Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Val D'Isere - "gastro-bug"

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I was contemplating a return to Espace K (well, actually a return to skiing) but a lot of chat on the Dark Side mentions a nasty stomach virus doing the rounds last season in Val D.

While I'm keen on a bit of piste bashing, I don't fancy acquiring a nasty stomach bug. What's the deal at present?
snow conditions
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Manda, gastric flu is reasonably common in any holiday location, cruise ships, etc. I don't think Vd@I is particularly susceptible...

It is also particularly unpleasant! (Gastric Flu that is...)
ski holidays
 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?
Wasn't it water supply connected?
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
It is rumoured to effect mainly those wearing pink jeans, Crew Clothing and Fat Face.
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Does it make you talk really loudly to Charles as well? (no offence to any Charles out there)
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I went through it (or it went through me) in Courchevel 1850. I think it goes with the territory of bringing lots of strangers together with their various bugs. Sad


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 6-09-06 14:14; edited 1 time in total
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
martski wrote:
Wasn't it water supply connected?


I remember reading something about that, wasn't it something to do with the chemicals in the artificial snow contaminating the water, or was that just a rumour Puzzled

SZK Whats wrong with Fat Face Sad




snowHead
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Sage, RAH, RAH, RAH. I bet you love the RUGGER! Turn your coller down, that style is reserved for the late Brian Clough( RIP).

Twisted Evil


Last edited by After all it is free Go on u know u want to! on Wed 6-09-06 14:43; edited 1 time in total
snow report
 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.
SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote:
Sage, RAH, RAH, RAH. I bet you love the RUGGER! Turn your coller down, that style is reserved for the late Bryan Clough( RIP).

Twisted Evil



Well I played Rugby at school and none of my Fat Face T shirts have collars NehNeh



snowHead
snow report
 brian
brian
Guest
SMALLZOOKEEPER, Brian Clough, thank you very much Evil or Very Mad
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
brian, Sorry, EDIT above. My Dad's BRYAN.

Sage, Do you Holiday in Salcombe too? Laughing
latest report
 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.
Yeah, the gossip mentions contaminated water supplies - apparently the resort blamed punters for importing the virus, while punters blamed the resort for exporting it.

David Murdoch yeah, but from the way gossip was going, it seemed like a pretty high chance of diaherea no matter where you stayed/ate in Val D, rather than the usual 1 or 2 you'd expect in any resort.

Just wondered whether anyone here knows anything substantial?
snow report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:

Sage, Do you Holiday in Salcombe too?


Don't even know where that is - is it in Johnny Ingerland . Toofy Grin

It's a different class of people who wear FF up here Razz


snowHead
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Manda, I was in Val at Club Med a few years ago when about 60% of the club came down with violent gastric flu of some kind. The symptoms were that you would be sitting there quite happily one minute, the next you'd be running for the loo and would spend the next two days not more than six feet from it. Both ends at the same time. They claimed it was the alpine flu! No idea whether such a thing exists or whether Club Med just had problems with their kitchens.
I was one of the lucky 40% by the way Madeye-Smiley
latest report
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Mike Lawrie, it's nothng to do with the food. Food poisoning takes anything from six to 24 hours to develop, and victims feel queasy well before they start leaking from all orifices. Viral gastric illnesses are characterised by the sort of sudden and violent onset you describe.

I had a family come down with this in the final week of the season at Courchevel. The wife was too ill to travel as scheduled, so their insurance company agreed (very reluctantly, I have to say) to put them up elsewhere until they were all fit to fly. Nasty ailment!
ski holidays
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I have stayed several times in Val d'Isere in recent years and never had a problem. Rumoors of stomach bugs abound in or about many ski resorts. For many people it may be more of a change of diet and different minerals in the drinking water than any real bug. Last January we had a couple in our chalet who were ill but they blamed it on bad lunchtime food in a mountain restuarant.
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
SMALLZOOKEEPER wrote:
brian, Sorry, EDIT above. My Dad's BRYAN.


I'm Brian and my Wife is too..........................
ski holidays
 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?
My son worked as a chef in Val last season, freelance, so he worked in a range of establishments. His girlfriend worked for one of the expensive chalet companies. They are both fairly rugged individuals but both were violently ill more than once - the sort of ill where even fit youngsters lose the strength to get themselves out of bed. They were not both ill at the same time, so were able to nurse each other (true test of a relationship in a tiny space...)Many of the people they knew were ill from time to time and my son (who as a sushi chef knows a thing or two on the subject) reckons it was definitely not food poisoning. Maybe it's the water, maybe the resort has over-developed its infrastructure? For whatever reason, the problems does seem to be particularly bad there. But there are lots of other better reasons not to go to Val D'Isere!
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
pam w, it's the usual gastric virus, and it's by no means confined to Val d'Isere - I've seen it in Courchevel, Alpe d'Huez and once all over the alps when it was brought out to us as a present by half-term school groups (apparently it was rife in UK schools at the time).

