest fire.
Sadly, those are still burning in Australia with more hot and windy weather expected next week; the Philippines was hit with a typhoon on Christmas Day leaving 28 dead, many areas flooded and thousands without electricity or shelter; 15 people died when a plane in Kazakhstan with 100 on board crashed shortly after take-off. If you’ve missed these stories, it’s probably because the tabloids were busy printing
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dreck about Caroline Flack hitting her boyfriend over the head with a lamp or pictures of Pippa Middleton in a bikini in St Barts. Clinton Cards were left red-faced after releasing a Christmas card saying ‘Merry Christmas to my wonderful brother and boyfriend’; either add the missing ‘his’ to the rather niche effort or send them somewhere like deepest, darkest Cornwall where family trees look like stumps. A tortoise nearly burned down his owners’ house after knocking over his heat lamp; firemen rescued him because, let’s face it, he wasn’t running out. $43m in cash was found in an empty Nigerian apartment; if only someone had replied to the guy’s emails with their bank details so he could transfer it. Vladimir Putin, 67, led his ice hockey team to victory in Red Square on Christmas Day scoring over half his
team’s points in an 8-5 win over a team of influential ministers, musicians and businessmen… keen to maintain the status quo. A Chinese man is recovering after having a bottle of Florida Water aftershave removed from his colon, which he insisted became lodged up there after he tried to use it to relieve an itch; the subtleties of the English language lost on someone relieved to have found a soothing cologne? And finally, a 62-year-old man with a white beard was arrested in Colorado after robbing a bank and throwing fistfuls of cash into the street while shouting ‘Merry Christmas’; if that’s how we treat Santa, no wonder Jesus hasn’t come back yet. Until next week, I’m off to rebrand Davidoff Cool Water.
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CONSIGNED TO HISTORY It has been a wild decade to live through but it is time to start afresh. Whether you are a fan of the Gregorian calendar or not, here are some things to leave behind in the 2010s. Everyone feels some kind of way about social media, it is hard to live with or without. When all of your earthly possessions go missing from Dicks, you are hardly going round putting notices up about town. Obviously, you will go to the seasonaire page for the best chance of relocating your coat, keys, phone, purse, dog, house plant, colander and everything else that someone must have ‘accidentally’ taken home. However, as useful as it can be, social media is a black hole where free time goes to die for absolutely
no reward. Let’s leave scrolling through your newsfeed for 5 hours per day in the past.
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Whether it be politics, beliefs or the whole ski/snowboard argument, let’s leave intolerance behind too. No matter how sure you are of your opinion, if you aren’t trying to understand and see the other side of a particular topic, how can you be so confident in what you are preaching? More to the point though, if my gut could be more accepting and understanding of my love for fondue, the other people sharing a gondola with me the following day would also be much more tolerant. You are allowed to read this paragraph with a pinch of salt given that I am a photographer but hear me out. I can bet that the majority of the space on your phone is taken up by photos and videos, but for what purpose? How many of those photographs and videos
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are you ever going to look at again? Life is better enjoyed with your eyes. Of course there is a time and a place to whip your phone out but don’t be that person with a four hour long insta story every day as ninety nine percent of the time, you miss out on the experience to get the video. Additionally, if something is really worth remembering, pay a professional to take the pictures for you, preferably a handsome young one with a silly second name who needs more money for beer. Filming and snapping life instead of living it - leave it behind. Conversely, ignore all of the above and please keep sending us funny pictures for the Echo. Greta Thunberg just called, she’s not impressed with any of us. The hypocrisy of you living in a ski resort but regularly leaving the all the lights on has tipped her over the edge. We all hope to see the day where we rock up to the lift pass office and claim that
free lift-pass for making it to the age of 75, but what is the use if there is no snow left? If you want the white stuff to return winter on winter, you need to leave behind Climate Change denial and start taking steps to green up your life. My final point is not a trend over the last ten years, it is a cultural norm that is entrenched in society, but I want people to try and leave it behind. I am confident that everyone would be happier if they could be their true selves and live their own individual lives. Social validation conforms people into doing what is accepted as the norm - this is boring. Embrace your individuality and think for yourself. That hat you liked but were worried about being teased - buy it. That business idea you had but followed your friends to Uni instead - start it. And finally what this entire paragraph is gunning at - if you prefer blades to skis, just do it. I don’t care what you think, they are part of who I am.
