Wednesday 3 January 2018

Day #1 - arrival in the Alps

I was shit scared. Traffic and snow as bad I have seen. The 3 hour transfer to Tignes turned into a 14 hour nightmare. The roads were log jammed and with little food or water. At one stage somewhere near Bourg -Saint-Maurice, the infamous TDF venue, we did not move for 6 hours which meant no toilet stop, no nothing.

After a treacherous drive up to Tignes passing untold broken down cars (primarily those without snow chains) we eventually arrived into the snow battterd resort of Tignes at precisely 3.30 AM.

My boys handled it brilliantly. Am not sure if other kids their age would have coped so well. Indeed others on the coach were letting their tempers get the better of them.

They reckon this is the most snow in the last 21 years and the second most since the Christmas and NY of 1990/91 when I skied here with my parents for 2 weeks. I remember the trip well as on our first night after my dad managed to drive up to the resort (with no snow chains) there was an almighty avalanche that took out one of the main car parks flinging all the cars in its wake. I remember the trip also for 2 weeks of sunshine as well as nearly dying on what was to be the downhill course at the Albertville 1991 Olympic Games 3 weeks later. At the steepest and most treacherous section I fell badly but could not stop my slipping down the ice moving ever closer to a large cliff face. I would have gone over had it not been for the last ditch attempt to dig the tip of my boots into the hill. Not sure who was more relieved, me or my dad’s mate Henley who had decided to take my brother Dave and I down when it was officially closed!

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