Reflecting on the ride
I pursue life very much in the present, but I’ve never had so much time to think about the future or reflect on the past. The ride may have ended abruptly, for reasons far beyond all of our control, but that doesn’t dilute the good times that we had beforehand. Despite everything, I’m optimistic for the future, and certainly not about to forget about the 3 months of snowboarding, skiing, tasty food, awesome guests, great staff, epic courses, big apres’, and general fun times we all shared in the 2019/20 winter season in Meribel, France.ce.
The pre-season build up
I had been planning the winter season in Meribel since April 2019; and during the course of the summer we had built a new online booking system, new ski and snowboard courses had been developed in a new partnership with Marmalade Ski School and Cab 9 Snowboarding school, all operations, suppliers, logistics were dialled, photos and marketing content updated, and on the top of the list was the new TTR Meribel Mountain Lodge.
I spent the summer in Meribel, then after a stint in the Philippines, Sri Lanka and the UK I returned to Meribel on November 15th, knowing the new lodge needed a few touches to give it the TTR factor. Luckily I had Johnny the Lodge Manager helping out, and during the pre-season build we made some great additions to the building.
We had transformed the new Lodge, having converted an empty downstairs room into a top notch media studio with a HD projector and screen, surround sound system, and comfy sofas and bean bags. It would be the perfect chill out room, and classroom to deliver our courses.
The Lodge Dining Room had transformed; we’d built a custom TTR bar and serving areas for dinner, and extended the oak table so we could deliver our usual social lodge vibes.
With all bedrooms being en suite and having everything you need from wifi to bedside sockets, we were confident it was going to be a comfortable living space for our guests. That’s not to mention the large south facing terrace and outdoor hot tub, plus the sauna room.
The new staff arrived on November 28th. In a 1 week flash we had gone through staff training, sampled lots of tasty food, cleaned, built a lot of flatpacks…and most importantly got to know each other as colleagues and had a laugh amongst the hard work. We had an experienced team, and together we were ready to smash the season ahead.
December the 7th, the Meribel lifts grinded to a start and we opened our doors to the very first guests of the season. The TTR Meribel team managed a first morning shred, therefore stoke levels were at an all time high as we returned from the slopes to welcome our first guests of the season – The Beginner Snowboard Camp in partnership with Jono Stevens and Cab 9 Snowboarding. This was the true trial run, but the perfect chance for the team to shine and ease into the season.
The ease in time didn’t last long, as 4 days later we were welcoming the annual Directors Summit. For myself and staff alike, there’s nothing quite like the pressure of a Directors visit…alongside 15 influential snow, surf, and industry professionals just to crank up the heat.
With a full house of 19 guests, Jimmy the Lodge Chef pulled out his special card for the first big dinner – 3 Sri Lankan curries, with rice and homemade chapatis that Oscar the Lodge Assistant had been smashing out at an alarming rate. With Johnny the Lodge Manager and Jen our Lodge and Chalet assistant on the bar and floor delivering a fun and warm atmosphere…the season was off to a great start!
December snow conditions were rad, with lots of early season snowfall. I recall many powder days as we blasted through Christmas and into a new decade. The festive period is always an important time, with guests investing in us at such an important time of year. Georgie and Andy delivered the most spectacular of feasts in Chalet L’Arclusaz for Crimbo, and with 40 guests spread across 3 Chalets for the New Year week, the champagne was flowing as we greeted 2020.
The New Year
New Years Eve is a memorable day for me in 2019, which I spent on a mega backcountry split board tour with Eddie – the carpenter who built the Lodge bar.
Our Meribel Ski and Snowboard courses take center stage in January, and will be returning strongly in 2021 (the dates will be live by April 22nd). Between the 3 Week Performance Course in partnership with Marmalade Ski School, and two Cab 9 Snowboarding courses – the SB Performance Course at the Lodge and the Freeride Course in Chalet L’Arclusaz…we had a lot of exciting things going on.
January brought endless bluebirds, and even though it may not have been the powder some of us hoped for…piste conditions were exceptionally good. This proved perfect for on piste technical development and variable terrain for the skiers, whilst the snowboarders got jibby and worked a lot on presses, high performance carving and even some nice eurocarves from Will as pictured.
A stand out moment for me this January was joining Jono Stevens and the Freeride Course crew on a mission beyond the 3 Valleys. This location will remain unknown, I’m here to share our experiences but not to give away all of our secrets. Having rented snow shoes, tri-telescopic poles and arranged enough vehicles to transport the crew, we hit the road and left Meribel to uncharted TTR territory.
We purchased one ski pass, but this trip was all about earning our turns with good old fashion leg power. We started our journey at the base of the mountain range that connects to La Grande Casse, the tallest mountain range in the Vanoise National Park – France’s oldest national park created in 1963. Lead by Jono Stevens, we hiked through the backcountry alone in search of fresh lines. As the photos may suggest, there was no bottomless powder to be found, but it didn’t matter as it was all about the adventure…it was the closest we could come to a Jeremy Jones esque experience of hiking lines in search of the best snow. It resulted in some awesome images.
Following this 3 hour round tour, we returned to our closest connection to civilization in order to catch one last sunset lift before a much needed visit to a local restaurant for a lunch to celebrate the day. Meribel sunsets don’t quite come close to what we experienced that evening, and I can only connect it to imagery I’ve seen from Norway, namely Frode Sandbech’s photo of his brother Stale Sandech that was shot in Fonna, Norway back in 2015. Credit to the not forgotten TransWorldSNOWboarding for this image.
No doubt my images don’t come close to this one…mainly due to the lack of an X Games size kicker and no pro riders (sorry Jono). But who cares, we’re all dreamers so don’t kill that vibe. Here’s my take on it.
That brings us to February, and the half term school weeks where resorts at their busiest. We welcomed families and groups of friends from far and wide into the Mountain Lodge, Chalet L’Arclusaz and Chalet Leopold. Thank you for joining us, and we hope to welcome you back again. The first family with young kids joined us at the Lodge…which was a slightly different atmosphere to the 19 lads we had stay in the following week. The family brought such a refreshing new vibe to the building, and it was nice to see how the media room became a games room for the kids.
Sliding into March, the snow conditions were exceptionally good…too good for me to take my camera out it seems. By this stage the COVID-19 crisis was growing in Italy, but the first two weeks of March felt like business as usual here in Meribel. A testament to this would be the 19 guests from Australia who joined us on March 7th for 14 nights at the Mountain Lodge…it was one of the biggest bookings of the season. These guys were the other side of the world, and I felt fortunate they were such easy going fun loving Aussies, who embraced the upcoming crisis in the most rational of manners.
Only a month ago
As I head into Week 5 of Lockdown in Meribel, France, the start of lockdown seems a very long time ago. It feels good to reflect on the season we’ve had, and I appreciate all the positive experiences myself and the Ticket to Ride team in Meribel shared with all of our guests, thank you, and thanks to all staff. I truly hope we can return to such good times soon, but for now, the structure for life as we all know it has changed drastically. We must get through these very testing times so we can return to the people and passions we love as soon as possible. Stay safe and stay at home…until the next ride…