 Poster: A snowHead
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Last year I forgot the snow chains. Again.
The previous years I variously forgot: the story CDs, breathalysers, and topping up the screen wash.
Two other incidents stick in my mind.
2010 - on the hill going down to Dover, my partner said '...er have we got any coats?' .... simple answer. Yes....they will be there in the chalet in Mollens where the cupboards bulge with kit. But right now, in the car, on the journey? Nope. No coats. Just tee shirts. Luckily we did not run into any problems hacking through the Jura.
2009 - huge gridlock in Dover. After a nine hour wait, as the car finally surges forward into the docks, my partner is left behind in the P&O office. I assume she can just follow the cars, but no. Customs stop her from following. In the car are my son age 4, my daughter 6 and their maternal Grandma 70 something. We stop just short of the P&O booth. I turn to Grandma and ask 'can I have your passport' and I can immediately see in her eyes that she has forgotten it. So I move forward to the booth and say - right, we have four people, the right number of passports but I regret the passports don't necessarily match the people. '...Ah said the nice woman - it's you...'. 'What? I say. 'Well I've been told about your partner and how her passport is with you, but now you are saying that you have a Grandma without a passport?'. 'Yes'. 'Well' she said 'no problem, since you've already been past immigration....so you can travel if you want to'.... We entered France without being checked. Entered Switzerland without stopping, and got the passport couriered out.
Anyone else?
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 15-12-18 21:23; 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
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Years ago we gave a lift from Courchevel back to the UK to the 14-yer old niece of a friend of mine who was in the Trois Vallees for the season. About an hour from Calais she suddenly announced that she had left her passport with her uncle. It was way too late to turn around and retrieve it, so we threw ourselves at the mercy of the UK border staff. Amazingly they let us through and told the young girl to be a bit more careful with her passport in the future. Can't imagine we'd get away with that these days.
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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?
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I forgot to put diesel additive in, last night, -12 and car wouldn't run..........
Made worse by the fact it's been sat up for 4 days after my op and is parked up in the N facing shadow of our house!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@KenX, Soon be spring 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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good job there's no need for those breathalysers whatsoever, so perfectly fine to forget them 
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We got to the first toll barrier South of Calais and (my fault of course) was too far from the ticket for Mrs DJL to reach so she opened the door grabbed ticket and off we go.
An hour later my phone rings. Some unknown Brit has found our passports when he was too far from the ticket and had to open the door to find two passports on the ground. We arranged to stop at the Aire des Trois Cretes (one of the ones with no facilities but a grotty toilet block) and he would hand them over.
We parked up, snoozed a bit and around midnight a car with British plates pulled in. As the driver emerged Mrs DJL jumped out and announced she was delighted to see him. He looked terrified, didn't head to the toilet block but jumped back into his car and drove off at high speed. Wasn't our knight in shining armour who arrived 5 minutes later with our passports.
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@andy, But there is the emission certificate to be forgotten now though !
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@DJL, 
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Not skiing, but passport related. Over 20 years ago we flew to Nepal with some friends, via a change of plane in Bahrain, and a change of airlines in Delhi. On the way home, at Bahrain, someone finally noticed that one of our friends was travelling on a passport in the name of Anita McKenna, but her ticket said Frankie Bradbury - having got that far, they just let her carry on! Would never get away with that now.
Just to clarify, one of the others had booked the tickets, he knew her as Frankie, and knew my surname but not Anita/Frankie's, so just gave mine instead.
I have 3 forgotten passport stories too, but I won't bore you all with them!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Returning from Verbier to GVA for a 9pm flight We got to the check-in desk only for one of or group to sheepishly admit that he'd left his passport in the apartment. Needless to say they wouldn't let him fly. He hired a car and drove back to Verbier where he slept in the apartment block's laundry room until the cleaner arrived the next morning to let him in.
On our last trip to Chamonix in 2016 I forgot to pack any underpants.
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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.
