It’s been a pleasant surprise for all of our Karibuni Ski Team to reassure them that it’s going to be OK. We have been able to say [...] Read More...]]> Throughout January and February many of our Ski Weekender guests have arrived fearing the worst having read the headlines of “No Snow in the Alps”. 

It’s been a pleasant surprise for all of our Karibuni Ski Team to reassure them that it’s going to be OK. We have been able to say that with some confidence (and a little smugness) as we have had the pistes of Grand Bornand to back us up! 

Throughout our sunny and snow-free January the skiing conditions in 

Top of Rosay, Grand Bornand, Mid-Feb

 Le Grand Bornand have been absolutely top notch and the pistes in great condition. Of course we’re bound to say that I hear you cry – but its not just us. Our many guests have loved it and raved about how well the pistes were groomed and how pleasantly surprised they have been by the conditions given the lack of fresh snowfall for some 4 weeks. 

Quite a number of people have asked us how they have achieved this despite such challenging conditions – so I thought I should share the reasons why Grand Bo’s pistes have been in top condition for weeks on end and what sets it apart from other resorts. 

A good deal of the resort is north facing and so the sunshine does not have the warming effect that was clearly evident on the green south facing slopes where the power of the sun’s rays had been fully absorbed causing the snow to melt quicker. The whole of the Maroly valley and most of the Chinaillon sectors are north facing  so have this lovely reflective effect which bounces away the suns rays. This is one of the reasons why a month of sunshine left the slopes still snowy. 

Added to this is another physical reason which is all bizarrely linked in to your Tartiflette lunch! 

Cows in the Aravis

The vast majority of the slopes in the Grand Bornand ski area are used during the summer months as pasture land for grazing cows. A lot of work goes into ensuring that these cows eat the best grass possible as  the best grass makes the best milk, which makes the best cheese. And the cheese that everyone makes around here is the highly regarded “Reblochon Fermier”. This cheese is what’s melted over your cooked potatoes and bacon bits to make the classic skiing lunch of tartiflette! 

The large extent of grass pasture land means that we don’t need as much snow depth as many resorts to make a good coverage fit for skiing. If your hills are covered in 50cm rocky and lumpy bits then you are going to need at least 80cm of snow depth to make sure you can ski on it – but if the snow is covering a nice smooth grassy slope then a simple 30cms of snow pack will do nicely! In Grand Bornand we are glad to report that there are very few stones, rocks or gravelly bits to come through the pistes and scratch your skis. 

Who would have thought the cows would be quite so important? 

Of course you could have these conditions and still not make great skiing pistes – so a huge amount of credit goes to the whole team of piste-bashers and slope technicians who ensured that the facilities worked well to provide us with snow when nature refused. The network of snow cannons is extensive and covers all the main areas, including the high areas and the tops of the runs. Consequently they have made snow wherever they needed it the most – managing the supply of artificial snow around the resort to fill in any patches and make sure the important linking runs all stayed white and very skiable. 

2 years ago they increased the reservoir capacity for Grand Bornand with the construction of a huge reservoir cleverly hidden in the Maroly valley. This meant that for 3 weeks of cold weather they were able to churn out snow right across the network of 146 snow cannons and never run out… (not the case in many other resorts!) 

The modern piste-bashing machines (‘dameuse’ in French) were also used to great effect. Their ultra-manoeuvrable scoops and shovels on the front allowed the skilled workers to scrape snow onto the piste from the surrounding areas (all those nice grassy areas again making a difference). As you skied down you could see their handiwork where the top layer of snow had been scraped off to top up the pistes. The true art is to steal the top snow layers and yet leave a white snowy cover to reflect the sun’s rays and prevent any further melting. Many times we pointed out to guests the care and attention that had been used to achieve this all across the resort. No mean feat when you think that most pistes are a kilometre or so long and you start to appreciate that one guy has put a lot of time and attention into the small hours of the night to make your day more enjoyable. 

