 Poster: A snowHead
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I was just thinking, looking forward to another stay in a ski resort...
Isn't it magical? The arrival?
You set off in the drizzly rain of the UK, with a quasi-commuter concern to be punctual (at the airport), thus still in the old 9-5 mode. The airport concourse however, gives you enough of a context shift (from the usual railway station) to let you know that today isn't a normal day - especially if you're with others, or have friends to join up with.
And then, instead of emerging into an oven like Madrid or Orlando, you step out from the plane into a wintry clime, say Geneva or Lyon. Thus, it's no longer miserably wet outside, but fresh, cold, frosty, icy, snowy. Your breath mists as you exhale, descending the steps toward the shuttle bus.
And then the trial of the queues, the baggage reclaim, the fraught location of the transport, the long grey motorway drive, eventually ascending the winding roads of the fir tree forested foothills, into Santa Claus territory.
You ascend above the snowline, into a white winter wonderland.
This is it.
You've gone through the wardrobe in the spare room, into Narnia.
The bright Christmassy lights of the snow covered resort welcome your arrival.
Disembark. Luggage & skis into accommodation. Get into the room. Who cares about unpacking. It's time to hit the town!
Deep snow everywhere!
We're skiing tomorrow!
Val d'Isère
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 23-11-25 12:58; 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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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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Don't think arrival is the special thing for me - too much faff yet to be done. More like first afternoon/evening post skiing when you watch the last of the sun on the peaks with a cup of tea or a beer in your hand.
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| Quote: |
Thus, it's no longer miserably wet outside, but fresh, cold, frosty, icy, snowy.
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It's a romantic vision, but if you're landing in Geneva, much better heavy rain than heavy snow - it takes very little snow to seriously disrupt GVA and it's not often deep freeze along the valley towards the mountains. It's when you start to climb up a bit that the magic begins!! And sometimes the valley is so desperately polluted that you can't see the sky properly until you have got a bit of altitude. At night the stars often appear as you climb up out of Sallanches towards Megeve.
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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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yes. it's why we do it.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Don't think arrival is the special thing for me - too much faff yet to be done. More like first afternoon/evening post skiing when you watch the last of the sun on the peaks with a cup of tea or a beer in your hand. |
I'm with you.
Leave the house at 1am and get into the resort around Tea time knackered. Can't relax until room ready, ski passes sorted, clothes unpacked, skis put in locker and some basic supplies Beer/Nibbles etc bought in supermarket. Only when sitting at the dinner table, with drink in hand, can I begin to relax.
For me, the magic happens on waking up on the first morning to a clear sky (hopefully) and decent snow (even more hopefully).
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And any magic you feel landing in Gva is soon dissipated by the queues for immigration.
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It can be magical but it can also be:
Get to the Heathrow T5...to have to queue for ages because everyone on the 'big bag' route or with skis have to queue up for the same 6 desks because the self check-in can't handle ski bags. Spend time stressing about getting to the front of the queue/bags checked/over to oversided baggage (which is nowhere near the 'big bag' checking area), through security...and guess incorrectly which end of the terminal your gate will be.
Arrive at GVA to discover...it +12 outside and the passport queue stretches back beyond the toilets. Start wishing for a beer.
Finally join the other SH at the Montreux Jazz Cafe. Think about that beer again...but then the 3hr bus ride to Tignes.
Get to the Taos and wonder why other people can't just dump their bags to one side and queue as a shorter line of meatbags, ideally getting everyone in through the door but instead have to queue with all their bags, including skis. Smell the first bus crew's beer wafting through from the bar.
Key, room, bags dropped, try to rush out the room without your key, grab key, head to bar...and join the queue to be served at the bar.
Take the first sip of beer and...there's the magic!
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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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I get it. We drove from Turin airport to Cervinia last Christmas. It really was magical as we ascended into snow covered trees. Going through the wardrobe into Narnia is a perfect description.
It was less magical halfway up when I had to put chains on in a blizzard, but I digress.
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It used to be magic from the point of packing the night before, but now in my late 70s it only starts to feel real when I start to see snow, and then fully when I step out of the shuttle into the cold. Then the next morning the magic sets in setting out for the lifts. Finally when I have done the first few turns, and find I can still do it, the joy arrives.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| Origen wrote: |
| And any magic you feel landing in Gva is soon dissipated by the queues for immigration. |
Some proper mood hoovers on here 
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I usually drive out for the first trip of the season, and the journey up the Tarentaise valley is always a lovely feeling of excitement and anticipation. Not so much arriving in Les Arcs itself as I’m focused on unloading the car, settling in to the apartment, practical stuff. The feeling of excitement and anticipation returns at breakfast the following day, when I can see the place in daylight and the winter stretches ahead of you. Magical.
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You know it makes sense.
