Le Franco Phoney

If you look hard enough at this photo, you’ll see someone in yellow ski pants climbing what appears to be a concave piece of cliff to the top of Le Croix (“The Cross”) up at La Balme in La Clusaz. That’s local hero Candide Thovex. He climbed to the top with his skis and poles, then cruised down, making the descent look easy. It’s not.

Candide has been to lots of places around the globe to introduce his film, which talks about how he grew up loving moguls, then adapted traditional ski jumping into his own style, becoming the World Champion Freestyle Skier, breaking his back on Big Bertha (a jump at La Balme built each year for the Candide Invitiational), recovering, and becoming the World Champion Freeride Champion just two years later. It’s an interesting and inspirational story, with lots of La Clusaz moments.

After months of introducing his film in different countries and cities, Candide returned to his hometown, where La Clusaz aired the film for free on two separate nights. This is a guy who is pretty famous around the world, and hoards of locals and tourists lined up to watch his film. I was in the crowd, although I’d already seen the film on DVD. The mountain shots are massive, and a big screen is best for viewing!

The film was great, but the kids were pretty entertaining too. Candide was there to introduce the film in his usual down-to-earth way. He then mentioned the giveaways, producing hats, t-shirts, a helmet and a few other goodies. The front of the cinema became a gaggle of kids running around saying “cadeau!” (“gift”) and demanding the goodies. Candide seemed to think it was pretty entertaining too, throwing items into the crowd with a big smile on his face.

But back to the film. If you get a chance to see Few Words on the big screen, take it. The filming is truly beautiful, and the talent and ability of that French man simply enhances it further.

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As the season in La Clusaz draws to an end this Sunday — ending with the Defi Foly competition and hopefully good enough weather for the BBQ not to be needed as an outdoor heater — something else in La Clusaz has just arisen, like a marmot fresh from hibernation.

It’s Candide Thovex’s teaser for his latest crazy film, ‘Few Words’, filmed here in La Clusaz. From around 2 minutes 40 seconds in the video below, Candide can be seen jumping in the La Balme area of La Clusaz, where he built the jumps with some buddies just a few weeks ago. A friend and I tried to stay on the piste to watch the jumps but a pisteur came and shooed us away, leaving Monsieur Thovex and his posse with the entire ski area for themselves after closing time, just as the sun was giving out some nice light to shoot footage in. Take a look for yourselves:

My friend wanted to take a white sheet up the next day and hide under it after last lifts and until the pisteurs had all gone, leaving us alone with Candide, but I chickened out for fear of getting the pisteurs angry and for ruining Candide’s beautifully empty (except for him) shots of the area. The full-length film is due out in October 2012. If it features any scenes showing the pisteurs on the balcony of the Bergerie restaurant at La Balme, helping a screaming girl called Naomi whose knee cartilage folded up on itself while she ate lunch, look for me just next to her. I’m the one who looks unsure whether to shake her fist at the helicopter making so much noise above us while her friend was in pain, or wave at Candide’s film crew inside the helicopter. Even if our balcony scene is missing from the final cut, I’m guessing this movie is going to make Candide Thovex even more of a ski hero both locally (if that’s possible) and all around the globe.

Incidentally, my friend with the knee cartilage problem was hitchhiking up to La Clusaz from Saint-Jean-de-Sixt about a month ago, and guess who stopped to give her a lift. Yep, Candide. I wonder if he recognised her on the footage from the helicopter. In case you’re reading, Candide, two shots of Morphine and they managed to unfold her cartilage and she’s been fine ever since.

