December summary: Christmas in the Alps

Flotation '25, which dominated our November, now seems an age away. We were blessed with hot sunny weather in Cape Town, but returned to a very wet and windy Cornwall.

It was great to prematurely celebrate my 80th birthday at the conference dinner in Cape Town (posting of 19th November), and a week after my birthday I had a belated birthday treat with family from the north of England, a celebration also of Barbara's 79th birthday.

Christmas was special, with a week in Méribel in the French Alps with Amanda and Jon and families. Méribel lies at the heart of Les Trois Vallées (The Three Valleys- Courcheval, Méribel and Belleville), the largest interconnected ski area in the world. 

The Courcheval Valley from La Saulire which separates the Méribel and Courcheval Valleys

Skiing days are in the past now for Barbara and me, but the rest of the family. from expert (Jon) to beginners,  made full use of one of the best all-round ski resorts in the Alps.

Barbara and I made use of pedestrian lift passes to take gondolas up the mountains, just for the views and to visit summit restaurants, and to walk trails through forests and mountain landscapes.

The mountain scenery is stunning but was enhanced on Christmas Eve by a temperature inversion, which produced dense clouds and a sprinkling of snow in the valleys with clear, warmer air above the ocean of clouds.

Christmas Day Après-ski 

The MEI team, Jon, Amanda, Will, Barry

Now we are all back home and preparing for the New Year, so I take this opportunity of wishing you all the very best for 2026.

#MEIBlog