Horse-drawn Skiing
If you’re really missing skiing, how about this: skijoring (or, as the Norwegians call it, skikjøring)? The Ferme de l’Adroit offers it.
If you’re really missing skiing, how about this: skijoring (or, as the Norwegians call it, skikjøring)? The Ferme de l’Adroit offers it.
As you may have heard, no ski lifts, restaurants or bars can open in French Ski Resorts until after the Christmas/New Year holiday period. Sadly YSE has had to cancel all confirmed December bookings, and we are making full refunds under our Coronavirus Guarantee.
We don’t know if the whole resort will open early in January or mid-January (when restaurants in France may open) but we will be ready whenever this is. We have staff waiting to go to Val d’Isère and our chalets are spruced up for your arrival.
There has been quite a bit of media coverage regarding chalet companies who are no longer operating, or who have decided to give this winter a miss, but we are looking forward to welcoming guests to YSE chalets very soon.
Following our news post of August 2018 announcing the arrival of a Lammergeyer chick, the pair of adult Lammergeyer who nest every year in the cliffs above La Daille have produced another one this year, their eleventh since they first succeeded in 2002. The via ferrata on that side of the gorges is closed, and paragliders are asked not to fly in the area. The photograph above isn’t the chick: it’s one of the parents. The egg was laid in mid-January and hatched in mid-March, and he/she is just trying a few timid first flights now!
Nutritional therapist Toto enjoyed a fabulous ski holiday with YSE and wrote about it on her blog, Totoly Nourished:
Wow, wow, WOW! What a beautiful week in Val d’Isère with YSE and the West family. Incredible weather and skiing, a gorgeous chalet of guests and the most delicious food. I’m feeling so energised, relaxed and full of life!
When friends/family asked me what I would be eating on a week’s skiing holiday, I have to admit I wasn’t sure! YSE were very accommodating and I paid a small supplement of £25 to cater for my dietary requirements. A few years ago I would have felt uncomfortable about being singled out or treated differently but after nearly 27 years of managing my condition, I’ve realised that there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to feel your best at all times, particularly on holiday! These companies are there to make your holiday more enjoyable and YSE couldn’t have been more welcoming of my quirkiness!
Amelia (Mimi) Cheer was the most amazing chef and produced a stunning, three course meal each evening, which was gluten free and plant based. I asked Mimi if she would be happy for me to feature her ‘Toto friendly’ creations on here and I’m delighted to say that she said YES! More from Mimi shortly.
At the start of the week, Mimi and I had a good chat about more specific requests, for example breakfast options and canapé ideas. Each morning before a day on the slopes, I opted for two slices of gluten free toast with either smashed avocado or a selection of jams, usually with some fruit on the side. I wanted something which was easy to digest and more carbohydrate based to fuel the six hours of skiing that would follow. I brought protein bars with me and I enjoyed one with our mid-morning coffee up the mountain. Lunches were typically up the mountain and the most challenging. Luckily my French is fairly respectable (don’t worry if yours isn’t – they all speak English in ski resorts!) and I quickly worked out that simple was better when ordering in restaurants. I usually opted for a large salad, a soup or if nothing else was available, a big plate of chips! I found an amazing café in the centre of Val d’Isère – Arctic Juice & Café is the world’s first ‘mountain energy café’ and I was in complete heaven. Their superfood salad and green endurance juice left me feeling on top of the world!
After a boogie and a gin and tonic (or two…OK maybe three!) at après-ski, afternoon tea would be waiting for us at the chalet on our return. Mimi made me a beautiful ginger cake topped with fruit, as well as some delicious shortbread. Indulgent, yes but much needed after all that dancing!
So, the bit you’ve probably been waiting for. Here is one of the menus Mimi created and the recipes so that you can recreate them at home!
Starter: Moroccan spiced falafel with harissa chutney
(Serves 8)
Ingredients:
Directions:
Main: Quinoa stuffed courgettes on a bed of puy lentils, with a pea purée, roasted potatoes and tomatoes
(Serves 4)
Ingredients:
Directions:
Dessert: Vegan meringue with a berry coulis
(Makes 10-12 meringues)
Ingredients:
Directions:
An enormous thank you to Mimi for sharing her talents on Totoly Nourished and for making my skiing holiday stress-free and beautifully satisfying. I also have to mention Miranda and Anna, our dream team chalet hosts for the week, who were always smiling, helpful and huge fun to be around.
If you are interested in hiring Mimi, an Orchards Cookery School trained chef, for private jobs, please contact Mimi directly at ameliacheer1@gmail.com
Top tips for a happy and healthy holiday:
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.
Love and light,
Toto x
Read the blog here:
https://totolynourished.com/eating-in-the-alps-featuring-guest-chef-amelia-cheer/
As voted by the readers of Condé Nast Traveller this week. It’s been our guests’ favourite for years!
The annual transhumance has happened later than usual this year, because the snow took longer to melt. The 80 cows of one of Val d’Isère’s two dairy farms came up last week to the high pastures, where they’re being milked twice a day in mobile milking parlours. Because of their diet of wild flowers, the milk is considered to make wonderful cheese.
Here, lifted from the excellent radiovaldisere.com, is an understandably blurred image of the new baby lammergeyer – or bearded vulture – stretching its nine-foot wingspan high in the blue sky above Val d’Isère. It was spotted last week for the first time and caused huge excitement in the village because lammergeyers don’t often breed successfully. No-one then saw it for a week, but it’s been seen again today, learning its trade from its parents in the Grande Sassière valley, the next valley north of Val d’Isère.
Victory in Kitzbühel World Cup Race
Dave Ryding, a Lancashire lad whose first race was at the age of eight on a dry slope, beat all the world’s top skiers in the first leg of the Kitzbühel World Cup slalom on 22 January 2017. Overall he finished second after both legs to Marcel Hirscher of Austria, and it was the first time he’d made the podium in his career.
Furthermore, it was the best result for a British skier for 35 years, since Konrad Bartelski came second in the downhill in Italy in 1981.
Ryding told BBC Sport: “The first run was just insane. I knew I had skied it clean, but couldn’t believe it when I crossed the finish line. In between runs I tried not to get the heart rate up or get stressed. I was trying to tell myself I wasn’t the last one to go but it was tough. It was a mental battle with myself but I won the mental battle. Hirscher skied so well, so coming second almost felt like a victory. It’s crazy. I’m just really proud of what I’ve achieved.”
We were very pleased to welcome The Times travel editor, Jane Knight, to YSE Chalet des Neiges last winter. She skied with John and Fiona who showed her their favourite routes around the ski area. Best of all, she came away realising that Val d’Isère is not just a mecca for good skiers, but is absolutely suitable for beginners and low-intermediates!
From chalet girl to chalet guest, avid skier Laura Pullman returns to Val d’Isere ten years on and finds there’s more to the resort than just good food and flirting.
Read the full article.