Tele-marking time

You don't need much snow to have knee deep powder.

After some promising snow in November, we had virtually nothing in December. In fact, it was the third driest month recorded in the last 150 years, and the level 4 hazard was for fire not avalanche. However, there was enough cold for the resort to make snow and so, as we waited for the season to really begin, we took up our telemark skis and started to practice.

Last April we decided to give tele-marking a go, and spent four days with Nicko of Telemark Tracks (www.telemarktracks.com) over in Val d'Isere. (You can read how we got on in the follow feature in the Financial Times )

When conditions require you to stay on the groomed stuff, this is certainly one way to not get bored with the piste. We've moved from blues to red and (with a bit of fresh snow) to some gentle off piste. More practice required but things are slowly getting better - as are the snow conditions. PK