A little afternoon tour at St Hilaire seemed reasonable before the next storm. All the runs are open now but the resort had only pisted one side which seemed like a good idea for the free-riders.

Third week of training with the SNC. Today we were focussed on transitioning from v1 to v2 and back again. I was trying longer poles, I've gone up from 155 to 162.

It has been a long time coming but the nearest ski area to work (about a quarter of an hour drive) has finally opened and with good initial conditions.

A year later I was back in Autrans and this time to ski the Foulée Blanche but with more realistic ambitions - the 20km race.

General DescriptionLocated in the heart of the Belledonne mountain range between Chambery and Grenoble  the 7 Laux ski resort has three sectors:In the east le Pleynet (1450m) is located at the to

Second weekend of training with the SNC.

Skating in fresh powder seems to be a regular thing this January and it is character building to say the least.

Our first trip up to St Hilaire this season. There had been around 50cm of snow the last week but very little below 1100 meters. Fortunately there is snow making lower down.

Training morning with the SN Chartrousin then a climb to the Bergeries of the Charmant Som to warm up (climb took a reasonable 37m56 and the descent a speedy 7m17)

A quick "before work" to see what the fresh snow had brought. I started at 7am and with the fog kept my head torch all the way to the summit an hour later. Excellent skiing and no one around.