The Echo Week 21 by The Val Echo

ISSUE 1421 | APR 13, 2019

THE

ECHO

FREE WEEKLY GUIDE TO VAL Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ISERE

M A G A Z I N E

SPROG SEASON: THE FINALE

END OF SEASON EVENTS

WOMEN ON WHEELS

COVER ART By Kate Thornton Interview: Page 10

PROUDLY PRESENTED BY THE FOLIE DOUCE ART PROJECT Each week, the front cover of The Echo is going to be a different artwork produced by mostly local artists, but also several from further afield. This project is being very generously supported by La Folie Douce, whose contribution is allowing the artists to be paid ahead of time for their work, as both Folie and The Echo firmly believe in paying people for their skills.

If you’re interested in drawing/painting/ collaging/ creating something in whatever medium takes your fancy, please get in touch by emailing contact@valecho.co.uk and we can discuss. Equally, if you’re interested in writing for the magazine or have ideas for a feature, drop us a line. At the end of the season, the plan is to

We want to encourage a community of creators and give people a space to use their talents, even if whilst out here, many are taking a break from “regular life”. Prints of the artwork are available to purchase on The Echo website, www. valecho.co.uk/shop, with profits going to the artists.

hold an exhibition of all The Echo covers from the winter, and again Folie Douce is supporting this endeavour, as it fits with their creative vision. We can’t wait to see what the artists come up with each week and look forward to talking to them about their work and life in or out of the mountains.

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Echo Publications CCK Intergalactic Ltd

www.valecho.co.uk contact@valecho.co.uk Please recycle the magazine once you have read it. Or, better still, hand it on to someone else. Contributors: Sam Box, Ben Pryor, Caitlin Kennedy, Abi Yates & Al Nasmyth

06 RESORT GUIDE The down-low on everything from the best restaurants to the numbers to call in an emergency

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTIST

32 SPROG SEASON: THE FINALE Tales from the Nursery Slopesupdates from Abi and Al as they take their baby on a ski season.

38 EVENT GUIDE What’s on this week: - Town events - Bar nights - Sporting competitions

41 END OF SEASON What’s going down before it all shuts down.

42 WOMEN ON WHEELS Ahead of the Tour de France passing through Val d’Isère at the end of July, we spoke to the women cycling the Tour a day ahead of the men to make a stand for women’s cycling.

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We chat to Kate Thornton, the designer of this week’s cover art. The Echo’s cover is generously sponsored by La Folie Douce

16 OUT OF THE BUBBLE A satirical spin on the week’s events from further afield than the Espace Killy

MONOSKI MADNESS The round up of Wednesday’s shenanigans.

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SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTIST Artist: Kate Thornton

How did you create this cover? I bought a vintage postcard of Val d’Isère for the main image and scanned it in. I then used a process in photoshop which is similar to the physical process I would go through to produce one of my original paper cut pieces.

10 about 10 years ago with a load of old maps and postcards that belonged to my Grandad. The bird map and postcard thing started from there. Birds feature in a lot of your work, do you have a favourite? A favourite bird, it’s impossible to choose one. I love the arrival of Swifts and Swallows every spring, I am in awe of Peregrine Falcons and Alpine Choughs are really cool! What tips would you give to someone trying to make a living from their art? Be distinctive. Be confident in your abilities and learn to talk about your work positively as you are the best person to sell it. Persevere, say yes to opportunities but also have the conviction to say no to those that don’t feel right. Prepare to be poor for a while...

What would you like to do more of in your work? Do you know how old this picture of Play, experiment and make more handmade Solaise is? prints. I really enjoy lino-printing but I’m self I’m not sure of the exact date but the taught, it’d be great to go on a course to postmark on the learn more about the reverse of the process. WEDNESDAY APRIL 3RD postcard is 1963. Have you had your Do you have a work published or connection with used anywhere? the mountains? I designed a cover I did a bit of for The Pshychologist snowboarding in my magazine a few years late teens/twenties ago and possibly a and visited a few few other things, the places in the Alps. I specifics escape me. had a special trip to My main business is E TH FF Val D’Isère in 1997 in greetings cards and LOCATED O S LIFT, SE EU M M TO with my brother! I ELWEISS prints, I also do a lot of BETWEEN EDTE S IS P X remember Dick’s private commissions of & CREU K Tea Bar and was original artwork. BBQ, SOFT DREIN IC P E T there a place called ND RAFFLE TICK A Where can we buy W Cafe Face?! A R D E L F F A R E MEGA PRIZ DANOIS FROM 10PM your beautiful cards? AT LE PETIT How did you arrive Go to my website for a at your style? full list of UK retailers, I’ve always worked I also have a few bits in a minimal graphic via the shop link www. way. I started katethorntondesign. making simple com silhouette collages ALL FUNDS RAISED GO TO THE CHARITY PROTECT OUR WINTERS

