Now the boots, gloves and goggles have been packed away for another season, we caught up with organiser, Steve Johns for his account of this year’s trip.

“For many, the holiday commenced on 16 January, as we set off from far and wide to various UK airports for an overnight stay. Cornwall, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester to name a few, in preparation for our annual ski holiday.

The following day began with very early flights for 29 of us on the trip with departures from Exeter, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Gatwick. We all arrived at various times at Chambery and Geneva airports, the nearest airports to our destination - Tignes. After transfers from the airports to our Hotel Tignes 2100, we arrived safely within a few hours of each other. The following day a further 4 joined us via Edinburgh and Birmingham via Geneva.

After checking in and finding our allocated rooms, there was time to collect our ski equipment and lift passes and to take the equipment to the large heated boot/ski/board room. Once those formal duties were complete, many of us went to the hotel bar to renew old friendships, which in some cases had been built over many of these trips. There was also the chance for newcomers to meet other members of the group from far and wide parts of the UK.

Our chosen resort of Tignes and sister resort Val d’isere encompasses the ski area known as Espace Killy – named after Olympic skier Jean-Claude Killy. 

Photo Credit: George Taylor. The photographer is the owner of this image and retains all copyright.

With over 300 kms of interconnected ski runs, and two glaciers - one of the largest linked ski areas in the world and offering skiing and boarding for all abilities. It’s a high resort, which has the advantage of reliable snow coverage, and indeed, there had been a significant amount of snow fall before our arrival, courtesy of storm Goretti providing us with well-groomed pistes with good snow depth and coverage. It was truly a winter wonderland!

Like many a traditional ski holiday ours followed the pattern of indulging in a hearty breakfast at the hotel to fuel up before hitting the slopes. Then catching an early lift close to the hotel and searching out a range of destinations during the week. Ski runs are graded for all abilities and are well signposted. Routes back to the hotel location are also marked out and assisted by free piste maps and large piste maps/boards at regular intervals on the slopes.

Photo Credit: Alan Clague. The photographer is the owner of this image and retains all copyright.

We were extremely lucky with weather conditions during our week. There were mostly beautiful blue skies with clear and stunning views of the Alps. Only on the Sunday did we have the interruption of flat light and some snow until lunchtime, which for many added some additional challenges and fun.

All of the group of 33 turned out to be skiers, and thanks to the welcoming time the evening before, easily formed their own groups to go off for the day with people of similar ability. 

Many skied from early morning until 4.30pm, generally stopping for lunch and often a few après ski drinks at the end of the day. Others in the group preferred to finish early and relax for a few hours taking in the beautiful scenery. The hotel has a leisure suite and there is a large leisure complex opposite the hotel with free daily access to the 2 large swimming pools included with the lift pass, which many used at the end of the day.

Anyone who has been skiing before will tell you, it’s not only about the day’s skiing, but the evening après ski as well. Most of us gathered in the hotel bar in the early evening in preparation for the varied and wide-ranging evening meal, to talk and share in the day’s adventures. The food was delicious, and if there was anything on the menu you did not like, the kitchen prepared an alternative. They also had the choice of a bespoke pizza if you wished for a main course.

Photo Credits: Alan Clague. The photographer is the owner of these images and retains all copyright.

The evening entertainment started with a few friendly games of Uno, the very popular card game, along with other traditional card games and the occasional card trick. The holiday reps were on hand, daily, to provide any guidance or assistance we may have needed. They also arranged some evening entertainment with many in the group attending a quiz evening, and one of our groups came first. The hotel also arranged for all 33 in our group to be seated together for our evening meals. This provided a wonderful opportunity to toast each other’s health, to swap numbers and addresses and to start making plans and preparations for the next ski trip.

All too soon the fantastic week was over and after some heartfelt goodbyes and group shots we all departed for the airports, to catch our various flights home to our point of origin. It was at this stage that you can’t help but look forward to the next trip in 2027.

Thank you to all at CSSC for organising this holiday, we are truly looking forward to returning to the snow filled mountains in 2027 and reuniting with our new and familiar acquaintances.

I’d like to thank Alan Clague and George Taylor, who took some wonderful photographs of our adventure."

Fancy getting involved?

If you would like to join us for the 2027 ski trip, visit our event page at Ski trip 2027. If you would like further information about the trip please contact us at Organiser.WinterSports@csscvolunteer.co.uk.