Les Arcs 2006

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January 6th 2006

Published: February 21st 2006

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JulieP

Across the Alps

Hey Ho everyone,
Well it's been a while since i've added anything on here - mostly due to the fact that i'm so busy at the moment with uni and the fact that i've not been anywhere too exciting. That was until last month. After a hectic Christmas and New Year involving the usual shennanigans I headed off to Les Arcs in the South of France for 8 days with a bunch o people from uni. After a 36 hour bus ride we got there and boy was the discomfort worth it. When we arrived there was about 2ft of snow on top of most of the vehicals, it was dark but we were 1800ft up the side of a huge valley so could see all the lights over the whole area and everywhere was white.
As the main purpose of our trip was sking/snowboarding this was indeed a very good sign and since we get about 2cm of snow a year in Scotland I was soooooo excited.
Well we quickly settled in (after the initial hour we spent looking for our apartments) then headed for some food and beer. The Red Hot Saloon was to be our eatery for the

First day on the slope

Taking a little rest at the bottom of the bubble lift

next week - not through choice but hey its food and its free.
The next day Sun 8th we finally got to hit the slopes. The snow was really good and there was a huge selection of runs. It took a while to get used to snowboarding on snow as I'd only ever done it on a dryslope before. It wasn't long before I was getting my first ever few turns in and whizzing up and down the slope. The next challenge came in the shape of the chairlift. As all snowboarders know we have it a little bit tougher than the skiers on this one. Luckily i got off in one piece thanks to some random skier who pulled me off with his poles.
The rest of the week was spent on the slopes (mostly on my ass) exploring the mountains and taking in the breath taking scenery and gorgeous weather. Although it didnt actually snow anymore after we arrived there was still plenty to go around.
The evenings were spent doing random things one night we went to a mountain Fondue led down the hill by torch light procession it was really spectacular to see. Unfortunately my skills

First station Bubble Lift

Heres the first drop off for the bubble lift looking across the Alps

being quite non existent i took a tumble and my back gave way so i walked off the slope before jumping into the piste basher with the drunks for the final wee bit. I didn't mind the walk but the rest of the people i were there with had to snowplough the whole way down the hill and since most of them were pretty good skiers their legs were hurting by the end. It was greatly appreciated though and i'm sure everyone had a good time regardless. Other nights we had a carribbean theme, went sledging on shopping bags, had a school disco/superhero night and even venture to the local club "Apocolypse". It was a hilarious week and I spent most of it sliding down hills on my ass or doubled over in hysterics.
It was quite sad when the time came to leave and to be honest I coulda stayed much longer. The bus ride home was reasonably subdued (until we discovered some wine) then after more laughing, sleeping on the bus floor, sleeping through vital pit stops and dropping people off we got back to Stirling. All a little tired but it was definately worth while. Another top