Day 7 - The last hurrah.

16:00
Guess what! Awake at 04:00. AGAIN. I think it’s the cold bug more than anything else. Will be glad to see the back of the little fucker. I’m not going to be put off by mere physical limitations though. I’m on the chairlift up the mountain by 09:15, and am determined to make the most of what is a stunningly sunny day.

It’s been COLD overnight. Weather app reckons down to around -8C. As a result, the groomed pistes are hard frozen at the start of the day. When pistes are icy, you have to work that bit harder as the edge of your skis doesn’t cut into the surface as easily when you turn. The first couple of runs are a little sketchy. I head over to the other side of the valley, which has been basking in sunshine for the a couple of hours, and find absolutely perfect conditions. The surface ice has broken, and there’s a light, powdery texture to the snow. I spend an amazing hour criss-crossing the valley on a range of different runs.

Around 11:00, I head back to the southern (i.e. North facing) side of the valley, and find that the ice has softened, and conditions are nigh on perfect. I’m actually a little disappointed to stop for lunch, as I could go on (and on, and on…)

Lunch is a Tartiflette - that sensational combination of bacon, cream, cheese and potato that I had on my first day on the slopes. I’ve not really been breakfasting while we’ve been here, so a massive lump of carby stodge around lunchtime is not just fun, it’s a necessity.

I’m back on the slopes as quickly as possible. It’s a warm day - as high as 15C on the mountain, and the snow surface is starting to cut up quite a bit. Staying high is my best bet, so I head to the very top of the mountain, and spend a sublime hour running down some fairly fast and steep runs. My knee has held up brilliantly all week, so I’m taking this one last opportunity to try and knacker it before I head home tomorrow. It stands firm.

By 14:00, even the higher runs are starting to turn a little slushy, and very bumpy. Rather than force myself to ski more for the sake of it, I decide to call it a day, having had a fabulous day’s skiing. I reward myself with a pichet (literally translated as a pitcher, but they’re a lot smaller than a beer pitcher) of rosé at Bistrot Montagnard, opposite the slopes, and which I think has qualified as my favourite bar in Montgenevre.

All week, we’ve seen a group of young skiers, all wearing the same blue jackets. We’ve hypothesised that they might be a student skiing society, members of the armed forces etc etc. They’re not great skiers - we’ve had to work our way past them on numerous occasions as they snowplough down the pistes. As I tuck into my rosé, a pair of them sit down at the table next to me. Now, I’m not eavesdropping on them, per se - but:

1) They're Bristol University ski club
2) This is the beginners trip for the club. An intermediate / advanced group is somewhere else in the Alps
3) The group here has had some DRAMA. Some dude called Lee has shagged three of the women on the trip - including a WOMAN WHO IS HERE WITH HER BOYFRIEND

The melodramatic tone of the conversation makes me chortle on more than one occasion, which I discretely (I hope?!) turn into a cough.

It’s time to return my skis to the hire shop, and I should then give some thought to doing some packing. Back at my apartment, I consider which is more important - packing, or nap?

22:00
NAP WINS, NAP WINS!

Delightful 90 minutes of sleep, and I awake feeling much refreshed. Packing is a dull but necessary task, as my transfer to the airport departs at 06:30 tomorrow morning. I briefly consider cracking on with it, then reason that a shower will be more fun. Ooh, and then I should really finish the beer I have in the fridge.

The shower’s a legit idea, as my towel needs to try before I can pack it. The beer is a legit idea because I hate waste. Packing does eventually happen. I’m conscious my alarm is going to go off painfully early tomorrow, so it’s an early night for me. Given my sleep over the past few days, I’ll likely be awake ahead of the 05:30 alarm call anyway…Læs mere