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| "We are reporting live from Geneva
and Chamonix to keep you updated with everything you need
to know about the Euro scene..so stay tuned." |
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GENEVA
A distinctly upper class society since Calvin invited
Europe's educated & rich Protestants in, safe from
persecution in the late 1500's. More recently Easijet
has opened its doors to less god-fearing individuals
in search of reaching heavenly heights on the surrounding
Mountains.
Culturally, not a lot has changed since the 16th Century,
the Swiss are known for their fondues, Cuckoo Clocks,
Swiss Army knives - and incredibly dull personalities,
hardly anything to write about until you realise that
some of the top snowboarders & skaters in the world
are from the Geneva region - Romain De Marchi, Pauline
Richon, Nico Droz (Thonon-le Bains), Gian Simmen, Darius
Heristchian……
So what's in the water to make
them all fly so high, with so much style? It could be
the fact that they are bathed in Evian, and, like Oberlix,
they are endowed with super human strength? Or is it
the fact that they grew up in the most skateboard friendly
society I've ever come across, and have successfully
transferred these skills to snowboarding. Whatever it
is, I intend to spend this winter researching the mountains,
conducting a study of the regions resorts - purely for
scientific reasons of course.
Among many other things, the beauty of Geneva is that
within 4 hours you can get to any major ski field in
the French / Swiss Alps. The closest major mountain
is Chamonix, but if you decide to stay in Switzerland
the choice is yours, with glacier riding on Les Diablerets,
Crans Montana, & Zermatt, and Verbier, & Villars
opening for the Winter months. Heading 2 -3 hours in
almost any direction you'll find yourself in the most
overwhelming mountain ranges, ending up at the foothills
of Trois Valleys, Deux Alps, Val D'isere & Tignes.
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TIGNES
Friday night we journeyed South into France, through
valleys shrouded by massive black silhouettes with glowing
white caps - arriving 3 hours later in San Fois, gateway
to a Disneyland for snow lovers. Our French friend Romain
has spent the last 4 years developing a beautiful 17th
Century house into a playground for 20somethings. The
lounge now houses a mini-ramp, above which sits a mezzanine
floor with a double bed, computer, & TV with play
station.
From the mini-ramp, 8-ft high windows open up to a surreal
view of the San Fois valley. I woke one morning at 6
to find the valley filled up with a lake of fog. Eerily
all the villages are buried, creating an environment
similar to the real buried village you will find further
up the valley, under the lake by the Tignes Dam.
Saturday & Sunday we rode at Tignes - a stunning
alpine bowl comprised of four villages: Tignes les Boisses
at a little over 6,000 feet, Le Lavachet and Tignes
le Lac (the major retail center) at 6,900 feet and Val
Claret at just over 7,000 feet. Unfortunately none of
the 11th-Century beauty of its neighbouring village
Val Dísere is replicated in Tignes. The frozen
lake at the base of the ski area is surrounded by purpose
built high rises, but aesthetics are quickly forgotten
when one is transported Star Wars style in the Funiculaire
Grand Motte.
Into the clouds we headed another 1,500 vertical feet
from the Funiculaire's top station onto the upper Glacier
de Grand Motte. That's a 4,500-vertical-foot rise in
less than 12 minutes. From there 14 (out of a total
of 48) additional ski lifts enable you to access both
the fun park & free riding terrain. When all lifts
are open you can ride a whopping 6,270 ft of vertical
decent.
The park stretches over a length of 2.4klm and embodies
an altitude rise of 500 metres. It is groomed daily
by a 6 man maintenance team providing 5 small tables,
2 spines, a big table, 2 quarters, a half-pipe and a
boarder-cross. And, there's a draglift solely for the
park!
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TIGNES TOP TIP:
If you are going to use the season pass of a friend for
a day, look out for the lady with the bright pink lipstick
on the Quad Chair at Tignes, she has made it her vocation
in life to bust punters. I barely escaped her evil eye
5 years ago when using the pass of a girl with dark hair
& brown eyes (I have blue eyes & blond hair),
hiding under the restaurant deck for an hour until she
was distracted by the possible capture of another hardened
criminal. Easier, if there is a group of you, wet the
back of your day pass & once through the bottom check,
it peals back easily & one of you can run the passes
out to the others.
But, passes are only 15 quid (45nzd) - not bad for a day
of absolute pleasure. (Parking is free at the top if you
show your day pass, so don't throw it out)
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