LIVE FROM LES ARCS: Les pisteurs

A new site to follow this season is the Facebook Page of the pisteurs des Arcs.

It's quite a good news feed from the resort.  For example:

• The pisteurs will be in attendance at the world record attempt for the largest torchlit descent, which is scheduled for next Wednesday 29th Dec.
• Yesterday's post warns Xmas and New Year skiers of the need to be very careful negotiating the currently very thin snow cover, with a picture from the high (but rocky) slopes of the Grand Col.  More on snow conditions at the official Les Arcs site.

Have a look out for the early morning First Tracks excursions which run most weeks between January and March.  You take a very early lift with the pisteurs, have breakfast with them and then start skiing before everyone else has even started.  Recommended.  You might even get to meet some of their friendly colleagues, namely the 7 avalanche dogs.

Home time: Waiting for his colleagues
to confirm there are no skiers left on the pistes

CHRISTMAS READING

1.  For kids - see this super piece from welove2ski.com, which sets out 10 "snowy ski books" for children.

2.  For adults - see the reading list at the foot of the blog - including Robert Macfarlane's brilliant Mountains of the Mind.  In resort, even if your French isn't brilliant, it's worth picking up Alpes Magazine or Le Dauphiné's Alpes Loisirs just for the pictures...

SKIING SOUNDTRACKS #1

And from an Oxford band, too....

The Foals video is billed as "virtual reality".  Other videos have been shot on location in actual ski resorts.  For more, including Abba (in Les Diablerets), The Police, Wham (in Saas Fee), Tom Jones and the Jacksons (in Leysin) , click here.