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Cheap DIY Trip Advice for Les Deux Alpes

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hey guys

Hope I'm posting in the correct forum and while I imagine there has been a few similar threads in the past, I couldn't find anything too specifically useful with the search facility…if people know of any relevant threads, links would of course be appreciated.

Anyways, after getting a taste for skiing last year while in Risoul, I've decided to head back next year with a group of friends and have taken it upon myself to begin the organisational aspect of the trip. We're all Irish students, mostly beginners (with a few exceptions) and need to keep it as cheap as possible to make it feasible (student life!). Seems like there would be 10-20 heading off in second week of January (3rd to 11th), depending on the prices that could be gotten.

I'm not really sure where to start. I've looked into some ideas for places to head already and it seems that France would be the most popular option, despite the cost. I thought Austria might be feasible, but it looks like it would be quite difficult to get to at a decent price from Dublin. Having already been to Risoul, I would like to try something different…I've seen Les Deux Alpes mentioned as a possible cheap option, but it seems this might have changed in recent years. If anyone had any particular recommendation for stations and in particular stations with cheap but decent accommodation, that would be excellent.

We'll probably end up flying to somewhere near Toulouse, if prices for Grenoble don't go down in the meantime. I was thinking that it might be possible to hire cars if we did end up flying somewhere futher away/cheaper, picking up a load of food/drink along the way and taking advantage of the self-catering aspect of the whole thing…but I don't really know what to budget for cars etc — do people have any experience of this or recommendations for how to go about it (or not)?

I suppose the main costs are transport, accommodation, food and ski passes — with the first two being of particular importance/complexity. Rental for gear will probably be booked beforehand as it seems this is cheaper, same with sorting out the ski passes naturally. As a lot of us are beginners, lessons are definitely something to consider too…I've done one ski trip without them and feel it would be good idea to be taught by a patient and experienced hand (instead of some French mates telling me not to fall as much…!). These seem to be the final big cost…does anyone have any recommendations concerning these — particular stations with good lessons, private/small group/large group lessons, etc ?

Sorry if this seems like a load of questions that have already been dealt with before. I tried using search but didn't get a huge amount of luck finding too much specific information, especially re: prices. I've done some research but it seems like one of those things with so many aspects that it gets a bit overwhelming…so I said I'd ask the people who know about these sort of things for some clarity.

Cheers guys.


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 25-07-14 17:44; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
LeFou,
A) fixed costs:
- skis pass, 150-250 eur per person per week, depending on the resort, group discounts possible usualy;
- ski/boot rent 50-150 per person;
B) variable costs:
- flight/train - 100-200 eur return;
- car hire or transfer 55-80 eur per person depending on option;
- accommodation that week could be had at circa 120-250 per person
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
LeFou, UCPA. A sort of budget all-inclusive, but consistently well reviewed. Includes all accommodation, meals, lessons, equipment hire, ski pass. Doesn't include transport but transfers are available cheaply (I think about £50, depending on airport, resort). Prices aren't out yet (released in August), but I recall that the package starts at about £500 exc. transport (depending on week and resort).

http://www.action-outdoors.co.uk/

If you search UCPA on here you'll get loads more information.
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Another vote for UCPA - it's possibly you could do slightly cheaper by packing into self-catering apartments and living on baguettes, but with UCPA you will eat well and the bars on-site are sociable and not too expensive. Forget what you've heard about France being expensive. It doesn't have to be, and the UCPA Centres are in a range of top resorts. And doing UCPA via Action Outdoors will be far easier for you as organiser.

It'll be important to book flights as early as possible - your options from Dublin are obviously limited but I think Grenoble would give you a much wider range of options than Toulouse, and easier transfers. Maybe have a word with Action Outdoors, who could give you general advice even if specific prices for holidays next season aren't available yet. They do student discounts and if you search here there might be an additional discount code.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Hi LeFou, and welcome to snowheads.

Gämsbock, idea on UCPA is well worth a look, but another idea would be to fly to a popular gateway airport as there will be more choice, therefore chance of better prices.

