How many sleeps until your third encounter of the season?

jastem wrote:Just back from yet another fantastic week in Serre Chevalier with six days of blue skies, sunshine and superb conditions. As usual, the Briancon slopes were suffering in the sunshine, but the other three areas were excellent above mid station and starting to suffer lower down in the afternoons. The new Vallons chair makes such a difference in speeding up the route back over to Monetier. Red Cucumelle is possibly busier because of the new link however. Really enjoyed red Cibouit.

Ditto Jastem,
Wow what a place, best ski holiday to date! can't wait to go back for another go. Sorry, I did not meet up with you however, we kept a look out for you whilst skiing in Monetier. My legs are still recovering from the Cucumelle. A big thank you too Tony for bringing our attention to "The best kept secret in France" :wink: I hope to post some pictures and a short report in the near future. :D

Glad to hear you enjoyed Serre Chevalier Alistair. Thought I spotted you from a chair lift at one point and I think you were getting on a bus at Monetier that we were struggling to get off?

jastem wrote:Glad to hear you enjoyed Serre Chevalier Alistair. Thought I spotted you from a chair lift at one point and I think you were getting on a bus at Monetier that we were struggling to get off?

Enjoyed is an understatement, it was wonderful, the whole family loved it! You could have seen the OH and myself getting on the Bus at Monetier on Friday afternoon between 3.30 -4.00pm. Our legs were shot by that time :lol: The boys skied back to our appartment but took the wrong lift and eventually arrived back at 5.30! I have some pictures of our transfer on Saturday. We came over the Pass with a snow plough in front of our van. We saw a car go over the edge of the Pass and we later heard that they had closed it. Strange how the weather can change so quickly in the mountains. Serre Che are now reporting 35cms of new snow since yesterday.

Hey you 2, glad you had a good one in my favourite little part of France. I actually feel like something is missing, having not been there this season!

Alistair, looking forward to your report and pics soon.

The pass over the Col can be quite mental. I drove it twice last year, and did it on a transfer bus as well. The weather up there can get quite serious.

Tony_H wrote:Hey you 2, glad you had a good one in my favourite little part of France. I actually feel like something is missing, having not been there this season!

Alistair, looking forward to your report and pics soon.

The pass over the Col can be quite mental. I drove it twice last year, and did it on a transfer bus as well. The weather up there can get quite serious.

Hi Tony,
I can see why you have a special place in your heart for Serre Che. Its a gem of a place and although we had six bluebird days, the snow as Jastem stated, was generally very good. We got within about 600m of Briancon before the slush started to turn into grass and we had to turn back up the mountain for the better snow. The snow between Le prorel at the top of St Chaffrey right across to Monetier was lovely although it became rather slushy the nearer you got to the villages in the late afternoon. The weather changed on the Saturday(12th March) when it started snowing at approx 1pm. The snow became heavy as we approached the pass and within minutes started to drift across the road. I will post some pictures and a report once I get myself organised. :D

It just shows how this year has been so much warmer, as I was skiing at Easter in a metre deep drift on the Briancon side!
Did you find the special little cafe at Peyre-Jauna down on the Monetier side?

We left resort at about 8 in the morning and the pass was fine. The weather clearly closed in very quickly after that.
The Peyra Juana (spelling?) was as friendly as ever Tony! We were spotted taking our skis off outside the entrance and the owner flung open the window to greet us and see how many we wanted a table for and whether it was lunch or just a drink! That's service for you. :D

Oh yes, we found the little hut at Peyra-Juana and had a very welcome drink on our way to Monetier. I am considering sending them my CV in case any vacancies arise :lol: certainly, after my first day back at the desk. :cry: