Vacances - Holidays - Vacations Part 2

Hi everyone and welcome back to the Part 2 of the 'Vacances/Holidays/Vacations' series this winter, from your favourite Méribel blogging ski instructor. Last week I described in brief the British half-term week, and also some time I spent ski guiding Americans from California. I kind of cut short that blog post because I wanted to publish it quickly. So here is a summary of the last few days I had with them. All photos in this article were taken in the last eight days or so.......

As mentioned last time, I was booked for six days to ski guide a bunch of guys from California, and organise a different lunch stop each day. I chose a varied collection of mountain restaurants between Méribel, Val Thorens and Courchevel, keeping my fingers crossed that weather wouldn't ruin any plans by leading to closed ski lifts. For example, in the Courchevel Valley I selected the popular Bouc Blanc mountain restaurant for the beginning of the week which is always a safe bet. And then later in the week I was able to get us booked in at the Bel Air restaurant above Courchevel Moriond, which in my opinion is in the top 3 restaurants spots in the Courchevel Valley for an overall experience. Imagine how delighted I was to announce to the Americans (from California remember) that we were booked in at the Bel Air!?!

In fact we actually popped into the Bel Air twice. Once late morning because it was cold outside and they wanted a drinks stop. I thought they were going to have a warming hot chocolate or coffee? No, silly me, their late morning choice of drink was a couple (!) of shots of Jägermeister!?! And then later at 1pm we returned for lunch which we all enjoyed. Sadly we didn't get to see the iconic views from the Bel Air terrace and vista because of the overcast weather.

Later in the week we skied all the way over to Val Thorens. This coincided with another chilly day, and with flat light at times, however some fresh snow helped out. Perhaps less than 10 centimetres of fresh overnight snow, but the new conditions felt absolutely lovely. The secret to skiing in Val Thorens, especially if the skier traffic numbers are high, is to pass through the village, and head up the other side of the mountain where there is more space. One of my favourite areas is up and above the Moraine and Portette ski lifts.

It was the first time this group of family and friends had skied in the 3 Valleys, and they were blown away by the sheer size of the ski area even in less than optimal visibility. It was a great experience for me to be able to meet them all, and to also share my passion.

Now a slight change of subject. A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post titled 'Be Kind To Yourself', click here for the link if you missed it. In summary it was about taking some time off of skis for recovery during a long ski season. I had a second stint planned off skis - a similar break from Méribel. Flights had been booked and my schedule was just like last month; drive to Annecy and have lunch and a walk around, before continuing on to Geneva airport for the flight to Birmingham. The beginning of this week was scheduled to be my second short break of the winter. A few days beforehand, the plans suddenly changed somewhat. Let me explain.....

On my last day (Friday last week) skiing with the Americans, we were booked in at the respected Le Monchu mountain restaurant above Méribel. Our reservation was set for 1pm, and we all arrived in good time and in great spirits. We sat down at the table, ordered some drinks before deciding on our food. I then took a quick glance at my mobile phone, and noticed there was a message from my wife Harriet. It read 'Please give me a call when you can, I have some news about my Dad'. This message stood out, so I excused myself from the table, and found somewhere private to call Harriet. Within a few seconds, I realised there was some bad news.

Harriet and I spoke, and she explained that her Dad had had a very chunky stroke in the early hours of Friday morning. And without going into too many details, the care home where her Dad was a resident, suggested that this was probably the start of the 'end of life' journey.

Before I continue, I would like to explain why I'm writing about this subject. Many of you who read these blog posts have skied with me in person, where I would often mention my wife Harriet. I know that some of you have met Harriet, even skied with her, and perhaps shared some time socialising with her as well. Harriet's Dad, Sir John, would definitely have been mentioned in conversation. If this doesn't relate to you, then apologies in advance.

Going back to last Friday. Having lost both of my parents in recent years, this information hit hard of course. With the care home giving off certain messages, it became clear to me that 'end of life' was imminent. Harriet said that she was leaving work immediately to go directly to Essex to her Dad, to join one of her sisters already there. It was agreed that I continue as usual in Méribel, and then head to Essex a few days later after my flight to the UK.

Talk about a poke in the eye, and a punch in the stomach for me from nowhere.

There I was with tears rolling down my cheeks after hearing this sad news, with the sound of my clients close by having a great last day of their holiday. It took a few moments to pull myself together before re-joining them. Can't deny it was a tough final half a day of work with my fabulous clients. One thing I can say is that goggles and neck buffs are brilliant at hiding tears and sniffles!?!

Sure enough, over the next couple of days last weekend, Harriet's Dad's condition had deteriorated as predicted by his care home. Harriet's sister Sophy from Houston Texas, flew in to see her Dad just in time. Harriet's brother Matt flew in from Indonesia, and landed at Heathrow on Monday morning just a few hours after Sir John had sadly slipped away.

I received the news of of his passing an hour before I left Méribel on Monday before I started the journey to the UK.

Although it was nice to have a walk around Annecy in the spring sunshine before flying from Geneva airport, my thoughts were elsewhere. It was time to put on the big boy pants and to switch on the 'Super Power Supportive Husband Mode Button'.

My focus the last few days was to be there for Harriet's family in Wivenhoe in Essex, near Colchester.

My goodness where do I start? In short, because you are reading (still reading) this blog post, that means that skiing and the mountains is a passion for you. Harriet's Dad also had many passions including sailing. Actually, I'm going to interrupt myself here. Sir Dad (a beginner skier) and his wife did actually come skiing to Méribel once. This is before the time that Harriet and I were together, so I'm going to leave it there!?! Back to sailing. I have many fond memories of Sir John sharing his passion of sailing, and him trying to persuade me it was the best thing since sliced bread! I of course nodded and smiled, but politely slipped away and stayed faithful to the mountains!

So, how have the last few days been? An utter contrast to a usual ski season in the French Alps in March I have to say. It's been really nice spending some time in Wivenhoe in Essex. In particular with Harriet's family who are normally based all over the country and world. The circumstances have been very challenging for all of us, and I suspect will continue to be so in the next few weeks.

What's next? I'll return home to Méribel soon, and will restart work on Sunday. Over the last month, I've had blocks of week long bookings as is typical with the school holiday period. I'm now entering into the month of March where I have several short chunks of bookings, with available days here and there. Of course at some point I'll be back to the UK for Sir John's funeral.

Can't wait to get my skis back on again this weekend. Now then, and I guess this week my mantra is even more appropriate, don't forget to Live With Passion. Martin.

Back to the snowy, skiing photos very soon!?!

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