Le Ski Club de Manchester Trip to Val d'Isère December 2023

Reporter: Ray Palmer

The trip to Val this year was untaken by a select band of 15 members, significantly down on previous years — lots of quality, if not the usual quantity. Eleven of us flew from Manchester and four (Annette, Jackie, Jen and Mandie) did the overland (and under the water) route using trains and buses. The story of trip made by ‘Les Quatre Intrépides’ is interesting and thought provoking and should be told by them… maybe in a future Newsletter.

The ‘flyers’ trip was straightforward apart from a stop at Geneva airport waiting for some delayed passengers flying in via British Airways. We spent the time productively — drinking beer bought by the VIP Ski rep. Meanwhile the land lubbers were already at resort and were skiing!!

The accommodation was at Aspen House (a place we had stayed in 2019), very nicely appointed and close to the to the main lifts. Alison and I were in married quarters with Helen and Brian. Annette, Jackie, Jane, Jen, Mandie and Val were in one of the larger apartments and Steve, Jonathan, Simon, Rob, David, (and David’s moustache) were in the loft. ‘Les couples mariés’ were splendidly fed and entertained when we joined the other larger groups for dinner on a number of evenings. Each apartment had a chalet host and they were all enthusiastic and hardworking. For most of them, it was their first week doing this sort of work and future guests in Aspen House will no doubt benefit from the useful tips passed on to them by members of our team.

Day four (Sunday) saw a noticeable increase in temperature — which led to the cancellation of the men’s Giant Slalom. Snow conditions were fine at higher altitudes but, once again, the visibility was variable. Which brings us on to day five! The more sensible club members took one look at the rain and decided that an extended breakfast and a good book were the best options. The rest of us hit the one or two pistes that were open. We braved high winds (and horizontal ice particles) as we got off the lifts and a complete soaking from the heavy rainfall once we got into the trees. Skiing was abandoned at lunchtime when the last lift closed. Fortunately, the rain abated overnight so we could have a reasonable day of skiing on the last day.

As in previous trips to Val we had the assistance of TDC to help us remember what we had forgotten from last year’s classes. There were three groups and, of course, I can only give first-hand opinions on our group’s instructors. We had one of the younger instructors, Dave, for two mornings and Rich (well known to many of you) for the final three sessions. The instruction was clear and concise and, importantly, consistent across all five sessions. They didn’t talk too much, preferring to give us time to practice the techniques — the feedback from the videoed runs were useful and constructive.

A bunch of people must be thanked. To the committee for doing all the groundwork that make these holidays possible. To Barry for his invaluable research carried out on our behalf in Val d'Isère . To David for making sure everyone ‘is in the right place with the right paperwork at the right time’. To Steve for his coordination and organising work during the weeks holiday (and for leading from the front during some of the worst weather).

Finally, thank you to the great gang who made it to Val this year for making our holiday enjoyable and memorable.

I’m running out of space so no room for the “Mysterious Case of the Missing Goats Cheese”, maybe some other time.