Piste basher going to work

We have already explained that due to the cows Grand Bo can cope with a thinner snow base than some other areas – but you have to protect this from the damaging blades and tracks of the piste basher machines. In Grand Bornand they do that by using a lot of self-winching piste bashers which attach themselves on to secured anchors hidden around the hillsides. Using these they can pull themselves up and down the slopes using their large roof based winches. This means the tracks and blades don’t need to dig so deep to grip and so don’t churn up the snow underneath,  keeping it in much better condition and preventing any stones from coming to the surface. 

Another important factor to mention quickly is that on the whole it’s a quiet and undiscovered resort so there are less people scraping that snow around and causing it to deteriorate. During January that ensured that the conditions remained superb for weeks on end… just right for us and our guests who knew that Grand Bornand was a good place to be! 

In summary – the resort of Grand Bornand is blessed with a few factors making good snow conditions a possibility but it’s the clever use of technology and some wise investments that have really paid off. It’s not a massive resort with big budgets, but it has been very clever and strategic in its planning on what’s really important and how to make the best of the conditions you have… a lesson that perhaps some of the bigger resort could learn a thing or two from! 

Written by Paul

October has been a busy month for the Karibuni crew what with holidays, first aid courses, DIY, outside jobs to make the most of the gorgeous weather and general inter-season office work, but the highlight by far was taking our stand [...] Read More...]]>

Paul on the stand waiting for the show to open

October has been a busy month for the Karibuni crew what with holidays, first aid courses, DIY, outside jobs to make the most of the gorgeous weather and general inter-season office work, but the highlight by far was taking our stand at the Ski and Snowboard Show at London Olympia.

It was the first time we’d taken a stand and as well as being nervous about the long days on the stand we were very excited about the opportunity to talk to lots of you, our guests, as well as enjoying the atmosphere of the show – I think we were all surprised exactly how much was going on.

The people we met were all very friendly and interested in short break skiing, great news for us, but best of all it was encouraging that despite the media interest in the ‘lean times’ Brits are currently suffering there are still plenty of people who refuse to be beaten down and will still be skiing this year.

The highlights of the show for us (aside from chatting with potential guests of course) were the big air demonstrations, the husky dogs and watching The Feeling and Sophie Ellis Bexter perform live. Oh, and of course when Ranulph Fiennes (yes, that’s THE Ranulph Fiennes of exploration and mountaineering fame) asked Paul if he knew where the Gents was as he’d been walking round Olympia for 45 minutes and couldn’t find it anywhere. Should’ve taken your compass Ranulph!

Thanks to everyone who came to say hi to us at the show and we hope to see lots of you out here in France this winter!

PS – the Tartiflette served at the show cafe was a good effort but not a patch on what’s served over here!

Although we’re rarely keen to be woken [...] Read More...]]>

At the beginning of June every year the inhabitants of St Jean, Grand Bornand and La Clusaz wait expectantly for the first true sign of summer – normally heralded at 5am on a weekend morning by the sound of hundreds of cow bells.

Although we’re rarely keen to be woken so early this really is one rude awakening we can forgive. As we peer through windows into the dawn light we see the local farmers herding their cows up the road through the village – accompanied by cow bells and shouts for the frisky excited cows to keep off the gardens.

This is the time honoured tradition known as Transhumance – the journey that all the farmers make with their herds from their lower winter farms, where the cows are kept in barns through the long winter, to the high summer pastures. It’s a really special occasion for the farmers as well as for the cows – a sign that summer is here and they can move back into their high mountain summer farms. The farmers walk with the cows to the high pastures, often driving them as far as 20 kilometres or more. One of our local farmers from St Jean takes his herd to the top of Col des Aravis for the summer, and another takes his to Col des Annes – maybe known to you as the furthest ski run from Grand Bornand in winter.