For example, you could fly from Dublin to Geneva on Aer Lingus (about £150 return at the moment). The advantage of GVA is that there are a number of resorts which are relatively close by, meaning there are a number of transfer companies to chose from. Morzine is a popular destination as well as somewhere like Flaine. Depending on your numbers it may be cheaper and certainly less hassle to use a transfer company and not hire a car. If you want to self cater the transfer company may be willing to stop at the supermarket on the way (if you agree that when you book)

Grenoble airport is better if you want to go to Deux Alps or Alpe D'Heuz, I would have thought Toulouse was a bit far away.

The week you are thinking of going should be relatively quiet (although Russians will still be about in France as it is their New Year). DIY sometimes works cheaper by going on a Sunday if the accommodation is a Sunday to Sunday

Good luck in your planning
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If you can get a decent flight from Dublin to Munich then look at http://thegasthof.com/
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
What about looking at some of the resorts in Andorra if you can find cheap flights to Toulouse. It is in the region of a 2 hour transfer from Toulouse to Andorra.

We stayed in Pas de la Casa years ago and that seemed suitable for a student trip with a large proportion of beginners.
It was a duty free area and prices for beer and food seemed cheaper than in the resorts in the Alps and no doubt lessons and equipment hire are cheaper.
I understand there are plenty of English speaking instructors in the resorts as well.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Also good luck organising the trip.
It is never easy trying to book a group holiday as many people seem very keen to go until it is time to part with the money to pay for it.

You should have no problems finding accommodation at that time of year, it is one of the quietest and cheapest times to go skiing. If you are going along the DIY route I'd book the flights first before committing to the accommodation, it will give you a good idea of who wants to go when you ask them for the money to pay for the flights.
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agree book the flights first but no reason why you need to to book them all, get folk to book their own flights then arrange accommodation around who has committed to flights
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To help find the best flights try www.skyscanner.net , for car hire try www.carrentals.co.uk Both sites compare prices from lots of different operators.
If you do hire cars there is usually a supplement to pay if you are under 25 years old and that doesn't normally show up in the prices they quote. It is usually hidden in the small print so you need to find out what the extra would be before booking.
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LeFou, How's it going? If you are looking at Austria, look at flights to Munich and Salzburg, as well as Zurich. We have found that you can make quite good savings if you leave on a Friday rather than Saturday (mainly to Zurich.) If you do this, then look for a good priced IBIS or the likes (there is one close to Zurich Airport with a free shuttle.) If the overall price is important to you, be careful where in France you go, as food and drink can be very expensive relative to Austria. Another option for you to look at is Italy, there are plenty of flights into Milan from Dublin.

On the transport from the airport to the resort, it is always worth having a look at a private transfer, given your numbers. I have used a few but it depends on where you are flying to and then staying.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
When organising DIY trips I always sort out the accommodation and leave it to the individuals to sort out transport. Flights etc can usually be left later. From Ireland you may like to fly to Paris and get the train form there either to the Tarrentaise or la Clusas for Faline. Or even to Munich. Do not forget that changing planes is not much of a hassle and you can fly to Innsbruck via Frankfurt. I have done this myself to climb in the Dolomites.

As skichampcouk, says the best resorts from Toulouse are in Andorra (though there are some in France) but getting self catering accommodation in Andorra is more difficult. When I was there a few years ago (Soldeu) the prices for lift passes were slightly more expensive than France and the mini markets had very limited stocks. Similarly Austria is not significantly cheaper than France (with the exception that beer and food on the mountain is a bit cheaper).

LeFou, My suggestions would be:

research UCPA
get hold of Where to Ski and Snowboard and read it from cover to cover (well ignore North America and personally I would ignore Bulgaria)
Draw up a list of suitable resorts offering good beginner skiing and appear to meet your requirements ie cost, apres ski, etc. Remember that many French ski resorts have hypermarkets close by Such as the Super U in Bourg st Maurice a 7 minute funicular ride from Les Arcs (actually Bourg may be very cheep that week)
Visit the resort web sites and book apartments for the number of people who want to go.
Get accommodation money from said people I suggest that is the only money you handle - let them do the rest of the booking themselves.
Examine how to get to the resort. I draw up a matrix of destination (Geneva, Milan, Lyon etc) and origin airports (Birmingham, Doncaster, Luton etc) and other alternatives (train, drive, plane-train) and go from there examining transfer alternatives. I pass on to the others my advice but never make bookings.

