Ski Club of Manchester holidays — how they started

By Pat Ashworth

This is based on my experience since taking up skiing in around 1968/9 after a break since skiing with the Bristol University Ski Club 1962/3)

There were two groups of people who became the foundation of the Club: Altrincham Ice Rink Skaters, and people who attended the SCGB Pre Ski Exercises at the College of Building. Some of us went on weekend minibus trips to Scotland via Ellis Brigham and Small Group Travel. The same group went on holidays abroad. This was the core of the first ‘big’, full coachload holiday organised by Peter and Ursula Whitehead to the Hotel Derby, Sauze D’Oulx in 1974. This is the holiday when Harry and I met, and Jane Fairclough met her previous husband Ken Belfield. Jane and Bill Matthews are probably the only two originals still going on ski holidays.

Thereafter, Harry and I arranged the holidays until Harry decided to give up in 1990 after knee injuries for two successive years. At this point Paul Sharp took over. Meanwhile, Barry and Jonquil had a growing family and Jonquil was tied to school holidays, so they started organising coach trips to self-catering accommodation for families during school holidays. The Scottish weekends changed from minibus to travelling with Red Guide by coach and participating in the NW Ski Federation Races.

Our holidays mainly used Supertravel and Nielsons . Later, fewer of us went on holidays with Powder Byrne, the highlight of which was one in Klosters where we booked guides for the week and people booked ski touring taster sessions.

We often booked two-centre holidays, so that people could book either or both weeks.

Resorts we visited included Avoriaz, La Plagne, Selva, Courchevel, Meribel, Tignes, Val, Argentiere (where we went to different resorts in the Chamonix valley with a minibus/ski guide company, including the Vallee Blanche, Les Gets and Les Contamines etc), Lech, Verbier, Wengen, Zermatt, Klosters, Breckenridge, and two-centre Vail / Steamboat.

In contrast to the massive early booking that happens now, we used the end of season party at our house as a reunion and discussion about the following season.