I hadn’t skied for 10 years. Could a trip to the French Alps reignite my enthusiasm?
08.01.2024 - 16:26
/ theguardian.com
When it comes to organising ski trips, finding the “happy intermediate” level can be tricky. Friends will say things like, “It’s fine, I’ll ski blues”, then lead you down a steep red, leaving you broken and weeping before elevenses.
I’ll sometimes push myself down tough slopes, but I’m just as happy cruising serpentine blues and greens while admiring the scenery, looking at birds and making the occasional snow angel.
The resort of Flaine, in France’s Haute-Savoie department, proved a good place to brush up on my technique last year. A relatively easy journey by train and bus, it has tougher slopes, but its 69 beginner and 49 intermediate runs suit lapsed or less confident skiers, too. I hadn’t skied for almost a decade and took two mornings’ instruction with the ski school ESF.
“Teresa: spring! Use your legs to spring! Up down, up down. Feel the rhythm. Skis closer together. Look downhill to the trees – not at your feet.” My instructor, Virgine, had a job on.
Besides its generous sprinkling of gentler runs, Flaine’s environment-aware credentials and architectural legacy also appealed to me. Not many ski resorts can boast an installation by Picasso, a sculpture by Belgium’s Pol Bury and design aspects that flirted with sustainability as far back as the 1960s.
Our group travelled from London by train to Cluses, via Paris, and then took the shuttle bus to our ski-in ski-out apartments at Les Terrasses d’Eos, on a slope above Flaine’s pedestrianised centre. Surrounded by spruce trees, the contemporary wood-and-stone apartments are Green Key-certified and ideal for skiers who like the freedom of self-catering but also enjoy the benefits of an on-site bar, restaurant and spa. The roomy apartments sleep from four (one bedroom) to 10 and have wood fittings, balconies, dining areas, fireplaces and well-equipped kitchenettes, while L’Eterlou restaurant serves fine Savoyard produce.
Our visit last winter was a trip of two halves. We arrived to find several lifts closed, and big bald patches where there should have been snow; we left four days later in a thigh-deep whiteout that left our transfer minibus in need of a tow from a passing taxi.
There has been good snowfall so far this season, though the reality is that ski seasons are becoming less predictable –something the wider Grand Massif ski region is trying to mitigate. Flaine itself is involved in reforestation and wetland-restoration projects, snow groomers have switched to HVO100 synthetic fuel and some lifts now run on it, too (though the use of biofuels is still controversial). Free digital piste maps have mostly replaced printed versions (the money from those still sold goes towards tree planting).
In 2007 Flaine was the first ski resort in Europe to