What I did on my holidays

As many blog regulars will know I recently went on my first ever proper family skiing holiday. Our group was made up of three families and between us we have five children ... all of whom are under 3. We also threw in a grandparent for good measure.

Holiday preparations were somewhat thrown by BA staff announcing strike dates to coincide with our return flights but we decided to ignore that and get on with the serious business of enjoying our holiday. Once I had given Sheila in the office a nudge to send out information packs (she foolishly assumed that I would know what was going on without them...) we had everything we needed.

Our journey to the airport was the starting point and everything ran seamlessly. We made use of Meteor Meet and Greet’s excellent airport parking service and within a couple of minutes of driving into the terminal car park had bags on a trolley and handed the car keys to their uniformed driver. Hurdle one out the way.

Despite having children between the age of 4 months and 2 years 9 months in tow the journey was decidedly uneventful. They were all very well behaved and managed to amuse themselves the vast majority of the time. The only real disappointment was BA choosing to serve the world’s blandest muffin; not exactly a crisis. Everyone was a little restless by the time we pulled up outside Chalet Grand Mouflon that afternoon, but the journey wasn’t anywhere near as taxing as I had worried it could be with small sprogs in tow.

Grand Mouflon had always been my first choice for our group, partly because checking out a new chalet first hand is important, but also because I love the La Turche area of Les Gets as a base (I lived in that area of the resort for two winters in the early ‘90s). The village is easily accessible from the chalet but you also have plenty of peace and quiet and the blue run that leads to within a few metres of the front door remains one of my favourite quick cruises.

The chalet didn’t disappoint. It’s very comfortable (one of the few French properties with proper King sized double beds – important when you are 6’ 4”) and the decor is a nice blend of modern and traditional. There are a few tweaks to be made prior to next winter to make it a little more homely, but it worked really well for our group. The restorative powers of the roof top hot-tub were also very welcome after a hard(ish) day on the slopes.

Chalet hosts have a tough gig when the boss comes to stay but Rob and Lauren rose to the challenge and looked after us superbly throughout the week. Lauren was not just chalet host extraordinaire but also a great source of entertainment for the children and a genuine pleasure to be around. Rob’s cooking was spot on, just the right mix of hearty and presentational finesse and he accommodated the two veggies in our party with ease.

It goes without saying that childcare was a central element of our holiday and we all felt instantly at ease leaving the girls with nannies Amy and Lauren. I must admit to having been an awkward guest and specifically requesting Amy; this is her third winter working for us and her enthusiasm for the job impressed from day one. I remember her stopping a training session prior to her first season with something along the lines of “Can I just say something, isn’t this brilliant. We’re working up a mountain with kids in the snow. That’s amazing, isn’t it brilliant...”. That joy seems to have stayed with her, brilliant!

None of the children were old enough for ski school (I don’t intend to hand Eva over to a gruff Frenchman until she’s at least 4...) but all enjoyed playing in the snow and we had plenty of fun on sledges and bum boards. A hilarious 20 minute session on slip on skis sowed the seed for what I hope will be a solid addiction to the mountains in winter. Toddler tantrums were rare and children were suitably knackered out at the end of the day, leaving us free to enjoy a drink or three by the fire.

The adults didn’t fare too badly on the white stuff either. Almost all of us had a session with Tim Scott of Les Gets Snowsports and he got us old school skiers carving with finesse. Despite having a very broad mix of abilities we spent a reasonable amount of time skiing together and the group’s beginner was handling the steep red of Chamossiere with aplomb by day 5 – although he did have the benefit of a level of fitness that put the rest of us to shame and a fearless competiveness born out of a career in the military.

The weather was stunning throughout the week. Snow cover was great and slushiness in the afternoon gave us a great excuse to stretch out lunches and then head back to the chalet to play with the children. My top two lunches of the week were the Vaffieu on the Pleney ridge and the Croix Blanche at Chavannes. Rossetaz up at the top of the Rosta chairlift was also good but did seem on the expensive side (to be fair nothing felt cheap – we blocked out thoughts of dismal exchange rates and focussed instead on the joys of tasty food, a glass of Gamay and good company in the sunshine).

The first Thompson family ski trip was a resounding success (BA even got us home at the end of it) and I look forward to more of the same over the years. Next time round Reberty calls, having sampled the 3 Valleys briefly last week on a press trip (blog post to follow) I am hungry to properly explore our new ski area. Better start saving now for those 3 Valleys lunches ....

Chris
www.skifamille.co.uk