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OFF PISTE SNOW REPORT Brought to you by Henry’s Avalanche Talk www. henrysavalanchetalk. com
34 caught in a slide at 2900m. There was a much more serious accident in Andermatt Switzerland with six skiers involved. Over the past week, plenty of natural avalanche activity was observed (or rather heard, as we couldn’t see a lot!) on slopes facing all directions. Roads were closed by local authorities due to risk of direct action avalanches coming down onto them. Areas such as Le Fornet, a couple of km east of Val d’Isere, were cut off for several days due to the risk of avalanche danger.
What a lot of snow and wind we had! When the weather finally cleared on After 4 days of wild conditions with Christmas day. It was glorious but crazy amounts of snowfall and howling frustrating for some and dangerous for winds (gusts up to 250 km/hr), things are others. Many were disappointed to find eventually calming down. A high-pressure the snow badly wind affected and off piste weather system coming in after Friday will conditions were difficult. Skilled people bring much more stable, sunny weather to could locate the areas where powder still the Northern French Alps for the start to existed. But then they had to be aware the New Year. of the dangers. As is always the case after fresh snowfall the snow was quite Looking forward, after a little fresh snow on unstable on Wednesday. We observed a Friday, we expect the weather to turn more lot of recent avalanche activity especially settled from the weekend into next week. on E or NE (leeward) facing slopes around 2500m. Recent Off-piste skiing Skier triggered slides on E facing slope at 2500m 25th avalanche conditions Dec 2019. Looks like a remote trigger. activity is one varied greatly of the top clues over the last that things are week. By skiing unstable. in the sheltered trees during There were flat light days, reports of some we found avalanche fantastic kneeaccidents on deep powder 25th December. snow. At higher A skier was altitudes above caught in 2000m or so, a slide and strong winds injured under sometimes the Tommeuse ravaged the lift in Val d’Isere (NE facing slope 2400m). snow, making for very tricky off-piste skiing Data avalanche reported an accident in conditions. For example, on Christmas the Grand Rousses where two skiers were morning (a stunning sunny day) the snow
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had been wind-stiffened and densified (difficult to turn in, and easy to twist a knee). At other times it was rock hard, if not blown off the mountain altogether. Every day’s proved different, and it’s always been worth going out. When the weather’s looked terrible from the window, the skiing’s often been fantastic, and vice versa!
it has over last week with the huge amounts of snow around.
Recent history of the snowpack After all the recent snowfall, snow depths are currently very good above 1300m.
Where is most at risk at the moment? The highest risk to skiers and snowboarders will, as always, be on steep slopes exposed to terrain traps. Leeward slopes that got wind-loaded (E and NE) are the most risky. There is still a sign of a weakness at the base of the snowpack with faceted grains. However, this is now so deeply buried that it is unlikely to release. But if it did it would be very big.
Off Piste Snow Depths for the Haute Tarentaise by Meteo France. 25 Dec 19
What is the current avalanche risk in the Northern French Alps/Savoie? At the time of writing, the avalanche risk is at a moderate 2/5 below 2200 m, and a considerable 3/5 above that altitude, due to large accumulations of snow and areas of dense windslab up there. With calmer weather after Friday, we expect things to continue to stabilise and for the avalanche risk to decrease. There will be a little loosening up of the snowpack if temperatures become mild again (as seems possible next week). This could mean some more natural avalanche activity occurring, but not to the extent that
What does this mean for off-piste skiers and snowboarders? Read the bulletin for updates on the stabilising snowpack and any new risks that come from the fresh snow on Friday.
