Val d'Isere Apres Ski Report: 13th December 2012
Ski, Apres, Party, Sleep, Repeat!
For a week early in the season, it hasn’t been looking like it. Heavy snow falls aside, Val has been looking suspiciously like Santa’s workshop courtesy of the Criterium de la Premiere Neige preparations. The media trucks have been moving around town, from the bottom of the Bellevard’s Face over to the OK in la Daille. As we speak, pisteurs and members of the Club des Sports operations team are setting up gates, scraping snow, and placing their blow up sponsorship emblems just so.
Most teams have been here for a couple of days and if you know anything about FIS racing, you may even have been able to spot a couple of competitors on and off the pistes! And where would you find these athlete’s post-training? We’d like to think that they would end up in the same places we do - a pint in hand in one of our favorite après-spots! Perhaps not...:)
As can be expected with all of the Criterium excitement, it has been another amazing week for Val d’Isère’s après-ski lovers. With lifts having to close here and there due to high winds and avalanche risk all week, we have had a fair amount of time on our hands to raise our beers for Mother Nature’s consistent snowfall. And raise our glasses we did!
If you’re out looking for a classy set-up with a clientele to match, such as the French national ski team, the Tsanteleina Hotel bar in the center of town is a great place to start. Though the Génépi should be able to keep you warm on its own, I’m sure the enormous fireplace in the center of the bar can help keep you cozy. The décor, a great mix of a rustic mountain vibe with some really classic details definitely gets you into the Alps vibe we love so much. Want a more exclusive après? You can even rent out the entire bar for a night!
On the other hand, if you’re looking to mingle with some of the hundreds of seasonnaires and vacationers looking to rest their feet and ease their minds, our usual spots have been some pretty good places to go to witness humanity in its most drunken form. While most places have some kind of discount deal going, Le Petit Danois’ pint and shot combo between 16:00 and 19:00 packed the place out this week (order a pint, get a free shot!). It is in these instances that we can really find some of the most generous people on the planet. As I was told by a perplexed party animal yesterday, “there is a fine line between generosity and being drunk; I just don’t know where the line is anymore”. Hmm… I think I do now! In addition to contemplating life with a pint and a shot in your hands, be sure to check out the Danois’ live music for après-ski. It hasn’t started yet, but will soon!
The V-Spot is another place that has been moving and grooving this week and not just in après-ski! Over the past couple of years, many of us have been more than bummed at the fact that the Tufs by the Funival is the only place that serves sushi, and expensive sushi at that. This will no longer be the case starting next week, thanks to Gumby and his unbelievable crew at the V-Spot. Slaving for months, these guys have expanded the V-Spot significantly to outfit an entire sushi kitchen and dining area. This weekend, they’re even letting a lucky few try out everything on their menu as a teaser to their opening. I would be more than willing to be the tester for all of Val d’Isère, just sayin’......
On the party front, this week has been something close to mayhem. With events going on all week, we haven’t been taking our responsibilities as seasonnaires lightly. Reporting for duty at Saloon, we have dressed as pimps and whores and incidentally, it seems that the boys of Val loved getting the chance to become lovely ladies for a night..... or two nights, as many could be found with eyeliner on the slopes the next day!! Taking Doudoune by storm, we have partied until close to the UK’s Hong Kong Ping Pong, potentially spraining an ankle or two from overzealous dance moves. We have risen to the challenge set forth by the amount of awesome bars and clubs in Val d’Isère and we are exhausted.
I guess this just means we’ll just have to sleep it off post après and pre-partying and continue on into next week!