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Me and our eldest (then age 6) Got separated in a Thailand airport departure gate: husband had our passports. She was refusing to sleep on the flight (to Oz) so I took her for a walk and to the toilet. She banged her head on the sink and started crying with pain (calpol to the rescue!). We then tried to get back to our seats but got caught up in the queue of people waiting for their passports to be checked. The Thai officials started scream for our passports, and was trying to remove us to another room. I was trying to say I could see my husband and son (with our passports) over the other side of this huge room, but she couldn’t understand me. They grabbed daughter’s teddy and started searching it for drugs. Screaming child. Stressed mum. We were just about to be taken away when a manager who could speak English was called and I could explain. Absolute nightmare.
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My first trip I forgot gloves.
I refused to pay resort prices & the temps was above freezing, so did the whole week as a learner with no gloves.
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You know it makes sense.
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| halfhand wrote: |
| ...I forgot to pack any underpants. |
You are not the first! Colin B....Tignes around 2009 IIRC. Underkeks are expensive in Tignes
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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@holidayloverxx, ...oh...in the first post I forgot (!) to put in this...
On time, all going well, final check in the car park in Luton Airport:
- car hire docs - check
- passports - check
- money and cards - check
- ice axes - check
- crampons - check
- B3 and walk-in shoes - check
- full rack - check
- harnesses - check
- helmets - check
- ropes - check
- belay jacket - check
- waterproofs and thermals - check
- keys to the chalet - SHHHIIIIIIITTTTTT!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@valais2, luckily I have 3 jeyholders within a few miles and a spare in the flat
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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?
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First trip with my partner to Canada we left the car in the long stay at Gatwick. As the doors hissed shut and we pulled away she said "Did you lock the car?". Fortunately I didn't forget.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Not long after my first wife and I split up and my head was in a mess, I forgot she'd taken the video recorder and hired a good film to watch........
Also around the same time told my 7 and 9 year olds to meet me at the bottom of the chairlift, forgot to tell them which one and lost them on the slopes in Zermatt for 2 hours
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Drove up to resort. Finished coffee, ate banana, faffed for a bit, put boots on, everything else on. poo-poo only one mitt. After turning car upside down reversed process and drove back to hotel on off chance mitt was in room. Mitt found frozen into car park bay where I'd been parked. Ask confused staff for a cup of hot water to unfreeze Otzi the ski mitt. Life support rendered on return drive to Otzi by footwell heater on full blast.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I’ve forgotten pants before. Jnr has forgotten ski pants.
I’m certain that one holiday I’ll forget my contact lenses.
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@hammerite, grief that reminds me....
Really looking forward to fast and hard mountain-bike race.
Carb loaded the night before.
Serviced and checked bike over.
Got up at 6am - brilliant sunny day - perfect.
Packed bike, food, helmet, shoes, tools in car.
Drove through beautiful Sussex lanes to start.
Got bike out.
No front wheel.
B U G G E R.
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Earlier in the year dropped youngest daughter off for a week to do an instructors course, and planned to get up the hill for the day before heading home - 3 hour drive each way.
Just as we got to the accommodation, I noticed she was only wearing thermals, and asked if she had her pants with her......which was a no.....
So she ended up doing a week intensive training wearing my much too large pants and I ended up doing a 3 hour drive home in my undies. Sticking to the speed limit all the way, really really hoping I didn't get pulled over.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Lucky she didn't forget her socks too, otherwise you would truly have been Hanging11.
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@valais2, I drove to play football last month and as I was pulling in to the car park I got a feeling something wasn’t right so shuffled out my hand inside my kit bag, yep no contacts. Only a short drive home, so no probs.
I’ve also headed out to ride and realised that I left the bike in the back garden rather than putting it in the van. I’d only got a couple of miles down the road so no big deal again.
Forgetting things 1,000 miles away is a bigger problem!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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in Australia this year at Perth airport i put the keys to the hire car into the secure keysafe of the unmanned car hire office, it had a big sign on it warning you to check if you had everything from the car before you posted the keys.
only after i had posted them did i remember my phone was still in the car
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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.
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Loving these stories - makes me feel oh so much better about my mishaps!
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Judging by my 4 years of doing transfers, one thing many people forget is to tip the driver.
