Mad Dog in the Alps
As our two new guidebooks to Zermatt and Verbier rolled off the press last month, the idea for our Alpine book tour was born. Having been sat in our UK offices for most of the winter, we were starting to go a little no-snow crazy and were in need of a fix...
A taste of our own medicine
With the excuse of promoting the new guidebooks, we planned a road trip round the Alps, visiting Verbier and then over to nearby Zermatt. And finally, seeing as we were going to be nearby, we thought we'd just pop over the top of the mountains to see how Tignes and Val d'Isere were getting on....
Aim: to plan the trip using our own Mad Dog advice.
Budget: to make our trip budget stretch over as many resorts and days on the mountain as possible.
The planning
The planning Firstly we got Alistair (the orienteering expert) to sit down with the Michelin route planner to decide the best route. We tried to book our favourite company Speedferries but they were in dry dock so we opted for the next cheapest - Seafrance. And then because we are grown up now and try to do things properly and legally, we upgraded our car insurance, bought European breakdown cover and popped to the shops to get spare bulbs and a warning triangle. We even practised how to put our snow chains on, sitting on our London street, much to the bemusement of the Camden traffic wardens trying to ticket us. We could not have been more prepared - what could possibly go wrong?
On the road
Thursday morning dawned bright and early and into the car we jumped along with all our boards, boots, books and suitcases. The drive to the ferry was fairly easy although we weren't expecting a traffic jam at the Blackwall tunnel at 7am - the joys of London. We crossed the channel on the ferry, had a laugh at the French version of a greasy English breakfast (don't do it) and before we knew it were driving out of Calais.
Although we had a fair distance to drive, French auto routes are a breeze compared to the UK. Lane discipline and empty roads mean you can stick cruise control on for most of the journey. Our car not being quite posh enough to have it, we just put on some Jack Johnson and pretended.
Beaune
Before we'd set out on our journey, we decided to follow the advice of our recent article on driving to the Alps and stop for the night in the Bourgogne region. We'd found a lovely-looking hotel in Beaune within the old city itself - all for a dirt cheap out-of-season price. Now, as we were driving along, about 100km away from our stop and dreaming of dinner and Beaune wine, a warning light started flashing in the car. Out came the Ford manual which said ‘if the engine warning light flashes, take your car immediately to a Ford dealership'. Brilliant. Despite losing power, we managed to limp the car the rest of the way to our destination where we called our breakdown cover. They were brilliant and arranged for a garage to come and pick the car up the next morning and said they'd either arrange for a hire car or a hotel if it wasn't fixable straight away.
With this reassurance, we went out into Beaune to explore the old medieval town which turned out to be stunning. We ate in a small French restaurant in the centre called Dame Tartin which served regional specialities as well as a long list of the spectacular local wine. The next morning, we rushed down to meet the tow truck and with the help of the hotel management deduced and translated the car problem - one of the spark plug sockets had died. Off to the Ford garage and within an hour, they had fixed the problem and apart from a hefty garage bill, we were back on our way to the snow.
Verbier
We arrived in Verbier to find a manic resort - the O'Neill Extreme competition was in full swing, with pro riders, sponsors and camera crews all over the place. Place Centrale and Rue de Medran had turned into one big party and the streets were teeming with people.
After going round and talking to as many people as we could, it was time for dinner. As we were following our Verbier guide, we decided to try one of our Mad Dog favourite restaurants: L'Ecurie - which was full. So then we tried another: Le Caveau - also full. Then we noticed that we advise people to book well ahead for dinner, especially on a Friday... oops. So off we went in search of anywhere in the resort that would feed us and as luck would have it we eventually got the very last table in Chez Martin which provided a much-needed dinner under extremely busy conditions. We stayed at a lovely budget hotel on the way into Verbier (Au Valais Verbier) but it is closing at the end of this season.
Le Chable is a very good bet for short and more economical stays. Down on the valley floor, you can by-pass the switch-back ascent by road and jump on a fast gondola which takes you directly into the Medran lift station - we'd recommend Max and Millie's for a friendly B&B.
The next day, we met up with our Verbier reporter - James ‘Jim' Golding and went out for a slide with him. We ventured up to Attelas, over La Chaux and played around on the sides of pistes around this area. The snow was fantastic and there was plenty of powder left untracked so we negotiated an off-piste route down underneath the new Attelas lift which was fantastic. Our legs, being slightly unseasoned, were protesting by the bottom so we headed off for lunch down in resort. Again it took us a while to find a table but they squeezed us in at Fer a Cheval which had the best pizza we'd ever eaten (or maybe that was the morning's freeriding efforts).