What is the likely avalanche activity? Direct action avalanches from new snowfall, this will be most likely on leeward slopes. The storm wind is variously from W, NW and SW so East facing slopes will be most vulnerable. However. we suspect that the bulletin will suggest a risk on all aspects during the snowfall. A possible impact of the weak layer revealed in the snow profile test. This would result in a very big avalanche going down to ground level. Weather Forecast: Looking forward after a little fresh snow on Friday, we expect the weather to turn more settled from the weekend into next week. SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER: Generally sunny in the mountains, a little warmer in the afternoon. Quite starry night; not as cold as previous night. Isotherm 0°C: 3000m during the day, 3200m at the end of the night. Wind at 2500 m (stronger to the West): NE, 10-60 km/h during the day, 10-60km/h at
night. Wind at 3700 m: NE during the day Off-Piste. Wayne Watson photo 25/12/19 50-70, NE at night 20-50 km/h. A few gusts downwind from high ridges.
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SUNDAY 22 DECEMBER: Mostly sunny, a little less cold in the afternoon. Widely starry night. Isotherm 0°C: 3100-3200 m. Wind at 2500 m (stronger to the West): NE during the day 10-40 km / h, NE to NW at night 10-40km/h. Wind at 3700 m: NE during the day 20-50 km/h, NE at night 2040 km/h. MONDAY 23 DECEMBER The fairly fast NE current at high altitude gradually weakens and turns to the NW Probable morning greyness at lower altitudes over western Savoy, rather sunny above. Isotherm 0 ° C around 3300-3500 m. TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER:
WNW’s weak current turns north and weakens further. Probable morning greyness over western Savoy, sunny above with some cloudy periods. Isotherm 0 ° C down from 3300 m to 2900 m. WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER: The wind from North to NE becomes very weak and can take a WSW trend. Probable morning greyness over western Savoie, rather sunny above. THURSDAY 26 DECEMBER: The very weak wind takes a western trend and accelerates a little. Probable morning greyness over western Savoy, sunny above, and some cloudy periods, especially at night. Tip of the week Learn the definitions of the avalanche danger ratings available on the HAT website. When it’s at a 2 or 3 you still need to apply the decision and risk reduction points in our framework/checklist if you want to keep things acceptably safe. Here’s a link to a PDF version to the framework: henrysavalanchetalk.com/wp-content/ uploads/2018/11/2018-HAT-Framework-A5. pdf
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N E W F I N E F O O D S D E L I C AT E S S E N IN THE TOURIST OFFICE SQUARE. O R D E R O N L I N E AT l m d l m . c o m O R VISIT THE STORE
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SEASONAIRE OF THE WEEK What is your full name? Bryoni Alice Heartridge. Best looking bartender at The Blue Note? Excluding myself, it has to be Ollie. What’s on your bucket list before your next birthday? Completing a tour without crying.
Fool, you could have seen dinosaurs. Eh, I have seen the Land Before Time so I’m alright.
Who was your first crush? Sadly, it was probably Justin Bieber, or some guy off X Factor.
What song would you choose for your funeral and what would be written on your tombstone? ‘Know Who You Are’ from the end of Moana and ‘RIP THIS ABSOLUTE LEGEND’.
If you owned a time machine, would you go back or forwards in time? Backwards, the 80s seems like a laugh.
How are you on Insta and what’s it like to be an influencer? I dominate, I can get 23 likes easily. It is really hard waking up every day and wondering how I am going to graft as hard as yesterday, but I always manage to outdo myself. We were told to ask if your four Euro massage deal includes a happy ending? No that’s five Euros. Do you have a penchant for Welsh men with curly moustaches? He desperately wishes I did but unfortunately not. What happened at The Dubliner in Mykonos? I pretended to be Irish to get in and they believed me. Nothing else?