It usually makes its appearance in resort staff just after New Year when they're all run down and vulnerable after overdoing it on the toffee vodkas for the first month. Since they all live very close together and it's near impossible to get them to keep their accommodation even basically clean, it gets almost all of them.

Frankly, I think guests get it from the staff. Food handlers suffering from gastric illness should stay away from work for 24 hours after their last symptoms. Small chalet companies in particular send sick staff back to work well before they should just because they can't provide cover.
snow conditions
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:

Small chalet companies in particular send sick staff back to work well before they should just because they can't provide cover.

Lizzard,

Good point that is often overlooked or ignored in the small v. large chalet operator debate Sad
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I got it when I was out there for a weekend in the middle of Jan this year
It was really nasty and kicked in on the plane on the way home .... by far and away the worst journey i've ever had and I've had some bad ones.

We were staying in a French hotel in the middle of Val and ate in different restaurants each night. I was the only one out of 6 of us visiting who got it but my mate's girlfriend who was out there for the season was just recovering from it as we arrived.

Lost the next 3 days at work cos of it so it was pretty costly (I'm self employed) but I did lose about 4 kilos of my pre christmas binging so it did some good.
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I'd expect ailments of this sort to be the norm in an overcrowded resort with large amounts of food being prepared by unskilled people in unsuitable environments. The wonder is that anyone is out of the bog long enough to ski at all.
latest report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Manda, it can be spread by close association in crowded areas...Dick's T-bar for example. It's a commonish occurrence aboard cruise ships. See http://www.medic8.com/infectious-diseases/viral-gastroenteritis.htm "Viral gastroenteritis outbreaks can occur in institutional settings, such as schools, child care facilities, and nursing homes, and can occur in other group settings, such as banquet halls, cruise ships, dormitories, and campgrounds."

Inferno 2003 (IIRC) in Muerren, my entire party of 10, about 300 of the competitors and a significant proportion of the village came down with it . Usual D&V all round. I had it so violently that I was blacking out after each "hurling" episode. Required local GP visit as I was really quite seriously ill. To be avoided!
ski holidays
 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.
Play safe, stick to Switzerland.

Our local village café has a seriously interesting loo for the connoisseur - press the flush button, seat rises, revolves, brushes whirr, gets sterilised. Not quite like in Japan where....

Makes sense.
snow conditions
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Boswell, sounds like Swiss clockwork.

Are you as regular as clockwork?
ski holidays
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Know it happen to friends, but have never been affected myself. Maybe as we always self-cater and drink bottled water?

Pretty sure the large amounts of red wine kill any nasty germs as well!
snow conditions
 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.
Quote:

Pretty sure the large amounts of red wine kill any nasty germs as well!

if red wine was a reliable preventive my son would have had a bug-free winter... In a lot of different ski holidays, in lots of different places (mainly catered chalets) none of our parties have ever had even a minor stomach upset. Hangovers, yes. We have probably been lucky; my sons's episodes in Val were the first I had ever encountered. He is a professional chef and his food handling should be first class (when in the UK he specialises in sushi and has never had any problems yet) and the consensus amongst the seasonal workers in Val, many of whom had worked in lots of resorts, was apparently that the record there was worse than most. He'll probably be back there next season though having built up some useful contacts; he ended up cooking for local French people who owned a swanky shop and didn't believe in a sandwich lunch! Personally, if I was going back to the Espace Killy, I'd go to Tignes though only if it was the only place around with good snow.
ski holidays
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
pam w, I would be slightly surprised if one of France's premier destination ski resorts had a systematic public health problem. Other, of course, than the hordes of unpleasant english yoofs swilling expensive lager and frequenting Dick's T-Bar. ;-0
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Similar in Meribel 8 years ago - the culprit - I believe (and yes Magnus/Jeremy - this is my specialist subject) - sick chalet staff of a small company who had taken the money, and would rather have ongoing dysentery in 3 of its chalets than implement proper public health measures and stop staff from working.... Changing the toddlers nappy 3 times on final approach to Gatwick was - for me - the highlight... Never had a problem in a proper hotel.
snow report
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Interesting. "Food poisoning is a notifiable disease and doctors must inform their local CCDC. Food handlers must be clear of symptoms for at least 48 hours and have produced a negative stool sample before return to work" from http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40024928/.
snow conditions
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
David Murdoch, you've met my staff then?
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Probably not useful in viral infection....

but raspberry 'cordial' was an olden days protectant against stomach complaints.... and does seem to have some effect against travellers diarrhoea(there was a study some time back I think).....

In Oz I could (once upon a time it was getting rare when i left) get a cordial made with 70% raspberry juice..... it did seem that regular consumption made one less prone to stomach buggey things (tested by some female staff in childrens ski school/child minding .... all anecdotal evidence)
ski holidays
 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?
David Murdoch wrote:
have produced a negative stool sample


No s4it?
snow conditions



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy