Summer Reset - Part Three

Hi everyone, welcome back to the 'Summer Reset' blog series direct from Méribel. This summer's mountain experience is going really well, and I'm having a ball of a time with my bikes, walking boots, and teaming up with my mate Canon during some of the many sunsets here. As a ski instructor, I spend a lot of time on the Blanchot green piste, also known as the Altiport. It's a fabulous piste for early stage skiers building their confidence, and rather beautiful as well. Although lacking snow in the summer, it's still absolutely stunning especially as the evening sun is lowering and heading off to bed. You can spot the top of the Rhodos bubble on the bottom left of the photo, and the Rhodos mountain restaurant on the bottom right, with the Altiport chairlift over head.

Operation Heatwave Avoidance was still in full force earlier this week, with another trip high up the mountain. This time I opted to take a walk along the Creux Noir ridge towards the Col du Fruit, on the border between Méribel and Courchevel. Anything above 2,500 metres in the alps and the character of the terrain changes. There's less vegetation growing at this altitude, and in places it can appear more moonscape like. This is true for the ridge, however it offers beautiful 360 degree views.

During my last blog post I spoke about an area that I particularly love, Vallon du Fruit with the Col and Aiguille du Fruit towering above. This ridge path takes you across to a much higher viewpoint of this area, and one that is even more impressive. There used to be a cranky old chairlift called Creux Noire that gave access to a black and a red ski piste. This ski lift was sadly dismantled a few years ago, but the top of the chair is where the path runs through. There are cracking views down into the valley, across to Méribel's Gebroulaz Glacier, and also to the highest point in the Méribel ski area, Mont Vallon.

After being exposed to this relentless, searing August sun, I needed a quick refreshment. I headed to a supermarket in Méribel-Mottaret to grab a drink and a snack. And as I walked away from the supermarket I couldn't believe my eyes! I'm a huge fan of an artist called Charlie Adam, and there in front of me was a ski rental shop, with a window display of some of his artwork. I hoofed down my drink and snack, and promptly popped in to have a browse. It was amazing. To see some of his work, check out his website.....

I've made a mental note to go back and visit in a less heat affected frazzled state, and see if I can treat myself. In particular, there's a Tour de France piece that I really like, titled 'Col du Reblochon'. Reblochon being the cheese that's used in the famous, and delicious, tartiflette winter dish. To my knowledge, and I've just googled this, there's no actual Col du Reblochon. But I love the idea that there is one in Charlie Adam's world. This is a different piece of artwork, called Col des Aravis.

I caught up with a ski instructor friend, Gary The Bruce, the other day for a chat. We hope to meet up again and go out together on either a mountain or road bike ride at some point soon. Plus, I'm hoping to head across to Morzine to catch up with my mate Slippers Jackson. We've got a couple of days of rain here now, which will change the character of the mountain, making it less crispy! I'm heading to Lyon airport tomorrow to pick up my wife Harriet. She will be 'working from home' off and on the next couple of weeks from our apartment here in Méribel, whilst also taking several days off work in between. Work Life Balance, and all that. We haven't had a chance to discuss our mountain plans yet, but I've got a few ideas bubbling away. Live. With. Passion. Martin.