Living in a ski resort is obviously lots of fun. There’s more time to spend enjoying the snow, the air is fresh and the scenery is always stunning. Last week, however, the dangers of living in the mountains became all…
Tag: La Balme
The distraction of La Balme and constant snowfall
I took this photo just a few days ago, with fresh, powdery snow covering all of La Clusaz. With so few tourists in the resort at this time of year, it took longer than usual for La Balme and the…
The pros and cons of end-of-season skiing
Pictured is how La Balme looked yesterday at around midday. You can see untracked powder and just one guy – my visiting friend – on the entire slope. There are a couple of people on the chairlift, but it was…
The homecoming in La Clusaz for Candide Thovex
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.…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Candide Thovex, entertainment, La Balme, La Clusaz, landscape, local, skiing, snow
Public service in Annecy and La Clusaz
Public services in France, like most countries, vary in quality and accessibility. This advertisement in Annecy displays the faces of local public servants — lovely smiling faces, like Sebastien’s, above. Just last week, I had a positive experience at the…
Driving in Saint Jean de Sixt
With snow on the ground here in Saint Jean de Sixt, and the partial opening of La Clusaz happening this weekend, the locals are happy. The man driving this car was particularly happy when he arrived home and parked his…
Candide does it again with Few Words
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…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: Candide Thovex, kindness, La Balme, La Clusaz, landscape, skiing, snow
Is Mother Nature drunk?
What a funny old season it’s been. January, usually a dry month, buried rocks and trees with metres of snow that just kept on falling. February brought both antarctic cold and French Riviera warmth, causing the rocks and trees to…
La Clusaz buses
I’d hate to be a bus driver in La Clusaz. The roads are windy and sometimes narrow. Add in snow and a few obstacles such as a broken-down truck and a police car, pictured, and the bus drivers really have…
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged with: driving, La Balme, La Clusaz, marketing, public relations, skiing, St Jean de Sixt
Ski dominoes ahoy
This is a familiar sight outside bars and restaurants all over the Alps. Everyone piles their skis up against a wall or fence and someone accidentally knocks them all down. The guilty person usually scurries away hoping nobody has noticed,…