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Pictured below is the map of where some crazy unranked skiers and snowboarders will be doing cool tricks and daring descents right here in La Clusaz, France, tomorrow in the lead-up to the Radikal Mountain competition. Those who qualify will get to do it all again at the weekend further over on the l’Etale peak with some of the world’s upcoming freeride champions. After the Candide Invitational stopped a few years ago (although Candide Thovex still lives here and is still awe-inspiring to watch as he flings himself with ease over kickers at La Balme on random days), La Clusaz has struggled to come up with a worthy replacement. Evening jib sessions proved the most popular and accessible for locals and tourists alike, but last year’s Radikal Mountain was a major let-down — mostly due to the lack of snow. Although it was probably more challenging for the riders and perhaps more likely to show who can really ski in any conditions, its position on a peak near l’Etale made viewing a bit difficult. As the map below shows, this year’s qualifying competition will take place up at La Balme, in the Torchere valley, allowing a better view of the action. It’s a pity the final competition isn’t taking place there too.

With more than two metres of snow at the altitude of the competition (and even more up higher!), the whole of La Clusaz has turned into a winter sports haven for all of us. No new snow is predicted for the weekend which is unfortunate, but with so much snow already there, the competition is already likely to be ten times more interesting than last year. You’ll find me camped out nearby with a sandwich and some awe.

I’ve been away in Méribel this week, which is why it’s taken me until now to do a blog entry. Méribel is far more bling than La Clusaz or Le Grand Bornand, and I was expecting to be totally out of my element despite spending many seasons there as a ski bum. Apart from a group of young chalet hosts who drove me away from where I was seated with their attempts to impress each other at how hungover they were, I was pleasantly surprised overall. First up, CoreUPT skis were everywhere! Candide Thovex apparently has more of an influence on the bling kids than I thought! Another surprise was seeing the artwork of Charlie Adam, who I wrote about just the other day, on the front of the Méribel piste map and on various bits of resort advertising. It seems that La Clusaz is having more of an influence on Méribel than Méribel is on La Clusaz! I’d never have thought that possible, and it makes me proud to live here. Here’s some Candide action, although I recommend you go directly to candidekamera.com and watch it in full screen mode to really get the most out of the vid. Enjoy.

Yesterday was very newsworthy for lots of reasons. Here’s a run-down.

Good news: local freestyle champion Candide Thovex, who switched to freeride just this season, has won the Freeride World Tour! I bet all the other competitors wish he’d just go back to freestyle.

Bad news: the La Clusaz Free Sessions have been cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions. With avalanches happening all over the place, the organisers decided the risk was too high, and with lots of new snow due this weekend, the competition would be quite difficult to judge. I guess that means that the road jump they’ve been sculpting in town will also be demolished.

Good news: my Carte Vitale (French healthcare card) arrived in the mail yesterday! Just weeks away from a full year since I first applied, it’s a great relief. Without it, each visit to the doctor, pharmacy or dentist involves additional paperwork and more costs. I paid €3,000 for the privilege of not having one last year, and this year they want €4,500, so it’s great to be able to use the card instead of paying even more on top of what I’ve already paid. I first wrote about the nightmare here, if you’re interested (along with various other posts).

Bad news: Viva La Clusaz, the custom motorbike show which was mostly rained out last year, won’t be held this year in La Clusaz. It’s moved south and is now called Punta Bagna Bike Valfrejus. Thanks to Dawn for the information. For anyone planning on going there on a Harley, your motorbike will cut out just by the toll booth exit on the toll roads in France. You’ll need to roll your bike along a bit before restarting. It has something to do with the big aerials near the toll booths and the frequency of the Harley’s anti-theft device. Thanks again to Dawn and to Simon, who learnt the hard way.

Visit bungalographics.com for more cool stuff

Good news: local artist, Charlie Adam, seems to be doing quite well with his great artwork, available from his website or his shop in La Clusaz. I’ve got a lovely cow-boarding print on my wall, but perhaps I should have got the one pictured, as my old VW Golf cabriolet has experienced this cow stampede more than once.

Bad news: the second full-moon skiing session has been cancelled due to bad weather (same reason the first one was cancelled). During my first season in La Clusaz, I think there were three full-moon skis, where they simply run a few ski lifts and don’t turn on any lights. The novelty of skiing in the almost dark wears off very quickly when you realise just how easy it is for others to run into you, even with the small flashing light they give each person. It’s mainly an excuse to drink at each of the four bars down the Cret du Merle piste. And that’s the mixed bag for today!