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First lift. Roll off the top. Always stop, take in the view and have a moment to thank whoever needs thanked that I am able to do this still.
Every morning on Patrol once we've uploaded ourselves and got a coffee on at the base we have a moment to look around and think, poo-poo pay - great job 
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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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Like rob@rar, I too drive, and the bit when I feel I've "arrived" is after Chambery as the A43 peels off the A41 and you turn 90° left down the valley towards Albertville.
Now you're really in the alps: after the previous flat plain there are hills on either side, and often snow comes into view for the first time.
Just an hour of so to go until the climb up to La Plagne. Time to smile and relax.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
Isn't it magical? The arrival?
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Yes, I feel so too 
I first went, taking someone else place that couldn't make it, without any previous involvement. Found it enchanting then, still the same now.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've mostly driven, often in one go, sometimes solo, and that last two hours up the mountain is pure concentration, aware of being fatigued, needing to pay attention. It's arriving, probably grabbing one of the red wine bottles stacked on top of the kitchen cupboards and pouring a glass, which is the moment. It's still cold in here - no fancy systems to get it all warm before arrival, but who cares? Switch the electric blanket on, check you didn't leave anything rotting in the fridge (there were some sandwiches once - packed in anticipation of the trip home, but they were dessicated, completely inoffensive) and look forward to opening the curtains in the morning.
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less magical halfway up when I had to put chains on in a blizzard,
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Having to put chains on does at least mean there's snow.....
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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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Great little write up, Crosbie. Got me in the mood!
Set aside most of a day for the travel. Although its a bit of drag, the anticipation of a week in the mountain wonderland is more than enough to keep me smiling. Its the little things on the way, the familiar details of a well travelled route that add to the excitement. Waking up early, getting to the airport by 6am, getting through the acres of shops as quickly as possible (do I need perfume and a gallon of whisky, no I do not) going to the same departure lounge cafe for breakfast, chuckling at the bald headed blokes getting tipsy at 6am. All the while time counting down to finally arriving. Window seat on the plane, the thrill of the first view of the alps, then banking right over Lake Geneva (or even better down into the valley towards Innsbruck) and touching down. Out the other end as quick as possible (Innsbruck we love you, 15 minutes from exiting the plane to being outside the airport!), transfer to resort, soaking up the increasingly impressive scenery, working out how high the snowline is. And after a mere 10 hours or so, weary but excited, here is the hotel. Dump the stuff in the room, find a bar, cold beer. And we're here. Relax. The holiday has begun.
Can't wait. November 29th in fact. Conditions looking better by the day.
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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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Click click
Then it gets magical
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Still magical for me too. A lifelong love of snow probably the basis, I’ve never grown out of it.
Not bothered if the overseas airport is mild with green fields, the magical white stuff appears at some during the Alpine journey. Can still picture exactly that from ski trips 45 years ago with my school.
[The C.S.Lewis Narnia books were my favourite as a kid]. I’ve always loved the Little Ice Age era paintings by Bruegel and Avercamp.
Airports etc are a small necessary adjunct to make the dream happen. It’ll be sad day when I get old, moan and let that prevent that making the snowy dream come alive.
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I've always claimed that the best day of a holiday is the evening before departure - putting Out-Of-Office on my work email and the whole anticipation of the holiday.
But this thread reminds me of the first time we took our teenage sons skiing. Their amazement at the view from La Rosiere across the valley and to the endless mountain peaks beyond reminded me of how I felt when I saw the Alps on my own first skiing holiday as a teenager. Absolutely fantastic.
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I think we all agree it’s magic at the start of a new trip, it’s just defining the magical moment for each. I think for me it’s the first sight of snow covered mountains.
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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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7 days and 7 hours to departure. Already magical. I’m like a child at Christmas. All wound up with excitement, anticipating my 50th year on skis. Even servicing the skis gives a sense of thorough satisfaction. Can’t wait! 
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Don't think arrival is the special thing for me - too much faff yet to be done. More like first afternoon/evening post skiing when you watch the last of the sun on the peaks with a cup of tea or a beer in your hand. |
This is definitely a fine moment.
As is that last bit of the drive in.
I guess "arrival" covers a few things.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
And then, instead of emerging into an oven like Madrid or Orlando, you step out from the plane into a wintry clime,
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Having lived in a very snowy place during my 20’s, the “arrival magic” applied more to oven like Orlando than to wintry clime then. Now, the “arrival magic” can happen to any new place.
I’m more inline with this:
| snowball wrote: |
| It used to be magic from the point of packing the night before, but now in my late 70s it only starts to feel real when I start to see snow, and then fully when I step out of the shuttle into the cold. Then the next morning the magic sets in setting out for the lifts. Finally when I have done the first few turns, and find I can still do it, the joy arrives. |
OK, I’m not in my 70’s yet. But I’ve taken so many ski trips I’ve gotten jaded. There’s no longer much arrival magic, just relief more of the travel hassles are behind me and far fewer things could potentially go wrong. It’s not until my skis actually touched upon snow that the stress melts away and the joy arrives.
