So we decided to return to the same ski resort as last year, Mirabel-Mottaret. It’s nestled right in the middle of the Three Valleys Ski region in Savoy, France, and when we went last year we were quite taken by it – although the snow wasn’t fantastic then, we were in for a treat this time – several feet of snow over the time we were there, giving us lots of lovely fresh powder to play in every day!
Fantastically, it mostly snowed at night, and gave us nice light and often sunny days in which to board/ski to our hearts content! Robyn, having had enough of the pain of snowboarding, has gone back to ski’s. It didn’t take her long to find her confidence (Quite an achievement after 15 years break!), and we were soon criss-crossing the mountains together. I spent the first three days on a short (for me) flexible board, which had a really nice feel to it – the length meant I could turn quite easily, and had a lot of maneuverability. The downside was that it sunk easier in the powder, and I had a few run in’s with rocks in off-piste situations. I tried ski’s on the 4th day, but it wasn’t meant to be – it’s hard to suck on ski’s when I _know_ I’m good on a board! – so I went back to the boarding, with a longer, stiffer plank this time, which floated nicely on the powder but was a PITA on piste!
We spent most of our nights exhausted watching movies on the new toy robyn bought me for my birthday – an Aiptek V10 projector! It’s tiny, and in a dark room can project to about a 42″ TV, it’s pretty cool. We also visited the local resteraunts, and had Raclette, which is not only a type of cheese, but a way of eating it. You place a half-round of Raclette under a heater, and periodically scrape off the melted chese onto cold meats, potatoes, gerkhins, and salad – very tasty! But not something you’d have every day. 
So out of the 6 days we had there, we spent 5 on the slopes. The last day (my birthday) it was raining, and we decided that we could do without it – besides, they’d closed the lifts by the time we’d made up our minds. Apart from that, it really was a fantastic holiday – I’ve resolved to spend more time finding untouched powder, and we rediscovered the simple delights of french breads, cheese and wine as a meal.
Well, It was a fantastic holiday – until we left! At which point our epic journey home began! We left the resort at 9am, and didn’t get home until 1:30am the next day, thanks to weather, and the incompetence of Thomas Cook – we’ll not be doing a package deal with them again! It’d have been quicker to drive!
So all in all, I really recommend Mottaret – great location, great snow.
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