vail – Page 2 – Alpine Winter Sports

31/07/202303/12/2023

The Ski Club of Great Britain’s 120th Birthday

I am not sure it is the oldest ski club in the world – I believe the Davos Ski Club might have that distinction, but no other ski club has been continuously in operation longer than the SCGB. The founding meeting famously occurred in the Café Royal, in London, on 6th May 1903.

At it’s peak the Ski Club had representatives and offices across Europe and a stately headquarters in Eaton Square. Many famous names in the evolution of skiing were intimately associated with the Ski Club, such as Sir Arnold Lunn, and many people distinguished in other fields held high office, notably past president, Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding.

The Ski Club has continuously adapted in its long history and still has over 20,000 members and an active presence in leading ski resorts. it also operates a successful holiday operation and has one of the best ski web sites around. The current president is the Olympic skier, Chemmy Alcott.

The Club operates out of more modest premises these days, not far from the Oval in London. However it’s rich history has been retained and is largely in the custodianship of de Montford University in Leicester, where 50 linear metres of archived material are held. Together with Professor Peter Slee, Vice-Chancellor of Leeds Beckett University, I am hoping to ensure that we can ensure that the heritage of the Ski Club, and indeed Britain’s contribution to the evolution of skiing, is maintained and, with both the risks and opportunities of the digital age, is made more widely available for members, researchers and anyone else who is interested in the history of this incredible sport.

Watch this space!

26/03/202307/03/2024

Ski Injury Liability

Many years ago, my wife and our two youngest children were going through security at Paris Nord en route to the UK via Eurostar. As we descended an escalator I noticed my son, aged around 5 or 6, in animated discussion with a stranger. Although not such a stranger, for it was Gwyneth Paltrow.

The actress and entrepreneur is in the limelight at this time for a different chance encounter. Apparently a retired optometrist and she collided on the slopes of Park City, Utah some years ago. In his version of events the chance encounter with the star of “Sliding Doors” resulted in “permanent traumatic brain injury, 4 broken ribs, pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life”. He claims she knocked him out, she counterclaims that he skied into her from behind.

Whatever the truth of the matter, ski collisions are sadly all too common. My wife, my kids and I have all been hit at one time or another by skiers either out of control or ignoring signage. Fortunately none of us experienced the life-changing injuries the retired optometrist claims to have experienced, but it put my wife off ever skiing again.

But what is the legal position? Keith Dean, at Pennington Law outlines this in an article at his company’s web site. He notes that the situation will differ from country to country , but that FIS guidance is always relevant. He states that, from a lawyers or an insurers perspective, the most useful FIS rule is:

Identification – every skier or snowboarder and witness, whether a responsible party or not, must exchange names and addresses following an accident. Where an independent witness has given your insured their name, every effort should be made to contact them and take as full a note of their evidence as possible.

The full FIS rules are available here.

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26/02/202326/03/2023

Ski Club of GB Ski Reps

I’m a long-standing member of the Ski Club of Great Britain. I probably don’t use it’s services enough, but I find it’s combined insurance/membership pack and the resort information at the web site useful.

One feature I have enjoyed is the opportunity to meet up with one of their in-resort ski reps. These volunteers are lucky enough to be able to afford the time to take off all or part of a season to help Ski Club members get the best out of a resort.

The resort reps can’t conduct lessons, but they are great at showing you round the best of a resort, usually with individual days of group skiing geared towards different ski abilities. They also organise social activities and know everything you might need to know about a resort.

I often find myself lone in a resort for a day or two, and enjoy the company of the ski rep as well as the opportunity to get some insights for my web site.

Unfortunately the service is only available in a couple of dozen resorts – see below for 2022/3 season.

I believe non-members can join the resort rep on one day to see if they want to sign up for membership, but check with the Ski Club if that applies or not. Sadly, due to local regulations, no French resorts feature.

31/01/202331/01/2023

Stolen skis

A skier posted on Facebook today about skis being stolen in Val Thorens. Others chipped in with their own experiences. The French resorts seem over-represented, but it can happen anywhere. I had a camera stolen from my chalet in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, one year.

New skis cost as much as a £1000 or more, so it is unsurpring they are coveted by thieves.

More surprisingly, hire skis are a popular target, so check your insurance covers you for theft if you are hiring.

A popular ploy is for thieves to come up to mountain restaurants without skis and ski back down with a stolen pair.

Apres ski venues are also a popular target. And I heard a report of an entire ski room at a hotel getting robbed.

A good ploy for avoiding theft is to mix and match skis with others in your party. If the staff at your lodgings can’t reassure you about the safety of the ski room, you might want to keep your skis in your room or in a locker. Often, hire shops have lockers you can hire even if you haven’t hired skis from them.

More common than theft, however, is mistaken identity. It is easily done. I did it in Vail once. Skied in hire skis in the morning and someone else’s skis in the afternoon. The first I knew about it was the hire shop called me the next day!

I know. They’re not even the same colour.