J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by msej449

Final posting on this:

Turned up at the Berne British Consulate 8.30 and had my cream-coloured Emergency Passport by 9:50 and on the train back to Geneva 10:30. So all that went smoothly.

Four other people turned up at the Consulate - all of them with passports stolen on the last section of the train journey into GVA on Friday or Saturday.

If you consider that there must be other people who don't lose passports but do have things stolen, then clearly there's a real problem with gangs targeting homeward-bound tourists travelling into Geneva Airport Fridays and Saturdays.

To answer one of the questions:

I was on the train to GVA and because it was crowded, had to put my rucksac on the overhead shelf. What the thief did was come along with a similar-sized and coloured one, and then take mine when he got off at a station. it wasn't a mistake - the one he left had almost nothing in it and was probably from the previous victim.

It poses the problem of just what to put where. Really, losing your Passport is worse than losing your wallet, so this is the thing that you need to keep on you. But then, I gather that you're as likely to be pickpocketed for either. So there's no easy answer.

I was with two other people and they didn't see anything either. They had their sacs on the floor, but mine was too big to leave there on a full train.

Travel Tips:

Have your Photo Driver's card in your wallet as Photo ID i.e. don't put your passport and driver's ID in the same place.

If you have two mobiles, then separate them as well. It may not be feasible for someone to loan you theirs while you remain behind.

Have the current contact number for UK Borders to hand: these are the people you 'phone first. They then find out the nearest Consulate and get the Consulate to call you. Currently this is +44 207 008 1500 but this may change.

Carry a Passport 'photo separately. There may not be a photo booth handy and you need this when you arrive at the Consulate. They don't have photo facilities.

If you lose your passport

1. Call the Borders Agency
2. Write down a list of your contact details and items lost.
3. Go to the police and give them (2) and get an incident document.
4a. If it's a Weekday, wait for the Consulate to contact you.
4b. If it's a weekend, then you have to fend for yourself until Monday.
5. Contact the airline and ask them to reschedule your flight. If the Consulate has called you back, then you'll know the timetable for accomodation and rescheduling etc. It is much more flexible if you can do this at the airport (rather than on the 'phone).
6. You will probably have to organise travel and accomodation - a travel agency or information desk will be a great help if there's one nearby.

In my case, the Borders Agency and Berne Consulate were very quick to respond, so I knew my timetable and logistics. I was able to go to the BA Information Desk and tell them I wasn't going to make the flight and they were great in terms of rescheduling it then and there. Apparently, it is much easier to do this at the airport.

Don't get angry at the Borders Agency or Consular representatives. They cannot change Dave C's policy. You will have to go in person to a Consulate and if this is distant, then that's unavoidable. If you think this is all ridiculous posturing by the Government (which I do) and any serious terrorist is going to circumvent it, then complain to him.

Well, here I am in Berne waiting for the British Consulate to open Monday morning.

Had my passport stolen en route to GVA Friday. After sorting out Police documentation, I discovered from UK Borders that thanks to our Dave C, entry conditions have just been tightened-up. I had my photo driver's license, cards, boarding pass and wife with me: until recently, that would have been enough to get me on my flight home. No longer. I need to go to the nearest British Embassy - Berne (no, there isn't one in Geneva) with photo ID, passport photo, and new flight plan.

Thanks to the kind people at BA, I was able to reschedule my flight at no charge to Monday evening. And also thanks to the nice people at the SBB Travel office in GVA who organised all my travel and hotel in Berne.

In some ways, I'm fortunate. I still have my wallet and driver's license and cards, and my kind wife lent me her mobile. And there was time on Friday for the Embassy to do all their checks and give me the OK.

So lesson is, of course, try and ensure you have your passport on you at all times, especially on the return journey.

9.2.12 - Final day and temperatures a comfortable high of -3°C, hazy sun and light wind. Still relatively uncrowded pistes. Snow conditions remain excellent.

Video panorama from Croix de Coeur:

Last Friday - one of our party almost didn't make it here because there were no trains around Martigny.
The same day and Saturday, Le Nouvelliste was reporting problems with trains to/from Geneva, as was SBB.ch
I doubt that it affected road transfers, but we generally use public transport in the winter, unless it's a short trip.

Conditions are excellent. Even when the piste is churned the snow is still good. And there's not many people around.....

8.2.12 - Temperatures have risen over the last couple of days: Today started at -8°C and rose to 0°C lunchtime back down to -4°C around 4pm. Beautiful conditions and excellent on/off piste.

It's forecast to drop back to around -9°C but no new snow forecast as yet. So if you're packing for next week, bring along the layers and have a Balaclava handy.

Hopefully, the public transport disruption out of Geneva is all sorted now, and you Weekend transfer is looking straightforward.

Pistes are relatively empty. The mid-morning Jumbo lift to col de Gentianes had 40 occupants compared to a capacity of 150.

A lot of the posts on this thread cite medical reasons for a helmet making no difference. Can I ask, are any of you doctors? And even if you are, are you a trauma specialist? If not, then your advice is dangerously ill-informed. What I'd really like to hear from is someone who is a medical trauma specialist with ski resort experience - if they say that the helmet makes no difference to trauma injury, then I'd be interested.

6.2.12: Slightly less cold at between -13C and -6C so a lot more fun but pistes still pretty empty even at the Weekend. Bright and clear and relatively warm waiting for the skibus. Wind picked up a bit this afternoon. But overall, great snow, few people, and relatively smooth and forgiving pistes.

For a short while, I was completely on my own at Lac des Vaux, other than my two companions waiting at the lift. actually quite a bizarre feeling!

Here's a video from this morning, on the run from the gate below Savoleyres through to Carrefour:



The end at Carrefour ranks as the most people in once place on piste anywhere in Verbier!