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PLANKS PHOTO COMPETITION

Each week the winner of the Planks Photo Competition wins themselves a Planks beanie from the flagship store in town. Prize must be collected within a week of winning. This weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winner: Harvey Woods Enter at www.valecho.co.uk/competitions

OUT OF THE BUBBLE

By Ben Pryor France’s favourite gerontophile Emmanuel Macarena, desperate to throw around some political capital as misdirection before EU elections eviscerate his party, insisted on curtailing Britain’s Article 50 extension request from twelve months to six. The deadline is now Halloween, the night of the living dead, an almost poetic summation of Theresa gonebyMay’s premiership. Watching her alternately court the Jeremy, the EU and the ERG without any willingness to amend her Chequered Brexit, like Goldilocks and the three bears but trying to find the bowl of sick that tastes just right, has been more painful to

watch than her dance moves. Unwilling 16 to stick by ‘no deal is better than a/her bad deal’, her party must now be thinking ‘no leader is better than a bad leader’. MPs continue to frustrate a process with which a majority don’t agree. The public may not be able to pick a customs union from a line-up of free trade zones, but they can smell the lack of good faith a mile off from the ‘Remain by another name’ Brexits condescendingly being peddled by various factions within Parliament. There’s only one man who can sort out the mess in the House of Commons: Guy Fawkes. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has finally been arrested after Ecuador withdrew his asylum. The sexual assault charges from Sweden can be reinstated and the US probably still wants a word; after Pamela Anderson’s ‘comfort’ visits even the gender reassignment surgery defence won’t work.

The Donald continues to wreak havoc without Wikileaks’s help in his bid to build the Great Wall of Mexico, with the US Secret Service director and homeland security chief the latest resignations, as judges continue to rule against him. Meanwhile, a severe storm is hitting the Midwest, threatening blizzards, high winds, thunderstorms and a risk of wildfires; winter is coming. Even including the Donald, the US remains five plagues behind Egypt’s record; six if you count Benjamin Netanyahu. Dogged by corruption charges, he was re-elected on a platform of continuing to expand Jewish settlements. These are illegal under international law but apparently not under Airbnb T&Cs, who reversed their decision to remove rental listings in the occupied West Bank: ’charming apartment, fifteen minute armoured car ride from the Dead

Sea with unfriendly neighbours; full English breakfast not included’. A study suggests men with beards may have smaller testicles than those who struggle to grow facial hair; explains how Shoreditch dwellers get into their skinny jeans. Kim Kardashian has announced that she intends to become a lawyer, like her father; she’s already got more than enough African-American sports stars off to continue the family legacy. And finally, thank you for reading. If you’ve used this column as your sole source of news I apologise. You haven’t missed much and chasing big turns in the Espace Killy was definitely the best use of your time. As someone once said, if you want to get a taste for powder you have to start by eating some! Until next season, stay classy Val d’Isère.

THE MONOSKI WO CHAMPIONSH The 2019 Monoski World Championships took place on Wednesday amidst a sea of neon. As chronicled by certain photos, in exchange for several hours of sunshine, gravity decided to bugger off for a while. The day was topped off by a spectacular party on the piste courtesy of Norman Jay MBE- what a legend! Thank you to everyone that helped make the whole day a success, especially our partners and sponsors, Dick’s Tea Bar, Snowberry, without whom there would have been no monoskis, Avancher Hotel, Snowdrone, Duret Skis, Murray and the YSE Cookery team, Hotel Altitude, Planks, The Blue Note and last but not least, The Vie Val d’Is.

We don’t have gossip this week, as you all behaved too darn well (hmmm), but we thought you might enjoy some of the scathing remarks from the worldwide Monoski community. It may come as a surprise to some but 1. there is a monoski community 2. they are very passionate about monoskiing being brought into the 21st century. After posting the event in the facebook group “Monoski”, here are some of the responses (translated from French): “Why is this called the Monoski World Championships, this is an amateur competition?” “Monoskiing in a tutu is not a good representation of the sport. Aren’t you bored of pretending it’s still the 80s???” “Come to the Derby de la Meije, and see how a rea; monoskiing competition is done And on the day of the event: “Here comes the championship... of CLOWNS”. OOooooooo, the burn!

