OK? Where’s the snow? Well that was the question a few were asking on arrival at the Roma and Pellegrino hotels in Claviere, right on the Italian / French border, for the CSSC London’s 2007 skiing trip! Fortunately, there was enough of the white stuff to keep us busy for the week, with some good challenging runs available for all, and definitely more than enough to keep us beginners busy.

After being kitted out for boots and skis, an early (ish) night and a good breakfast, we all hit the slopes, quite hard in the case of some of us, and met the poor souls destined to instruct us during the week.

A couple of lessons later, and with the experts amongst us disappearing off into the distance, we were beginning to get to grips with the basics and started to be more a little adventurous. With the warming help of a glass or two of hot wine at the ski lodge (after extensive testing definitely the best in the area) we felt able to cope with anything, so it was onto the ski lifts and off up the slopes we go!

Great fun, if a little scary the first time, but once you’ve fallen over once, you get used to it, and we all managed it a lot the first time down the slopes but it did get better as the week progressed, really.

Apart from the skiing, the evening entertainment varied, with local bar ‘The Gallo’ a firm favourite, but the highlight was on the Tuesday, when the excellent ‘Silver Tongues’ performed at one of the small bars and showed that rock is still alive and well in Europe! A great evening, going well into the small hours, made all the more fun with loads of Pool and Table Football challenges between the two hotels taking place.

Our trip also included a day pass to the nearby resort of Montegenevre, just over the border into France, a far bigger skiing area with excellent runs to suit all levels. After a few goes on the button lift to practice how to stop without too many problems, it was onto the gondolier lift to the higher runs. The better skiers amongst us had already headed onto the second lift higher up to the more challenging areas, but our group decided we were high enough, especially as the lift had taken a good 15 minutes to get that point, and we all felt in need of a little more practice before reaching the next level.

From a very steep start, and a brief stop at the mid level restaurant for a drink (definitely not as good as our ‘home’ lodge) we traversed down the slopes back to the base, very picturesque and enjoyable despite the steep inclines at some points.

Not wanting to rest on our laurels, and with food needed, it was all back on the gondolier and up to the restaurant to see if the food was better than the earlier hot wine. After skiing down to the restaurant a little easier than the first time, the food was good and not too expensive, and this gave us the boost we needed to head down, a little faster than before. A great day, finished off by skiing back across the border into Claviere along the snow walk at a relaxed pace.

Friday night’s meal was to be at one of the hilltop restaurants, and this involved the fun of a night ride on the Skidoo’s, zooming up the slopes that we had been so careful coming down all week! Starting from our home ski lodge, and fuelled by more hot wine (it’s the best, so it would be rude not to), we shot off and were met with an excellent meal of ham, cheese, pastries, pasta etc etc, followed by flaming sugar cubes, I kid you not, and the unusual friendship bowls containing what tasted like a hot bitter coffee liqueur. With a few of these circulating, and it being bad luck to put them down, we were all well prepared for the return Skidoo rides down the slopes!

The following morning was strangely quiet for us down at the Roma Hotel, as we’d been sharing with some 60 kids and teachers from Liverpool up until their departure on the Friday evening. After getting used to the teachers knocking on all the doors at 7am each morning, our usual unofficial alarm call was sorely missed on the Saturday, causing a late rush to breakfast for a few.

Now all during the week the weather had been getting hotter, and the subsequent conditions were becoming very icy, and on the Saturday a group of us decided to stay off the slopes and instead take a walk in the snow back to over to Montegenevre for a last look around before the return home.

With temperatures now up to 12 degrees it appeared we had caught the best of the snow, and with 180 kids arriving in the resort as we left, it was definitely the best time to go, but not before one last hot wine (or two) at the ski lodge, still the best in the area.

A great trip, lovely company, good food and drink throughout and excellent value. Hopefully the next one will see even more of you joining in – come and have a go - if I can do it, anyone can!

Ray Allen