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Chamonix Apres Ski Report:8th April 2008

featured in Nightlife reviews Author Helen McGrory, Chamonix Reporter Updated

Oops, bit late with my update this week – sorry. Seem to have been in a whirl of late season visitors recently which, of course, has meant many fun nights out around town!

My waistline has taken a bit of a beating over the last 10 days or so with several meals out in some of my favourite restaurants around town. We did the obligatory cheese fest at La Caleche where fondue aux cepes and raclette were our choices of the evening. Actually at this meal, I witnessed the most astonishing feat of cheese eating that I have EVER seen. The raclette in La Caleche arrives as a very generous half round of cheese (about 3kg??) served with the usual boiled potatoes and charcuterie plate. Shared between three, two of my friends bowed out after a mere couple of servings of cheese each, leaving a considerable portion of raclette left. Not James though, this is a man who has climbed Everest after all and so is up for a challenge! He proceeded to put away somewhere in the region of 12-15 servings of cheese, meat & potatoes – indeed getting more inventive towards the end by putting slices of charcuterie on top of the cheese so that it was grilled all together. The “Mr Creosote” sketch from Monty Python was formulating in our minds but not so much as a gurgle emanated from his stomach. Instead of “wafer thin mints” we opted to round off our meal with one or two snifters of Chartreuse each, which to our horror ended up putting another third onto our total bill (€8 each!!). Eek! I must admit, we'd been a bit assumptive in thinking that we might get one round on the house as is often the case with digestifs, and especially bearing in mind James' phenomenal capacity for cheese consumption that even seemed to impress the waiter! Alas no, it was not to be. Never mind, it's still a great place for some excellent local cuisine and the night we were there, the entertainment was provided by a yodelling woman and an accordionist for a truly authentic, if slightly random experience.

Later in the week, our hardened arteries were calling out for a lighter dining option and we found ourselves heading to Satsuki - Chamonix's wonderful sushi restaurant. I used to be a bit hesitant about eating sushi and seafood so far from the ocean, but the food at Satsuki is so deliciously fresh and tasty that it has become a regular favourite. As well as an array of freshly prepared sushi and sashimi, the menu also includes an extensive variety of hot dishes if the thought of eating raw fish turns your stomach. Tempura, miso soup, teriyaki beef, ginger pork, salmon, squid yum, yum, yum - the list goes on. They have an excellent value set menu at lunch time for €10 and mix-and-match menu options for around €20 depending on what you fancy. Owned by a Japanese family, the service is excellent here and the staff are absolutely lovely. Definitely have saki (hot or cold) or a Kirrin beer to wash down your meal, and check out the toilets – an experience themselves!

I've still been making the most of the incredible conditions on the hill at the moment and as an extra bonus, the last two weekends have also had freestyle competitions in the park on Grands Montets. Last weekend it was the Chamonix Snow Bowl - 12 teams of pro-riders, each comprising two boarders and 2 skiers, pulling off some incredible tricks to the delight of the spectators. I would not have liked to have been a judge!

From the super cool to the not so cool – next weekend (12th & 13th) Chamonix will be celebrating 30 years of monoskiing! For the 3rd year, the French Monoski Association will be coming to Cham to celebrate this much maligned mountain discipline. On Saturday, gear tests will be available free of charge in Argentiere and in the evening, the Rencard will be showing films made by Didier Lafond during the mono glory days of the 80's. On Sunday, the event will move to Brevent/Flegere in the morning and then to the Midi for an outing accompanied by mountain guides. Get those one pieces out and be proud!

Entertainment wise, there is still no shortage of mischief to get yourself into of an evening, and tonight is likely to be one of the messiest nights of the week. The legendary 3-legged bar crawl is due to kick off in a matter of hours to cause mayhem in the streets of Chamonix. This event never fails to draw a big following but whether they all make it to Le Vert for the after party, well that's a different story. Anyway, the concept is easy; firmly attach your leg to someone else's any which way you can, wear fancy dress (maybe your monoski one-piece, but make sure you don't spoil it for the weekend), drink something lethal in each of the bars en route, no detaching your legs even when trips to the toilet are required, try not to fall/get run over, first team to Le Vert wins! Easy! You must register at the MBC (from 4pm) to enter – presumably so the organisers can account for any missing persons along the way….and then the route continues from there. Tomorrow is likely to be a quiet day on the hill.

Without a doubt, the biggest event this week is one that brings tears to my eyes just to think about – the FINAL après ski of the season at Chambre 9. But I shouldn't be too sad, this is going to be one heck of a party that not only features the Balboas, the regular après act; we will also be treated to guest appearances from their Val Thorens equivalents (by way of explanation, Chambre 9 is run by Langley Travel, a Swedish tour operator, who also have bars in VT). At last years party, the après carried on until well after 10pm with 4 or 5 bands playing throughout and an evening of great humoured carnage. I think the only people glad to see the end of après ski are the bar staff themselves who will no doubt go and cause havoc in someone else's bar afterwards. Friday 11th April from 5pm – DON'T MISS IT!

If the prospect of the season drawing to a close is making you depressed, then perhaps you should cheer yourself up at the Jekyll who are embracing the season wind down in good style by hosting an official “Panic Shag Week”. Anyone who has ever done a season is no doubt familiar with this end of winter concept, as the realisation dawns that your steady flow of lovin' might be about to dry up for the summer (unless of course, you're heading to the beach!) The Jekyll is celebrating with a whole weeks worth of Panic Shag drinks specials this week, a Traffic Light party tonight and culminating in Leg-Over Thursday, where you can “Drink til you pull”. So if you've not yet had your fill for the season – the Jekyll might be your last chance!

Enjoy!



For a full list of this week's events, check out our What's On Calendar.
You can also find full Bar and Restaurant listings in the Dining and Going Out section of the site.