Whilst first considering the idea of doing a checkpoint for the 3 Valley Rally there were visions of myself, sat in a deck chair, supping away on a cool beverage whist enjoying a healthy flow of banter with my Ass Man (Toni), with the occasional task of ushering through a drunken team with a quick wink and a clue. As you can imagine it was not something I needed ponder over for long, but the reality of checkpointing on Wednesday 25th March 2009 was quite quite different.
Our post was located at the Soucoup, an exclusive restaurant (Ã9 a pint) sited on an exposed ridge linking the slopes of
Courchevel 1850 and La Tania. The fact that this was the 4th and final checkpoint, with an ambitious prediction from Alex of a 2 pm arrival, combined with our inability to make a pint last longer that two hours and a flow of disapproving looks from a rather stiff restaurant manager, all resulted in our removal not only from the warm cozy interior of the restaurant but also the much appreciated shelter of the Soucoup terrace. There is but one little word that I can use to sum up our predicament and that word is COLD and for the record there is but one solution to such a situation and that, my friends, is Chartreuse.
So if you are considering a checkpointing experience for 2010 here are just a couple of words of warning; sometimes it snows in the Alpes, one is always required to attempt a lashed ride home, be prepared to encounter an abundance of very chilly willies, all sorts of sicko banter is a given and you will certainly have one more gem of a
Courchevel memory to add to your seasons collection. See you next year kids!
