Leaving Chamonix

After a very happy few months in Chamonix, the time had come to leave for our new life in the Pyrénée.
So we packed everything up

Baked some food for the journey and the first days in our new home

And left Chamonix behind.

It was a strange and sad moment. We will be back sometime to pick up the rest of the stuff, but we don't know when or if we will spend and extended amount of time here again. We have been coming here for about 9 years and had the most fantastic times both summer and winter, with friends and on our own. It felt much more of a wrench to leave than leaving London.

Bye bye Chamonix - we love you!!

You can now follow us on our new blog 'La vie à la petite ferme'

Trip to Aosta

We took a trip through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Aosta for lunch.
Here is a picture of Martha (yes the car has a name) on the way

It was a bit damp but we had a nice wander round

Aosta has a lot of fab shops. When we have been before I haven't been shopping because Doug doesn't have the patience. Now I can see what they are selling wouldn't be totally practical for our new life... feeding the pigs in this dress?

More wind damage

We went out for a walk up the valley and discovered that the mess caused by the wind in our garden was quite mild compared to some other places.

Trees blown over near Le Bois

In the woods hundreds and hundreds of trees have fallen.

Doug playing with fallen trees

A number of trees landed on houses, but we saw quite a few who had been lucky like us and had near misses.
Various roofs have been blown clean off

Firemen removing the remains of a roof

It seems that Chamonix was particularly hard hit by the wind for some reason.

A bit of wind...

It was windy yesterday, so much so that the ski area was closed all day.
Over night it got much stronger, it felt like the building was going to blow away along with all the surrounding trees. We didn't get much sleep.
The building survived (mostly although there seem to be a few bits of roof around - not sure if they are ours or not) but some of the trees suffered.
This is one directly outside our window. We heard it fall, it could easily have been our balcony it is now resting on.

View from our balcony

This is from a few days ago, it is the closest one which has fallen.

This one is also outside our window, just to the right, also could have been on our balcony if it had fallen differently.

Our window is middle of the top row on the building

We were a bit worried this one was going to have landed on the car when we saw it out the window but actually missed by a good way.

I was wondering yesterday how I could get a photo of the wind so I could blog about it, as it was very impressive even before it got stronger over night. The trees on the side of the hill were blowing around so much that they looked like a wheat field waving in the wind but it wasn't going to come out on a photo...

Did you notice the beard?

Last of the snow?

Sorry to keep banging on about the snow, but we keep thinking there can't possibly be any more and spring is going to set in again... and then there is more.
We went up the Grands Montets ski area today. A lot of the lifts were closed because of wind high up but there weren't many people.
We weren't on literally the first lift, but close on the eighth or ninth.

We arrived at the start of several runs to the lovely view of fresh fresh fresh snow waiting just for us

We shredded it up good!!

 

And we were very happy!

Wildlife near the flat

We went for a little walk near the flat the other day and saw this goat thing (chamois?). It disappeared in to the wood straight after I took this photo. Then a little bit later we heard a rumbling, clattering, rock falling noise above the path and it (or perhaps a different one) fired across at super high speed. The slope was really steep, not sure how it was planning on stopping.

Herman Cake Recipe

Herman is a friendship or a sour dough cake. Sarah kindly gave us some (italics are because he kind of takes over your cake baking as you need to use him regularly plus I feel it is a bit of  a swindle the recipes have baking soda in despite the starter being yeast... surely that should be what is rising the cake... what is the POINT of the starter???)
There are many many recipes out there but we made the apple one. I think Herman might be American as most the recipes seem to use cups for the measures. I adjusted recipe a little as original was too sweet.

3/4 cups of Sugar (brown or white)
3/4 cup Oil (or melted butter or a mix)
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cup Plain flour
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 Eggs
1 cup Herman Starter (there are various recipes for starting one if you search)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 Apple peeled and cut in to small pieces
1 cups Sultanas

Put oven on 190C to heat
Bung everything except the apple and sultanas in to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the apple and sultanas and mix a bit more.
Butter a cake tin (approx 9x13 inches)
Put the mix in the tin.
Bake for approx 50 mins until a skewer comes out clean.

Herman starter and apple

The cake mix (without fruit)

So keen to scoff we didn't get a picture till after the first slice...

Brévent is closed. What now?

