Nov. 16, 2025

Ep 73 Who will get today's reindeer ?

Ep 73 Who will get today's reindeer ?
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Ep 73 Who will get today's reindeer ?

1. Weather 16th November 2025.
2. Mikaela Shiffrin has a new
Reindeer.
3. 4 racing for Team GB in Levi.
4. Changes on the Autoroutes.
5. St Foy rumour…. Don’t panic !
6. Accident at the Villa Roger bubble lift site.
7. Lucky Utah base jumper.
8. World COPD day.

Calendar

Special Offers I have Spied....

Mikaela did it ! 102nd World Cup victory, and 9th reindeer.

The men are racing today .... Laura is watching Val's Clément Noël and the four Team GB racers.... Dave Ryding, Laurie Taylor, Billy Major and 20 year old Luca Carrick-Smith who is making is debut on the World Cup stage.

Watch out on the autoroutes, eco friendly toll changes.... the first is 'fine' as you don't take a ticket but still pay as you leave. However some areas you have to pay online, or face a fine...

Don't panic if you are looking forward to your booked trip to St Foy. Although the parent company for the ski lifts and groomers has gone into liquidation, the mayor has assured everyone that the lifts will open as planned on the 12th December. From next June they will work in collaboration with Tignes.

The new Villa Roger bubble is still on schedule, despite an accident where a worker was buried in a trench, before being helicopter to hospital and treated for back injuries.

A base jumper in Utah was unlucky to hit the cliff but lucky that his parachute caught on a rock, suspending him hundreds of feet above the group for a few hours before a helicopter pulled him up and away. Watch part of the rescue here.

World COPD Day.... Chronic obstructive Pulmonary disease.

A miserable, progressive, incurable condition that limits everyday activities, let alone skiing at altitude.

If you have any spare pounds or euros, please donate to

Asthma and Lung UK

Their research may find a cure…

00:11 - Weather 16th November 2025.

00:31 - Mikaela Shiffrin has a new Reindeer.

00:47 - 4 racing for Team GB in Levi.

01:36 - Changes on the Autoroutes.

02:20 - St Foy rumour…. Don’t panic !

02:54 - Accident at the Villa Roger bubble lift site.

03:19 - Lucky Utah base jumper.

03:53 - World COPD day.

Good morning Val d’Isère

Well I didn’t get either

Wet

Or snowed on

When out with doodles

Yesterday.

Weather today is pretty similar

Possible rain

Possible snow

Definite clouds

But with some sunshine…

And a westerly wind

BBC and meteo blue

Seem to both have the same info…..

 

Congratulations !

…. Mikaela Shiffin has a new

Reindeer….


She also

Was top of the podium

Having won

The slalom in Lapland

Her one hundredth and 2nd World Cup victory

 

The men are racing today……

Who do we scream for ???

Val’s Clément Noël ?

Remember his stunning performance

In Levi last season

Winning by 0.8 seconds…

Which is A big margin….

Sadly his spectacular crash

In the Giant Slalom in Val

Finished his season….

 

Or do we back Team GB

Who have four men

Turning at speed……….

Vetran Dave Ryding…..

Billy Major

Laurie Taylor

And 20 year old Luca Carrick-Smith

Who is making his World Cup Debut…..

 

I am pretty sure there are other racers

Lining up

But those are the five

I am going to watch !

 

Dave plans to retire

At the end of this winter.

It would be great to go out

With a clutch of medals….

 

If you are driving on the Autoroutes

Through France

Two things to watch out for

Apart from your speed….

Some areas of the motorways

Don’t have toll tickets to take

But you still have to pay at the exit

 

Other areas

Don’t have either…..

And you have to pay online….

If you don’t

You will be fined…

 

This is all very eco friendly

Apparently it will save

24 tonnes of paper per year…..

And the areas previously used for entry lanes

Will be

Rewilded

Have trees Planted

Or used as carpool parking zones.

 

Just watch  out for the

Areas you have to pay online….

 

Rumours, rumours..

Have you planned a ski holiday in

St Foy ?

Bought your lift ticket ?

Heard THE RUMOUR

And panicked ??

 

Don’t worry

Although the parent company

Of the ski lift and groomers

Has gone into liquidation

St Foy’s mayor

Has reassured everyone…

Their lifts are opening

As planned on the

12th December.

 

Apparently

Even before this current

Issue.

St Foy was going into some sort of partnership

With Tignes

Starting next June

 

The work on the new smart bubble lift

In Villa Roger

Is nearing completion.

 

Unfortunately there was an accident.

Someone working on it

Was helicopter to hospital

With a back injury

After being buried in a trench

 up to his waist

When working

At over two thousand metres

 

Apparently his injuries are not severe

And the accident

Won’t delay the opening of this much needed

lift.

 

A 43-year-old base jumper in Utah

Had a lucky escape

When he crashed into a

Steep cliff

The parachute got stuck on

Pokey out rocks

So he was dangling

Hundreds of feet

Above the ground.

 

Rescuers arrived

2 hours later

Treated his injuries

And did something

Clever

To stop him falling to his death

While

Waiting for the helicopter.

 

The vice commander of the

Search and Rescue Team

Summed it up

I think he got lucky…..

 

I have put a link to the video

In the episode description.

 

WORLD COPD Day

Chronic obstructive pulmonary Disease.

 This is an awful disease

Limits everyday tasks…

 

I don’t care what positive things

 people say about

Vaping……..

Inhaling chemicals

Cannot be good for your lungs

 

So frustrating

That as smoking gradually

Become

More unacceptable

It is replaced

By

So many young people

Filling their lungs

With

WHAT ?

 

I hope it doesn’t lead to long-term

Irreversible

And progressive

Lung disease…

 

Over the years I have watched

Several skier friends

Gradually

Being more and more

Restricted

By their lack of puff….

 

Before having

To stop

Coming

To Val at all.

As Altitude doesn’t help…

 

One carpenter continued to smoke

Heavily

Insisting that

Sawdust had caused

His pulmonary disease.

 

Even if tobacco wasn’t the

Original culprit

It wasn’t helping…

 

Shame as he loved his skiing….

 

I am lucky

I have never smoked

But the few times I have

Struggled to breathe

Gave me a tiny insight into

How awful

COPD must be.

 

If you have any spare pounds or euros

Please donate to

Asthma and Lung UK

Their research

May find a cure…

 

Until recently this was called

the

British Lung Foundation

 

As an aside….

One of the founders

Professor Malcolm Green

used to ski in Val…

Maybe he still does ?

 

His daughter is married

To our deputy PM

David Lammy…….

 

Remember M. Lammy’s
Alpine dispute

With the taxi driver ?

 

Am off to fill my lungs

With fresh

Cool

Mountain air.

 

Will be back tomorrow.