Cauterets

Those mountains are just there. And since we've lived here, we've talked often about their proximity and accessibility, yet we hadn't actually, really, taken advantage of what they offer. With a 6 Nations induced week off for Iain, we talked about doing a ski trip and the Titos got on board too. Cue hours and hours of looking for a resort that would suit our needs with similarly comfortable accommodation, not too far away and not at a huge price. We settled on Cauterets and booked a self contained apartment in the "Garden & City" a hotel complex with indoor heated pools. It looked decent enough and the reviews were mixed, but we were just pumped to get away. 

William went to school on Monday which allowed Iain and I to grab some last minute stuff from Decathlon and Quiksilver, and get packed. As soon as his day was done, we bundled him in the car and we set off for the mountains. It was actually a pretty easy drive up there, about an hour and twenty minutes and no need for snow chains. We got checked into the apartment which was over two floors with different double rooms and bunks to accommodate us all plus a full kitchen and seating area. To be honest, it was pretty basic but it was clean and served our needs so we were happy enough. The Titos arrived not long after us and we all headed across the road to hire all the necessary skis and boards, and then up to the ski school to book lessons for the following day. It was just all so simple and reasonably priced. Exactly what you want. That first night we decided the easiest thing would be to just have steak and chips at home and get the kids to bed. They were all shattered and we knew the next day was going to be a biggie. 

William was so excited, he was up all night crying, and having "busy legs" so we barely got any sleep. Arrgh. No matter, morning rolled round and it was time to get our stuff together and head up. William's lesson was booked for 12.30 so we didn't want to go up too early as he'd be shattered before he'd even met his instructor. We were on the gondola for 11am which felt good. Not pushing it too hard. When we arrived on the mountain, it was utterly glorious. Bluebird day and hardly a soul on the runs. Ollie and Fish were already out there doing it, with Ollie transferring all his skating and surfing skills to the snow. Libby was a bit more apprehensive and realising that it was a lot more difficult than it looked, so needed her lesson to start so that she could get involved. We spent the morning just taking it in turns to play on the sledge with William while the other one got to do a run. It was weird getting on my board after so long, and my God, I was nervous. The ground was quite icy though so it was difficult to grip, and I was really worried about falling and hurting myself. You'd never have known though; I went straight into my crash-bang-wallop boarding style that I developed in Queenstown years ago. As Fish says though, if you're not falling, you're not pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. But I did have one massive wipe out, landing right on my coccyx. Sair yin. 

William's lesson was amazing. One to one with Claud, an old boy who looked like he'd spent his entire life in the mountains and probably taught over a million kids to ski in the process. Kids are incredible. Within 20mins, William was snow ploughing on his own, and gradually going from higher and higher points on the nursery slope.  Iain and I managed a few runs on our own while William was away with Claud and it was just great. We stopped for lunch and the obligatory chocolate chaud and spent more hours out on the mountain in the afternoon. By about 4pm, we were all starting to feel like we'd had enough so, with a swim in the indoor heated pools on offer, we all headed back to the ranch. 

The pool complex was unexpectedly massive! And such a joy to get back to after a day on the mountains. After our swims, we headed out for dinner and to see what Cauterets had to offer. All things considered, it was a bit disappointing. It might've been a Tuesday night, but there just wasn't that much open. We had tried googling some recommendations but they turned out to be closed too so we ended up settling on a pretty basic brassarie for the usual duck and chips etc. The town, just like our accommodation could be so great, but it just feels like it's lacked any real investment over the past ten or twenty years. I don't know why; the ski field is great. While we were out we also picked up a photo of William. A photographer on the mountain had snapped it, and it's an absolute bobby dazzler. It was home for a few gins and a much needed sit on our jacksies. 

On Wednesday, it was bit of a slower start for us. As neither Iain or I can ski, we cannot teach William how to do it, so keeping him entertained for hours on the mountain can be quite tough. Lots of sledging helps but ultimately, we want him to be sliding around and have fun himself. That will only come with more lessons and hours on the snow. He had another lesson today but Claud admitted he wasn't as enthusiastic. He was simply tired from the day before. While William was learning, Iain and I were also booked in for a refresher boarding lesson and I wish we'd done it the day before. I'm an enthusiastic novice at best so actually having someone correct my technique really worked little wonders in a short space of time. If I learned anything at all from this, it's that having a lesson on the first day of a holiday / season will really help set you up. The weather wasn't quite as good but there was less ice and I became a bit more adventurous in the runs I was completing. There's nothing quite like the feeling of linking those turns together smoothly and feeling completely in control of your board. Old dog and all that. We headed back to the hotel for swims, pizza and much earned gin and tonics.

Ski Dad Level: Expert

The Tito kids were going into school on Thursday so they were away early doors. As ever, our rise, pack and check-out was at a much more leisurely pace! But we did need to get back to Pau for William's appointment with the allergy specialist. (Jess came with me and it was great having her there to translate where necessary). He's given me forms for school and a new script for an epipen. Eeek! But I feel like I'm in the system now so that's good. 

With Iain off the rest of the week and the weather continuing to be dry and settled, we actually had a chance to hang out and do fun stuff like go for walks in the sunshine, and go to the pub on Friday night then have dinner at Brassarie Royale. A rare treat indeed! Here's William singing one of his school nursery rhymes outside Bondi. 

And before we knew it, Jan 2020 was gone!

LM :-)