ORLD HIPS

A massive thank you and well done to everyone that competed, especially the two kids from out of town. Watch out in a few years folks, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be the ones to watch. And of course huge congratulations to our winners this year, Sophia Hamilton ELy and Ross Marshall, who flew through the finish line ahead of the pack, to take home top podium position in their respective competitions. Congrats also to Sam Toomey for bagging Spirit of The Monoski.

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OFF PISTE SNOW REPORT Brought to you by Henry’s Avalanche Talk www.henrysavalanchetalk.com

Great skiing still to be had! But you have to explore to find it. Weather forecasts are difficult enough in the mountains, but in Springtime things are even more unpredictable. In this, our last snow report this season, we’re expecting to see snow, rain, sunshine, cloud, and everything in between, between now and the start of May. Off-Piste Snow & Weather Report 11 19 April We recommend getting out off-piste even when conditions don’t look promising. In the last few days we’ve had some of the best skiing of the season, with fresh snowfall really freshening things up. Some lucky areas near the French/Italian border, benefited from a ‘Retour d’Est’, and have been enjoying some fantastic cold powder snow. Henry was clearly having a great time in Tignes a few days ago (see photo above). The best place to enjoy good off-piste conditions just after a snowfall in April/May is on high north facing slopes, but don’t forget to stay safe by applying our HAT risk reduction methods. There are still a weak layers of angular-grained ‘sugar snow’ up there under the fresher snow. As we move towards the end of the season and into early May, follow our advice and tips on skiing smooth spring snow. Spring

snow is fantastic, but there is a knack to finding it, how to ski it and what not to do – see our blog of 21 March.

Of course, it’s important to emphasise that while skiing for fun, there are also a few things we really need to look out for to be safe at this time Photo Credit: Chris Souillac of year: • Watch out for slides on sunny slopes, especially just after snowfall. Big avalanches can come down after snowfall even within an hour or so of being in the sun. Avalanche activity following a snowstorm this week reminded us of the Combe du Géant tragedy last year, where a father and daughter were killed by an avalanche while skiing next to a closed piste on a sunny day following a large snowfall. • Things can start coming down really quickly after a snowfall when slopes start warming up in the hot sun. • Same thing for rain. Once it starts raining on top of new snow, that can quickly start off some big avalanches (within as little time as 45 minutes to an hour of the rain). • Another point to look out for is when we get nights with little or no refreeze (when temperatures don’t get below freezing point). Especially the first time of the season when temperatures don’t go down below freezing at fairly high altitudes (2600 m or so), it can become really dangerous and avalanche-prone: –– If night-time temperatures don’t get below freezing at the bottom part of the slope you’re intending to ski, that means that a) the slope may never really have become stable & that b) you could break through the snow when skiing and twist

your knee badly. Be vigilant. –– Be particularly cautious (we suggest thinking about abandoning plans to ski, climb..) when it didn’t refreeze in the mid- section to the top of the slope you’re thinking of going on, especially when this happens for the first time of the season. –– If it didn’t refreeze even at the top, just don’t go!

Off-piste weather forecast for 6th April to 13th April SATURDAY 13 APRIL More or less sunny, a little cool in the afternoon especially in the mountains. The cloudy banks in the morning are clearing. The afternoon becomes more cloudy, by clouds overflowing Jura and Haute Savoie and hanging the summits; they evolve in Cumulus and give some showers especially at the end of the day and the beginning of night. At the end of the night, other clouds overflow from Piedmont on the SE of French/Italian border areas, with low rainfall. Snowflakes can drop to 900 m at the beginning of the night; Above 1500 m, we expect less than 10 cm, or very locally 15 cm on French/ Italian border areas. Wind at 2000 m (mainly in the west): NE to NW during the day 10-20 km / h, North then NE at night 10-30 km / h. Wind at 4000 m: NW then West at day 20-30 then 30-40 km / h, West at SW then SE then at night 20 then 40-60 km / h. SUNDAY 14 and MONDAY 15

