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University Ski trip

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi all

Just had a quick search and couldn't see any topics (recent at least) on this...

Have you been in resort at the same time as a uni ski holiday? Did they disturb you or ruin any part of it for you? I know some trips are upwards of 2000 students in one resort at a time so can imagine from the outside it can be loud and annoying?

Also the bad press about Manchester uni on the ferry..... any experiences of that?
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I was once at Alpe D'huez at the same time as a Dutch Uni trip.
The only problem was that the group I was with (40+ men) couldn't keep up and had to retire to our rooms many hours before the youngsters!
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Never run into one that size, never noticed running into one at all tbh. Hit Pride week in Tignes, which must be a similar size and didn't notice any effects at all really, a few flags, some lively parties, but nothing we couldn't avoid if not inclined to join in.

Being in the same apartment block might be an issue. I remember _being_ a uni trip, we were probably fairly rowdy in the corridors even when being well behaved as you are always running back and forth to your friends/chatting in corridors. Being in the same town, wouldn't worry me much - 2000 sounds a lot but resorts have a lot of beds.
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I ask as I have graduated now but am still going with my old uni on one last trip. VT next week with 300 people but have the tour company has another 1500 from other uni's going too.

Being a respectable adult now I have started to see it from the other side and can imagine some people despise the fact we are in the same accommodation they are. While I try not to be too rowdy, you inevitably get carried away when surrounded by so many friends in such a fun environment.
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I was in Les Arcs about this time last year with a big university trip in resort. Didn't cause me any problems in the village or on the slopes, and I was mildly amused by a skiing challenge which seemed to include swapping underwear. I accept a.j.'s point about the impact might be different if you are in the same accommodation (I wasn't).
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rob@rar wrote:
I was in Les Arcs about this time last year with a big university trip in resort. Didn't cause me any problems in the village or on the slopes, and I was mildly amused by a skiing challenge which seemed to include swapping underwear.


Aha that very much could have been me! It's part of our 'Valley Rally' challenge on the Wednesday afternoon where we have to race around the mountain doing various challenges and drinking games before getting to apres.
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I've been in Tignes when it was swamped with students a couple of times and in Les Deux Alpes a few times when there have been smaller gatherings. Never caused me any problems personally. Had some interesting chairlift conversations with some last year in anticipation of my daughter starting. However she's decided not to go on her university trip in January because "all they're interested in is drinking" Shocked
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Quote:

and I was mildly amused by a skiing challenge which seemed to include swapping underwear.

Go on @rob@rar, tell us more and why only "seemed"

My son has been on a couple of university trips and the stories of the special ferries put on to accommodate them are interesting. He tells of paralytic students staggering around the car deck looking for their departed coaches. Though there may be a couple thousand of them in the resort they are almost always there at really quiet weeks in the resort and given the size of most mega resorts I doubt the rest of us will really notice them. I guess they will be very popular in the resort itself: filling beds, buying lift passes, buying drink.
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Yeah, more details please Rob@rar. Something you are considering on the next Dollies trip?
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I have videos of the aforementioned challenge...
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Last year at Val D highlights:

Listening into hilarious conversations in the gondola. "Charles is sleeping with Amelia because she looks like a girl he really fancies", "The rest of my flatmates aren't skiing as no one could get in the ski locker today because someone's lost the keys. Fortunately I put mine in next doors locker yesterday....... Oh I've just found a locker key in my pocket"

The roads hadn't been cleared so it's snow & ice, so dress code must be 3/4 length leggings and flip flops or high heels on a bar crawl.

Busy slopes for the first day but quiet the rest after the skidoo blood wagons had collected all the broken ones and left the few who could ski.
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I skied into VT one day before Xmas a few years and found the slopes infested with skiing/boarding Santas. I was told they were university students. It made me smile. Smile
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TBH, we've encountered uni groups, the British Army young officers lot, and a few other young groups in the same accommodation over the years, and they all seem to end up in bed before us, in many cases having drunk a whole lot less than us before losing all semblance of control and either falling asleep or being carted off to bed by their mates.

