CAPE COD SKI CLUB

    That says, "So much snow! So much fun!" So true! What a great week we had in the French Alps! We had 54 people on the trip with many new members.  Several members met us in Geneva for the 3 hour bus ride to Meribel, and some met us at the hotel, but we all arrived as expected. Our hotel is located in Meribel, which is the middle valley of Les 3 Valles, so very convenient for skiing to the other valleys. Les Trois Valles is the largest ski resort in the WORLD! And the next morning when we ventured out, everyone was blown away by the expansiveness and the exceptional terrain in this resort. The resort has over 160 lifts, including 38 gondolas, in addition to many 4-6 person lifts, poma lifts and trams. The resort has an uphill capacity on lifts of 270,000 – 300,000 people per hour, which is mind-blowing! And plenty of terrain for everyone! Click on the photo below for the fun recap video!
    We were also blessed with 20+ inches of fresh powder mid-week, which made for some awesome ski conditions! Fortunately, our first 3 days had good visibility, sunny temperatures just around freezing, so very pleasant conditions for getting to explore Val Thorens, Courchevel, and some of the other valleys that are part of the resort. 
    The two days that had low visibility and all the snow made for more challenging skiing. Most did fewer runs staying in Meribel and came back to the hotel a little wet, but enjoyed the powder.  The afternoons on both days were a little easier to see. The reward was our final day, when the sun returned and everyone had a fabulous ski day in beautiful powder. The downside was too much snow creating severe avalanche risk. The upper mountain remained closed during the snow days as well as for our final day, but there was still plenty good stuff to ski.
    Many also took advantage of the afternoons on the snow days to try sledging on the ski slopes which is pretty wild fun! And of course the fun apres ski scene which is legendary in European resorts. Another group went cross country skiing in the beautiful forest on the resort, and others did water aerobics in the indoor pool. The lobby of the hotel was great for watching the Olympics on their numerous TVs too.
    Our only injuries occurred off the slopes due to slippery conditions with ski boots on the walkways with all the snow. Linda Ordway slipped at lunch and fell on a table getting 2 broken ribs,  John Sholes fell dancing in ski boots at apres ski and injured a wrist, and worst case was Lynn Roe, slipping on the deck in front of the hotel, breaking her arm in 2 places, requiring surgery.  We wish them all speedy recoveries!
    Our hotel staff was excellent with a fun bar and great bartenders preparing the special cocktail of the day, as well as local wines and beer. On our last night, they gave everyone a special shot of Genipe, an herbal liqueur made from the Artemisia plant harvested at high altitudes. 
    Breakfast and dinner were buffets, with open hours so you could come whenever you wanted and sit anywhere at our reserved CCSC long tables that seated many. This was great for mingling and getting to know everyone on the trip. The food was sometimes uneven, but the expansive selection always had some good things for appetizers and adders to the main entrée to please everyone.  Escargot, Raclette, Fondue and the special spaghetti prepared in a Parmesan cheese wheel with flaming cognac and alfredo sauce were standouts. 
    The highlight of the week at dinner had to be ABBA night – you will have to watch the video to really understand what fun that was. Most of us are still singing “Dancing Queen” and doing the dance moves we did that night. 
    Salli Myers and I, Pat Eggers, would like to offer special thanks to Tim Donnelly for pulling together the video from all the photos people took from Facebook and WhatsApp. Here you can see for yourself what an amazing place this is! Special thanks to the 2 videographers for the ABBA videos.