Candide Thovex, who allegedly fell out with the La Clusaz Tourist Office a few years ago, ending the his Candide Invitational (now replaced with the La Clusaz Free Sessions), has proved once again that he’s still got it.

A few days ago, Candide won the Redbull Linecatcher 2010 competition. This was his first competition entry since breaking his back two seasons ago on the Big Bertha jump at his own Candide Invitational competition. Here’s a quick video showing one of his runs and the three tricks he did that helped him win the Redbull competition:

Candide spent a lot of time in places other than La Clusaz last year, but his absence has made the hearts of locals grow fonder, not weaker: he was busy shaking people’s hands in the car park of La Balme last week. The day was over, and it was cold, but he still hung around chatting to kids and adults alike until finally they all seemed satisfied with their Candide time and he could go. I’m hoping he gets more time to ride in La Clusaz this year as he’s not only a nice guy, but an inspiration to watch on the snow.

After seeing the fresh snow at the end of June on the peaks of La Clusaz, some friends and I were motivated to do a road trip to Tignes for a day of skiing on the glacier. We arose at 4.30am and left La Clusaz within half an hour. We took the easiest route to get there, through Albertville, stopping only for breakfast snacks from a boulangerie. Here’s what happened:

1. Arrived in Tignes at 7am to find the funicular closed due to high winds on the glacier.
2. Ate a second breakfast and came back for a half-day ticket at 10.30am (handy, as it’s cheaper, and the snow will have softened up).
3. Funicular opened, tickets bought, high winds kept the telepherique closed, but two drag lifts open.
4. On snowboards, two of us ice skated up a t-bar, while the other friend opted out and just had a hot chocolate in the sun.
5. Dodged racers on skis at the second ice rink of a t-bar, and made it to the snow park that had something resembling snow (all other pistes icy).
6. Friend got scared about all the cool dudes doing cool things, so we ice skated back down the piste and joined friend for hot chocolate.
7. Left the resort by midday.

However, the drive home really made up for the disappointing snow. Before hitting the beautiful Barrage de Roseland — a big man-made dam that reflects the most lovely blue hues amongst the green peaks surrounding it, we came across this old hotel. Out the back was a structure made for a pool and a water slide, but neither were there. Inside, a great square-spiral staircase wound right to the top. As you can see from this photo, the façade is growing trees. Some of the windows have some glass panels in them, but most of them are now just square holes. My friend, an avid Candide Thovex fan, realised straight away that this was the building used on the Coreupt ski team website, of which Candide is now a member. Just a week earlier, she had discovered (and visited) the boulangerie used to film the short video which I wrote about here, where Candide is abducted by the Coreupt team. In case you’re wondering, it’s in le Petit Bornand. And yes, she has photos outside the boulangerie and the hotel, complete with a large grin in each picture.

So, what happened to this hotel? Was it ever finished? Or is this the shell from a hotel that was once grand and frequented by tourists? It seems odd that some of the windows have glass panels if it wasn’t ever finished, but at the same time, the structure doesn’t show any signs of decoration marks on the inside. And surely they wouldn’t have added that wooden cladding if it wasn’t near completion. Maybe the construction workers went off to sample the snow on the Tignes glacier and were so mortified at the lack of snow that they moved to Utah. What do you think?

1. Annecy. Last week, Annecy won the national contest to see which French city could bid for the 2018 winter Olympics. Congratulations to everyone involved so far. I’ll keep my fingers crossed until 2010 when the winning city is announced.

2. Candide Thovex was noticeably absent at the La Clusaz Free Sessions. He’s been busy working on his new project, Candide Kamera. The first video is beautifully shot, with a great opening scene looking down to Geneva airport, lots of amazing freeriding, and just a few tricks thrown in during filming. There’s also some footage of him being dragged out of a snowy river by his perplexed-looking friend. I wasn’t too keen on the ending, which reverts back to his old style, but at least he kept the time lapse footage to about three seconds, and there’s only one ‘nature’ scene of some deer. Check out the vid:

Interestingly, Candide’s website has a ‘coming soon’ page for the Candide Invitational. Does this mean there will be more in the future?

