Ski Club of Manchester Val d'Isère Holiday December 2024

Reporter: Stuart Burdass

As a newbie to the Val d’Isere trip I was volunteered to do a brief write up along with selecting some photos.

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!!

We had great snow with the pistes being in excellent condition and the off piste also in great shape. The weather was good with some great sunshine and just one day when visibility was somewhat challenging!!

There were 3 groups

• Brian’s off piste powder hounds (including Alison, Ray, David, Steve and myself)
• Jonathan and his angels (including Jackie, Ruth (new member) and Janet)
• Jen’s ladies that ski and lunch as well as swim and shop!! (including Annette and Lorraine)
• In addition we had Ralph (another new member) who was new to the mountains and as a result booked a ski lesson after a baptism of fire on day 1!!
• The ski instructors (3 hours a day) did a fantastic job of finding the best snow and everyone commented that they had progressed

Key highlights for me:

• The local knowledge of not only the ski instructors but also the other group members who knew the best slopes to ski.
• Fresh powder on the piste on the final day.
• Rosee’s bar for post ski drinks.
• Hibou bar for pre-dinner drinks.
• The nightly dining at the chalet where we had a table of 14.
• Jonathan (aka Charlie) daily selfie of himself and his angels.
• Spending time with people who share the same love of skiing.
• The camaraderie of the group.
• And last but not least one of the more experienced members taking a tumble on the Magic carpet of all places (I said I wouldn’t mention his name but it does start with the letter B !!).

A great week in a great location with great people. What’s not to like.

A cautionery tale as a newbie — if you decide to try and spin a yarn that you are a dolphin trainer you will be quickly found out by this group!!!