J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Mekka

Mountain clinics are private clinics. They use private ambulances most of the time. Helicopter trips are not covered which unfortunately could always be necessary. Not every town has a private clinic and a state run facility. Distances from the mountain can be very large.

Either you think there's a chance you may be injured and you have no idea whether you will need rushing to a hospital before a state ambulance can arrive. Or you know that you won't be injured and won't need the insurance.

The question is can you afford the £25,000 for repatriation if necessary? That's before any other costs.

I enjoy a wine with my lunch and maybe a gluhwein later in the afternoon. This is not what makes me a bad person! :lol:

As my policy only excludes alcohol abuse I'm pretty happy with it. There are a myriad of policies out there. If you want to be insured and have a beverage or 2 before 5pm I'm pretty certain it's possible.

If you don't want to pay the insurance that's your call. But you'll never convince me it's a wise move.

If mine had used the word great I would have had to realise he wasn't the nice old man I thought he was! :lol:

The EHIC doesn't work for private hospitals, transportation, etc. That's a big bill getting someone off the mountain and into hospital with a badly broken leg. I know so unfortunately.

It also won't cover repatriation.

One thing I'll always advise people is to carry a credit card when skiing. The mountain clinic would not let my husband leave for the hospital until his bill had been paid. Luckily a member of our group did have a credit card and paid the bill. It had never crossed our mind that this could happen. We're spoilt here with free, at point of contact, health care.

Also check which areas are covered. People often assume Switzerland and Andorra are covered.

Ha ha, my instructor would say I was improving but never that I was great. It's the same as anything else. If you trust no-one you'll do never do anything. Private lessons worked wonders for me, kept me skiing. I trust myself enough to know a lazy bullshitter when I spend time with one. I imagine private lessons are a waste of time and money if you have some wastrel teaching you. But then again I've found that in group lessons myself.

The sad thing is I've come across a few stories of instructors in Winter/reps in Summer who just don't do a good job. To teach is a skill. If you're not interested in your job you're not going to do it well :-( Same as anything else I shell out for. If the person's not up to the job I'll look elsewhere.

The best thing about forums like this is you can ask for recommendations before you go. What suits one person won't always suit another but at least in private lessons you have a say in who instructs you.

Pffft, I only touch the mulled cider on there. St Anne's is where it's at :D

Gluhwein is diluted but it also has spirits added. A good gluhwein should be strong. The ones on Manchester's Christmas markets are 9.5% the problem with drinks that are mixed, heated, etc you've no idea how many units you're intaking.

My policy mentions 'alcohol abuse' in the exclusions. That is the only place that alcohol is mentioned in the whole policy. It seems reasonable......