Book early HERE 
Saturday 15th January 2022 is the date to look out for so:
Number of SLEEPS before we go is :
This was not going to be an easy trip to get off the ground. We started the countdown days before day 300 because the trip was once cancelled due to COVID-19.
COVID days were never really on the radar in the past but neither were Pandemics. It seems that the whole world has undergone vaccination but here we are with 10 sleeps before we travel to catch the plane from Manchester airport.
This year there will be 4 of us going rather than the three that went to Saalbach last time, we just hope that we are able to get to Saalbach where we should be able to have an enjoyable week skiing.
Flight Information
| From/To Airport | Flight Number | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAN-SZG | LS889 | 15/01/2022 | 08:40 |
| SZG-MAN | LS890 | 22/01/2022 | 12:50 |
Prior to this years trip we all have to be COVID vaccinated. We all need 3 injections and we are required to take a quantity of face masks together with a lateral flow test prior to boarding the plane. We are flying with Jet 2 from MCR T2 to Salzburg, Austria from where we will be coached to our hotel for the week which will be Chalet Christina.
Pre-Requisites
Prior to flying we must all have a supply of FFP2 face masks. These can be obtained from Amazon here price £10.00/20
Here is the link to the PRE-Travel Document that is available from the JET2 website
As well as the above all of us required a valid PCR test which indicates that we have been tested for Covid 72 hours prior to arrival.
Off we go – Saalbach here we come.
So this was it. We were on our way to Saalbach , Austria during this Covid-19 pandemic – who would have thought. It was touch and go at one point and personally I had grave doubts on us being able to leave the country but we did it, we made it to Saalbach.
In Saalbach we stayed at the chalet Christina. We stayed at this chalet the last time we were in Saalbach and we had a great time. The chalet is like a home-from-home with good food and comfortable rooms. The Chalet is owned by the skiing company that we are travelling with which is Ski Miquel on our last visit we had a great weeks skiing and we were well catered for at the chalet.
On this occasion I would be sharing a twin room with Dermot while Laurence and Paul would also share a twin room. The rooms are comfortable and spacious with plenty of cupboard space for skiing gear and clothes. The dress code in the chalet is definitely casual but some people when on holiday want to make a effort and this is acceptable also.
Arrival at the chalet.
We arrived on the Saturday. Saturdays are the turn around days for current and new customers. The journey from the airport was in the order of 90 mins. Once at the chalet, rooms were allocated and then we all went to get our skis sorted at the local skiing shop where a welcoming drink of snaps from the snaps fountain is provided ( its a kind of tradition ). The ski shop provides anything that is required in the way of skiing equipment though we tend to order just Skis and poles.
Skis can be stored in the chalet, there is a warm boot room in the basement of the chalet BUT this means a daily yomp with your skis, boots and poles from the chalet to the ski lifts SO to avoid the need to carry all skiing gear it is possible to and pay a nominal fee of 15 euros for the use of ski lockers for the week. The lockers are situated right under the main ski drag ( which is great ). Ski passes which are ordered through Ski Miquel would be provided prior to the evening meal.
After returning from the ski hire shop there was time to unpack and freshen up before a pre-evening drink in the bar together with some orderves (provided by the spanish chef – Antonio ).
Our chalet manager and staff for the week.
Our chalet manager for the week was Carol. We had met Carol in the past and she is a very competent manager and a very good skier ( catch me if you can ).
Other staff that looked after us for the week were Axa ( from Sweden who looked after the chalet ) , Alex ( from Tennessee in the USA who also looked after the chalet), Arthur ( from Sweden who not only managed the bar but also did guided skiing ) and last but not least Antonio ( from Spain who provided all of the great food ).
There were issues with visas, probably due to BREXIT where we are only able to visit an EU country for 90 days ( though it could have been something else ) but this caused a switch of manager and a loss of a day’s guided skiing. Richard from Uppermill , Saddleworth was flown out and he became he substitute chalet manager for the rest of our stay. Richard had been the Ski Miquel operations manager for 26 years so he knew the ropes. Brexit has also meant that people from the UK are not being employed by Ski Miquel due to the 90 day limit.
Guest groups in the chalet.
There were 3 main groups of guests. There were us 4 and then there were 12 people form Yorkshire and there was a group that came from Wales,London and Dubai. The latter group kind of partied all week and could be seen drinking most if not all of the time. The Yorkshire group were a diverse range of people who were predominantly men. All of the groups got on really well and we had a fantastic week together.