So what are we doing now that Brévent is closed?
Guess what? We are skiing!!
The Grands Montets ski area is open for another couple of weeks. Over night there was 30 cm or more of snow and we had an awesome day today. Definately up there with the best!
We timed everything very well and were on one of the first lifts up from the bottom. Then after a number of awesome runs from different lifts as they opened, Richard spotted the top lift was about to open. We took a similar route to the one we did a few days ago (see here). The top part of the run is a bit less steep so with that much snow on it, it was a matter of straight lining it. Then we had lovely lovely fresh snow for bouncy turns the rest of the way down. AMAZING!!
For those of you who are sailers you will understand that skiing is a bit like sailing, some of the time you can't do it because the conditions are too extreme and dangerous, most of the time you do it and enjoy it but it isn't perfect, then occasionally everything comes together and you are in the right place at the right time for the most perfect powder (good wind strength from the right direction with nice waves to surf down)

Rhoda with Doug and Richards tracks. LOVING IT!!

Bye bye Brévent

Our local ski area Brévent closes this weekend. Despite having better coverage than it has had some years in the depths of winter.
We have been up there a few times recently and it has been very quiet. Great for us, but I guess it just isn't worth it financially for them to keep it running.
Last year at this time we skiied down a stream with a little bit of slush at the bottom of it in the middle of an alpine meadow. We then abandoned skiing as a bad job and did something else instead... these horses are really lovely and very strong and sure footed, we will look at this breed (Comtois) when we buy our own...

Bit different this year...

April freshies in Brévent

Doug saying goodbye to Brévent

It is quite emotional saying goodbye as we have been skiing there for many years and feel much more affection for it than the other Chamonix ski areas, it is small but perfectly formed and with a lot of hidden stashes.

What's the plan after Chamonix?

We haven't quite reached the end of the season yet, but despite all the snow it is fast approaching and we have started to think about what we are doing next.
We will be moving down to the Pyrénées on the 2nd of May. I have started a new blog (this title won't really be useful when we leave Cham... perhaps I should have thought of that, but c'est la vie as they say. So... new life, new blog).
Hopefully my 2 faithful followers registered on this blog (Lorna and Mary) will follow me to the new one  when the time comes in a couple of weeks :)

Two little piggies

We have bought two little piggies!!
They are only a few weeks old at the moment so we won't be getting them until the middle of May - by which time we will be on the farm (planning on writing an entry about our plans for moving - and there will have to be a new blog with a new title of course).
Mummy pig is a Tamworth and daddy is a Gloucestershire Old Spot. Both are british rare breeds held to produce great bacon and great pork. The mix is meant to produce something as tasty as a Tamworth but with more fat from the Old Spot.
I hope they aren't too cute for us to send to the abbatoir when the time comes (sometime between September and November this year)...

Mummy and babbies

Daddy

Top of the Grands Montets

The Grands Montets is the biggest ski area in Chamonix and the highest. We don't go there very often as it is also the busiest. However as it gets warmer with spring we have been going there more as the snow is better high up.
To get up to the very top there is a big cable car which during the main season can have an hour or more (loads more) wait. It is possible to make a reservation, but this can only be done on the previous day so you have to be organised - on the times we are organised enough we often find it is already fully booked. Today we just walked straight on with no queuing.
There are various routes down from the top including two pistes and a lot of off piste, some of which goes over the glaciers and apart from the best known routes is best avoided without a guide. It is from up here that we left to do the Pas de Chevre earlier in the season (Skiing the Pas de Chevre)
Today we took a different route that ends back in the ski area and is much nearer to the piste than the Pas de Chevre, it goes along the side of the glacier for a bit which gives amazing views.

Taking heed of the warning signs near the top

The glacier

Staying off the glacier

Nearly down now

Holiday in Argentière

Friends Simone and David with their 4 children and some other friends took a giant luxury chalet in Argentière (which is the village at the bottom of the Grands Montets ski area - up the valley from Chamonix) for the easter week. We have been skiing with them several times but have failed to take any photos.

We went round there for dinner on Thursday night and spent some time in the hot tub with snow pouring down on our heads. Unfortunately (or probably fortunately) there is no photo of this either.

We then stayed the night with Rob and Sarah as they live in Argentière and the night bus back to Chamonix stopped running a few weeks ago. We didn't get a photo of this either.