The cold air is gradually fading away in front of a small rush of high pressure in the west of the area. The wind at altitude weakens and turns gradually to the NW. Sunday, some showers still overflow from Italy in the morning, the thunderstorms widen in the afternoon, a little less cool. Monday, more widely sunny, softer. Isotherm 0 ° C rising to 2500 m. TUESDAY 16 and WEDNESDAY 17 The anticyclonic thrust weakens temporarily and lets a cloudy disturbance come through. The wind runs from the WSW. Tuesday, slightly cloudy, cloudy periods. Wednesday, little sun, scattered precipitation. Isotherm 0 ° C in small decrease then in low rise. THURSDAY, 18 and FRIDAY 19 A small Atlantic cold depression gradually spreads over the country. The current of SW becomes temporarily moderate, with at least Lombarde Thursday. Clouds become numerous with precipitation. The 0 ° C isotherm drops to at least 2100 m, and the snow a little lower. FRIDAY 12 and SATURDAY 13 The warming continues in altitude, in a weak current of WSW which brings us clouds and temporary rains, with a little sun. Temperatures warmer in the afternoon. The snow can fall temporarily below 1400 m. Tip of the week Enjoy the rest of the season, everyone. We will be back with these reports from the start of December 2019 for the next season. Follow our tips on skiing smooth spring snow, but also be aware for potential dangers, especially those connected with warmer temperatures at this time of year.

Elysées wearing ‘gilets jaunes’ in protest. Macron’s comment, ‘You cannot be pro-environment on Monday and when Tuesday comes be against rising fuel prices’ is the kind of irrefutable logic which goes down like a fish milkshake with opponents, but should be deployed against those decrying Amazon and Google for tax evasion who wouldn’t forego a free internet search for the cheapest online deal in a month of Sundays. Indonesia has launched a ‘heresy app’ to report anyone practicing ‘unorthodox interpretations’ of its recognised religions; well, pass my lover a bacon sandwich. A teenager matched with his sister on Tinder; yes, that does mean they both swiped right and yes they do live in the US. PETA has demanded the village of Wool, derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘welle’ meaning a water spring, change its name to Vegan Wool be-

cause it ‘promotes cruelty’; same could be said of their abuse of the English language. US Coast Guard reported a giant turtle, enmeshed in a rope holding 800Kg of cocaine worth £41m; bet it was Donatello. A former Miss Moscow, 25, has married Malaysia’s King Muhammad V, 49, after converting to Islam and taking the name Rihana; better hope that heresy app doesn’t get rolled out across the region. And finally, Poundland’s Christmas advert has come under fire for mocking Elton John’s advert for John Lewis, depicting one elf orally relieving another sat on top of his piano; wonder if he was singing ‘Can you Feel the Love Tonight’. Until next week, I’m off to drink from a woolly spring.

THANK YOU FOR THE SEA SON!

TDCski a re still running in full force for the nex t few weeks.

SPROG SEASON: THE FINALE Updates from Abi and Al as they take their baby on a ski season. Al: One of the questions I get asked a lot after telling people we have a baby is: “when are you going to get him out on a board?”. At this point I picture my son in one of his more common poses, lying on his back struggling to move anywhere. The only way he’ll be on a board this season is if he’s duct taped to one and I’m told that’s not great parenting (and I don’t have any tape). Next season then? Well to work out how his development is getting along we’ve got 6 other 2018 Tignes babies to compare him to. Inevitably for Abi, comparison has turned into competition. Currently he’s pretty mid table and only being kept from sliding down the rankings by the babies that were born after him. His current skills are sitting, shaking his head (possibly in disappointment) and blurting out a handful of vowel sounds and consonants. Not dissimilar to my appearance on Countdown. Crawling seems to be the main benchmark, at the moment an activity that Angus struggles at due to the size of his head (when he stretches his arms in the air his hands can’t touch the top of it!), but which other babies seem to take to very easily. Perhaps I can squeeze him into one of my snowboard boots, strap it in and go one footed from the front? That should be enough to at least push for a European place. One thing we are definitely pleased he has learnt, is being happy when Mum and Dad aren’t around. We decided it was about time we rekindled the spark that brought the little bundle of joy into this world and that Abi and I would go on a Love Ski. Of

course the first time we booked the nanny it was high winds, low cloud and generally unappealing conditions, but at the second time of asking only 4 months after we arrived, we finally got to ride together! We had a fun four hour session in the sunshine, spoilt only by the occasional argument, worrying if we are bad parents, and checking our phones to see if we’d missed a call from the nanny telling us our child was spawn of the devil and needed to be collected straight away. Looks like we’ll have to content ourselves with that 4 hour session this season. As regular readers (that’s you mum) might remember, I had an unfortunate and completely unavoidable (cough, cough) accident back when the wee man was only 4 weeks old, breaking my collar bone taking me out of the nappy firing line. Well it seems karma has come full circle and in an effort to balance the cosmic arse wiping

