The Black Horse Ski Club

8.30am meeting at Gatwick Airport on Sunday 23rd Nov. John & Tracy Symons, Richard Minson Mike Howard , Richard Garmeson, Mary Murphy, Deborah Taylor, Peter Cambridge, Greg Banks, Graham Tucker, David & Lesley Watson, Gareth Cowmeadow, Tim Carter, & Alan Rogers. As usual Alan had his usual sleepless night at the airport, whilst the sensible ones either drove in the morning or stayed overnight in a hotel. The forecasted snow had yet to make an appearance so there were no delays at Gatwick. The flight was approx 30 mins late taking off after waiting for de- icing. The Bainbridges were not so lucky in their flight arrangements from Newcastle. Heavy snow caused the closure of Newcastle Airport for a couple of hours, and this delay would ensure that they missed their connecting flight from Amsterdam and in turn their scheduled train from Geneva to Zermatt. For the main party it was a fairly uneventful journey, except for the shock of a late running Swiss train at the change over at Visp. There followed the usual warm welcome at the Hotel Derby from Pasquale and after a quick change, the delights of a superb five course dinner. Most of the party were eager to retire to bed after a long day of travel, but as ever El Presidente (Richard M), Gareth, Graham and Greg found the energy to go out on the town for a few beers.

Day 1 is normally a bit chaotic, what with chasing around for hire skis, boots etc and the purchase of the essential lift passes. For those who travelled fully equipped, a short walk up to the lift pass office proved a fruitless exercise. The office was closed, and the lift tickets would have to be purchased from the main gondola station. Also, the now favoured route to the ski slopes via the Gornagratt railway could not be used as the gondola linked to the main slopes was not running. Despite the fall in the value of the pound to the Swiss franc, Tracy decided that a new pair of ski boots was essential and a credit card was flashed (John's or Tracy's?) Eventually everybody found their way to the top to discover wonderful snow conditions. The weather was a bit changeable, but all was set fair for a good days skiing. Lunch was taken at the Trocknersteg restaurant and the whole party reassembled. After seeing that the Klein Matterhorn lift was now working, the "A" team decided to cross the border and ski down in to Cervinia. Not just a brief visit, but all the way down to the town itself. This entailed skiing down the high street and a long uphill walk to get the gondola back to Zermatt. Whilst the Cervinia side is sheltered and in the sun, the return to the glacier was a culture shock as the temperature dropped and the wind gathered speed. A hot chocolate at the Trocknersteg gave welcome relief. Whilst in the restaurant, the weather closed in and a return to the hotel was generally accepted as the best course of action. Tim did not have the best of days, as he discovered that he had taken two right hand ski gloves with him up to the slopes and had fallen base over apex on the walk through the tunnel on the Klein Matterhorn.

After another super evening meal, those with a little energy left decided to brave the cold and have a walk around the town. The much favoured haunt at the Alex was not yet open, together with a number of bars as the start of the peak winter season was still a few days away. Tracy persuaded the group to visit the old town and the "Retard" bar for a quick drink. Then back to the Derby and bed, except for a few diehards who resorted to coffee and brandy until 1.00 am.

Tuesday morning arrives with the forecast of a clear day, albeit very cold. Alan continues to cause consternation at the breakfast table by turning up in t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. Back up to the slopes, the A team decide to take the Klein Matterhorn cable car and cross over to Cervinia for a fast cruising day on almost empty slopes. Whilst there have been no crashes on piste, the Watson's have been displaying their break dancing routines in various cable cars. Tim had a stroke of luck in that having left his ski poles in the Trocknersteg in the morning, they were still where he had left them when we returned later in the afternoon. The remainder of the party or the B team, now including Deborah who felt well enough to ski, spent another day on the glacier on the Zermatt side.

After a heavy day's skiing, some people are so tired that they go straight to bed after dinner, some wander around town, find a bar, have a beer or two and then go to bed before midnight. Those who should know better, namely Hon. Sec. and Greg hit the brandy and coffee until the early hours of the morning.

Wednesday morning and the skies are clear once again. The general consensus is to hit the slopes over on the Italian side as it is the sunniest quarter and very few people are skiing there. An added bonus is that we have found a nice friendly little restaurant where the prices for food and drink are so much cheaper than Zermatt and also you get service with a smile. The regular A team take a small diversion and have a photo session on the observation platform at the very top of the Klein Matterhorn. With clear skies the views are nothing less than breath taking. Johnny foreigner helps the proceedings by taking a number of photos for us. A very fast descent into Cervinia is rewarded with a hot chocolate or coffee. After lunch there is a general fragmentation of the two main ski groups and splinter groups head off in all directions. The A team, minus Tim plus Richard G head off to the left of the resort and a two man chair lift to explore new territory. At the top of the lift David promptly heads off piste, stumbles and loses a ski. Despite all best efforts the ski is apparently lost and David is now all but stranded in Cervinia. Whilst Alan ensures that Richard G gets home safely, David has managed to get a lift on a skidoo back down to Plan Maison where he is able to hire a pair of skis to be able to return to Zermatt before the lift system closes. From the B team Mike has suffered a broken binding and has a tentative ski back to Zermatt. Safely back home this was easily fixed at the local hire shop.

