Le Bois Sauvage

La Ruinette is an enclave of disused barns from a previous farming era that have since been renovated into basic but well appointed apartments in the village of Le Chable which lies a few thousand feet and one gondola ride below Verbier proper.

 It's a short walk to the lift in the morning and we have rented a heated ski locker there which saves us a bit of a trek through a construction zone (they're building a new train station and hotel complex) and also provides for the unique experience of slipping into dry warm boots at the start of the day.
We met ski sensei  Emma at the base of the Medran lift system and she toured us around a few of the different ski areas whilst dishing out a new recipe for the off piste skiing we came here to learn. Pretty much right out of the chute we found ourselves hiking up off the beaten track to gain access to some untracked snow and, unexpectedly a helicopter landing site.

We're still not sure if this was a hell-ski drop off or pick up point but Emma couldn't resist snapping this photo for her website. We were rewarded for our efforts with some pretty sweet turns during which I think we quite roundly convinced her that we were going to be some work!

She spent the rest of the day trying to sort us out in the bumps and soft snow until about 430 at which point  she dismissed us with instructions to equip ourselves with "avalanche packs " for the next few days.  We were well and truly knackered by that point and just barely managed to get home, wash up and make dinner before crashing to bed at about 930. 

A grand day!

Day two proved to be an epic ski adventure that started with some avalanche - rescue instruction to comply with the guiding regulations in Switzerland. Here, piste (or "runs" back home) are all groomed  and are graded Blue, Red and Black in order of difficulty. They are all skiable, well marked and patrolled. Anything else (and they are pretty darn strict about this, especially in Schweiss, which we've come to learn offers up an interesting mixture of intense libertarianism and don't - even - think - of - doing - it - any - other - way-ism) is considered "off - piste" and you are required to be equipped with a transceiver, probe and shovel if you venture off the beaten track. And did I mention that once you do head off into the unknown you're expected to be entirely self sufficient and any required rescue will involve Monsieur Swiss Mountain Rescue reaching deep into your pockets in an emptying manner. Also, instructors can find themselves in enormous trouble if they take under - equipped clients off piste.
So avalanche packs we donned and set off to locate Emma's, secretly buried with her transceiver. This was to be our right of passage beyond the piste.

Janet zeroing in on the buried beacon
very cool gear
and it comes in a very tidy Mammut Pack
but I have enough gear already
or so I'm told...

And then we headed west; all the way west to the farthest corner of the Four Valley's Ski Area  and the village of Les Masses 70km away. This was  a long trek culminating in a series of 5 "drag lifts" (T- bars and pomas) and a  hike up to Greppon Blanc before dropping into a beautiful deserted bowl that joined an "itinerary" into Heremence. In addition to the piste described above, these itineraries are designated routes that showcase some of the iconic territory in Verbier and, although technically off - piste, are patrolled and considered in bounds. This one took about an hour to ski and not just because we were flopping around in the powder like a couple of epileptic fish.

Janet suiting up to drop into the bowl

Our lunch destination was Le Bois Sauvage. And here in the Alps, lunch is a big deal. In fact the first thing Emma asked us on day one was where we'd like to have lunch and each day she calls ahead to reserve a table.

https://leboissauvage.ch/en/welcome/

This gorgeous little place was recently opened by an English couple that have worked in some of the fancy kitchens in Verbier, including Richard Branson's Lodge. It's a bit off the beaten tack but they will pre-arrange to collect skiers from the end of the itinerary and drive them to much needed sustenance.

Which was just what Emma had ordered up for us and could not have come at a better time as were famished. 

It was really good.

And they had Guiness on tap - which made a certain goggle-tanned somebody quite happy

After lunch we retraced our steps eastward and just made it to the final pass in time to ski down to the last bubble (gondola) to Verbier at 5PM.

This was the longest ski day we have ever had and we were both in bed by 9 PM completely done in.

But in a good way.

Wednesday March 7

Today we were on our own and decided to give ourselves a little break by just skiing the AM.

We headed up to Bruson which is directly accessible by bubble from Le Chable and you'd think we might have noticed that we were the only ones in line at the opening bell. But we didn't and it was only when we were committed to the seemingly interminable summit chair that we realized  we were completely socked in with cloud and were in for a challenging run down. Yesterday we were given a few tips on how to ski in the fog but it all sounded like it was coming from Yoda. "Feel the snow with your feet". "Just trust your technique and keep your knees supple so that you can react to the unexpected". "You can do this with your eyes closed". 

She said.

And now we were just going to have to do it because there was no other way down.

So we did. And because the piste were groomed really well and there were no other skiers to worry about (they were all warm and toasty in the cafes sipping on coffee waiting for the clouds to lift), we managed to find our way down with every intention of bailing to join the coffee crowd, just in time to see things brighten up and so back up we went and it turned into a lovely morning alone on the slopes.

And it ended with delicious crepes at the cafe in the old centre of Le Chable

The rest of the day will be spent catching up on some important activities like reading, napping, laundry, shopping and then burgers and beer in the local pub.

And in case you were wondering, Roblin, my new favourite weather channel (it's Norwegian!) is predicting snow overnight and sunny skies tomorrow so skiing should be good. 

http://www.elementconcept.com/verbier-weather-webcams/verbier-weather-forecast/

And who knows where Emma will be taking us. Maybe we'll be skiing to Italy or something like that...