33 balance, Abi has gone and broken

god he’s slightly retarded on the crawling development!). Pushing a pram to the her wrist snowboarding. I’m hoping right (left is fine but it limits your route), his pooping routine doesn’t become more bumping a pram up steps, bumping a pram regular or I may be cleaning dirty bottoms down steps (I can just about manage a low mid-lesson in between Palafour laps. Still, curb without dumping him into oncoming nothing I haven’t seen some unfortunate traffic). Water based activities. I actually ESF instructors have to deal with. have gotten out of the evening bath though Abi: I don’t know what Al is talking about, I this is a bit disappointing for everyone, am not competitive at all (it’s true my sisters as it means I have to make tea and pour chopping skills aside, Al is definitely the still refuse to play board games with me superior chef and I would happily live at Christmas but it’s not my fault they suck on a diet of baked potatoes left to my at them!). Of course, Al loves to try and infuriate me by swanning in after an alleged own devices. The weekly fun trip to the swimming pool is also out but hopefully this “hard day at the office” (playing about in will mean he will have forgotten the luxury the snow) and when Angus decides to nail of the heated pool when we return to the the trick, we’d been in training all week to do, he’ll declare this new skill a result of the chest hair producing temperatures of the Scottish pools. “Nasmyth Teaching Technique”. Despite the printing error, I am not a Nasmyth. The broken appendage, wasn’t quite Angus is, but I would like to point out enough to stop me considering a retro that this is not due to me giving up my principles. I came up with the genius, long fancy dress mountain pub crawl like the good ol’ days for my birthday. I was going term solution to the surname challenge; if to throw caution to the wind, Al got the it’s a girl it gets mum’s name, if it’s a boy it day (and more importantly, the morning gets dad’s. Sadly, mother nature is not as after) booked off work. Sadly however, strong a feminist as me and dished up a Jesus decided to resurrect himself at an boy! inconvenient date, so Easter holidays meant child care was unavailable. Undeterred Yes it’s true, I broke my wrist and I did smugly get out of changing nappies for two we decided, we’d downgrade and base ourselves in the Marmot pub at the bottom whole days. Not quite the 6 weeks that of Palafour and have a fun day exchanging Al signed himself off for but apparently, runs and propping up the bar with Angus, he has baguette to put on the table and much as we’d aspired to at the beginning Angus’ bowel movements are not aligned of the season. Somehow the wee man got to his work schedule. Possibly should a whiff of the caution I’d discarded into reconsider the prune porridge diet we the wind and decided to get ill. After a have him on. Other baby related tasks night of none of us sleeping, he was still that are proving challenging with a wrist in a bad way on the morning in question in plaster: Breastfeeding (plaster is not a and despite the shots of French Calpol, he comfy pillow plus I keep clouting him over was not feeling the love. Having spoken the head with it when I try to move him). to a selection of baby owners, this is not Peeling / chopping pears, avocado, sweet unusual so I should probably cancel my potato and other middle-class brunch birthday for the next 18 years. At least I’ll items (he can get startlingly angry at the staff). Picking him up / putting him into his be able to wear my current attire as it’ll be appropriately vintage by then! cot, pram, high chair, play mat area (thank

14TH

13TH

Victors - Seasonaire Saturdays. Tacos & Tequila.

Le Hibou - Pancakes: 1 for €4.50 or 3 for €12

Cocorico - Après Ski Live Music: Freak Boutique

Bananas - Disco/Funk/House Night w B2B DJs Rob & Oscar

Le Lodge - DJ K2 11:30pm-1:30am Petit Danois - DJ Jack Igglesden 10pm Arctic - Seasonaire Wknd Breakfast: Superfood Quinoa & Oat Porridge Pot plus a Latté for 8€

Cocorico - Après Ski Live Music: Hobo Chic Blue Note - Cheap Cocktails. 22h-23.30h Petit Danois - DJ PSD 10pm Next Bar- DJ Azrel + guest (techno)

Doudoune- Vintage Fever by Kelian Marques

Moris - The Last Toss the Boss of the Season

Dick’s Tea Bar- Industry Night Hosted by Megan (Glitterbox and House)

Doudoune- Lagom Groovy by Harry Wanne Dick’s Tea Bar - Dirty Sunday hosted by Marshall (RnB and Hip Hop)

17TH Leo’s Invitational - 40 outstanding riders take to

La Folie Douce - Boat

La Folie Douce - Val Oscars and BBQ

Arctic - Midweek Refue latté for 10€, swap the c

Cocorico- Winter Closing. Live: Bloc off the Wall. DJ Set Phil Garner

Hibou - Live Music with and DJ from 10pm

Le Hibou - Wings Wednesday! Only 50c a wing

Petit Danois - DJ Jack

the skies and the mountains for a display like no other. Manchet Valley - Live Music - Food & Drink