Hon Sec. was not the most popular person at dinner that evening. Together with 5 others, he had ordered a cheese fondue instead of starters and soup. Whilst this in itself was not a problem, combined with a full al a carte restaurant, the remainder of the party had a long wait for their dinner.

After dinner Deborah & Richard G went on the town to try to find a bar showing Chelsea's Champions League match. The Post Bar and Grampi's were the most likely. However, they were most disappointed as the Liverpool match was the only English football being shown. Little did they know that they should have tuned in to channel 42 in the Hotel to have the pleasure of seeing Frank Lampard being sent off.

More blue skies on Thursday morning and all set fair for another good days skiing in Cervinia. David is eager to return in order to try to and dig out his missing ski from the powder above the two man chair. The whole party turn out to assist with the search, only to learn that the ski had been located the previous evening by the pisteur. Only a "Jobs worth" prevented him from reclaiming his ski until lunch time. The A team continue their rapid tour of Cervinia whilst the B team return to Zermatt soon after lunch. Back over the Zermatt side, the wind is blowing and the temperature is much lower. There follows a rapid descent of the glacier for a deserved hot chocolate before returning to the Derby.

The evening meal proceeds rather more swiftly this evening, with everyone taking the set menu . The comfortable lounge bar in the Alex is now open, and with the exception of Peter and Richard G, the Black Horse skiers soon outnumber the residents. Whilst rather more expensive than a normal bar, the Alex provides a nice atmosphere in which to relax in comfort and make conversation. As the evening draws to a close, the malt whiskey is having its effect on Greg who demands to be photographed up close and personal with all the young ladies.

The last day of skiing and the weather has turned rather more wintery, the sky is overcast and it is starting to snow. Alan and Tim have overslept, arriving at breakfast just as everybody else are returning to their rooms to get ready for the final venture on to the slopes. It was a rush, but everybody was ready on time for the taxis to go to the gondola station. Up at Trocknersteg, high winds have forced the closure of all the lifts save for one old gondola enabling one piste to remain open. Understandably, the B team make a quick decision to return to town, whilst the hardcore A team brave the conditions and continue skiing. On the run down to Furgg there are bodies everywhere, visibility is poor, and the piste is a difficult mix of hard packed snow and loose powder. At the bottom, the lift up to Schwarzsee is running opening up the long pathway down to the gondola station at Furi. Three laps of this circuit are completed before the A team take a deserved lunch break down at Furi. Just two more runs are completed in the afternoon before the decision to return home, basking in the glory of a fantastic week of skiing, nothing lost, no mega wipeouts, and most importantly, no injuries. Just one slight downer on the week being that the slopes on the Gornergratt remained closed all week, thus no early morning train rides, and the expense of hiring taxis to get to the gondola station before the queues.

Postscript from Hon Sec.

On the last evening Richard Minson and I were sitting in the hotel foyer area enjoying a last session of brandy. Pasqualle had served as at around 1.am in the morning and left the brandy bottle on the table telling us to help ourselves - on the house.

This year the hotel has a new late night entrance system that requires a code to be entered on a pad outside the sliding entrance doors. Around whenever it was well actually quite late there was some shouting outside form people trying to get in. They could probably see Richard's shadow in the glass although neither of us was in direct view. After some verbal abuse from them Richard told then they needed the code. He asked what room they were in and they gave a room number that didn't exist in the hotel. Richard asked me my opinion and I said not to let them in. So we went up to bed. A few minutes later the fire alarm started going off. After a while it seemed to have been dealt with but then a fire engine appeared outside the hotel. Later the fire alarm went off again.

In the morning Pasqualle saw me and said he was sorry about the problems. He said it was probably some drunks who broke the fire alarm button, not once but twice. I informed him of what had happened whilst Richard and I were there. I told him they said they were in room 131 and he said that was in the other hotel they have behind the Derby. He told me they were Americans and that what they had done had cost him 500 Swiss Francs in call out fees for the fire brigade. As we left I believe he was calling the police to let them know. At least I took it to be that. It may have been the Zermatt Mafia. Whoever it was I wouldn't have wanted to be the people in room 131!!

The return journey back was uneventful and this time the trains were back to running on time.

So ended one of the best trips we have had in years to Zermatt. With our dates for next year already booked with the hotel. Next year will be Sunday 29th November to Saturday 5th December.

The group near the base gondola station. The Matterhorn is in the background.

A snowy river scene near the bottom gondola station in Zermatt.

Lunch Cervinia style. Messrs Howard, Tucker and Carter enjoying gluhwein.

A few of the group ride the Gornergrat mountain railway.