Maison Jaune Blog

Gorgeous day today in Chamonix…
Crystal clear blue skies – been out taking lots of new photos of the chalet for the website.

Aircraft contrails above the Aiguille du Midi

I don’t often post about stuff that isn’t related to the chalet or our lives here in Chamonix valley… but occasionally I come across something that blows my mind just a little… and I thought I’d share – especially as it concerns one of my passions – paragliding!

The “Infinity” manouver is an acrobatic paragliding trick where the pilot literally loops the glider in the vertical axis…  The wing loops the loop… It is called the Infinity because the pilot can actually keep the glider doing it ad infinitum… or until he hits the ground – whichever happens first! 

It is THE most difficult and dangerous acro trick in paragliding…

So… a couple of guys decided they would have a go on a supped-up tandem!!  Way to go!  Of course – sponsered by Red Bull!  They’ve got wings!

I have finally published my first book, entitled “Skiing without Fear”. 

It is an instruction manual on how to use neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and visualisation techniques to overcome fears surrounding skiing and learning to ski.  At 102 pages, it is quite a small book – but hopefully will be an influential book in the future.   My hope is that as many people that have read “Inner Skiing” read mine!

I often wondered why noone had ever combined NLP and skiing because, to me, they seemed a natural fit as the mental aspects of the sport seem to hold back the most people – rather than the physical technique of how to ski.

… so I finally got around to doing the research – I read over 30 NLP books for this project which combined with my training as a life coach, and all the NLP stuff I’ve learnt since I first heard about NLP back in Australia in 1991!! 

It is available on Amazon.com and amazon.co.uk – simply go here :  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0956512704?ie=UTF8&tag=skichaletsbiz-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0956512704  or search on “skiing without fear”.

The ski season is well and truly over…  We are now back from our two week honeymoon (sailing around the Greek islands – bliss!).. and the season for concentrating on our on-going marketing efforts has begun… Oh, and all the updates/renovations/improvements we’ve been planning over the winter season for the chalet too….

Google has now launched its Caffeine update… which has large implications for web search… and consequently, video is featured much more prominently.  So… to celebrate that, we’ve produced a new short video showing the chalet and the views from the chalet…   It’s kinda cool, chilled, and relaxed…  just like us!!    Basically we want to be found at the top of the video section whenever someone googles, “chalet chamonix”!

You can view our Chamonix chalet video here.

With 10-15 centimetres of fresh snow arriving overnight and this morning at chalet level, the Winter weather is back and the skiing continues here in Chamonix…

The snow is quite heavy as you’d expect with the spring conditions, but it means the pistes of Les Houches receive a well-deserved top-up!  Apparently there is still over 170 cm of snow at 2000m, and over three metres at the top of Grands Montets!!

There is lovely weather forecast for the next couple of days, so the conditions are perfect for some late-season skiing here in Chamonix.

March is here…   This means we can look forward to warm days, lots of sun, and BONUS, there is still plenty of snow and skiing left!!!

Unfortunately, I am still recuperating – though I sneaked a cheeky ski in for the first time since December when I went for a ski last week…   .

I managed just a single blue run – and it took me three days to recover!!  Not good.

Anyway, it gave me the chance to play with some video footage… and put this short video together…  enjoy…

It shows the Kandahar ski run – the Chamonix world championship run!

The footage was filmed by Helen and Tim in early February this year of chalet guests, Ian and David, skiing the Kandahar.    The music is “The Road” by the Levellers.

ps. SPOT THE HELEN COMPETITION….
Can you find her in the video?   She appears twice!  albeit, briefly…

Look what arrived in front of me tonight!!

While Helen has me “mostly” banned from the kitchen -  [note: I was allowed up to create a batch of our milk and honey ice cream - and some delicious rosé and raspberry sorbet ]  - I experience the luxury of having my evening meal delivered to me!   Perfect!   It’s like being a guest in your own home! 

Anyway, this is what arrived for dessert tonight…
Looks like Tim and Helen are doing an excellent job!  The lemon tart was…  well… really tart..  and the sweetness of the red berries in raspberry jus complemented it perfectly!!

Sadly, my current medication modifies the taste of the alcohol –  so I had to give the lemoncello a miss…

Still – bonus points for presentation!  [ed. note: guest portions are larger...]

After much webwork – much done whilst I was convalescing in Annecy hospital – the website and eBook for “Skiing without Fear – for beginners, intermediates, and experts ” were completed, tested and launched today…

Skiing without Fear - for beginners, intermediates and experts -

The book is a collection of NLP and visualisation exercises designed to help fearful skiers to overcome their fears, and more advanced skiers to build their confidence – even to be able to produce their peak performances whenever they wish.

Paperback coming soon….
Whilst the eBook launched today and is available for just $9.97 at the moment, the paperback edition will be available hopefully from the end of the month once we have received our ISBN numbers. 

It will also be available to purchase from the “Skiing without Fear” website, and via Amazon.com

For more details on the book, read extracts, purchase the eBook - or join the Skiing without Fear forum, please visit:

http://www.skiing-without-fear.com

It snowed pretty consistently all day yesterday in Chamonix and through part of the night – so we woke up to approximately 30cm of fresh powder at chalet level and clear skies and brilliant sunshine – though by 11am, there were a few high clouds making it slightly overcast…

Fresh snow on our "benchmark"

View looking towards the Aiguilette des Houches

January was an “interesting” month…  I fell ill and ended up actually being hospitalised in Annecy for over two weeks… (hence no blog posts in January).

 Thankfully, I am now out, and prescribed a nice selection of medications, and am slowly coming back to health…  In a month, I lost about 20kg of weight… Now I am out, Helen has me on restricted duty…  Unfortunately, it looks like I will not be fit enough to ski for quite some time yet!!   This is rather disappointing as the snow is currently amazing…..  Tant pis.  C’est la vie!!

Consequently, it has been a very busy month for Helen, keeping the chalet running smoothly…  So, a big thank you to Tim, Helen’s nephew, who is helping us out mornings and evenings, and Nikki who has been a fantastic help with the cleaning…  So, it has basically been service as normal!   We have been lucky to have had fantastic guests who have been very understanding of the situation too… 

Tim’s chosen speciality is canapés and aperos…  and ”apero-boy” as he has been nicknamed is even planning a book…  Good luck with that, Tim!

Anyhow…   January is now over and February has begun…

This means the days are getting longer and warmer…  and the snow is simply perfect at the moment. 

There should be some great skiing for our guests…..

Sunset on the Mont-Blanc massif - 3rd Feb

Helen and Tim enjoying a glass of Champagne in the hot tub with four-time repeat guests, Paul and Lorraine