After knee surgery, a tough challenge: Savoie

November 11, 2007|Erik Heinrich, Globe Correspondent

VAL D'ISÈRE, France - Watching skiers cut through the icy crust of hard pack on the opposite piste, or trail, ties my stomach in knots. My anxiety is sharpened by the scraping sound of their metal edges rising up from the natural amphitheater surrounding the valley floor. This isn't like me. On the first run of a new season I normally feel like a kid seconds before he gets to open his Christmas presents. But this is anything but business as usual.

I'm in Val d'Isère in the Savoie region of the Alps, the Holy Grail of French skiing thanks to the ultra-high altitude and steep terrain. Mountain peaks average 11,000 feet, and the region is home to a couple of enormous ski domains - Espace Killy and Paradiski, each offering more than 185 miles of runs accessed by a sophisticated network of funicular trains, cable cars, and speedy six-seater chairs. That means lines are nonexistent, and you can ski all day and never negotiate the same terrain twice. Many of these same lifts offer some of the most thrilling off-piste terrain in Europe. For experienced skiers, the Savoie is the ultimate candy store.

That's all good. However it's been 18 months since I had reconstructive surgery on my right knee, and three years since I put skis on. Will I be able to ski like I used to? I slide my Salomon GCs back and forth on a lip of snow, pondering the possible outcomes from atop the Bellevarde Express. Below, the bottom section of the Olympic run spreads out before me like an empty canvas.

I rewind to a conversation I had yesterday with Christophe on the drive from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, a rustic town that serves as a gateway into the Savoie. Christophe, a taxi driver who spends his summers in Corsica, lives according to a simple principle: "Live for life." He is one of hundreds of seasonal workers who descend on Val d'Isère each winter when the population balloons from 4,500 to 20,000.

The visitors, mainly French, British, and Russian, come here for Espace Killy, a ski domain of 138 runs and 90 ski lifts shared by Val d'Isère and its sister village, Tignes. But the two alpine villages are as different from one another as fish to fowl. Val d'Isère is a traditional alpine village built in the old Savoyard style with timber and stone fronts decorating most chalets. The chic factor is high here, with upscale hotels, spas, and restaurants dominating the social scene. Tignes, on the other hand, is a child of the swinging 1960s, dominated by mid-range accommodations that cater to serious snow hounds who want to test their alpine skills against some of the most challenging downhill terrain in the world.