It was during a social dinner in December 2005 when the idea of organising a BCS ski trip was suggested and Captain Lloyd was appointed as organiser, with Yvonne being appointed as co-organiser. After much discussion it was decided that the event would be held during the week of 4 – 11 March 2006, and a small group of 9 people committed to the event.

Half of the group were experienced skiers looking for more fun on the slopes, whilst the other half were looking forward to a week of adventure.

After many phone calls and emails it was finally decided in January that we would be visiting the resort of Oz en Oisans in France. Various emails and dinners followed to finalise the finer details for the trip (ski lessons, buying ski wear, travel arrangements etc), and to enable the skiers to get to know one another.

For those of you who were unable to join us on this trip we thought you may wish to share our memories of the trip along with some of our photos:

THE DIARY

Saturday 4 March - The journey to Oz en Oisan

The flight from Gatwick was scheduled to depart at 7am, and it was agreed that we would meet at 5am to allow plenty of time to check in, browse the duty free stores and catch a quick breakfast. 3 cars would be needed to pick up the travellers:

Car 1 - The South Londoners - Driven by Keen Kit, he arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule to pick up his passenger, and arrived at Gatwick at 4:30am (some 30 minutes ahead of schedule).

Car 2 – The Hampshire Crew – Driven by Captain Lloyd along with two other passengers who had stayed the night. The crew arrived at Gatwick shortly after 5:00am.

Car 3 – The North Londoners – Driven by the Coordinated Alan, he was distressed to find his plans ruined from the start. Passenger 1 arrived at his house 30 minutes behind schedule, and when he arrived at passenger 2’s house he found the house in pitch darkness…

After much banging on the door it was finally opened by a member of the household, whilst passenger 2 desperately tried to brush their teeth and change within a record 11 minutes - unfortunately in their hurry they forgot to brush their hair before coming down the stairs – Oops!

The North Londoners finally arrived at Gatwick almost 1 hour behind schedule.

After the early morning commotion we are pleased to advise that the rest of the journey went smoothly, and that we arrived at our chalet in the afternoon to be greeted by our chalet girl and a late lunch.

Group photo on arrival at Lyon Airport

Our chalet

The rest of the afternoon was spent organising skiing lessons for the beginners, 2 days ski tour for the experienced skiers, picking up our skis and generally unpacking. As the late night fell some of us opted for an early night’s sleep whilst others opted for a noisy game of Cranium.

Day 1 - Sunday 5 March – Locating those skiing legs

The experienced skiers left the chalet in the early morning to join their ski guide on a tour of the blue and red runs within Oz en Oisan and Alp D’Huez.

Meanwhile the beginners opted for a lie in before going for their first ski lesson in the afternoon. As the lesson drew to the end they were joined by the more experienced skiers who decided it would be fun to take a few photos and throw a few snow balls at them…

The beginners' lesson

The experienced skiers gatecrashing with snowballs

After a tiring day the group retreated to the chalet for an evening meal, followed by more Cranium.

Day 2 – Monday 6 March – More exploring and more lessons

The experienced skiers left the chalet early to join their ski guide on a tour of the blue and red runs within Alp D’Huez and Auris.

With ski guide

In the meantime the beginners spent the morning practicing their new found skills, before attending their second ski lesson in the afternoon.

After yet another tiring day the group retreated to the chalet for another lovely evening meal, followed by a game of cards (Chor Diy Dee).

As midnight fell many decided to hit the sack, however Captain Lloyd had other ideas and decided to teach the others a new game called Spoons. The game involved passing a card to the person on your right, with the aim of obtaining a full house within your hand. As soon as a member completes a full house you are required to dive for one of the spoons placed in the middle of the table (the person without a spoon will lose a life). This lead to much howling and laughing into the late night…

Day 3 – Tuesday 7 March – The complaint

We arrived at breakfast the following morning to be advised by the chalet girl that our neighbours had complained about the level of noise the night before – Oops! We had to apologise for our rowdiness and ensure that we didn’t play Spoons too late at night.

The experienced skiers decided to take the beginners to Alp D’Huez in the morning to complete some easy green runs, and to assess how well they were skiing after 2 lessons.

As the beginners went off for their third afternoon ski lesson the experienced skiers decided to do more blue and red runs.

The evening was spent at the chalet over a pleasant meal followed by a few games of Spoons, and then a more quieter game of Chor Diy Dee…

Dinner at the chalet

Day 4 – Wednesday 8 March – Exploring as a group and a night on the town

As it was the chalet girls’ day off we decided to cook ourselves a big fry up for breakfast before hitting the slopes and doing some exploring as a group (the beginners did not have lessons today).

During the day we also stopped off for lunch in Alp D’Huez:

Taken at the restaurant at Alp D'Huez

That night we also went to a lovely restaurant in Oz en Oisan for dinner:

At the restaurant

This was followed by some drinks at the Ozzie Bar:

Taken at the Ozzie Bar

Day 5 – Thursday 9 March – Another lesson and more exploring

The beginners attended their fourth and final lesson of the week during the morning, whilst the experienced skiers did more exploring. 

Beginners: "Oh my god, I think we've just done a blue run!"

After the lesson the group met up to take a few pictures:

Yes, we've just passed our skiing test!

Alright, let's party!

Followed by lunch:

Taken at the restaurant where we got the free omelette! 

Followed by a trip to Pic Blanc (the tallest peak at the resort):

 Group at Pic Blanc 

The evening entertainment consisted of more card games followed by a game of “Guess who”.

Day 6 – Friday 10 March – Last day of exploring

During the morning the experienced skiers took the beginners to Alpette for a few easy green and blue runs. This was followed by an afternoon trip to Auris, so that they could share the exhilarating views witnessed by the experienced skiers earlier on in the week.

 Taken from the chairlift

After a fun day of exploring we were sad to have to return our skis and say goodbye to the end of another season of skiing. During the evening whilst most of us were packing, a few of the beginners decided to check out the ice skating rink – seems like they just can’t get enough of the snow / ice…

Saturday 11 March – The journey home

During the darkness of the morning the alarm bells rang – this was our 4am morning call, time to get up and have a quick breakfast, do some last minute packing before waiting for our coach to arrive.

We were transported down the Alps to a coach depot, where we waited for the coach from Alp D’Huez to come and pick us up for our journey to Lyon airport. Due to the heavy snow in Alp D’Huez the coach was severely delayed, and when we finally boarded the coach we got stuck in further traffic, which meant that that we arrived at Lyon airport after 10:20am (the time our plane was due to depart). Fortunately it was a chartered plane, so they had to wait for us - WHEW!

After much delay in checking in our luggage, passing through security and boarding control, we finally departed from Lyon airport bound for home.

THE END!

I hope you enjoyed reading our diary of the trip, and have enjoyed viewing the photos. Maybe we will see you next year…