Sensing my anxiety, Jamie calmly taught me to ‘snow plough’ and with great trepidation I began my descent. Gradually, after multiple falls and a few tears, I made it down the slope. “Brilliant!” Jamie cheered “let’s go up again!”
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Ski bunny Hayley Richardson discovers that a European winter sports holiday on a budget is really possible…
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Quite honestly, I’d never fancied skiing.
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UCPA was exceptional throughout the trip considering it was produced en masse (as long as you don’t mind drinking coffee out of a bowl). During the week we were served up all the traditional French favourites; coq au vin, beef bourguignon, tartiflette and ‘steak et frites’, with fresh fruit and ice cream for dessert.
The lure of a relaxing summer holiday lying on a beach had always appealed more than a week of strenuous exercise, constant concern that I’d break a limb and all the while feeling colder than I did at home and paying through the nose for the privilege. Despite friends of mine going religiously every year I continued to holiday within my comfort zone – the Mediterranean.
The heavy snow from the night before meant the conditions on the piste were perfect for our first day. Now, I’m going to go a little ‘off-piste’ here and let you into a little secret. This was not my first time on skis. I have in fact lied to you up until now and now I must confess. I cheated.
At the ripe old age of 27, I lost my skiing virginity. My boyfriend talked me into it. “You’d love it!” he cooed (having just booked his annual trip with the lads) “think of the après ski – log fires, cake, mulled wine...” This man clearly knows the way to my heart. I was tempted. A group of school friends were organising a trip and had invited me along. A girl in the group was also a virgin skier. I wouldn’t be alone... What did I have to lose? (Apart from maybe a leg or something).
“I have in fact lied to you up until now and now I must confess. I cheated”
We booked our trip through Action Outdoors – a specialist company which offers allinclusive activity holidays for young people throughout France, in partnership with a group called UCPA (www.ucpa.co.uk). We chose the resort of Tignes as our friend Jenny had done a ski season there and it was the cheapest we could find for our dates (4rd-11th January). For a modest £525 we got our accommodation inclusive of all meals, plus our ski lift pass, equipment hire and a course of ski/snowboard instruction for all levels. A bargain.
the morning certainly wasn’t a highlight. Tired and grumpy, all eleven of us trudged upstairs to our shared ‘dorms’. I don’t know quite what I had expected given the relative low cost of this holiday, but the rooms were much ‘cosier’ than I had anticipated. A room for four people consisted of two bunk beds, a wardrobe and a sink, with barely enough room to swing a Manx cat between them. There was also one shared toilet and separate shower. This really was skiing on a budget. By consolation, the beds were comfortable and we passed out exhausted.
We flew from Liverpool to Geneva on a Saturday evening with Easyjet - a handy flight should you wish to fly to Liverpool from the IOM in the morning and save a precious day off work! At the airport we picked up our transfer to the resort, which we had booked through ‘Ben’s bus’ (www.bensbus. co.uk). It worked out a lot cheaper (and roomier) than the minibus UCPA provide. The transfer itself took a hefty four hours and we arrived in the early hours. Dragging our cases in heavy snow at that time in
Everything seemed a lot better in the morning. I threw open the curtains and the sight of a snow capped mountain silhouetted by a brilliant blue sky literally took my breath away. Suddenly our cramped surroundings seemed insignificant. What’s more, the hearty breakfast of delicious French bread, pastries and corn pops cereal (something I was never allowed as a child as it’s high sugar content apparently used to send me through the roof) perked me up no end. The food generally at
To ease my fear, my boyfriend Jamie took me to an indoor ski slope a few weeks before my trip. “I can teach you the basics,” he gushed, “it’ll be a fun day out!” Possibly we should have read the small print on the website, which states that only official instructors who work at the complex are allowed to teach beginners. As we approached the desk I spotted a sign with a fierce warning that “no one should pass this point if they are unable to S-bend”. As I began to protest that I didn’t even know what an S-bend was, Jamie ushered me towards the changing rooms, smiling sweetly at the suspicious woman behind the desk. In an attempt to avoid the members of staff milling round at the bottom of the slope, Jamie suggested we go straight to the top where it was much quieter. He calmly helped me put on my ski boots and skis, reassuring a passing inquisitive instructor that it had “been a while” since I skied.