At the end of this revisit what the tour operators are offering. It may be possible that they are doing a loss leader that week.
Tell everyone where they can book ski lessons and equipment from.
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Thanks for the advice everyone, really helpful and really appreciative. Have contacted UPCA about any deals that might be available for students/large groups and shall see what kind of things they're proposing in August, as it looks like it might be a feasible option budget-wise (and obviously less hassle).

It also looks like flights to both Geneva and Grenoble are very cheap from London that week, so we might take a cheap flight over and connect there, saving a bit of cash in that way. I'll see what they propose and may be back with more questions…thanks again!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Sent you a pm
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I used the UCPA via Action Outdoors 6th-12th April for a week in Tignes with half time lessons (12hrs spilt over 4 days) which cost me £450 with everything included except transport. The food was surprisingly good given its all you can eat and it's all inclusive.

I'll definitely be using them again for the upcoming season.

Also just incase the food wasn't enough or to your liking the supermarket 2mins walk away was again surprisingly good value where you could get most things to eat/drink.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
As UCPA (and by default Action Outdoors their UK agents) gets loads of free advertising, here's another couple of student-orientated/based organisations that may be worth a look:

http://www.nucotravel.com/destinations

https://www.offthepiste.com/

http://www.breakoutski.com/

wink

When organising group trips I used to play one organisation off against another in order to get a good price for my people! Worked like a dream then and I would think it would still be a good ploy in such a competitive market
Toofy Grin
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The cheapest way to travel is by coach.
Fill a car with four of you. look out for ferry deals n the newspapers. Don't use toll roads though this is a killer


Get a deal on an apartment and lift passes in one go.
Hire your equipment in the uk
Take a rucksack, make pack up from the supermarket. Cartons of drinks don't hurt when you gallon them and they cost 20 pence, not 4 euros.
Buy your beers from the hypermarche and drink lots before you go out.
Get you ski clothing off ebay.
Buy your skis. Amd pots off ebay- much cheaper than hiring in resort. Or hire in the uk,
Buy your sunblock from the Co-Op in the uk (they make no profit on it)
Go off season
Try Andorra, thep Pyrenees or Bulgaria
Hitch rathe than e transfers ( I once hitched from Risoul to Cuneo airport. not a cloud all day and was one of the most me,parable days of my life- 6 lifts. 3 mountain passes and about two hours waiting in some of the lot beautiful spots on earth.

We once hired a minibus and took 12. Of us to La Plagne. It cost £120 for travel and accommodation.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
cameronphillips2000, good advice if you live in the UK but not so good from Ireland
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cameronphillips2000 wrote:
The cheapest way to travel is by coach.
Fill a car with four of you. look out for ferry deals n the newspapers. Don't use toll roads though this is a killer


Get a deal on an apartment and lift passes in one go.
Hire your equipment in the uk
Take a rucksack, make pack up from the supermarket. Cartons of drinks don't hurt when you gallon them and they cost 20 pence, not 4 euros.
Buy your beers from the hypermarche and drink lots before you go out.
Get you ski clothing off ebay.
Buy your skis. Amd pots off ebay- much cheaper than hiring in resort. Or hire in the uk,
Buy your sunblock from the Co-Op in the uk (they make no profit on it)
Go off season
Try Andorra, thep Pyrenees or Bulgaria
Hitch rathe than e transfers ( I once hitched from Risoul to Cuneo airport. not a cloud all day and was one of the most me,parable days of my life- 6 lifts. 3 mountain passes and about two hours waiting in some of the lot beautiful spots on earth.

We once hired a minibus and took 12. Of us to La Plagne. It cost £120 for travel and accommodation.