Petit Danois - DJ PSD 10pm Next Bar- Leo’s Invitational After Party. A La

Bonheur, I Woks Sound + more 10€ entry 10pm-4am

Moris - Closing Party w

Doudoune - Ladies Ni

Moris - Live Music: Freak Boutique 23.00 Doudoune - Kelian Take Off by Kelian Marques Bananas - Closing Party | Drink the Bar Dry Fancy

Dick’s Tea Bar - Reside

Dress Party 6pm til Late. B2B DJs and cheap shots

Dick’s Tea Bar - After Dinner Club with Pocket Size Dave and Sophia Landgren on Violin

COCORICO - 2-4pm Happy Hour, Live Music every day from BLUE NOTE - Happy Hour with Hot Gin and Nibbles from 3 to 6pm FALL LINE - Happy Hour 3-5pm. BBQs in the sunshine PETIT DANOIS - Happy Hour 2 for 1 on Beers and Drinks 4-5pm & 9-10pm. BANANAS - Seasonaire Menu: 3 Courses and a beer/wine/soft drink for €20 Happy Hours 18.30-19.30 and 22.30 SALOON - 3-6pm Happy Hour 2 for 1 on beer wine and more. ADVENTURE & DISCOVERY FILM FESTIVAL - Competition films shown all week

15TH

39 La Folie Douce - Discopolis

Arctic - Juice Pump - Do 30 Push Ups and get 50% off Juice or Coffee

16TH Arctic - Tag Us Tuesday: Share your Arctic experience in a post/story and get a free juice shot.

Cocorico- Après Ski Live Music: Les Lunettes

Cocorico - Après Ski Live Music: Wingmen

Step Up - Charity Freestyle event in a crater accessed by the Tommeuses lift with raffle at Petit Danois afterwards

Victors - Funky Tuesdays with DJ Joblime

Vie Val d’Is - Weekly Language Exchange. Free French lesson for VVD card holders at 8pm Petit Danois - Live Music with Mullit and the Machine 5.30pm, DJ Fred 10pm Dick’s Tea Bar - Residents Megan and Marshall (Deep House)

Petit Danois - DJ Jack Igglesden 10pm Moris - Live Music: Les Lunettes 23.00 Doudoune- Homemade Techno by Phil Garner, K2, Matt Davies Dick’s Tea Bar - Techno Tuesday w Residents Megan and Marshall

Doudoune - Crazy Monday by Kevin Delmix

18TH Party

el: Sandwich/Salad plus a coffee for juice for 2€

h Sophia on the violin Igglesden 10pm

with Bubble & Crisp

19TH Petit Danois - Live Music with Karen and Andreas 6pm, DJ Jack Igglesden 10pm

Victors -Closing Party with great deals all day Doudoune- Clubbing Night by Kevin Delmix

Dicks Tea Bar - After Dinner Club w Pocket Size Dave accompanied by Sophia Landgren on Violin.

ight by Kevin Delmix

ents Megan and Marshall

UNDERGROUND - Après Ski Tapas from 5pm LE PETIT CUISINE - Daily 12 - 3pm - Seasonaire Meal Deal VICTORS - Cocktail Hour 9-11pm LE LODGE - Happy Hour 4:30-7:30pm €4 large beer TDC A few places in the TDC Devils kids/teenage groups. 15th - 19th April Spring Ski Camps (Adults) - For Blue run, Red run and Black Run skiers 22nd April - 26th April. Ski Touring Introduction courses 22nd April SALOON - 3-6pm Happy Hour 2 for 1 on beer wine and more.

(weather permitting) with Mullit & The Machine playing outside from 4pm. There will be special offers and deals on drinks and food. Also on the 22nd, Saloon are having a retro themed closing party, meaning you can With the end of season nigh, here is a don your Monoski attire once more. roundup of the most notable end of season • On the 23rd is the Bangkok Blackout events: party at The Fall Line which involves fun in • Step Up is now on the 15th of April in the dark, UV paint and live DJs. the Tommeuse bowl. Kicker Jam, BBQ + DJ • Hibou are having their end of season mash up all for charity. BBQ on the 25th with Jawbone Two on the • On the 17th of April it is the Folie terrace from 3pm and then Queens of the Douce Val D’Isere Oscars. It is also the snow stage inside from 6pm. closing party for both Cocorico and • On the 26th April is the 17th annual Bananas. The latter are offering €15 trays of Val d’Isère Golf Open with Le Petit Danois. shots and back to back DJs all night. Everyone welcome - handicap not needed. • On the 19th is the Bramble Ski Clean 80€ including bus transport & green fees. Up Day. Meet at snow front Arctic Juice Cafe • The Spring Folie Festival/Closing Party at 11am for a coffee on Bramble before is on the 27th/28th featuring a freestyle doing your bit to clean up the litter about show and a huge WTF Wednesday. town. There will be 2 groups: one for walkers • Wednesday 1st May is Danois’ closing and one for ploggers (jogging and picking party. The last of all the closing parties will up litter). feature plenty of special offers. DJ Jack • On the 22nd of April, Le Petit Danois Igglesden and DJ PSD b2b from 10pm. are hosting their end of season BBQ

