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We went to Meribel in the end; the posh, English-speaking part of the 3 Vallées mega-resort. I know the area well, having been on various university trips thereabouts: it's hardly the last word in vertical madness, but there are some dear little runs. We booked last minute - the day before - into a chalet for 16. We were the only 2 there for three days, and were being looked-after by 3 chalet kids who seemed to delight in continuing to bake daily cakes for a full chalet...Yum. Four course meals every night; it was ace.
On the evening we arrived it was raining. It continued to rain and rain, and was pouring as we went to bed.
The next morning everything was covered in the softest, lightest, fluffiest snow you've ever seen. It was also still snowing. Hard. What an absolute thrill! If Meribel is not particularly challenging, what it does have in its favour is acres and acres of easy off-piste skiing. My wife was brave enough to follow me everywhere, and we were treated to a day of quite sublime sport.
Conditions remained excellent throughout the week. We stayed off-piste; everyone else (basically all of Paris) stayed on, and out of our way. If it wasn't snowing, the sun was beating down, taking the edge off temperatures reaching below -20°c. I'm back; I wish I wasn't.
I'll post some pictures, would like to post short videos but I've no idea how I'd do that. Any ideas?
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