J2Ski Holiday 2014

billip1 wrote:Great report Ally; hope next year's trip is as enjoyable as the last two I have been on under your auspices.

Thanks billip1 :)

Here's Piste Paul's photo of Sauze in the dark. It's a much bigger place than Folgarida, where we went last year, and it's got a pretty vibrant night life! A few of our gang were extremely late coming in one night ...

Admin wrote:

Sounds like you were well looked-after by the hotel which is always good to know... although you might have all put on weight by the sounds of it... :lol:

You're quite right Admin, my trousers popped undone when I was ski-ing, after a few days of stuffing myself in the Sauze hotel ;)

Ranchero_1979 wrote: What is the plan for next year?

We have discussed a few ideas but nothing is settled yet and I think one of the others is going to organize it, as I've done it for 3 holidays and it is a lot of work.

Wanderer wrote:
Seriously, well done Ally on another successful trip. As the usual organizer for my family and a few friends, I have some sense of what's involved but given the scale of the operation, the diverse people and travel plans, etc, I know that you will have put in a very considerable effort to make the trip work for everybody :wink:.

Thanks Wanderer :)
Ian organized the airport taxi transfer, which was a big help :)
And when 2 of our group missed their flights to Turin (due to a motorway in the U.K. closing) he sorted them out another taxi transfer to the resort.

Everything mostly turned out fine. The only thing I know I slipped up on is that I didn't specify that the Sauze hotel should take the money from our credit/debit cards over the phone in euros, and some people (those who had cards with free currency conversion) lost about £30 per head because it was taken in pounds.

However, I did learn from my mistake, and when it came to paying for the bus to Orelle I asked one of the group with one of these cards to pay the whole bill and then I collected all the money off everyone in cash in euros and paid him back.

And I also told the manager of the Sauze hotel that it would be a big improvement if his company (which manages lots of hotels) could sort out a secure payment method on the internet. Payment methods are one of the problems with going DIY, and I suppose it's one reason why so many hotels use agencies or tour operators which charge them a lot for this service.

Exactly why I use resort tourist office websites to book accommodation; no fees, no mark-up!

Dids1 wrote:Wow. What a lengthy report and I bet you missed loads out too!

Seems like you take everything in your stride, including terrorist issues in Paris.
Well done Ally.

Thanks Dids :)
Yes - I did miss out quite a lot from my report - like when one of the group couldn't get off the chairlift at the top because his rucksack strap got stuck on it and the lift man had to stop the lift and rush out and help him, and he fell flat onto his back (luckily into powder snow so he was OK).
Neither did I mention that another member of the group got blown off the edge of a 'precipice' at the top in Sestriere and luckily managed to hang onto a fence with his ski stick as he was sliding down the extremely steep slope on his front until one of the others rescued him!
I was standing/sitting next to both these people when this happened and it was rather alarming! :shock:

And as for the events in Paris, I was rather worried before I left, in case the city was in 'lockdown' so I was actually relieved that the trains seemed to be running normally and I wasn't too worried about going on the escalators with loads of soldiers armed with huge rifles

Great to read that you all had a good holiday but it's a shame that the conditions were so poor, but that's just bad luck.
It's funny how bad conditions can really change your view of a resort and I would imagine most skiers have had a trip like this at least once.

What a very full report Ally, I enjoyed reading it as I have been thinking of you all out there with the poor snow at first. What a very resourceful party leader you are arranging the trip to Orelle. Thank goodness the snow arrived in the end albeit a tad late. Although it sounds as though you all had a good time and loved where you were staying. I am sure there will be many more great holidays to come. Well done Ally - glad you are all home safely.