3. Bruno. Who is Bruno? Bruno is my cat, and despite this week’s new snowfall, it’s clear that spring is on the way because he has brought me his first mouse for the year. Not bad for a fourteen year-old, but I’d prefer no mouse and more winter.

Each year, La Clusaz puts on a free ski/snowboard movie. For the past few seasons, we’ve had Candide Thovex movies, and they’ve been great. Last year, despite waiting outside for more than an hour, the cinema finally let us in to take our seats, then made us wait at least another half an hour while—it was rumoured—Candide himself finished off the final editing of the movie. However, it was worth the wait. The movie was motivational, inspiring, interesting, and funny.

Travis Rice, please watch some of Candide’s stuff or movies like Steep. Your film was this year’s freebie, and I’m glad it was free. Despite the great reviews, Trav, your movie was a complete cliché of everything used in 1990s snowsports movies: an old car that gets wrecked (this one in particular featuring a Burton logo on the bonnet and a stick figure peeing on the logo); a ‘comedy scene’ (talking marks needed because it wasn’t funny) involving lumberjacks; lots of time-delay sequences of the sun, the moon, the clouds, an airport etc.; at least four snowboard throws (“look at me: I’m sponsored so I can just chuck my equipment where I want and if it breaks I’ll get new stuff”); stereotyping of each country visited (is talking pretend Japanese to a Japanese cameraman really funny or worthy of being in a film?); and let’s not forget the cheesy quotes, including; “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, and the eye-roll-inducing; “Snowboarding isn’t just a sport: it’s a way of life” right at the end.

Yes, the photography was very special and of that you should be very proud. I now know what some sort of mountain goat looks like in New Zealand. However, I wanted to see snowboarding and not nature. So let’s talk about that. If I’ve seen you jumping over a tree once or twice, I don’t need to see it a further five or so times straight after. I get it: you can jump a tree. I was impressed the first time, but I was bored by the last time. This also goes for your jumps: I’ve seen you do multiple somersaults in the air once, twice, ten times, no maybe thirty times now. Really, I don’t need to see that trick again just because the country has changed. Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure you’re very talented, but this really was the Travis Rice show. Despite luring in such amazing riders as Terje Håkonsen and Jeremy Jones, they barely got their faces on camera (except when Jeremy’s was covered in blood). When Jeremy and the other riders spoke, I felt motivated to take my board out and attack a mountain of white stuff. When you spoke, I felt like telling you to stop. They sounded professional. You did not.

Anyway, my mother always told me that if I don’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all, so I’m sorry for all of the above. Let me make amends by reassuring you that I was impressed with the way you can ride on the tail of your board in powder and flick around to ride switch, and I’m sure you can do some other amazing things. Also, my friend enjoyed the movie and embraced the cheesiness as everything that a snowboard movie should be. But why not try to break those boundaries instead of reinforcing them? I’m left with the question: “That’s it? That’s all?” An appropriate title, with or without the question marks.

The La Clusaz Tourist Office has announced the La Clusaz Free Sessions. This confirms the death of the Candide Invitational for 2009 in La Clusaz. This new event takes place in La Clusaz in March (like the Candide Invitational), with a concert on the Saturday night in the La Balme carpark (like the Candide Invitational), and an evening jib session in La Clusaz (like the Candide Invitational). There are, of course, many differences: it’s being ‘endorsed’ by French Seb Michaud (the 2008 world freeride vice-champion) and not Candide Thovex; the gig will feature ‘live rock and electro’ instead of ragga, and the competition will be held as team events (much like the Riderscup in Tignes, which Candide hosted earlier this month).

Actually, it sounds like the decision-makers of La Clusaz have actually thought this one through: the day-time events are freeride events held off-piste, filmed by professionals and viewable each afternoon before the evening jib session. My only concern is that the event will make La Clusaz look like a freeride heaven and attract freeriders who will inevitably take some of my fresh tracks from me!

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