Ski Club of Manchester AGM, October 2023

Reporter: Andrew Walker (Club Secretary)

CONSTITUTION CHANGES AND THE SURVEY SUMMARY

The AGM took place by way of the now- customary virtual meeting on Zoom. The meeting opened at 7:36 pm.

After the apologies and acceptance of last year’s minutes, Ruth gave her Chair report, in which she first thanked Rick Mayers and Tom Russell, who were both standing down after several years on the Committee, Rick having been Chair for some of that time. She also noted the huge contribution made by Alan Brown during his long tenure as Secretary, and thanked the current members of the Committee for their contribution during the year.

She reviewed some of the changes we had made on the IT front in the past year, most notably the move to digital membership cards and the fact that holiday bookings can be made online, as well as a new collaboration platform for members of the Committee.

She ended by reminding members of two key social events in the next few weeks, being the City Walk and the Christmas dinner, and looking forward to the coming ski season and meeting members old and new.

After the Treasurer’s report, which Phil Jones gave as the Treasurer-elect, in Janet Winstanley’s absence, we moved onto changes in the Constitution. In the first revision of the Constitution since 2017 the Committee had decided to change the auditing process for the accounts, so that instead of having two club members as the auditors we would have a single external and independent auditor. This was partly because of levels of reserves which the club holds. A new subsection was added to the Objectives of the club permitting it, where commensurate with the Club’s objectives and agreed by the Committee, to support charitable trusts, associations or institutions.

The Committee had decided to reflect the reality of many years’ experience to remove the requirement that a person may not “normally” be the Chair for more than two years or the Vice Chair for more than three years. I am not aware that these time limits have never been observed, except perhaps by accident. [And if I may say, on a personal note, there was never a time limit on the tenure of the Secretary’s role.]

We took the opportunity to tidy up the wording and the definitions, for readability and clarity. There had previously been some ambiguity about the definition of Committee and Executive Committee. For your edification, the Exec Committee is the four officers (Chair, VC, Secretary and Treasurer) while the Committee is the Executive Committee plus all other Committee members. The revised Constitution was approved unanimously and is now available on the Club’s website.

The rest of the meeting was mainly the usual stuff of electing the officers and Committee members, after which Jonathan Pollock proposed a vote of thanks to the Committee, which was supported by those present.

Approximately 34 attended. The meeting ended at 8:22 pm (46 minutes).

Immediately afterwards Tosh presented a summary of the 2023 club survey results.

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AGM PRESENTATION BY THE GREEN PIONEERS — A BESPOKE SKI HOLIDAY REVIEW

After a break for refreshments etc, there was a talk, mainly by Jen Bridgeland, about the “Green Pioneers” (the GPs), comprising her, Mandie Spencer, Jackie Haigh and Annette Rimmer, who had forsaken the speed of the plane and the now customary airport chaos for the slower pace of the train for their March ski holiday in Serre Chevalier. The talk was a review of the holiday, and the lessons they had learned about more sustainable skiing holidays and how to get there.

Most of you will have noticed, with some dismay, the impact of global warning on skiing, in particular the shortening ski seasons and the ascending snow line. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and many lower resorts are expecting to close down within a few years.

Right, hands up those of you who look forward to a skiing holiday. Now keep your hands raised those who dread the travelling, the overnight stays at dreary airport hotels, the costs of airport parking or taxis, the waking nightmare of security checks, the delays and the hanging around in airport lounges, the waiting for information which never comes, the searching for non-existent reps, the grim food and drink choices, the long transfer times and the traffic jams in deep sunless valleys before you finally get to the resort and — OMG — all those other people!

With all this in mind, the GPs aimed to put together a bespoke skiing holiday to minimise their environmental impact, and as far as possible enhance the whole travelling experience, turning it into part of the holiday rather than something to be endured.

Jen explained how they chose the mode of travel, the resort and the accommodation.

Given the high carbon footprints of air as well as road travel, this meant going by train. As Jen’s slides showed, the CO₂ cost per km for rail travel, especially Eurostar and the TGV, is a fraction of that for air travel, which has a dual effect, based not only on the CO₂ emitted but the impact of those emissions higher in the atmosphere.

Not surprisingly for any of you who have ever done any detailed research on train travel, there is a wide range of options and costs. The GPs were able to benefit from senior discounts, but still had to choose from the options of buying single tickets or using Interrail, and whether to break the journey overnight in London or Paris, or do the whole thing in one go. As it was, they decided to do the journey in one go, although for their forthcoming trip to Val d’Isere in December they are planning an overnight stop in Paris.

The four of them set off from Manchester and Huddersfield by train on a Friday afternoon, walked from Euston to St Pancras and got the Eurostar to Paris. After an evening meal there, they got the sleeper to Briançon at 9pm and arrived at 9am, from where it was only a short hop to the Grand Aigle Hotel in Villeneuve in the Serre Chevalier valley.

To select the resort they used a number of sources, including the Flocon Vert and the Mountain Riders Association websites. These organisations assess resorts according to their green credentials. As well as a number of Flocon Vert “Laureate” destinations there are others at various stages of accreditation. Crystal Holidays also has its own list of “the best sustainable resorts”, which includes Serre Chevalier.

Jen and the other GP’s dealt with a number of key questions in their presentation:

Q. How long does it take compared to flying?

A. It depends. Some have to travel a long way to the airport, and maybe stay overnight there. Airport chaos generally means arriving at least three hours before the flight. While the rail journey is inevitably longer, it can be much more relaxing, and treated as part of the holiday rather than a necessary evil. Overnight stops or meals in Paris are just part of the experience.

Q. How much does it cost compared to flying?

A. For their December trip they will get a £220 reduction per person for not flying. Jen explained that the cost estimate so far for the train tickets is £98 for the outward journey and a little more for the return journey, making it comparable with the cost of the flight. On the other hand there are no airport parking fees. Pricing is variable and can change with the time of day. Those with more time to spare can probably get the best deals. Booking train tickets can be confusing but one can book a package, or book tickets via a travel agent. This should become much easier as train travel becomes more popular, or you learn from experience. The French Government appears to be encouraging train travel and more trains are planned.

Q. How do I choose the greenest resort?

A. Jen thought they could have chosen a greener resort and would be looking at the Flocon Vert list for future holidays — note that the list includes Tignes and Val d'Isère.

Q. Should the Club be looking at offering train travel to ski resorts?

A. This is something the Committee is looking at, although the logistical issues of herding large parties through the UK and French rail network may be somewhat daunting. It may, however, be possible to allow people to make their own travel arrangements.

Q. Can I get an extra day’s skiing?

A. No reason why not. The GPs arrived at Briançon at 9am on a Saturday morning, at which time you’re probably trying to get some sleep in an airport lounge while wondering how long the delay is going to be.

Q. Wow, that was so interesting and there’s so much information. I’d love to know more. Are the GPs going to put together a DIY guide on building your own green ski holiday?

A. Well, Jen did say in her presentation that they would do this, so watch this space.