“A Skiing Holiday”

The standout holiday of my childhood has to be the skiing holiday organised by my school when I was fifteen. The combination of sun, snow and ski was exhilarating; and more compensated for the mass catering that my friends and I rather charmlessly endured at the end of each day. This experience, perhaps something of a distortion, definitely challenged the gourmet reputation of France in my teenage eyes. I suppose that school dinners are school dinners anywhere…

Some fifteen plus years on, I`m looking to repeat the experience (except with regards to the food). Previous attempts to re—capture the thrill of the Alps in my native Scotland have proved rather frustrating; the runs are simply miniscule in comparison to those on the Continent, and with the first decent fall of snow in Scotland, half the country`s population seems to materialise to compete for the meagre piste space.

With this in mind, and after rave reviews from friends, I`ve been looking to Whistler in Canada as a possible location for my dream skiing holiday. The sheer scale of the runs there — apparently you can ski without stopping for mile upon mile — hold a definite appeal; if my knees manage to hold up!

Closer to home, and in something of a challenge to my memories of the school trip, some friends of mine found a catered ski chalet earlier this year through Alpine Elements (see their site for some great deals on ski weekends) which provides proper gourmet French food at the end of each day. I must admit that the idea of having food prepared for me after a long day on piste is rather appealing; with my fitness levels I`m prepared to be knackered after a day on the slopes, and the idea of having to rustle up something in a self catered chalet at the end of the day sounds like a bit of a big ask.

Apparently, there is also help on hand to fit skis and boards, so that in the (highly unlikely) event that I`m not quite as crash hot as my memory suggests, I may be spared some blushes!