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Last week we were in Chamonix skiing at the Vallee Blanche ski areas. The snow conditions were excellent, but the visibility could have been better on some days.

Chamonix itself is a nice little town, with much more to do than we’d expected. We also took a trip on the Aiguille du Midi cable car to the peak platform at 12600ft. It took a while to acclimatise to the altitude, but it was an awesome experience, and it was -17 Degrees Celcius but in direct sunlight you wouldn’t know it.

During the days with the low cloud base we went to Les Planards ski area which is at the town level and only 5 minutes from our apartment – we had great fun on the blue and red runs there. On the better days our skiing skills had improved sufficiently to allow us to explore much more of the areas.

The mountain rescue helicopters were operating almost continually during the time we were there, and that has to be some of the most challenging peacetime heli flying possible, especially considering the Alouette III is single engined and operating at high altitudes.

The only regret would be the access pass we had also allowed unlimited skiing at Courmayeur in Italy, but the free shuttle bus through the Mont Blanc tunnel was fully booked days in advance. Next time we’ll go for an extra week!

The new Canon Powershot A590 IS worked well too!

But we don’t know where we’re staying yet – Still, a substantial saving going “allocated on arrival” so fingers crossed! Skis are serviced, gear retrieved from loft, only a few days to go now..

We got back to the Island on Sunday morning after spending Christmas in Belfast and New Year in Ayrshire. Whilst we were in Scotland, the snow conditions in the Scottish Ski Areas meant it wasn’t worth making the trip up, but as a consequence we were able to finish the level 4 snowboarding at Xscape, and we’re both now able to hire snowboards and use the slope without an instructor!

It’s still dark getting home from work, so it’s unlikely I’ll be flying my Esky Belt-CP Radio Controlled Helicopter unless we get a nice weekend. I’ve had it since November and only flown it (well, skated around the floor), 5 times.

However, a nice clear night last night let me try out one of my other Christmas presents. My parents got me the Celestron Skymaster 15×70 Binoculars for starwatching. I’ve been talking off and on about a telescope for the past year, but always get put off as I probably wouldn’t have the time to take it out, align it and so on. The binoculars are a great solution and last night I was able to see the Pleiades Cluster (M45) and Orion Nebula (M42). The latter especially was great as although it’s almost visible with the unaided eye, the nebula cloud is clearly visible through the binoculars.

But why is the post called “Back to work!” – I hate going back to work after Christmas without a holiday booked, and we had nothing booked for 2009. So, first day back I requested a holiday week at the end of February so we can go skiing, and by the end of the week the holiday should be booked! Anyway, as it stands, today I’ve got 37 work days till that comes around. That’s only 6 full Mon-Fri weeks!

Over the weekend the Cairngorms had significant snowfalls, and for the second time this season the Lecht ski centre has been open. (They opened briefly on the last day of October). 

It’s still very early in the season, but with the colder weather forecast to continue throughout the week I’m getting slightly optimistic about the chances of getting a couple of days skiing when we’re over for Christmas & New Year.

I think I’ll wait till the last minute before waxing the skis though, just incase…

Pictures from last weeks trip:

It was a great week, and when the snow in Scotland is good, there really isn’t a reason to go elsewhere. The problem is determining when the snow and weather will play ball, and that’s always been Scotland’s problem. We took a gamble this year, and just like 2005 and 2006 it paid off – we skiied 3.5 days out of 5.5, and both off days were a result of wind rather than snow conditions.

If I didn’t need a £300 ferry as well as a 700 mile round trip, I’d be up there every weekend!