Grand Bec Decennial

 January 28th - Feb 5th

THOMSKI  2023

Another year, another ski week for our intrepid gang.  The trip to Bozel runs into its 13th year in a row, with the last 10 all being based at the Chalet Grand Bec.  This super accommodation remains available only to a select clientele that thankfully still includes Thomski.  So the trip follows a now pretty frictionless flow down the autoroutes through France to to the GLORIOUS ALPS!

Outwards

Depart Sutton 07.30

Arrive Tunnel terminal 09.10

Called 09.45, depart 10.25

Arrive Dijon Best Western Quetigny 18.15

Depart 09.30, Arrive Bozel 15.15

Dijon nights

Le Tire Bouchon - excellent eats out

A trip down Happy Valley - bound to finish up here!

Great weather and snow conditions every day!

Fast grippy hard pack pistes, afterburners on.

SL waiting for everyone to catch up!

Note cloud inversion (left upper)

Up there the air is rarefied!

The Geisha return run is a winner 

(a.k.a Happy Valley)

Eats in as ever at Grand Bec

Sunday Meat Balls (AJ)

Monday Fish Pie (RL)

Tuesday Chicken Bake (MT) (featuring focaccia)

It's a Drive in Wednesday 

Pralognan

AJ Birthday Action Wednesday Feb 1st

At the top of the Gentianes lift

In the heart of the Vanoise

Wednesday at

Pachu 2000 refreshments

Same day

Lunch at Fontanettes

A top spot

Omelette DIY back at the GB

Chaos

Thursday

Atmos

Pherics 

View from Roc Blanchets

This years GO-TO balcony.

Happy Valley return run

MT runs it out

Finishes inevitably at Les Borselieres

Bozel scene

Video - finish of Gentianes runs

Pra Lognan

The Ancoli lift serves a wide area of enjoyable terrain.

Some clips below.

Runs finish at the terrace of Pachu 2000, this time with lunchtime refreshments 

The creature from down below

Eats (continued)

Thursday - stroganoff (RL)

Friday is pizza night! (AT)

Plenty more to come!

Saturday Chilli CC (RL)

Pralognan, Saturday

MT and CJ head round the corner

Leading down into the Gentianes sector

More Gentianes action

Another year's ski tr ip  goes by in a flash

What a week!

Actuals

Monday - all out at La Plagne lunch at Borseliers

Tuesday  - all out at la Plagne lunch at Chalet Des Dolines

Wednesday - all out at Pralognan lunch at Fontanettes

Thursday - AT, MT, CJ out at La Plagne lunch at Roc de Blanchet

Friday - AT, CJ, RL,, AJ, SL out at Pralognan eat at le Pachu

Saturday - AT, MT, CJ out at Pralognan eat at La Pachu

Sunday, rolling at 07.00

Arrive terminal 17.20

Arrive Sutton 19.30 

Curry 20.00

Christmas Festive Frolics

 

December 22nd 2022 

to

 Jan 1st 2023

All set for arrivals

Pete and Vikki travel 22/12 via Newark rendezvous

Fabulous curry special all ready on arrival

Friday M & V to Headlam for pool leisure and pamper session

Pizzas ready to replace all lost calories

Xmas Eve Bowie-opoly

Finished off Xmas day.  Big win for Vikki !  (birthday luck!)

25th December

Happy Birthday Vikki!

Merino Xmas Andy!

Gifts Galore

Merino all over!

Kitchen Crew in action

All set for some serious Christmas Dinner

Followed more seasonal fayre

And of course the Birthday Special!

Might be room for some on Boxing Day

Festive Flamenco......

Live at Briar Walk

Early Boxing Day Dazzle

A bracing walk out in the Tees Valley

Wednesday trip for Lunch up in Whitley Bay

More exchange of assorted goodies!

Except no pictures taken  😕

New Year's day river walk

Banks burst

All set for 2023!

Late Scot

 Friday 4th November

Forecast sunny and mild, caight CB before he booked his appointment with a job, so squeezed in a short session at the ever ready 

Scot Crags Scugdale

Dazzling morning 

Golden walk in

Rock in pristine condition

CB opened up on a Vdiff, AT jumped onto Pet's Corner.

CB declared the crucial friend placement as bomber.

Finally got it right!

Cerebus Crack is only very short but it keeps you busy all the way and worth 4c

CB clipping in, before heading right to Defying Gravity up the harder finish.

AT spent a while trying to figure out a variation leading to the RH Arete on the same buttress.

CB took over and figured it out, turns out to be a hybrid of a 5a and a 4a .

Variation start/finish, take your pick.

Sun gone, wind getting up, called it a draw

Inappropriate advances

 October 30 2022

For some unknown reason it occurred to me that I just needed to have a look again at my electronic ignition settings.  Workshop manual says 2 degrees up to 1000 RPM, rising to 33 degrees at 4000 RPM.

So I looked up in the manual to see where the correct setting for the T3 advance curve is.

First off I lifted the seat to have a peek at the installed setting, here's the picture.

So it looks like the arrow is pointing at #8 (red dot)

Here's the settings chart.

It's blindingly obvious that the correct setting is the curve highlighted by the  green arrow, which corresponds to setting 3 as far as I can tell, or possibly 2.  

However the current setting is at #8!  So the engine has been labouring (?) with the wrong advance curve.

A very wrong one!

So priority job for Spring 2023 will be to correct this and see how the engine runs.  I'm expecting to feel some  difference given that the motor is behind the curve, by as much as 5 degrees in the main operating range (2000 - 4000 RPM).

How did that happen?  I have obviously failed to pay attention to which way the arrow is pointing.  The only consolation is at least the setting is the same at the low RPM setting (2 degrees BTDC).