After an hour or so, something clicked. I just seemed to get it, and by the end of the day I felt like I was flying! Feeling triumphant we marched past the suspicious woman at the desk and celebrated with a Nando’s chicken wing roulette. (I couldn’t afford champagne) If you’re thinking of going skiing for the first time I’d definitely recommend a trip to an indoor slope first, purely to help your confidence. It means you’ll progress quicker when you’re there. Possibly book a lesson with an instructor though, to save yourself a bit of stress. Anyway, back en piste... Lindsey (my fellow beginner) and I had ski school in the afternoon on day one. Not wanting to waste the morning Jenny decided to take us on some green ‘baby slopes’ so that we could get a feel for it. Nervously we shuffled onto the chair lift (an experience in itself) and made our way up the mountain. “There are some nice easy ones up here” Jenny reassured, detecting growing panic in our eyes as the lift continued to climb. Suddenly, Jenny started to look a bit concerned herself: “It didn’t stop where I thought it would” she said. I could sense the guilt creeping into her face as the lift went higher and higher. Finally it reached its peak – a hefty 2576m above sea level. It was a blue run, but to us beginners it looked steep. REALLY steep. It felt like the indoor slope all over again, except this time I couldn’t see the bottom! Jenny felt terrible but luckily, we all saw the funny side. We slid down most of it on our bottoms whilst Jenny carried our skis as punishment. Once we got down to a more gradual part of the slope I popped my skis back on and managed
to snow plough my way down most of it. As I got the hang of it I started to take in the surroundings. It was stunning. The sun beaming down made the snow glisten and shimmer on the piste. People were whizzing down the mountain having the time of their lives. I was starting to see what all the fuss
Val Claret is a relatively quiet resort with a handful of bars, restaurants and nightclubs, but it had everything we wanted. Down the road at Tignes Le Lac there is an ice-skating rink and a swimming pool with a spa (which we had free access to through UCPA) as well as a brand new sports centre, bowling alley and cinema. There’s a free bus which operates frequently between the two resorts. Tignes isn’t famed as one of the ‘prettiest’
was about. This was amazing. Throughout the week Lindsey and I improved massively. Our instructor Damien was lovely (if somewhat less fluent in English than advertised on the website) and by Wednesday we felt confident enough to skip ski school for a day to go on an adventure with our group. We ended up at the raucous ‘La Folie Douce’, a crazy afternoon party in the middle of the Alps between Tignes and Val D’Isère. The atmosphere was electric; revellers danced on the tables and dancers gyrated on the rooftops surrounded by plumes of purple smoke. After a couple of drinks we made tracks and caught the last lift back up to Toviere and skied back down to Val Claret, our resort. We became regulars at ‘Grizzly’s’, an alpine inspired bar just off the piste, adorned with sheepskins and strange wood carvings! The drinks weren’t cheap (around 5 Euros for a small beer and 7 Euros for a mulled wine), but we loved it there and the friendly staff made us feel very welcome.
Alpine resorts; if you’re after the log cabin chalet experience you’d be better off in neighbouring Val D’Isère or Méribel (but you’ll almost certainly pay more for the privilege). On the Friday we took the cable car up to Le Grand Motte (3653m above sea level). The views were stunning and the ski descent was a challenging red run, but by this point my fear had vanished. Once you get over the worry and start to relax, skiing feels incredible; it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. By the final day I was hooked. We’re already looking to book next year’s trip (though we may splash out on a chalet next time!) My advice to ski virgins out there: take the plunge – you won’t regret it.
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Ski virgin
exuberantly by in all directions. I started to panic, worrying I’d get in their way and that they’d have me thrown off.
I managed to navigate the button lift (rather inelegantly, much to my embarrassment) and upon arrival at the top promptly went ‘a-over-t’. Skis splayed, I managed to drag myself onto my feet and gasped in horror. The slope was huge. “How on earth do you expect me to get down there?!” I exclaimed (colourful words removed). “Don’t worry” Jamie reassured, “we’re going to go across it, not straight down”. I looked around cautiously as competent skiers swished
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