Explore europe in a campervan

I’ve just got back from a walk along the stream and up the hill.  It was fantastic!  I think I’m falling in love with the mountains now.  I just realised that when we were in the van we were mainly surviving in the Alps, but now we’re really living in the Alps and it’s great.

Simon and I took this route on a walk a few weeks ago, but it’s quite a steep incline and it was just too hard going in deep snow so we turned back quite early.  Today the snow is less and harder so I just kept going and going.  No one else (human) had walked that way since the last snow a few days ago so it was fascinating to see all of the animal tracks.  I just wish I knew what they all were!

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We’ve had some beautiful weather…and some horrible wind and rain.  It changes so quickly in the mountains - although the forecasts are generally pretty accurate.  Since my sunny walk in Seytroux last week (some new photos in the gallery) it’s been mostly rain and watching the snow disappear.  Actually, yesterday was the first time this year that I’ve been really excited to see snow - there was enough to cover the grass and tarmac and just about turn the trees white.

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During the last two weeks we’ve been fairly busy with work - honest!  But we did make time to get out once or twice -

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Last week we were invited to a party with a difference - halfway up a mountain.  The evening almost didn’t happen when we all nearly missed the last chairlift.  We didn’t realise we were driving all the way round to the other side of the mountain - not just to the nearest piste, but we were very lucky that the lifty’s took pity on us and even helped to load and unload all the bedding and other general ’stuff’ that was going up the mountain with us.

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I know we’re not campervan-based right now, but our van is still our transport on the snowy roads so I thought I’d share our experience of the essentials that you need when driving a motorhome in snow.  I guess many of you in the UK are having to think about this in the current Arctic conditions!  Of course those of us travelling in campervans have a distinct advantage - if we get stuck in bad conditions we can brew a cup of tea, blast the heating for a while, fill a hot water bottle and bed down for the night.  Luxury compared to shivering in the driver’s seat of a car wondering why the only food is a packet of mints!

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On my birthday on Monday we took a little outing up to Avoriaz.  I went up on the Les Prodains Gondola, while Simon took the chairlift straight up onto the pistes.  It was a beautiful sunny day - after just walking across the resort my face was hot and my eyes stinging - should have worn my snowboarding goggles!
 
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Since we now live in Seytroux, about 7km from the good slopes of Morzine/Avoriaz, I have taken to building a snow park in the back garden! I still drive into Morzine for snowboarding but only when the conditions are very good and the road is drivable.

On the first day I spent creating the first jump, I had my usual snowboarding gear on. Within 15 minutes I had my coat off, hat off and was down to just my hoody.   It’s hard, hot work collecting up snow and trying to compact it into a jump but good exercise I suppose. The first incarnation of my jump or kicker as it’s called in snowboarding was around 1.5ft high and really did kick you up in the air. So after the first run I had to build up the jump a little more, trying to make it longer and not throw you backwards/up quite as much. By the time it was getting dark the jump was much better, I had a few runs on it but as it was nearly dark I called it a day. More >>

For anyone arriving at this blog with the intention of reading about travels relating to the title I must apologise.  We’re not kiting right now, I’m not boarding and we’re not living in our van.  We are in Europe though, in the French Alps and it’s been snowing a lot.  Hope that’s cleared things up and saved a couple of people some time.

I went to the doctor’s this week for the 21 day xray on my broken wrist, when I might have had my huge hand-to-upper-arm plaster removed.  No luck.  The xray showed the bone hasn’t healed enough yet, so I have to go back next week.  Quite a quick visit for €120!  I should think myself lucky though - while I was waiting in the xray room I heard a girl at the front desk -

Girl (posh English voice) “I, er, seem to have hurt my leg”
Doctor’s assistant “In French please”
Girl (rather impatiently) “I don’t speak French.  Does the doctor speak English?”
Doctor’s assistant “No”
Girl “Er, well, thank you, goodbye”

It has been noted before that the French can be less than helpful if you don’t speak French but I thought that was pretty cold-hearted seeing as she was injured!  Especially as I know that the doctor and his assistant both speak English to me when I can’t understand them.  Moral of the story - bring a phrase book and at least TRY!

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Leaving Chamonix on Saturday was not made easy by the low temperatures.  After joining Joy, Oz, Anthony and Damien for a cooked breakfast, then saying goodbye, we started packing up the van up to move for the first time in 5 days.  It was the first time that even the waste pipe from the sink has frozen - after pouring in a pan of hot water with no success we just had to leave the water in the sink.  The slush that had been thrown into the wheel arches had frozen solid too so we had to chip enough off to be sure the ice wouldn’t interfere with the wheels!  We’ll definitely get rid of any slush build up as soon as we stop in future.  The roads were pretty clear though so no problems getting back to Morzine.

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Our days in Chamonix were spent with Simon on the mountains and me in the apartment where his friends were staying. Simon first met Anthony in Chamonix several years ago when he joined him and a mutual friend, Damien, at the last minute - booking a flight for the following day when he heard they were heading to the slopes! Anthony is a magician and came out with his assistant and mate Joy, and her boyfriend Oz.

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