Hmmm, why - just go to the local irish supermarket for a beer and do not go to Alps - much cheaper Smile
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Samerberg Sue wrote:
As UCPA (and by default Action Outdoors their UK agents) gets loads of free advertising, here's another couple of student-orientated/based organisations that may be worth a look:

http://www.nucotravel.com/destinations

https://www.offthepiste.com/

http://www.breakoutski.com/

wink

Toofy Grin



That breakoutski one looks good! Might have to consider them.

Does anyone know of companies that do cheap trips like this to Austria/Switzerland?
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Perhaps I'm joint the conversation a little late. I add the votes for UCPA. Think they have a base in Flaine. The big plus of that is that it's easy to get to from Geneva. There are quite a few minibus sized transfer/taxi companies operating in that area which would enable a big group to avoid the cost of hiring cars. Flaine, though ugly, has some great skiing for intermediates and the more adventurous can venture into the wider Grand massif ski area which is lovely.
Note also that, though historically the first week after new year is cheap, in some areas it is still the Russian holidays, so things aren't as quiet as they used to be.
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breakoutski does indeed look good - a sensible idea to offer rock bottom prices outside the peak holiday periods. They don't seem to have prices up for next season yet.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Sadly no they don't but i did look on breakoutski's facebook page to see when last years prices went up, it was around 17th September so guessing it's going to be a little while yet. Sounds like they might sell out fairly quickly though as places went within 6 weeks last year for their pre xmas trip to Risoul.
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Thanks guys, this was a great jumping off point for organising the trip. It seems we're almost definitely heading to Les Deux Alpes — either with UCPA or completely DIY. UCPA is working out a good bit cheaper, the only thing I'm worried about is lessons and the cost of après-ski.

We've a few beginners so I'm worried that the UCPA lessons won't be of the same quality as those given by one of the ski groups (we were thinking European Ski School for the DIY option) — does anyone have any experience of this? We'd go for private lessons, but they're just out of our budget sadly.

As UCPA is quite restricted on being able to do much après-ski stuff in the hostel, the cost of going out is a bit of an issue too…is LDA generally alright cost-wise (there seems to be a lot of competition), could you get a cheap pint?

Thanks again, this is a great help!
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LeFou, the UCPA lessons should be OK - easier if you speak a bit of French. My daughter and son in law who speak practically none were fine, though. L2A is less expensive than many resorts for bars/restaurants - there are some Snowheads who know it extremely well who could advise in detail. I've spent several weeks there but am not a big "apres" person. The location of the UCPA centre in Venosc might be an issue - best get detailed advice on that before you make any decisions. I suggest you edit the title of the thread to include L2A.
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(I vaguely thought there were two UCPA Centres but I see the Action Outdoors website just talks about Venosc). I was a bit surprised by their suggestion that the "action" was in Venosc rather than Mont de Lans; didn't seem like that when I went down to Venosc, charming as it undoubtedly is).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Before you sign up to L2A-just bear in mind that I think it consistently topped the snowheads "least favourite resort/where I would never go back to" surveys in relatively recent times.
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Before you book for Les2Alpes, bear in mind that Venosc is not in Les2Alpes but in a valley almost 1000m lower and connected by a telecabine. There will be no access to Les2Alpes after about 18:00, so the price of beer there is irrelevant. Velosc is a pretty but very quiet village and the UCPA will be the liveliest and probably cheapest place in the village
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You know it makes sense.
Yeah, I'm aware that L2A can be considered marmite by some. But considering the composition of our group, very few would be the type that would need hundreds of km of skiing and the 'Blackpool' atmosphere won't really be a huge out off.

I was worried about the location of UCPA too but I've read here that it's not actually in that small village, but on the far side of L2A which is close to that village, but not in it.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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LeFou, there was a thread about the Venosc/L2A UCPA location last year and as you say it appears not to be actually in Venosc:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2481658&highlight=ucpa+venosc#2481658

Regarding apres: I think all the UCPA centres have their own bars and are good value.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Tignes UCPA was pretty lively most evenings and their bar was reasonably priced. Best thing about it was they let you drink your own alcohol bought from the shops which was cheaper than supermarkets here in England for certain drinks! Smile

They also arranged a couple of nights out in town with free drinks and entry into bars/clubs as well.

