Chagrin Valley Ski Club, Trip Reporter: Lisa Brand, Clun Vice President. Chagrin Valley Ski Club travelers gathered at Hopkins airport in the early morning of Friday January 18th. As we came though security, many of us thanked the TSA workers, who were working without pay due to the government shutdown. Judi welcomed our group then turned over proceedings to Madame Vice President (AKA Lisa: that’s me!) for an important announcement. I announced that it was Eric’s birthday and that he had been hauling around his own chocolate birthday cake all morning, unbeknownst to him. I sneaked it into the food bag we packed for the trip. We sang “Happy Birthday” then we all pigged out on cake.
Despite some delays due to much air traffic , coupled with icy conditions, our trip was otherwise uneventful. After arriving in France we were transported by chartered bus to Hotel Amelie, in the small picturesque village of Brides-les-Bains, nestled at the foot of “des Alpes francaises” (the French Alps). That leg of the trip took a couple of hours so most of us tried to catch up on some sleep.
Upon our arrival at Hotel Amelie, we were treated to many bottles of wine, a variety of delicious cheeses and charcuterie, bread, bruschetta, a vegetables plate, fruit salad, and chocolate mousse. When Judi, who did a great job organizing the trip, arranged for this lunch, she was told that the chef isn’t in midday, so lunch would have to be a very simple offering. It was a feast. Bon Appetit!
There are only about 500 permanent residents in Brides-les-Bains. The village is perched over a narrow river that winds its way through the center of town and is crossed by multiple foot bridges. The source of water comes from high up in the mountains. “Brides” comes from the Gallic word “Briva” which means bridge; “Bains” means baths in French. The area gained notoriety centuries ago for its thermal waters. Apparently, it was considered a real health boon, and a curative. Doctors treating patients with all sorts of ailments prescribed 50-60 glasses of thermal water to drink daily!
Throughout the ages, the town has been visited by European royalty from all across the continent, seeking the latest health fix. During the week, some club members took advantage of the thermal waters and went to Le Grand Spa Thermal, a brand new facility that just opened, to swim, get massages, soak in the jacuzzis, steam up in the aromatic steam baths, and wilt in the saunas. To my knowledge, no one drank the thermal waters straight up. But, to celebrate our last night of the trip, Judi offered up beer made with Brides-les-Bains thermal waters. Sante!
The name, “Les Trois Vallees”, is pretty descriptive. The ski area is spread out across three valleys: Courchevel, Maribel and Val Thorens, with multiple soaring mountain peaks dwarfing the villages scattered here and there. The Val Thorens summit elevation is the highest, with an altitude of 10,594 feet. While skiing, at times, we were above the cloud cover and could see mountain peaks emerging from what seemed like a mysterious foggy underworld. The villages of the valleys are crisscrossed with chair lifts and gondolas.
We learned that the chair lift with clear plastic retractable windshields is called “le bubble” (pronounced “le boo bell” with a lyrical French accent). When the bubble top is down the seats automatically heat up, turning frigid flesh into toasty tushies.
During the week some skiers headed out “to the dark side” looking for challenging black runs and off-piste fun. Happily, each day they all returned, though sometimes the worse for the wear. Some skiers commented that they found their challenge après ski, getting “piste” at the bar. (Awww, all big talkers; everyone stayed sober and if they did imbibe maybe just a wee twitch too much, the worst that happened was that they snored in public.) Some lucky club members found a magic pavilion on the mountain where baguettes were handed out, with a big chocolate bar inside each hunk of bread!
At La Folie Douce (Sweet Madness) Cafe in the Maribel Valley, there was a different show every afternoon: entertainers did acrobatics and danced on the tabletops during lunch; dancing girls in skimpy tulle kicked up their heels; a soulful jazz musician played the saxophone; a singer sang the blues; and a revue of handsome young men performed some fast footwork around the lunch tables to country blues and hip hop tunes.
Back at Hotel Amelie, after the concert, we were served Tartiflette, a traditional dish from the French Alpes de Savoie (The Savoy Alps, the region that encompasses Brides-les-Bains). Ingredients: Charlotte (local) potatoes, bacon lardons (strips of fatty bacon), shallots, garlic, white wine, double cream (heavy whipping cream), Reblochon (regional) cheese, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. The dish was cooked in various ways first then baked in individual casserole dishes and served bubbling hot with a crunchy brown crust. Delicieux!
And then it snowed… making all the skiers very happy.