SKI HOUSE PARTY
Have you ever come across Frary’s First Law of House Parties? It’s the one that says ‘If you organise it, you get the best room’.
Over the years, I have organised countless house parties for big groups of friends, mainly in Britain. I think I nearly always end up organising them because everyone thinks that because I write about travel, I have some secret special ability to organise. What they don’t realise is that I do it so I can invoke my First Law.
Despite the regular parties, I had never organised one on the ski slopes. Finding a group of people who get along well enough and like eating, drinking and long walks (to pubs) was not a problem. Finding a group who could ski together too added a new degree of complexity.
Just before Christmas I came up with a good group: me, my wife Clare and our two-year-old daughter Lola; Lola’s guardians Helen and Jonathan with nine-year-old Thomas and seven-year-old Emma; and completing the group, an ex-work colleague of mine, Carolyn, and her husband Howard, both now retired but livelier and busier than ever. In fact, our group gained an extra member just before we set off. An email arrived from Helen saying could she bring nine-month old Molly. How could I have missed her giving birth? In fact, Molly was a cross between a golden lab and a border collie and allegedly well-behaved. “Why not?” I replied nervously.
The next challenge was where to stay. Despite having stayed in plenty of chalets, I have never been much of a fan of that whole faux Heidi effect and the signs are that an increasing number of skiers feel the same way about gingham curtains and floor-to-ceiling pine. A handful of ski firms are realising that there’s a market to be tapped here, including Descent International. Typical of the type of place they deal with is La Ferme de Moudon, a 300-year-old farmhouse in the village of Les Gets on the French side of the Portes du Soleil region. From the outside, nothing in the traditional Savoyard exterior prepares you for the interior – Scandinavian pale woods, an Italian kitchen with ultra-trendy handleless cupboards and slick, contemporary bathrooms. Applying Frary’s First Law, we grabbed a whole floor to ourselves.
When you bring together a big group, there will always be moments when some people want to break away. The farmhouse was ideal for this thanks to a snug, down in the basement. Here, the kids could escape to watch a DVD on a huge plasma screen or play boardgames from the clever and recent selection provided. Jonathan put into words what everyone felt: “Even if you are staying with your best friends, you can find your own privacy for a quiet read or a cream cake.”
Which brings us to the food. The attention to detail on the kids’ food was nothing short of microscopic. A questionnaire arrived by email asking about allergies, likes and dislikes and perntal attitudes to “goodies” such as crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and required meal timings. Impressive.
The Saturday night dinner party – the centrepiece of our stay - was perfection. The four staff served us quickly but then melted away to leave us to chatter over plates of foie gras, roasted monkfish and eye-wateringly strong blue cheese from the Savoie – all which we had chosen in discussion with Descent’s food guru Stanislas Guinault before we arrived.
Next day, the group split into three: the ladies stayed at the
farmhouse with Lola, Jonathan took the two other kids to some gentle
slopes while Howard and I hooked up with local guide Nicolas Tricou
to explore as much of the Portes du Soleil as we could.
Les Gets is a great spot for a party of mixed ability. Close to the
village centre are some gentle blues. If the snow cover isn’t good
here – and it sometimes isn’t given that Les Gets is at just under
1200 metres – there are more beginner’s slopes up the mountain.
Up on the mountains close to Les Gets, it’s more easy-riding reds
and blues. La Tulipe is the most skied run in the resort and it’s
easy to see why. You take the Ranfoilly Express chairlift up to 1850
metres and get some great views over the valley and then ski down
this wide run with a few rollers to get you some air should you
want. The separate area of Mont Chery is quiet and perfect for a
morning skiing in the sun.
Experts can zoom over to Morzine and beyond. With 650 kilometres of
piste and plenty of off-piste, there’s little chance of getting
bored. Tricou even managed to find Howard and I some pristine powder
in which to leave our tracks on our last afternoon
Meanwhile, back at the farmhouse, the ladies had been relaxing.
Carolyn, for her part, couldn’t stop smiling at the indulgence of
being served champagne and truffles in the outdoor hot tub.
By the end of our stay, everyone voted the house party a huge success, mainly down to the staff. You want them to be there to do all the preparation, serving and tidying away when you have a hangover but not for them to be so obtrusive that you feel you cannot let your hair down. Helen, who runs her own successful catering firm and is perhaps a tougher judge than most, called them “attentive but discreet”.
Perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to the staff was
their reaction to some of Molly’s exploits. Like any nine-month old,
she was highly energetic.
Our chef had spent the afternoon making handmade chocolates, with
the very willing help of the kids. Molly had been temporarily
banished to the balcony for a few moments for some minor
misdemeanour but was strangley quiet and we soon realised why. We looked outside in horror as we saw her tucking into the truffles
which had been left outside to set. The chef simply shrugged his
shoulders and started all over again. On that basis, I think Frary’s
Second Law of House Parties should be ‘Find a house with perfect
staff.’
Other party options
Momentum Ski (020 7372 9111, www.momentum.uk.com) is well known
for its tailor-made breaks. It operates five chalets in Méribel that
are operated in a slightly more relaxed way than the usual chalet
break. The price you pay includes the accommodation and the staff
and then you pay for food and wine on top at cost, giving you huge
flexibility. The slopeside Chalet Griottes sleeps 10 and costs
£8,126 for the week commening March 5. Count on an average of 150
euro (£100) per head for food and wine for the week. Ski St Anton
(01276 61072, www.skistanton.net) is working with trendy private
chef firm Limechilli at its three ultra-modern chalets in St Anton.
If you take over an entire chalet, the personal chef will create a
tailor-made menu for you. Prices start at £1,170 per person per week
chalet board.
Need to know
Mark Frary travelled with Descent International (020-7384 3854,
www.descent.co.uk). A week at the 10-person Ferme de Moudon costs
from £6,660 for the whole property, including accommodation,
breakfast and dinner, children’s lunch and supper, unlimited
champagne, spirits and soft drinks and a chauffeur but not flights
or transfers.