As for the lessons i heard mixed reviews. Personally i didn't find them that enjoyable but i think a large part of that was due to the gulf in experience/skill/confidence between some members. If the groups were harmonised better then i'm sure i would've benefited more. Other people i spoke to who i made friends with found them useful. As Pam said above it definitely helps if you can understand and speak some french as the quality of the instructors English varied. For the price though they're a real bargain and is a great social aspect.
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Try ski.sunweb.co.uk. We used them last year and stayed in a huge appartment in Morillon, 4 of us paid 153 each for the week which included ski passes but not transpor!!t. Type in your dates and group size and see whats on offer, can't see me using anyone else again as all their hols include ski passes and their accom is def above the standard basic French apartments I've become accustomed to.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
The "Venosc" one is indeed at the top of the gondola to/from Venosc. it's near the Muzelle apartments and the new chairlift that replaced the red eggs a year or two ago. Very close to bars and restaurants, the ski bus stops nearby and you can easily walk to the chairlift in the morning.
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I agree with the suggestion of ski.sunweb.co.uk - All accommodation deals come with a lift pass included, I organised a trip to LDA for a group of 15 twenty somethings back in 2012 and used Sunweb. Stayed in Hotel Edelweiss (not sure of spelling), it's no Ritz but for a group of young party seekers it was perfect, think you can get Accommodation and Lift passes for around £250 that week based on 4 or 5 sharing.

In terms of flights, Ryanair do a service to Grenoble, which is the closest and most convenient airport to LDA. Bensbus do a return transfer to LDA for £46.50, which I thoroughly recommend. Any saving you make on flights you'll most likely loose on additional transfer costs.

Whilst LDA has its downsides (lack of cruisey resort runs, death trap of green piste into town and packed Gondola to Glacier) it is great for a group looking to party, particularly for early intermediates who will love the glacier runs. Pano Bar up on the slopes is great for the early apres, and the year we were there the Umbrella bar at the bottom of the nursery slopes was very lively from 4.30 to about 8pm. All of the group that went to LDA that year say it was their favourite ski trip thus far, so I have fond memories of the place. Very Happy
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:

lack of cruisey resort runs, death trap of green piste into town and packed Gondola to Glacier

all true and some people write off LdA because they can't easily ski down to resort. But there's loads of varied skiing in between that last pitch down and the last lift up to the glacier - you really don't need either.
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If its a cheap trip you are all after and none of you are advanced skiers/boarders, then I'd recommend Andorra. From Dublin you have lots of options to get to somewhere like Pas de la Casa. The cheapest I found the year I did it was flying to Barcelona then hiring cars. Accommodation costs in Andorra are hugely cheaper than in the alps so you can make a big saving there.

As for arranging the group holiday, make sure people are committed before you start booking things. Perhaps insist that they have a flight booked before you count them in.
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As an alternative to L2A I would recommend going over the mountain to Alpe D'Huez, the skiing is excellent for beginners with the biggest bunch of green slopes I've ever seen, whilst the skiing for intermediates is excellent and varied, with some of the best runs in the Alps, including the Black Sarenne, (longest Black slope in Europe) which is definitely skiable for a good intermediate.

Like LDA, ADH is a short and cheap transfer from Grenoble with Bensbus, and not out of reach from Lyon or Geneva. Skiweb or Snowtrex do similar lift pass and accommodation deals, which are very reasonable. I've been to both Pas de la Casa and Arinsal in Andorra, and I'd rank ADH much higher than both, not only in terms of quality of ski terrain and value for money but also accessibility and apres nightlife.

But that's just my opinion, before I get slated by the Mandorra parade NehNeh
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Thanks again for all the help guys. We decided to do a UCPA trip to LDA in the end — costs around 600 in total with flights and transfers included, and around 400 without those extra costs. Think we got a pretty good deal!

debtors#2, I'll actually be skiing in Alpes D'Huez the week before with some French friends of mine, so think LDA might prove a change of scenery after the week. Neh Neh
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LeFou, good that you've sorted that out. Don't forget to write a report about your trip. snowHead
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Will do!
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