Goulaszes On Tour: April 2007

With apologies for a lack of creative inspiration over the last few weeks, notwithstanding that we really didn’t want to just bore you with the fact that we went skiing (lots), partied pretty hard, entertained guests and that sort of thing, we now ponder whether Val d’Isere is in fact the best ski resort in the world? While debating the order of the world on a chairlift the other day with our ski-buddy Dimas, he declared that having skied everywhere in France (which naturally has the best skiing in the world), Val d’Isere had the most kilometers of pisted terrain, the most steep of any resort, tons of easily accessible off-piste, the most bars and restaurants, an old village dating back to the 12th century, one of the most reliable snow records in the Alps, plus plenty of sunshine and no wind, (not mention one of France’s best patissier’s Patrick Chevallot) and thus “was the best ski resort in the world”.

Now we can’t say that we’ve actually skied anywhere else in France, nor Europe for that matter (well we can a long time ago but we couldn’t really make an objective observation in anycase) and then there are so many other ski resorts around the world that we want to continue to test this proposition against, but we can say that we’ve managed to have an absolute blast here. (And for those of you wondering – I can’t believe I got asked this question, you know who you are… “No you can’t get sick of skiing every day… it’s just not possible!!”).

Back in late November however, this grand village was largely desolate (with the exception of the odd chalet girl (or boy) on their gap year), devoid of snow and we found ourselves repeatedly asking the question, what the hell we were doing here? Aren’t 30 year olds supposed to be making babies or something? The late start to the season also meant that we had more than ample time to settle into our new jobs and life in a tiny little shoebox of an apartment at the arse end of town (which we paid an absurd amount of money for) before even setting foot on the snow. Our first ski was in fact the result of again asking the question of what the hell this was all about after an 8 day long stint setting up the ski shop and we felt compelled to brave bad weather (locals don’t ski unless it’s a perfect sunny day) and mediocre snow to get a few first turns in. Of course a few days later when next we went up (in good weather this time fortunately) I managed to pull a knee ligament, meaning 2 days off skiing, followed by me picking the wrong line over a jump on the following time up and nearly (perhaps actually) breaking my hand on some rocks as well as putting a big hole in my ski pants. The boys at work jested that it was definitely safer for me to go to work than to go skiing and after another period of healing and some handy patch work (that resulted in me going by the name Patchy until I could afford to get new gear) we were ready to start the season of skiing. Nic also had a shaky start to the season contracting a terrible flu plus gastro while Magadalena & Micael were here and missed some of the first powder skiing of the season – she missed not being able to hang out with Mag and Micael too but we won’t mention that… Sorry guys :(

Anyway, well into the swing of the season Nic and I found ourselves on a different pair of skis every other day (we spent some time testing almost every pair of skis in the shop) as we spent literally 5-6 days a week getting acquainted with the resort. (This only took a couple of months without the aid of the piste map – it’s pretty simple really there are ONLY 7 different sections of the resort to familiarize yourself with… ‘pas de problem!’). We also managed to acquaint a few local skiers and riders that we continue to go skiing with. Dimas and Daniel continue to inspire us to go as fast as possible (or is that just me? – I plan on being able to say that I like ice too someday) while our 23 year old French snowboarder friends Thibaut, Olivia, Roman, Xavier, Magalie, et al as well as Phil and Ali are all great fun to go riding with. Did I mention they’re also great to go drinking with? Merci bien for all the great Tuesdays and Thursdays we’ve spent on the mountain together and the countless times that we’ve spent drinking at the bar together! (A special thanks to Thibaut and Mag’s hospitality after close – much appreciated guys! Thanks for ensuring that we missed so many of those last buses :)… And just on the thank-you’s, a big thanks to the inventor of the “Le bite dans cu” – without your invention so many of our nights would have ended at 10pm but after one of those Nic was ready to party all night :)).

In the short few months that we’ve spent here life’s been tough. We worked tirelessly on our skiing and our “lunette marks” (or sunglass marks en anglais). Nic almost chucked in the towel and declared it was all too hard in late January (technique can be so frustrating) but managed to get it together in March and graduated from her “ladies ski” to a top of the line carve ski – I’m so proud of her :)). And I think I’ve managed to ski every “test ski” in the shop. For the record the Dynastar Omeglass 64 (very stiff and aggressive slalom ski – I missed my calling in life and was definitely meant to be a World Cup racer) has to be the best thing on the rack and as for twin tips, “c’est la grosse merde” (as Dimas would put it) – sorry they’re just for bling-blinging yoyo’s in the park wearing XXXL clothing :)