The atmosphere is almost carnival-like with the whole family getting involved, the children walking with the parents to keep the herd in check and the grandparents driving behind with the very young calves or the cows too old or lame to walk. The locals – those who are up anyway – line the streets and wave to the farmers, wishing them a good summer season. And then we all make a mental note not to drive anywhere for the rest of the weekend as there’s a fair chance we’ll get stuck behind one herd or another as literally every farmer in the area moves his herd during the same weekend.

And every year as I watch the cows go through the village I wonder – do they feel as stiff the next morning from having walked up Col Des Annes as I do after my first big walk of summer? At least I don’t have to wear a cow bell as I struggle my way up 500 vertical metres!

Transhumance

Sunday 25th April was the official winter season end, meaning that as we got up on Monday morning and ventured to the bakery everything had shut up, everyone had left town overnight! The busy hustle [...] Read More...]]> …is that once the tourists have gone home EVERYTHING closes down for a few weeks!

Sunday 25^th April was the official winter season end, meaning that as we got up on Monday morning and ventured to the bakery everything had shut up, everyone had left town overnight! The busy hustle and bustle of winter had been replaced by a solitary cat and a lot of closed shutters. And so it will stay until the start of June when things get in gear again for the start of the summer season.

St Jean isn’t actually so bad compared to other villages in the region. One bakery, the 8-a-huit supermarket, the tabac, pharmacy and post office are all open as well as one restaurant. But venture further afield to La Clusaz and it’s a ghost town. There is literally one café, the Belier, open for business in the whole town – if you want anything else, forget it…until June!

Having lived life in London before moving to the Alps I must admit I struggle with the reduced service between seasons. Add to that the fact that during May there are no less than 4 bank holidays too and you really do have to think twice and plan ahead before going out to do your daily errands!

This is the traditional way of life that we love so much during the rest of the year though, so we can’t complain. And when you know where to look there is still the odd café open for a quick coffee with friends, but I am looking forward to being able to buy more than just bread from the bakery, cheese from the market and a postage stamp as long as the wind is blowing in the right direction!

St Jean roundabout out of season - nothing on the roads, no one on the streets, everything closed up til June!

The K-team plus some visiting friends headed for le Grand Bornand on [...] Read More...]]> As with thousands of Seasonaires celebrating the end of another ski season across the Alps we experienced the excesses of a ‘Friday night/Saturday morning’ in the middle of April.  Although ours wasn’t entirely typical.

The K-team plus some visiting friends headed for le Grand Bornand on Friday night where the roads where closed, the main square shut off and every conceivable parking spot was taken. The town was just a sea of red jackets. We joined 2,500 ESF (Ecole du Ski Francais) ski instructors crammed into the main bar in town to celebrate the 60th national instructor ski challenge, hosted this year by le Grand Bornand.

The atmosphere was carnival-like and the beer free flowing (in fact the outside bar was ‘beer only’ due to demand). Every red-jacket was proudly displaying the name of their resort and proving their capacity to hold beer is as great as their enviable skill at zipping round the mountain at 100 miles an hour whilst on the phone between ski lessons. As well as the singing, dancing on tables and imaginative fancy dress costumes there was one guy who went everywhere on his skis – on the bus, to the bar, to the club and presumably to bed as well! Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny and as we arrived on foot at the Marolly valley the ESF guys really showed us what they’re made of. The Tolar red run had been turned into a steep downhill slalom course where the ESF challenge finals were being held. The crème de la crème of ESF instructors – many of whom are in the French national ski team – were racing their way down the course at up to 120 km an hour, to the sound of cheers and cow bells. The atmosphere was electric and the event was a sight to behold – beer tents, food stalls and even a very French pisoir at the bottom of the Tolar piste – all a strange sight for us, familiar as we are with the Marolly valley in its more conventional winter setup.

The ESF Challenge in Marolly valley

Sadly we never found out who won, our need for lunch getting the better of us after one beer too many the night before, but we can verify that we will never look at an ESF instructor the same way again. While you’re in your lesson next year improving your snowplough technique, just think that the guy teaching you could just be a top downhill competitor!