One of the benefits of being in the politically labelled squeezed middle - middle class, middle income, middle aged folk, the one thing we can nail every time is first class drinking Very Happy

All this said, I remain unable to outdrink my mother, who is heading for 70 with an ability to drink more than most rugby teams put together. This is a bit like when you realise, aged about 20-something, that you could probably win a fight against your dad, in our house we are waiting for the day that I will be able to outdrink my mum.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
"Seemed" because I thought it would be unseemly to follow the students around to actually confirm they were swapping underwear. I can confirm that at least two bras and a pair of boxer shorts were thrown from a chairlift (Derby IIRC) to adorn the trees.
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Ski resort filled by drunken rowdy people - sounds like normal service to me Puzzled

The best group I ever met were the British Armed Forces ski championships lot in Meribel. A very nice young lady even waxed my skis for me.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
This week Bournemouth Uni are off to VT - there's around 300 students going so it will definitely be busy thataway. Ive seen their social schedule...be warned! Much fancy dress and drinking challenges out most nights. I've gone back to uni at BU as an MSc student and I seriously dont think I could handle it as I'd now get too frustrated with the late rising, hangovers, lack of ski time and not able to keep up with the amount of drinking time. Dont get me wrong, we hit the wines and beers pretty hard with the odd later evening a couple of times a week but can't smash Jagerbombs til 5am like I used to (and I'm only 27! Laughing )
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@FiFi_Trixibell, We're a fifty something group , but we still manage a rule of thumb : Piste time (including lunch) = Apres + evening out drinking time.
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eblunt wrote:
@FiFi_Trixibell, We're a fifty something group , but we still manage a rule of thumb : Piste time (including lunch) = Apres + evening out drinking time.


Haha! Like it Toofy Grin does that include shots of flaming sambucus and dancing on the tables of folie douce tho?? Razz
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I was in Les Arcs a few years ago when SCUM turned up (Ski Club University of Manchester). Allegedly one of them never made it to Les Arcs as he was sent straight home for diving off the ferry (no idea if true). A lot of them seemed worse for wear when the bus turned up - we'd just stopped skiing for the day. But apart from that we really didn't notice them too much.

The only time I remember seeing them out skiing was when a group of them came past all skiing in just bikinis (it was April Hot and sunny). I wasn't complaining too much.
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was in a resort years ago that had an "Essex Farmers" lads trip - we stopped at the local nick to get them on the coach back to the airport
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My wife did ski lessons with some students who had come as part of an organised trip. They only came the first two mornings and then she and another woman had the instructor to themselves.
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@FiFi_Trixibell, I went to Southampton as a mature student and never noticed if there was a ski club. Probably just as well, otherwise I would have been left with the dilemma of whether or not I could keep up.
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Not usually a problem as long as there are enough pistes open to thin them out - otherwise expect queues & crowded pistes! rolling eyes
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Quote:

I went to Southampton as a mature student and never noticed if there was a ski club

good choice. i went as an immature student. have to admit I never noticed a ski club either.

I expect pistes to be deserted until about 2pm and then they'll surface to try to brush off the hangover before hitting the bars and being force fed tequilla at 4pm and start all over Wink
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There are 3000 in Tignes at the moment - but luckily for me they are living in VC so no noise. What has struck me (and conscious that I am sounding like my Dad!) is the nannying that goes on by NUCO and the Varsity staff. Last nigh the big do was in Tignes Espace in Lac and the staff were forcing them to use buses to get between the 2 resorts as the majority were out in T shirts and jeans and not much more. It was about -8 and breezy - I am guessing common sense is no longer on the curriculum. It is good that the organisers are showing a duty of care (clearly lives have ben lost in the recent past) but I just sometimes wonder - just saying Little Angel
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After a considerable time lurking, I think I've found a thread I feel qualified to comment on!

I was on the notorious "Manchester University Ferry" in 2012 (this one for those who didn't hear about it: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9194465/Students-banned-from-ferry-after-drunken-rampage.html) although not as a student I hasten to add.

It was certainly an experience. Had I been a parent with a young family I probably would have been more concerned but having only graduated a few years previously I was fairly content to watch in bemusement from the other side of the bar as Manchester Met chanted songs about Manchester Uni's students being pampered poshos whilst Machester Uni retorted with some sort of banter about being on benefits. Up until the point the tables got turned over it was relatively amusing.

Anyway back to the point in hand, on 26 December I will be getting on a coach to Val Thorens from the UK with 8 friends who are all 20 something professionals and the rest of the coach will be university students. When we get there we will be in the same apartment block as the students in all likelihood. It will be third year that we've done trips this way because it is by far the cheapest way we have found to go skiing outside of term time (some of the group are teachers so mid January is a no go!).

