TR - Montgenevre HT - 15th to 22nd Feb 2020

A snowHead

Caveat: Long though incomplete report for reasons which will soon become obvious.

Who: Group of 10 – 6 adults and 4 teenagers.

When: 15th to 22nd Feb 2020.

Where: Montgenevre / Self Catering in Hameau des Airelles (4* MMV via Go Montgenevre).

Why: 3rd time in MontG at HT. Cheap, cheerful, good piste skiing and minimal queues.

How: Jet2 from Manchester to Turin (booked direct) and Snowcab transfer (via Go Montgenevre).

How much (for the 4 of us): £1400 flights; £2,200 apartment; £250 transfer and £800 liftpasses for 7 days, to get an extra half day on the last day as we had an evening flight home.

Catering: We ate out every third night and in the other two. The local supermarket was great for ready meals e.g. lasagne, meatballs, potato cakes, dauphinoise potatoes, pasta, pizza etc. We had lunch out every day. Including drinks, lunch was typically E15 per head and dinner out E20 per head. We particularly enjoyed Ucintu and the Café le Graal. Booking in advance recommended.

Day -1: Uneventful trip to Premier Inn at Manchester Airport. Pleasant evening in the bar. Good night’s sleep.

Day 0: The aim was to get to resort by early pm to benefit from the free afternoon on arrival day included in the lift pass. This had all worked fine when we came “en famille” 2 years ago. We’d even booked early check-in this time to avoid having to get changed in the toilets. It was one of those days when nothing quite went to plan though…

After a deceptively “on message” start to the day, things started going slightly wrong at bag drop. The baggage conveyor belt broke and the manual system that replaced it was slow, depriving us of time for a “cheeky one” at the bar. Then our allocated plane broke and its replacement took off 45 minutes late.

We were greeted at the entrance to the terminal by a couple of masked medics who were, I assume, checking for raised temperatures due to the Corona Virus. We were all OK, were through passport control in no time, quickly re-united with our bags before we waited an eternity for our transfer to be ready.

On arrival at MontG it soon became apparent that the driver had no idea where he was meant to be going and he spoke no English or French. So a simple drop in the town centre became an hour long delay and then another delay before the final lift to our accommodation. It took an age to check in, as the MMV staff have perfected the art of making the most trivial admin task take ages. I assume they are all frustrated or failed civil servants. After picking up skis, there was perhaps time for a couple of runs, but the lifties were on strike so only 3 lifts were open and all had big queues. So we went to the bar instead and toasted our good fortune that things weren’t worse e.g. flights cancelled due to Storm Dennis.

Day 1: The day started with a challenge. In the boulangerie, my usually unquestioned position as the worst French speaker in town came under a heavy threat from a Dutch guy who was even less comprehensible than I am. I rose to the challenge though and as I left, the lady behind the counter was thoroughly baffled by my attempts to use tenses that had lain dormant since my O-level days in 1984!

During the day, Mrs TFS and were a tad pre-occupied with news of Storm Dennis as our house is in a flood risk area. By the end of the day the news was good on this front, enabling us to relax somewhat. Dennis-related worries did not disrupt a fine day on the pistes. The snow was good - 8/10 high up; 6/10 lower down, tending to slush in the late afternoon.

Day 2: Another good day, until around 400 metres before the end of our planned last run. I’m not entirely sure what happened but one minute I was upright and the next I wasn’t, with no idea why I was lying on my back looking up at my skis. I was rather dazed and felt sick, but only started to feel worried when my mate – who normally mercilessly takes the p*ss out of me – was visibly concerned. Apparently I’d ploughed a furrow with my head so large that it was visible from outer space and had been classified as a site of scientific interest by the French Geological Society.

Once my head had cleared, my most pressing concern was how to get home. My left arm didn’t want to work and skiing seemed an unwise option. Piste Patrol came by an offered me a lift in the Blood Wagon, but I still had my pride and 3 functioning limbs so I turned down the offer. Interestingly, the blow on my head appeared to have improved my linguistic skills – I had a lengthy conversation in French with the Piste Patrol guy and it appeared to make perfect sense to both parties!

I skied down OK and was hauled off to the Doc by Mrs TFS. She wasn’t impressed by my suggestion that my shoulder might only be bruised and that I might be OK to ski in the morning. The Receptionist assured me I’d have a long wait, but within 90 minutes I’d been X-rayed, diagnosed (broken shoulder; 2 breaks in fact) and trussed up in a support that looked like something that Robocop might have worn. And relieved of E300, but we’ll gloss over that last bit as it’s covered on insurance.

I got prescribed an array of painkillers, up to and including enough Morphine to kill me. Luckily, whilst supported, the shoulder doesn’t hurt much, so I’ve stuck to beer and wine for pain relief! Joking aside, I think things could have been a lot worse. I discovered a huge dent in the side of my helmet and the airbag protective layer had punctured. Better a helmet in the bin than the alternative.

Day 3 onwards: No skiing for me, obviously, though everyone else carried on. My mate was like a lost sheep to start with, apparently, as he had no-one to insult. My days were filled with reading, one-handed typing, walking into town for lunch and exchanging pleasantries with my fellow “walking wounded”. Most important of all, though, I obtained my “Fit to Fly” letter from the Doc.

News of what will hopefully be an uneventful journey home to follow shortly!

A snowHead

That's a stroke surely? Left arm doesn't work, increased linguistic skills?

Ah - the left arm doesn't work as shoulder was broken and the brain works due to the subsequent bang on the head.

Still worrying that you blacked out though.

Really funny trip report on a nasty subject.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

"Caveat: Long though incomplete report for reasons which will soon become obvious.

Who: Group of 10 – 6 adults and 4 teenagers.

When: 15th to 22nd Feb 2020. "

Posted on 20 Feb.
OK, the reasons have already become obvious.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Blimey - nightmare. Our apartment is just behind your hotel so I’ve probably passed you this week. You on your way to the doctors and me figuring out an easy slope with a decent cafe! Perhaps the bakery peeps were wound up after my attempts at French and you bore the brunt.

We had a really bad trip here last year so are back because it’s unfinished business. Glad we did as it’s a great place. Apart from the doctors surgery - hated that place.

Any road, really hope things improve for you and as you say, things could be very much worse. Just enjoy the lovely sunshine and some R and R.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Not a great start to the trip! Did your mate not see what happenend? Did you get taken out by someone or took a nasty fall? Presumably not the best prep for your Taddie Tri training!!!

@kitenski, based on what I've been told, I think I just hit some heavy slush and then face-planted as my head overtook my feet. I genuinely don't remember. As I currently can't even shower myself unaided, tri-training has taken something of a back seat in my priorities!

Help!!

TR - Montgenevre HT - 15th to 22nd Feb 2020

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