by A lot can happen in 15 years. Since I last went on holiday with my two brothers and our parents the world has seen six British prime ministers, the invention of Instagram, an unmanned Mars landing, three royal weddings and a global pandemic.
The composition of my family also looks very different to when I was 16 and the last time we went on holiday together as five of us in the Austrian resort of Rauris in 2008. Through marriage, moving house, retirement and two births, our lives and our lives have changed. holiday habits have grown apart.
One thing that has gone, however, is our people’s passion for the outdoors. So, when tasked with finding the best way to celebrate our parents’ Ruby Ruby wedding anniversary, the ski slopes were always the venue of choice.
Organizing a three-generation ski holiday is no simple task. First I had to find a resort that catered for the whole spectrum of skiing ability – from five-year-old Charlie who had never worn a pair of ski boots and his father who last skied over ten years ago, to my own part. “are we going off piste” gung-ho retired husband and father. Variety would be key and British choice Val d’Isère presented the perfect solution – a large ski area with snow and a bustling village with plenty of activities and character away from the slopes.
Then where to stay? Our last trip on the slopes together was a half-board full-board hotel. But with a milestone to celebrate and mature, a private chalet seemed more appropriate. I was keen to avoid the logistical challenges of self-catering, but the reduction in catering options in the Alps put me off.
One operator that has bucked this trend is Ski France. Its “contactless” seating, launched during the “social distancing” pandemic era, allows groups to holiday together without any interaction with staff. The appeal of the concept, which offers added privacy and total control over the holiday schedule, has remained. With everything in place, the Aspden party were on their way to the French Alps for the February half term.
Chalet Arosa is the quintessential Alpine bolthole, perched on a quiet hillside a 15-minute walk, or a short ski bus ride, from the center of the resort, and with a picture-perfect wooden exterior. Spread over four floors, with an open-plan living room, a cozy mezzanine and a sun-filled terrace with a hot tub, there’s plenty of room for a family to spread out. On arrival, the celebratory champagne was on ice and the fridge freezer was full of goodies that our host, Agnes, had left for us.
Agnes was always around, but – turning into the 21st century – I never met her in person. We communicated over WhatsApp before and during our trip, and she checked in daily to make sure no one was hungry. We were delivered with plenty of daily breakfast ingredients and on six nights a three-course evening meal of epic proportions, ranging from traditional tartifletette to beef parmentier and stir-fry duck, with extra options for fussy eaters – all we had to do was warm up read. instructions and an argument about who was loading the dishwasher.
We also had a direct line to a resort driver – Logen was promptly waiting outside the chalet every morning ready to take us to the slopes at our time. He returned to the piste side in the afternoon to take us back to base, or the nearest bar. It was a seamless experience, no interruptions. No worries about wearing your pajamas to breakfast, and no frowning faces when we stayed a little too late at après.
Planning the vacation was a learning curve, but nothing prepared me for what it would be like skiing as a family of 10.
Our first morning was nothing short of chaotic, with a scramble to get to the slopes in time for the first lift or ski school lesson. We soon learned that the secret to a great family escape was to accept that it is impossible to spend every moment together. Opting instead to split and dominate, the novices visited the Intersport equipment shop, where pre-booked rentals awaited, while the more experienced skiers warmed up and went to explore 300km of slopes ( 186 miles) Val.
It was a tactic that served us well during the week and kept any squabbling at bay – in the morning we would go our separate ways, leaving the chalet at our own pace, and although some chose to go skiing hard until lunch (the top. A particular highlight was running to the bottom of the Tignes’s Grande Motte glacier with my father), take lessons or soak in the hot tub, we agree to regroup as the mercury rises at lunch time. This is when the Solaise Val d’Isère mountain came into its own and I began to see how ski holidays can help bring scattered families back together.
On this beginner-oriented mountain, which underwent a €16 million redevelopment in 2016 to reconfigure its pistes, we were able to bond as a whole family. The beginners (and his trial skipping granny) were at home on the slopes of the nursery, sledding or sunning themselves in a floor chair, and the more advanced among us, having enjoyed it before lunchtime, were happy cruise the wide and flowing blue bowl. runs.
After three days of lessons under the watchful eye of Franci from the Upper Ski School, the younger generation were confident enough to take on more work and we were able to share our first chairlift as a family. I caught a glimpse of my parents’ faces as we landed at the top of the Madeleine lift: a look of pride, gratitude and disbelief that this was happening at all – 15 years is a long time to wait for those kind of memories only. can be delivered.
Out on the slopes, not a day went by without more memories being made – ice skating, swimming and playing retro video games in Le Pub. That diversity was another secret, and no opportunity to let boredom prevail, in relation to multi-generational gatherings. One evening, my brothers and I engaged in some long overdue sibling bonding (ie competition) on a fatbike tour of the unspoiled Manchet Valley, and the highlight of the kids was Gramps hooking up with Gramps on the adventure course twilight treetop – challenge rope ladders, swings. and lighted obstacles in the forest above the slopes.
On the last day of our holiday, the Aspden family were steadily climbing down the Col de la Madeleine piste one last time. Up front, with my niece Martha following closely in my footsteps (now eagerly asking “can we do this every year?”), I had to remind myself to pause for a moment to to introduce. This holiday was 15 years in the making and, having reunited the family on the slopes, as we arrived at the bottom, laughing with shared joy, I knew that the next one could not come a moment too soon.
Fundamentals
Ski France (0203 475 4756) offers a week’s stay at Chalet Arosa from a total of £11,087, for up to 10 people sharing on a Contactless Catering Service. Return transfers from Geneva to Val d’Isère with MV Transport cost €855 (£735) for eight people. Five days of tuition with Upper Ski School costs from €499 (£429), daily rental and Intersport costs from €8 (£6.90).
Lucy and her family were guests of Ski France and Val d’Isère Tourism.