On each of those trips, with the exception perhaps of the bizarre ferry journey mentioned above, I've never encountered any problems or felt that it was damaging to the holiday.

Of course I fully reserve the right to change my views if something goes wrong on this trip!
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I think last year in Val Thorens was the Oxbridge trip and the year before was Loughborough's. Or it might have been the other way around.

I think there were around 3,000 on each trip and didn't cause any problems at all. Everyone seemed to have a great time and at least the ski lift company benefitted, as did the supermarkets with Vodka sales. Some great fancy dress costumes being used to ski in.

The restaurants didn't though.
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If you're in resort to go skiing, chances are you won't see any of them, since most of them don't make it up the hill at all and those who do tend to ski three runs before going to the Pano/Folie Douce/local equivalent and getting slaughtered again.@Claude B's daughter is pretty much correct in her assessment. Sad
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Daughter repped for a few of these things a couple of years ago. No trouble on ferries other than the ONE and ONLY ferry Uni Trips are allowed on. Midnight Sailing. If the bus misses that they have to wait at Dover 24hrs for the next one!

There is no alcohol consumption allowed on the bus - yer right. It too 45 Mins for the first Leeds Uni person to get naked.

She though they were quite normal if heavy drinkers and they are all herded to the specific bar for that night which is rotated around the resort. So miss that and I doubt you would notice too much.

Even more surprising were the people on the trip that were not ever even thinking about ski/boarding and just there for the fun.... strange world.

Trips seem to be run by 2 organisations which have details of who is going where by now on their websites. "Outgoing" is one can't remember what the other was.
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@Jake43, Nuco is the other one
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 Poster: A snowHead
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Ignoring, for a moment, that I didn't learn how to ski until I was at university, I avoided the uni ski trip like the plague. Couldn't and still can't imagine much worse.
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I gather Sheffield Uni (or may be even Unis plural) hits val thorens on 2/1/15 - heavens knows how students can afford French drink prices anyway but that might be for another thread...
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I too like @chocksaway, was in Tignes last and we were in Val Claret and to be honest we didn't really notice them in the evening. In fact one apres event wasn't too far from our apartment and we could clearly hear the band which we thought were actually rather good ! Given the poor conditions obviously 3000 extra people are going to add to bottlenecks but you just have to work around that and I still had a great time
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Our uni trip was reasonably civilised. I was at Durham which has colleges so I went on our college trip rather than the main uni one - I can't comment on the other colleges or the main uni one but ours was fine. Obviously a fair bit of drinking but I don't think anyone did anything particularly bad.

To be fair this was the year after a Durham student at another college (who I knew vaguely) died after falling in the river in Val d'Isere, so people were a bit touchy about that sort of thing.

In all honestly the "lads" (hate that term) trips I've been on with some of my old school and uni friends for the last 3 years have been much, much worse. Last year was the first time we went to a catered chalet and we weren't responsible enough for unlimited free wine. I think we alienated everyone else in the chalet when one of our group got locked out and tried to smash the boot room door in with a concrete block at about 4am because he thought he was getting hypothermia (failed miserably - just woke everyone up). It's all good fun until something really stupid happens or you're too hungover to ski (I spent the first day being sick off the chairlift and falling over every 2 turns), so I've got 2 weeks in Canada instead Very Happy
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@bobmcstuff, err ....... how old are you? Shocked
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Quote:

weren't responsible enough for unlimited free wine

umm, I might not ever grow out of that.
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What is it with this British idea that it's big and clever to get utterly plastered all of the time? Puzzled
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@Lizzard, I agree. Not only GB though - Scandinavian and Eastern European too.
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@Lizzard, I agree. Not only GB though - Scandinavian and Eastern European too.

im from NZ but living in UK, NZers and Aussies always get the reputation for being fairly heavy drinkers, we are loud people in general also. However its the chanting that really gets them standing out I feel. But it does for a start sound impressive..
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What are you talking about? It's "fun" having to do Newtonian mechanics and trigonometry in the telecabine to work out the optimal angle of chunder out of the window vent to make sure all the chunks miss the skis of the unfortunate innocent party that had the misfortune of sharing that cabin.

Turning your wee wee pink thru excessive tequila consumption and feeling like death the next day is the best measure of the previous evening's craic.

Wink
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