As for our French language skills – well I hope they’ve improved too! I’ve certainly learnt a whole range of expressions (not only swearing I promise … although “putin de merde” is one of my most used phrases) and can even hold a very basic conversation, fit someone out for skis and boots, order a few drinks and that sort of thing. Alex put it best when describing my dealing with clients on a Sunday morning, “For Konrad, the language is not a barrier”. As for our English, well it’s kind of reverted back to a pigeon language of sorts but it is all about communication really, so whilst we’re not using any conjugations and lots of mime we find it’s working well :) … “you like this one, yes it’s good one, I like too” (and that sort of thing)

Finally thanks to all the visitors who made the trek up to the resort and lived in our underpants for a few nights (or weeks, you know who you are). Gill, Garth, Bill, Wojtek, Mick & Bel and Mags & Micael. It was really great to see and spend time with all of you.

So life in Val has been great and we now find ourselves repeatedly asking the question “are we too old to do another season here”? In fact we’ve had the time of our lives and will likely spend the next 20 years pining over the 5 months we spent here. As for whether it’s the best ski resort in the world or not, time will tell. We still need to ski Canada, the States and hopefully South America – which will hopefully be a part of the Grand Goulaszes World Tour. Watch this space in 2008 …

But for now, we need a holiday :) 5 months of skiing, partying like a 23 year old and working a physical job has taken its toll on my poor body and I need 3 months off to recuperate:))

Sad but content, we plan to depart Val on May 8th to begin our tour of Central and Mediterranean Europe. With the aid of our Suisse mate Alex (for the record “Old man in the powder” referred to being at ease or comfortable and not decrepit as initially thought in a previous blog post) we have organized a Fiat stationwagon for 3 months (thanks mate – you’re a champion), will buy a tent and camp at various mountains, lakes and beachside spots in Southern France, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.

Here’s a copy of our Itinerary, so if anyone wants to join us, you are more than welcome! BYO tent or join us on one of our city stops (Ljubljana, Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, Prague & Barcelona) if camping is not your thing …

European Itinerary

May 5: Depart Val d’Isere
May 5-6: Geneva, Switzerland
May 6-10: Bern, Switzerland
May 10-12: Chamonix, France
May 12-15: Gorges du Verdon, Castellane, France
May 15-16: Nice, France
May 16-17: Drive to San Remo Italy, via Monaco
May 17-18: Genova, Italy
May 18–22: Corsica, France
May 22-25: Cinque Terre, Italy
May 25-26: Verona, Italy
May 26-May 29: Bled, Slovenia
May 29–31: Ljubljana, Slovenia
May 31–June 1: Slovenia – Piran, Adriatic Coast
June 1-8: Croatia, Adriatic Coast, Dubrovnjik
June 8-11: Montenegro – coast (Kotor, Budva)
June 11-14: Bosnia – Mostar, Jajce (Direction Hungary)
June 14–19: Hungary (Pecs, Balaton, Budapest)
June 19-22: Bratislava, Slovakia (stay with Igor – visit Vienna)
June 22-25: Zakopane, Tatry Mountains, Poland
June 25-27: Krakow, Poland
June 26-27: Czestochowa, Poland (birthplace of Peter Hans Heinrich Stamm)
June 27-29: Wroclaw, Poland (birthplace of Wojciech Konrad)
June 29-July 1: Gdansk, Poland
July 1-4: Mazury, Poland
July 4-5: Gdansk, Poland
July 5-7: Berlin, Germany
July 7-9: Praha, Czech Republic
July 9-10: Czesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
July 10-12: Salzburg, Austria
July 12-13: Innsbruck, Austria
July 13-14: Zurich, Switzerland
July 14-15: Dijon, France
July 15-17: Bordeaux, France
July 17-19: Biarritz, France
July 19 -20: Direction, Barcelona
July 21-23: Barcelona, Spain (apartment – Belinda’s 30th)
July 23-26: Menorca, Spain
July 26-27: Figueres, Spain
July 27-28: Carcassonne, Languedoc, France
July 28-30: Provence (Avignon, Aix en Provence), France
July 30-August 1: Marseilles, France
August 1-4: French Riviera – St Tropez, Cannes, Nice
August 4: Leave Minors – city TBC
August 5-8: Return car back to Bern, Switzerland

We bid you "Aurevoir" from another sunny day here in Val d'Isere as we wait out the our last week and leave you with these final images from the season that was...

Looking down towards La Daille from Tommeuses