However we did get a photo of the view from the front of their apartment in the morning

View down the valley from Argentière

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The weather seems to have decided to finish the season with a flourish and it has been snowing pretty much every night recently. The slopes have been very quiet since easter, so we have been getting plenty of lovely fresh snow.
Typically we don't get very many photos of skiing in powder because we are too excited and busy skiing it before someone else does, but we have made a special effort recently (plus it has lasted long enough for us to have a few runs and then get the photos)

Doug getting fresh tracks in the Grands Montets area

Winter has returned

After weeks of early spring in Chamonix it has been snowing a lot.
A few days ago I posted summery shot of the view from our window.
This is what it looks like now. Much better!!

'Winter' view from the flat in April

Two seasons in one day

We got up early to go skiing this morning because it was raining in the valley yesteday evening and we hoped that meant snow higher up. It seems it did. It was still snowing when we got up there this morning and kept at it most the day. The visability came and went (or rather went and went more) which did make some of the skiing a tad tricky - but good never the less.

Winter

Soon after we got home it turned to lovely and sunny and all the birds were tweeting away, spring like, on the bird feeder

Summer (or spring anyway)

Something other than skiing

From the blog it probably seems like we do nothing but bake things and ski. This is not too far from the truth, but we do actually do some other boring things like shopping, laundry and cleaning - plus what seems like a lot of time spent learning French. We are having lessons once a week with Françoise who is very patient and lovely. Should you need French lessons in Chamonix I would recommend her. website.

We went for a walk today. The theory was that it was going to give our legs a rest as they were getting a bit knackered from skiing every day. However we went a bit futher and higher than we really intended and ended up with legs more tired than ever.

It was a lovely walk though with awsome views. It is hard to get bored of Mont Blanc.

Mont Blanc

You can see from this photo that there was a lot more snow this year than there has been for many decades, and the spring avalanches minced some sizable trees. We also saw the remains of a mountain goat that we assume was caught in the avalanche (not very photogenic)

Crossing an avalanche

The snow came!!

It has been spring for many weeks in Chamonix - which is lovely and warm and sunny with nice spring snow to ski, but we have been worrying it will all melt before we leave in May.
It snowed some last night so we rushed out this morning at the crack of dawn (or 8.30 am) to make the most of it.

Ski God

Our tracks

Like the new trousers?

Bottling the beer

This is always a bit of an undertaking as it is important (as with the original brewing) that everything is sterile. We brew 24 litres at a time so that is something over 30 bottles to fill (some of the beer is wasted as the bottom bit is too full of yeast).
We use a thing called 'The little bottler' which is invaluable for getting the beer out the barrel in to the bottles with minimum spillage and without oxidising the beer (which is bad apparently). You can see it here attached to the tap on the barrel

Filling bottles

Some of our bottles have swing tops and so are easy to close, others need caps adding using the capper (yes pyjamas are the accepted stylish thing to wear for beer brewing)

Capping bottles

Hot Cross Bun Recipe

For buns
250g Strong white flour
250g Plain flour
125ml Milk
125ml Boiling water
5g Quick yeast
50g Castor Sugar
50g Butter
1 egg
100g Dried fruit (eg sultanas and mixed peel)
1tsp mixed spice
10g Salt
Any jam (1tsp) and a little hot water to glaze

For crosses

1 table spoon plain flour
a little cold water

Method
Put flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a bowl
Mix the milk and water and add to bowl and mix well (stiff mixture)
Melt butter gently until soft (not fully liquid - although doesn't matter if it is) and add to bowl with the egg.
Now mix, the mixture will become quite sticky, you can do with food mixer and dough hook or continue by hand until the mixture is smooth and silky.

Cover and leave to raise until doubled in size (perhaps an hour)
Knock back and divide in to 8 (or 10 if you want smaller buns) and shape each bun.
Place on baking sheet and cover (clingfilm perhaps)
Leave to raise until doubled in size (approx 30 mins)

Mix the plain flour for the crosses with a little water so it makes a paste (you can make it stiff and shape the crosses by hand and stick on or make it runnier and pipe on with icing bag or plastic bag with corner cut off)
Preheat oven to 200 C
Once the buns have risen add the crosses and put in oven for 15 to 20 mins

Mix together the jam and hot water and when the buns are cooked glaze top by brushing with the mixture (avoid putting any lumps on).

Eat straight away or later toasted with loads of butter.

Before baking

I couldn't believe how good they look (and taste)!!