Description
Normally I've done a month or more nordic skiing by the end of December but this year there has hardly been any Christmas snow and conditions in resorts that are open are reported as stony and icy; it didn't inspire me much. However Chamrousse is relatively high at 1600 meters so I thought it would be ok. I was lucky to find a space right by the trail start as it was very very busy. Chamrousse is a bit special as it attracts the Grenoble crowd who have very high opinions of their skiing without having the chops. A guy in full French team kit amused me - I'm not sure what discipline though. This wouldn't matter but they tend to be aggressive, blasting past on climbs then stopping once they've overtaken for a break then blasting past. Overtaking maneuvers are not always that well executed. Anyway it was a pleasant warm up for the start of the season.
Conditions
Coldish, sunny at the start but the cloud rolled in - sometimes hard to see. Some stones on the trail from the car park but more or less ok on the pistes that I skied. Some frozen water here and there. Skiing not too bad in general, a bit soft on the climbs but skiable. Snow was cold and I didn't have good wax for that. My bad.