(Having done many ski trips also means I’ve experienced many different ways things could go wrong, even at the door steps of the resort. Hence the reluctance to drop my guard)
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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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4am airport beers, £12 a pint sets you up for France nicely
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You know it makes sense.
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I think for me it is the drive up to the resort from the airport/train station. Seeing the snow on the ground next to you and then continuing past villages and resorts to your own place wherever that may be. It lasts from then, to the first beer, often catching up with old friends who have flown in from various parts of the world, and then to the first clip into the skis.
Just over 2 weeks to go for me. Super exciting!
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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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I can remember what the OP is talking about, when I first managed to scrape together enough money to ski on real snow.
My generation had not flown anywhere before, so all that was special.
I'm now officially jaded, so it's a bit different. It seems to take an interminable amount of time to get to where I'm going, and there's a lot which can and does go wrong. I cover off all the possibilities, roll out the amelioration when needed, and suck it up politely and sometimes expensively... I try to be laid back rather than excited about it.
| Quote: |
| We're skiing tomorrow! |
If the first day is delayed for some reason, I need to let that wash over me. In Chile in the summer, first the road was closed, then a bunch of other stuff when wrong... then we sat on our back bottoms for 2 days. Once upon a time that would have been painful; as an old bull, it's just what happens sometimes.
The "Narnia" analogy is good - it's a switch into a world where a completely different rule-set applies, where different things are important.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We returned, on Tuesday evening, from a short holiday in Hungary (flat lands). On the drive there, it was typically late Autumn/early Winter type weather….not cold and not Wintery.
Five days later, as we left the flat lands, we were welcomed back into Austria with sub-zero temperatures and snow on on the mountains, pretty much the whole way home.
It was dark when we arrived. The following morning we awoke to the view of our local mountain covered in snow and snow on he trees about 30m above our village.
Definitely magical.
As an update, we now have (this morning), about 5cm of fresh snow and everything looking suitably seasonal. And, again, magical.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We generally drive, and I love the whole journey. Eurotunnel, autoroute stops, all of it. Feels like an adventure. Arriving in our regular resort feels like coming home.
I love the whole thing. Totally agree OP, except that when flying to and from GVA, I always avoid transfer day. Awful.
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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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Thought this was going to be an ABBA thread 
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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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The first glimpse of the mountains with snow up top, mounting excitement climbing up the hill with family game of “guess the temperature when we get there” on the car thermometer then watching it drop and drop and guesses fall by the wayside. Kids still love it!
And hopefully (has happened a few times) large snowflakes tumbling down as we unload the car and head off for the traditional arrival pizza and beer.
Flying out next Wednesday - super excited!
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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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| Bones wrote: |
| Thought this was going to be an ABBA thread |
And seeing ABBA arrival on Sunday for eldest’s birthday treat. Can’t wait for that either!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yeah the magic of arrival is always great. On the drive up to a resort when you see the first lifts/gondolas and people skiing down or walking through town with skis is fun. But probably the best moment for me is the first click into the bindings and pushing off....
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Does sound magical. But doesn’t relate to many of my arrivals over the last 30 years!
Usually to pissed to care tho tbh.
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Now we are retired, we always drive and can take the time to savour the journey. The reassuring beep of the telepeage tag at the first toll is the real start for us as is a relaxing meal somewhere around Beaune on the first evening. Then the sudden flash of daylight as we exit the tunnel above Chambery and the familiar peaks and the lake come in to view really hits the spot. I used to live in Chambery in the seventies (pre inner ring road) so it always feels like coming home and we stupidly wave as we go by. Even in the summer on the way to the south coast we’ve been known to divert via Isere just see the mountains again. Then a stop at Leclerc at Aime to stock up before the bends up to La Plagne. After 50+ years of visiting it really doesn’t matter if we ski or not, it’s just being there that counts and we’ve only 3 weeks to wait
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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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Yep - still does it for me and been doing so since 1980 up to 4 times a season, magic still there for me. Arrive, all the stuff like re-charging an old lift pass ready to go, has been done back in UK. So just get the skis into whatever locker arrangement we have. 10 minutes to empty case and put relevant ski gear into order for the morning (done with speed and military precision after all these years) and straight out to the land of beer and, if in Austria, that will be a crowded euro-trash environment - I love it !!!
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I dont get none of that.
More like - great a queue. Being held up by some dimwit who cant follow simple instructions.
followed by another queue. More queuing. All these  queues because people are unprepared & I doubt that many people on my flight can be first time flyers.
Everything is faff from leaving the house, to arriving in digs. Everything else inbetween is chore.
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FAQ
