Stripes the dog's weblog

more fun in La Thuile

stripes — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:20:52 +0000

I am having more fun on the snow (and off it) in La Thuile. Have been up and down the mountains several times, now we do a combination of pistes from top to bottom, non-stop; e.g., Fourclaz, Pontreilles, La Nouva or, Chaz Dura, Terres Noires, La Tour (this one is rarely open due to avalanche danger but is a beauty) and Diretta. It takes longer to go up the mountain again…

Nice description of the pistes here (sorry only in Italian)

Also did the new no.37 (Maison Blanche), a nice little black which is usually icy and has a gradient of 72%. Tried all sorts of tricks to make Joanna fall and have a good laugh but it did not work; must try to jump harder in the rucksack she carries me…

And here are some more pictures, including my Italian friend Blaz.

My birthday on the slopes

stripes — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:13:09 +0000

Hi folks,

I could not have wished for a better birthday present: skiing with my two humans, and my girlfriend Emma. We have crossed into France (La Rosiere) from the beautiful Belvedere summit of La Thuile in Italy. The snow on the French side was soft and heavy but we all hurled down the mountain and had fun. On the Italian side, the snow was crisp and at places icy but I was riding on Joanna’s back and fully enjoyed the fast carving turns, especially on pistes 21 and 18. Best of all these two were empty, just us. Bliss. I have noticed many French ski instructors coming to Italy to have a decent espresso. I had my favourite drink, chocolate and more chocolate. On this note, I leave you with some of the pictures we shot.

Snowy woofles,

Finally some snow!

stripes — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:11:49 +0000

Finally I had some fun for a few days in my favourite village, La Thuile, in Italy. Snow, chocolate, good wine. Thank you snow fairies.

And here are some pictures that speak more than any woofles from my part.

More snow and ice!

stripes — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:01:42 +0000

And the winter weather continues! I heard that a little ice age is coming, and it looks like it today. I woke up and there was ice on the inside of the windows… forming beautiful crystals. And my garden is frozen solid, so my trips outside are short and only when necessary. Just freezing fog today, no snow to play in, or snowballs to chase.

Waiting for my humans to light the coal fire. I love watching the tongues of the fire, it feels so good. The warm light glows on my shiny fur and warms my little heart. When are they going to grill a sausage on it for me?

Snowy Sheffield

stripes — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:40:05 +0000

Typical winter day in Yorkshire. Been praying for snow for the last few weeks, I think I might have over done it slightly but my slaves assure me that this is perfectly ok and that even more snow would be welcome. Maybe with luck and assistance from the snow faries we might be able to establish the South Yorkshire glacier. A wall of snow and ice a mile high rushing down from the Pennines to sweep Sheffield off the map. A little doggie can dream after all.

My trip to Antwerp

stripes — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:14:48 +0000

Well, at last, some time to update my weblog. Starting with my short trip to Antwerp a while ago, in June 2008. As you can guess I have been taking the pictures! I travelled with my wise little friend, Eulchen. We had a great time, eating chocolates and drinking supreme Belgian beer.

The photos you can see here: Antwerp 08

Things I have to do

stripes — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:13:45 +0000

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post! Nothing since December 2008. Well it has been a ‘bastard’ of a year with all sorts going wrong. We had to bring Granny over here as she nearly died where she was far away. Things are getting a bit back to normal now, so with J’s help I will add my comments and pictures for the following places I have been:
Antwerp, June 08
Australia and New Zealand, July 08 and July 09
More trips to La Thuile, December 08 and April 09
and a few more adventures I had all over the place.

That’s it for now,

woof woof

More from La Thuile

stripes — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:33:42 +0000

This is how it was when I left La Thuile in late April 2008! Hope to find it like that when I go there soon.

Busy times

stripes — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:14:24 +0000

Have been quite busy since April! Have been to La Thuile again, visited Antwerp and then was away in Australia and New Zealand!! So not much time for my little paws typing on the keyboard… Soon will start updating and add pictures from all the nice places I have visited.

Bye for now

My holiday

stripes — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:14:50 +0000

First we had to cross the Channel. On that particular day the wind was blowing very strongly. When we arrived in Dover, it was chaotic. We took the Norfolk Line to Dunkirk. The crossing normally takes 2 hours but when we arrived at the port of Dunkirk the captain could not dock the ship due to the high winds!! We then went out at sea while waiting for a tug to come and help; this lasted another two hours… Quite an adventure. It was difficult to stand up straight in the howling wind. We went straight to the first hotel we could find, it was too late (near midnight) to continue our trip. The next day was calmer and travelling through the French motorway system very pleasant. It is so much better than the roads in the UK that most of the time are congested. However, on the way back these same motorways were full of nearly mad drivers on their way to Paris. Have never seen so many cars and most of them loaded with skiing gear. It must have been the return of the hordes after a ski holiday. I believe that the French have a ‘snow week’ when people are supposed to go skiing. We proceeded in our journey, drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel: what an amazing construction and in the evening arrived at La Thuile, Italy.

I had a field day in the kitchen, raided it several times and also enjoyed the good wine. But it is best if I let you browse the pictures from the gallery below. Big thanks to our friend Marta, for suggesting the trip to La Thuile. We must go again soon.