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Some upper body anatomy may have been revealed at the bar. Following this we received some quite inappropriate snapchats from an underage boy. The motto of the story is to stay modest. Little spoon or big spoon? Me and Annabelle spoon a lot. I am usually little spoon as she is taller than me. What has your biggest shitemare been in Val? Nothing as bad as Connie’s. One week last season though, I double booked a client, destroyed both knees racing down Solaise and had my phone stolen in Dicks. I was so close to going home! Fwoar, we are glad you didn’t! How are the knees? I am a Physio and I am kinda a big deal so I just sorted myself out. Did you invoice yourself? Yea, went for the five Euro deal. Motto to live by? ALWAYS be kind. Biggest secret? My chat is not as good as I say it is. Seasonaire of the week is now sponsored by Le Petit Salon d’Antoine who offers each of our featured seasonaires a free haircut!
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THE CORNER
Restaurant COFFEE JUICE BRUNCH BEER Open 08:30 - 18:00 Everyday Next to TUFS Chairlift Tignes, Val Claret The Corner Tignes, Les Neiges D'Or, Tignes, France
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TALK OF THE TOWN YSI
A bartender overheard a riveting conversation between two seasonaires this week. The flirtation began with a fellow asking the girl next to him where she worked, to which the answer was YSE. When the chap asked what YSE stands for, the girl confidently replied - Young, Sexy and Intelligent.
SKI DREAMS
YSE’s Chevril residents enjoyed a casual game of ‘buckaTom’ on Wednesday evening, when they submerged Tom “Spaghetti” Galletti, their repairs boy, in an array of household items. At least his skis were on so he was ready for the slopes in the morning. However, rather than skiing, he actually had a 7:30 meeting with the boss while blissfully unaware of the Sharpie’d drawings all over his face.
WET NIGHTMARES
We have all had those dreams where we are drowning or are inexplicably clothes-less, but can rarely explain them. Earlier in the week, Marc Cossar was dreaming both of these things after a particularly heavy sesh. He quickly discovered why when he woke up to find himself drowning in real life, after having fallen asleep in the bath.
CLUELESS
After four years of University and four seasons, you would think that Caitlin Kennedy would understand nearly all drinking games. Surprisingly though, she was heard this week asking why ‘beer pong’ was named so. She is still unsure.
JERRY OF THE WEEK
JOTW has to go to Nat for pushing past the embarrassment and posting on the seasonaire page to try and find her lost purse. After an outpouring of support from the local community, the missing purse was found in her pocket.
POOR DISPLAY
Jerry of the week almost went to the guy who let off a firework in a bar. However, you are not a Jerry, you are just a twat.
FELICITATIONS
Big congrats goes out to Paul and Katie who got engaged at the top of the mountain on Christmas day!
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SPORT Shown at Le Petit Danois: FOOTBALL Saturday 28th December 13:30 Brighton v Bournemouth 16:00 Newcastle v Everton 18:30 West Ham v Leicester 20:45 Burnley v Man Utd Sunday 29th December 15:00 Arsenal v Chelsea 17:30 Liverpool v Wolves 19:00 Man City v Sheffield Utd Wednesday 1st January 13:30 Brighton v Chelsea 16:00 Southampton v Spurs 18:30 Man City v Everton 21:00 Arsenal v Man Utd
Thursday 2nd January 21:00 Liverpool v Sheffield Utd All Football and Rugby shown at The Fall Line. Sport also shown at Blue Note and Le Hibou.
SEPARATED AT BIRTH
Matt Rose
Alexander Armstrong
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WOoF OF THE WEEK Name: Pim/Pimater/Lil Pim Breed: Corgi Age: 7 2/3 Dietary Requirements: Loves Fish & Crisps Relationship status: Reserved & selective Favourite Activity: Getting into freshly washed sheets Habitat: Saloon Fun Fact: Woof of the world, travelled 20+ countries