Chamonix Apres-Ski Report: 20th March 2013

Chamonix's Irish contingent was out in force on Sunday; those who here are on holiday, those who live here, those who have Irish ancestry, those who have been to Ireland on holiday, those who quite like U2... basically anyone who can lay any claim to any Irish connection whatsoever were out wearing massive hats and knocking back the Guinness like it was the secret to eternal life.

The hub of the festivities seemed to be Chamonix Sud where Munster Bar was packed to the rafters; once you managed to squeeze yourself in through the door there was the battle to get to the bar, then you had to find a gap to shout your order through the legs of the people dancing on the bar, then you had to attempt to get at least one mouthful of drink inside of you before it was knocked out of your hand by someone gaily attempting the River Dance. Crazy but fun, the only option was to get involved and channel the inner leprechaun.

Over at South Bar it wasn't much saner, pints of Guinness couldn't be pulled fast enough and the roar of drunken revellers singing their heads off pretty much drowned out whatever Irish music was being played. Downstairs was heaving, Sunday is always a busy night here for the Pop & Skred gig but this was off the scale - New Year's Eve levels of partying going on!

The other big event of the week was the Chamonix Girls' Zone day up at Flegere yesterday; big air bag, kicker competitions, fun, games, prizes and waist-deep powder - what more could a girl ask for? The weather this week has been epic with loads of fresh snow interspersed with patches of blue sky, followed up with more snow, so the timing couldn't have been better. Footage from the day will be shown tonight at Le Vert, followed by dinner and then a massive paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarty! More chances to win some awesome prizes from Nikita, DC and other local sponsors with a fancy dress competition and loads of silly party games, come along and shake your stuff from 7:30pm onwards - give them a call in advance if you want to book a place at the dinner table, 20€ for 3 courses +33 (0) 450 53 13 58.

Also coming up this week we have the return of the fabulously funky El Super Mini Combo Nacional at Les Caves tomorrow night. They are an amazing Cuban salsa band who play an array of instruments and are guaranteed to get you shimmying round the dancefloor.

If you fancy something a bit more old school then the Jekyll will be hosting a Johnny Cash tribute night with the Rusty Bullet Holes this Saturday (best band name I've heard in a while), starting at 9pm, I recommend getting there early and lining the stomach with one of their tasty dishes - top quality pub grub such as burgers, steak pie, curry, ribs, etc...

Anyway, I'm off to see what kind of fancy dress outfit I can fashion out of egg boxes and washing up bottles for tonight's party at Le Vert - see you there!