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