END OF SEASON EVENTS

WOMEN ON WHEELS

stage cycling races. This would increase the visibility of women’s cycling and promote gender equality in the sport.

Do you train in the mountains to Back in 2015, a acclimatise to the altitude? team of French And what does training women decided involve, specifically for the to cycle the Tour de France? Tour de France There’s no group training. a day ahead Each cyclist prepares for the of the men to event on her own. Some of the demonstrate women live near the Alps or Les why they should Vosges, which is a benefit for the be included mountain stages. Others train in in the Tour. the mountains during holidays or They called at the weekend. themselves Most of the women train for the Donnons Des Photo credit: Marie Istil and Mickael Gagne. racing season, which starts in Elles Au Vélo March. Targeted preparation begins in the (roughly, “give it to the girls on bikes”). winter, specifically with power, strength and We spoke to this year’s recently chosen velocity training. As July gets closer, the ride team. duration increases in preparation for the How did Donnons Des Elles Au Vélo J-1 long cycle days of each stage of the Tour de begin? France. Most cycling clubs in France and throughout For all of us, the ‘Donnons des elles au the world are organized around men’s vélo J-1’ project involves a high level of cycling. In France, women’s cycling commitment, whether for physical training represents just 10% of cycling run under or running the project, such as liaising with rules (Fédération Française Cyclisme). sponsors, communications and logistics. Because of this ‘Donnons des Elles au vélo’ was born in 2014: a cycling Club completely Which was your favourite stage of the dedicated to women’s cycling. Claire Floret 2018 Tour de France? and Mathieu Istil are the Club’s founders. In 2018, my favourite stage was AlbertvilleLa Rosière. As I live in Albertville, this stage The Club’s board is 100% female and each was very special and I enjoyed sharing member is a cyclist. These women are the experience with my family, friends tackling topics of great concern to them and colleagues. At the finish La Rosière and working hard to change stereotypes organized a big party with music for all within the sport. The Club acts through our supporters waiting for us. The interest four different axes: participating in French in, and support of this project was really regional and national competitions and moving; I’m delighted that the French cyclosportives; developing youth cycling; appear ready to welcome a female, multioffering recreational cycling opportunities stage cycling race. and developing women’s cycling through marketing and promotion. What is the main obstacle to allowing women to take part in the Tour de In order to raise greater awareness of France? women’s cycling, the best-known cycle Things are changing slowly but there event is the ‘Tour de France’. So in 2015 Claire had the idea of the project ‘Donnons is some progress. The media, the race organizers and UCI (Union Cycliste des elles au vélo J-1’: Our Club’s female Internationale) share a common will to cyclists complete each stage one day develop women’s cycling. Last year, the UCI ahead of the professional men’s peloton; announced a women’s ‘Paris Roubaix’ race the aim being to to revive female, multiin 2020. That’s a good start; we really hope

43 that a women’s Tour will happen soon.

How can we encourage women to take up cycling? Serious incentive is needed at all levels - for leisure cyclists as well as professional women cyclists. At the professional end of the sport, the most important thing is to achieve gender equality for women and men - same salary, same prize money, same recognition and same vocational training structure, in order to help professional women cyclists commit to the sport and raise their performance. At a lower level, the goals are similar – encouraging women to break down the barriers, to challenge themselves and discover that they too can cycle. Organizing more female cycling events is a good way to promote the sport and encourage more women to ride. Have you had any support or interest from international female pro cyclists? French pro-cyclist Audrey Cordon-Ragot was our mentor for the 2018 ‘Donnons des elles au vélo J-1’ project. She is a great campaigner for female pro-cyclist’s rights and gender equality in her sport. Since 2015, the FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope team has supported the project and they ride with us on whichever stage they can make. What was your reaction to the race in Belgium during which women cyclists caught up with men’s peloton and were then held up while the men moved away? When I heard about this race, where the women cyclists were stopped because they caught up with the men’s race, I was surprised. I found it really funny and thought it was a great moment for women’s cycling. It demonstrated to all skeptics who think that female cyclists are weaker than male, that women are just as capable as men. When the Donnons Des Elles Au Vélo J-1 ride the Tour de France stages, do the women compete or is it ‘friendly’? The Donnons Des Elles Au Vélo J-1 project is not competitive. The object is to ride all the Tour stages together, broadcasting a global message that promotes women’s cycling. This doesn’t stop us from having some fun. For example, we enjoy doing the intermediate sprints or final sprints and when