In the afternoon we didn't manage much more than Chaussoure to Tortin - an itinerary route which after a couple of clear days resembled the longest and widest mogul field ever created by man. To two post-lunch-fatigued boarders this was nothing short of a thigh trembling, bottom bouncing, tantrum inducing nightmare. Once we had deliriously made it back to town we opted for a bus ride back to our hotel rather than attempt the walk back down.
As the bus steadily climbed up through the ranks of chalets we started to wonder when it would begin to descend. It didn't. We ended up at the highest point in all of Verbier, and very nice views there were too. About time we checked our guidebook. Two buses and another quick tour of another corner of Verbier and we finally arrived at our desired stop. At least we can say we visited every single part of town. In the evening, we had our guidebook launch party in the T-bar on the Place Centrale. Coinciding with a seasonaire's birthday party, the bar was teeming with a lively crowd. We ended up chatting to tons of interesting people and everyone loved the book.
Zermatt
The drive to Zermatt (well, Tasch, where it’s the end of the road for cars) was just over an hour’s drive through vineyard covered valleys. As we approached the weather turned and the rain came bucketing down which soon transformed to snow. It wasn’t quite deep enough to warrant our practised snow chaining efforts so we reduced speed and pootled into the convenient covered parking attached to the train station. With Swiss efficiency we parked up and were on the train heading to Zermatt within seven minutes. Upon arrival we shared a toytown electric cab with a large friendly German couple who just happened to be staying at the opposite end of town from us and the train station. So we squeezed back and enjoyed the snowy tour of Zermatt town.
After a quick visit to Pauline, the friendly owner of Zermatt Holidays we were happily ensconced in our 35m2 apartment, which would comfortably house six people in France , but here is a two person studio. We were invited for a tour and dinner at the amazing Alex Hotel which we would heartily recommend. The next day was a full-on work day of chatting to people around town.
We did nip up to Sunnegga during the wonderful continental two hour lunch break. Whilst it was still snowing and white-out down in town, as soon as we got up to top of the lift, the mist lifted to reveal some tentative sunshine and the most glorious thick powder everywhere. When your lunch break consists of circuiting deep powder tree runs, you know that life has its perks!
That evening we held our book party in the friendly North Wall bar where we met up with our Zermatt researchers - Erica and Henry of Summit Ski School. After chatting to some people about the books and getting some great feedback, it was time to sample one of the most recommended restaurants in resort.
Nelly's restaurant, just off the main street, was an absolute delight. Faced with a menu that read more like a zoological catalogue, we opted to start with the Japanese style calamari and Nelly's carpaccio of antelope. Both were stunning - fresh fish and ski resorts tend to not mix well but the squid was lush and the carpaccio hit the spot. Following that with a couple of steaks - beef and springbok - and we were truly sated.
Next day, with blue skies and powder laden slopes, we reluctantly climbed into the car for the drive over to Tignes. We cheered up as we drove over the mountain pass past Argentiere and Chamonix and took in the spectacular views of the Mont Blanc massif.
Tignes / Val d'Isere
In keeping with our luck so far, we arrived in Tignes to the second day of blue skies after a large dump of snow which meant we had to act fast to get some tracks before the hoards of other freeriders that flock to Tignes when it snows. We spent the next few days exploring the territory in the mornings while the temperatures were still icy, the powder light and the snowpack more stable. Afternoons consisted of chatting to people and the odd glass of rosé... spring in the Alps - bliss!
On our last day, we decided to do the Tour de Perce - an intermediate backcountry tour into the valley beyond the Fornet in Val d'Isere. The night before had seen snow come from Italy which had hit this part of the Espace Killy first. Setting out early, we negotiated the pass over the Col de Perce and dropped down into the valley. The snow was fantastic - untouched fields and steeps of powder. Using all of our off-piste safety knowledge, we took the tour in stages, constantly checking our position and the snow to plan the safest routes and escape points. Making it back to the bottom and onto the Col de l'Iseran summer road, the adrenaline rush was amazing.
Lunch was needed so we headed to our favourite restaurant L'Arolay - famed for it's slow and sometimes rude service. However, the food here is worth the wait. As we waited for our table, we noticed Richard Branson et famille at the next table which provided our entertainment. Having had a lovely long French lunch, we got up to leave only to realise it was 4.30pm and we'd missed the connecting lift back to Tignes. As ex-seasonaires from this resort, we'd never missed the lifts before but reasoned that most people just jumped in a taxi or on the bus when they got stuck in Val. Off we trotted to the bus station only to realise that the connecting bus doesn't run on a Saturday and all taxis are out doing profitable airport transfers. Great! A couple of thumbs sticking out later, we managed to hitch a ride with a girl in a very small car with a very large dog back to Les Boisses. A very funny to end to a perfect trip.