It resulted in my NLP being greatly improved :
"Those skis look great, I love those big tips"
"The snow is great at the moment you should really cash-in"
"...that's a great idea - I'm taking notes"
"Make sure you haven't forgotten anything - if I had a pound for every time people forget stuff.."
"I haven't skied in Val much, you'll have to give me some tips"
...you get the idea 
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You know it makes sense.
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Last Feb we drove to Megeve, exit the UK no problem, enter Holland no problem. Driving back got to the UK border point in Holland to be told our sons passport had expired several weeks prior, quite how this wasn't picked up on exit I have no idea and neither did the border officer. Card was quite literally marked and he was given the green light.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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One year after a trip to Meribel I managed during the dropping off of bags, small children and hire car at GVA to end up with Mrs Spin and Spin minor on the Geneva side and Me and Spin major on the French side. All fine except all the passports were with Mrs Spin. Any possible savings in hassle and angst of dropping the bags off and splitting up were offset by Mrs Spin having to go through Swiss customs with all our assorted clobber to reunite passports with holders as there was no way the Douaniers were letting me through with my daughter and no passports... I was not in Mrs S's best books for that... On a plus note it was much less hassle checking in on the French side... 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Not ski related but we went to Crete this summer just gone and I left a bottle of gin in the overhead locker on the flight out.
Not a great start and we missed our flight home too.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@valais2, son no 1 did a similar thing with his passport when we went to EoSB a few years ago. French border patrol didn't check it, but we had no-one to courier it out . We just showed up at Calais, and declared it missing. He completed a form, they checked online and let us through.
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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?
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Hubby got 3 miles down the motorway and realised he'd forgotten his wallet, just as we passed a sliproad, so we had to go to next junction several more miles and turn round. Got back to the house, no wallet. Turned out it was in the boot of the car all the time.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Back in the summer no sky box now so bought the Amazon fire stick, Amazon mains lead and plug all there, ah, no remote without which an Amazon fire stick is useless.....Unless you have intelligent children who know about these things and after a bit of effort make it work via an app on their phone 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Crazy how often people get through customs etc without a passport. I’ve forgotten mine before and the Italian guard just waved me through
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I’m struggling to locate the gloves I bought at the end of last season.....
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A couple of years ago we were flying to Lyon on New Years eve to head to Courchevel. At 5.30-6am we got a text from BA to say our flight was cancelled. The advice number the text told us to call wasn't operational till later in the day (helpful!) and the website only offered us alternatives to Grenoble (which didn't help with the car hire or return hotel booked at Lyon airport). After faff, we cancelled the flights and car hire and booked on the tunnel - moved all the bags from the smaller car to the bigger one (as we'd be in it for 12 hours!), grabbed a handful of DVDs, bundled the kids into the car and set off. Some hours later we breathed a sigh of relief as we pulled off the tunnel and started driving South in France, delighted we were still going to make it - at which point we ran through everything again and realised we'd left my rucksack containing all my gear in the other car. Boots, trousers, socks, impact shorts, thermals, helmet (it's surprising what i can pack into my hand luggage rucksack!), goggles, ski gloves. Basically my entire snowboard wear apart from jacket (and spare thermals). Disaster.
A post on snow heads driving south through France to seek advice, pointed us in the direction of Decathlon south side of Reims. An hour stop saw me right for cheap trousers, thermals, helmet, goggles and gloves. I needed new gloves anyway so bought a gore tex pair, and the helmet was adjustable so got handed down to my eldest after the trip. I also needed new boots in all honesty, so once we got to Courchevel I spent the first part of new years day trolling round the shops to buy a new set of boots (after finding a store that would do me a deal on the pair I wanted). So all in all, I only wasted about 60 euros on the trousers, goggles and and thermals that I didn't really need. I did the trip without my usual impact shorts and re-learnt why when smashing your backside and coxcyx on rock hard pack they are the best buy for snowboarders ever.
So fellow snowheads saved the day. I dread to think what the whole affair would have cost me in the days before the Decathlon type superstores !
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@t4tomo, we have a missing pair of gloves too. I suspect they will be tucked inside the helmet of the person they belong to.
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@Hells Bells, that's where gloves live!
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