we do this, Claire is unbeatable…but we all keep trying. What’s the best thing about being part of the Donnons Des Elles Au Vélo J-1 team? At the beginning of July 2018, we did not know each other very well; we only met a few times before the big departure. But by the end of the 3 weeks, we were a cycling ‘family’. The experience is so intense; everyone shares their feelings: happiness, pride, some tears and challenges, but as a team you work together to achieve the common goal. And finally, what are your long-term goals? The first is obviously to see a female, multistage cycling race once again in France – like the Giro Rosso in Italy. In the long term, the aim is to have more affiliated female cyclists competing in club cycling (and increase the overall percentage of professional women in the sport), and finally that female professional cyclists gain the same recognition as professional male cyclists. It will mean that our message has been heard.

NOTES FROM THE MAKERS

The Photographer

It really has been a great deal of fun photographing you all in the bars this season. Staff and seasonaires alike have made my late nights about the town something to really look forward to each week. It has been amazing to meet and befriend so many people spanning such a The Editor range of ages, companies, nationalities and My biggest joy this season has been seeing stages of alcoholism. what our cover artists are going to come out with. As many people have remarked, I have been shooting in clubs and bars every one has looked so different and the for years and have never enjoyed it results have been amazing. I’m so grateful nearly as much as I have over the last five to each one of you for all the time and months. There were highs (large groups energy you put into making our Echo cheering my arrival) and there were lows covers look incredible and unique. (scandi week) but overall, my interest in Of course none of this could have been done without the support of La Folie Douce- so thank you! Each week, if our artist was local, we did our interview at Folie and it was very enlightening getting to ask these people questions that don’t come up in everyday conversation. I guess it was a bit of a revelation that beyond the booze and bad behaviour, there’s a bunch of talented, really interesting people here and it has been a real pleasure to get to know you guys in greater depth. Moral of the story: Don’t just save the deep meaningful chats for when plastered; ask your friends overly personal questions stone cold sober too. If nothing else, you’ll have ammo on them if you fall out. It might not have been the snowiest season, but it’s been a great one nonetheless. Over and out, Caitlin

photographing people that are drunker than me has been reinvigorated.

Ok this is about to get really sentimental so buckle up If you ever told me to F off when I so kindly asked you for a photo, you are forgiven. To those who told me that my articles were funny when they definitely weren’t keep doing gods work. Finally, to all the people who ask for the camera saying ‘I bet no-one ever takes a photo of you’ thanks. Your heart was in the right place. That being said I now have a folder with 400 photos of myself looking terrified that I gave my camera to this drunkard but they are somewhat amusing. Thank you for making my season such a laugh, I very much hope to see you all next time! - Sam Box xx

SPORT Shown at Le Petit Danois and Moris Pub:

FOOTBALL

Saturday 6th April Spurs v Huddersfield 1.30pm Man Utd v West Ham 6.30pm Sunday 7th April Crystal Palace v Man City, 3.05pm Liverpool v Chelsea 5.30pm Monday 8th April Watford v Arsenal 9pm Tuesday 9th April Barcelona v Man Utd 9pm Wednesday 10th April FC Porto v Liverpool 9pm Man City v Spurs 9pm

Thursday 11th April Arsenal v Napoli 9pm Slavia Prague v Chelsea 9pm

End of season Sport at Le Petit Danois: Saturday 20th April Man City v Spurs 1.30pm, Newcastle v Southampton 6.30pm, Sunday 21st April Everton v Man Utd 2.30pm, Cardiff v Liverpool 5pm, Monday 22nd April Chelsea v Burnley 9pm, Tuesday 23rd April Spurs v Brighton 9pm, Wednesday 24th April Man Utd v Man City 9pm, Friday 26th April Liverpool v Huddersfield 9pm, Saturday 27th April Brighton v Newcastle 6.30pm, Sunday 28th April Man Utd v Chelsea 5.30pm, Monday 29th April Leicester v Arsenal 9pm, Tuesday 30th April Champions League 9pm TBC

Sport also shown at The Fall Line, Blue Note and Le Hibou.

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

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James monoskiing

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