Club Holidays 2011
The club holidays in Courcheval and Bad Hofgastein in 2010 were very successful and most enjoyable. If anyone wants to get a sense of each trip, check the web site www.skiclub.ie (select, Club Holidays). For 2011, we are going to Courchevel (in January) and Austria (in February) again, although this time we will go to Soll rather than Bad Hofgastein. We are also planning a possible third holiday in March to La Grave. Each holiday will have an experienced club member who will act as team leader for the trip.
The Ski Club goes to a lot of trouble to organise the holidays and this comes as part of the annual membership fee. It gets very good deals because of its size and long-standing connections. If non-members are interested in coming on any of the holidays, they are most welcome. Last year over thirty non-members came along on the Austrian holiday. To partake in any club holiday, non-members must take out membership (€80 single).
Courchevel in France
The first club holiday will as usual be in Courchevel from Jan 15th – 22nd with Dave Beattie and the Skivo2 Group, which we have used for many many years.
This is a specially tailored week long course targeted at good to advanced skiers with a max of eight people in each ski group. Tuition is all-day with video feedback and coaching from the very best of instructors. It is a terrific opportunity to raise your personal skiing performance to a higher level and whilst doing so, have a great time. For advanced skiers, snow conditions permitting, it is planned to spend a majority of time off-piste.
Due to the popularity of this holiday, the Skivo2 chalet places have all been taken and the trip is now full. Nineteen skiers are travelling.
Soll in Austria (Ski Welt)
The second holiday will be in Soll from Feb 26th, staying in the Hotel Tyrol. The hotel has a very good reputation with the ski bus stop right outside. Stuart Ryan is very familiar with the area having worked there and can vouch for it being a great place for both skiing and après-skiing. He plans to be on the holiday with us. For those who enjoy the thrill of bobsleigh, tobogganing or tubing, Soll is difficult to beat. The Ski Velt is the largest ski area in Austria and links the resorts of Soll, Ellmau, Westendorf and Scheffau. The basic price for half board hotel, flights and transfers will be between €750 and €790 (depending on room type), with a single supplement of €100. This is a very competitive price due to club and group size discounts. Extras will include lift pass, ski tuition (if desired) and equipment rental (if required). We hope to get a good deal on both tuition and rental and will advise in due course.
The holiday will cater for all grades of skier from rank beginner, through intermediate and advanced to instructor and even past/present Presidents. Ages range from teenagers to people in their sixties/seventies with the majority somewhere in the middle. Many of those who have been on previous Austrian club holidays enrolled in the Ski School. Others prefer to free ski – the choice is yours. For advanced skiers, as was the case last year in Bad HofGastein, it is planned to get into the off-piste as much as possible. We have taken a provisional booking of rooms with the tour operator and it is not possible to increase it. Of those who went last year, twenty five are already booked to go this year. At this stage there are still some places left (but not too many), so if you are interested, please contact the office asap and put your €200 deposit down to secure your place.
La Grave in France
Terry McEvoy and Brendan Whelan went to La Grave in April 2010 and are planning to return there and providing the opportunity for others to join them. All the skiing is off-piste and therefore those going must be either comfortable in off-piste or good black run skiers who wish to learn off-piste skiing. Coaching and guiding is provided by the Dave Beatty Skivo2 instructor group who know La Grave very well. The proposed date is March 19th to 26th, with 7 nights in the Hotel Edelweiss http://www.hotel-edelweiss.com/index.php) and 6 days skiing.
The cost will be circa €700 which excludes transfers, lift pass and ski rental. Everyone will also need avalanche safety kit; shovel, transceiver, probe, which can be hired in La Grave (approx €70-€80).
Skiing La Grave is special – there are no pistes, it is elemental, it is difficult to describe. Best go to http://www.la-grave.com/winter/index.php to get a sense of what it’s like.
Skivo2 will run the holiday specifically for the Ski Club if there are sufficient numbers. At this stage we have seven definite bookings, so it looks like we are going.Could you please let Brendan know bwhelan100@gmail.com if you are interested in going.