Ep 93 Ladies World Cup Downhill in Val today.

Good morning Val d’Isère Whoops Warm in town No hat or gloves while dog walking warm…. BBC say it will be cloudy and sunny Sun particularly this morning With light winds And sleet showers…………. Hmmmm Rain ?? around lunchtime ?? In town ? Hope not… Think will opt for the Meteoblue forecast As it Gives us at least 2 hours of sunshine And doesn’t mention Showers… Easterly Gusts of up to 30 kilometres per hour Are possible. Good news is that it is Saturday And skiing on Saturdays Is a treat. So many are Travelling to or from Val The pistes Are definitely Quieter than the Roads. So…. The Ladies World Cup Downhill is on Bellevarde today. Lindsey Vonn was fourth in training on Thursday and 3rd yesterday. Laura Gauché from Tignes was 6th on Thursday. Alice Robinson was down the field But on flying form this season So definitely one to watch. Five French ladies Are on the start line But no brits. It is also the last day of the Mens races in Italy’s Val Gardena Marco Odermatt Won the downhill in the fog on Thursday. His fiftieth World Cup win Equalling Alberto Tomba Putting them joint fourth place In the all-time men’s list Behind Ingemar Stenmark Marcel Hirscher And Hermann Maier… Mikaela Shiffrin Probably yawning Hearing this achievement… Her 105 wins Clearly beats even Stenmark’s 86 Back to the downhill… 2 French Nils Were fourth and fifth Both have surnames beginning with A And live in St Chaffrey Val d ’Isère’s Ken Caillot Came 49th Marco slid to 2nd place In yesterday’s Super g. the French again Just missed the podium Another 4th for Nils Allegre Followed by Matthieu Bailet From NICE In fifth place Britains Roy Steudel Didn’t finish. There are 8 French men racing downhill today Not even Roy from Team GB. We were very sad to hear that a Twenty-four-year-old British skier Died in Les Arcs after falling 300 metres Down a steep couloir… And over rocks. His ski companion Who had watched From the top Was Understandably too scared to move And Had to be rescued By a police helicopter We keep hearing about the Olympics And this week’s Unpleasant queues Today another More unusual Dolomite Tale… Dinosaurs…. Or at least their tracks… Thousands of them High in the mountains On nearly vertical walls When were they put there ? 210 million years ago.. When the Grass guzzling Long necked beasts Were plodding through soft tidal flats which later turned to rock The prints were spotted recently by A nature photographer Following deer and vultures. Don’t rush… You can’t just walk up and take a look… Not an easy place to get to… You will need a drone Nice to think of February’s Olympians walking in the shadows of a different kind of legend an Olympic Jurassic Park. Not sure if A dodgy sat nav Google maps Or Alcohol was to blame…. A car was parked in the middle of a ski slope Surrounded by grooming machines And Early morning skiers. Austrian police Investigated…. Woke up the driver and passenger… The officers were told It had been their dream to sleep on the slopes…. They were breathalysed And Over the limit… This happened in Sölden Just two weeks After they designated an Alcohol-free-zone To tackle the problem Of unruly tourists….. Clearly Still a work in progress… Not sure If we have priced them out Val doesn’t seem to Have those grim Overrun by Loud, drunk British Student weeks Anymore….. We can still suffer during the Scandinavian holidays…. La Plagne has had enough.. This season is the Last chance saloon If tour operators Can’t stop The seventeen thousand students Festive Nighttime noise And damage They will not be allowed back. Worth remembering Noise after ten pm. In a residential building Even here in Val Merits a call to the police… After midnight The gendarmes are involved…. They are not always VERY FRIENDLY. If you NEEEEEED to Dance And scream To Loud music Go to a night club… Emily Rothney Britains 17-year-old snowboard star Is gutted… The reigning European Youth Olympic champion Recently tore her ACL Her season is over Italian Olympic dreams shredded…. Global Go Caroling Today is the day to Sing carols… Derived from a French word Carole A circle dance accompanied by singing… Started as Pagan ritual Then Middle Aged Minstrels Or Minstrels in the Middle Ages Resurgence in Victorian Era A sort of trick or treat groups would go from house to house singing In exchange for food, drink or gifts. Nowadays you don’t need to go out You can Sing on zoom I won’t bother with singing I am going for a Saturday ski Then a Doodle in the snow. See you tomorrow