The Weather
At the beginning of the holiday (first 4 days ) the weather was great with blue clear skies but on Thursday the weather changed and it became rather grey and cloudy with poor visibility. On the top of the mountains there were strong winds also which made skiing high up difficult due to the flat light and poor visibility. it was also very windy and cold with the wind chill factor.
The Snow – Conditions
There was plenty of snow though not huge depth. Snow conditions were good for skiing. Further snow towards the end of the week would also ensure good levels of snow for those who would follow after us.
Restaurants
So the following are just some random photographs of the internals of some of the restaurants that we ate in during our stay. Each morning we would have a coffee break at some amazing alpine retreat and we always had lunch again in some beautiful mountain eatery. The one that I have photographed below has an amazing interior which looks like it was designed by Dali. The mountain restaurants are buzzing at lunch and they are warm and huge in size.
First ski of the day and yes – I dropped a glove 🙁
So it was our first chair lift of the day and I was messing about with masks and such when I dropped a glove from a considerable height. I could hear people behind shouting to inform me that I had dropped a glove but to be honest I knew. I decided that rather than go back for the glove and risk loosing the group that I was with that I would look later to see if someone had recovered the glove and turned it BUT there was no sign of the glove so I decided that I would ski without gloves for the week. Offers of gloves were made to me ( I could have gone and bought a pair if I had wanted too ) but I decided to go commando ( glove wise ) for the week ( which turned out fine in the end ). Next time I will take a spare pare just in case.
Saalbach has a mix of gondolas both large and small. There are a few antiquated lifts but in the main these are few an far between. In the main Saalbach has amazing skiing infrastructure. The runs are mainly Red but there are some nice Blue runs and the odd Black. Run 1a is a Black run. I think that it was probably the steepest gradient that we skied all week and it was challenging but we skied it all the same.
And now for the bad bit. How do you ski with a broken collar bone ?
We all like skiing and we had been waiting for this trip for over a year so it was important that we all went at the slopes gently for the first day or so ( to avoid injury ). So all seemed to be going well up until about lunch when Dermot had a fall. I did not see the fall but it seems that someone behind him was skiing too close and ran over the back of Dermot’s skis and this cause him to fall forward and onto his shoulder which resulted in a broken collarbone 🙁 ( just what we were trying to avoid ).
Dermot soldiered on for a short while (cos he’s brave) but had to retire due to the pain and the fact that a second fall could result in far greater damage.
Dermot returned back to the chalet with Carol and I had thought that he would have been taken to the hospital but instead I think that Dermot made his own way to the hospital where he was x-rayed and given advise to ‘Go back to the UK and have it operated on there‘ WOW, great advise but it still left Dermot in pain. They did provide him with some form of sling contraption which I think was just placed in a bag and never used.
Dermot spent the whole of the next day on the internet looking for a way to get back to the UK asap. Again he had to do this by himself. Luckily he had a phone and a laptop and the where with all to trawl the web until he finally had a route back to the UK.
The way back to the UK was long, starting with a bus journey from the chalet to Zel-Um-See and then from Zel-Um-See by train to Salzberg and then from Salzberg via train to Vienna. From Vienna it was then possible to fly to Stanstead where Dermot had arranged for his daughter ( who lives in London ) to collet him and to take him back to her house where he would be able to stay the night. The following day a train would take Dermot to the north where he would then get a taxi, a tram and the finally an Uber where he would then end up back home.
No room at the inn, ah well lets go for a fondue.
When staying in a Ski Miquel chalet there is an understanding that guests will fend for themselves on the middle day of the holiday ( Wednesday ). Most people would therefore book a table BUT because the resort as a whole was not as busy as usual we decided not to book and just go out and find something not too far away but where we could have a nice meal. We walked down the centre of town and we asked several restaurants if they had a spare table. Most asked if we had reservations and we were refused from at least 3 restaurants. We then came across the Hotel Bauer and the lady in reception stated that they did have room but that it was the fondue night and would we like to partake in fondue ? A fondue sounded novel and it also sounded fun so we showed our covid passes together with a formal proof of identification ( driving license ) and we were seated in a stunning dining area at a beautifully presented table.
We were given some instruction. There was soup and pate and a range of breads etc. , this was to be our first course and then to follow we could choose from salads, vegetables and meats and then finally there would be fondue which would comprise of giant shrimp, steak ,. pork , turkey and mushrooms.
On our way home. Early start at 8:15 prompt.
We were all ready. We had been briefed the night before that breakfast would be served early and that we would all be expected to be ready to leave for 8:10 am. The journey to Salzberg would take 1-2 hours providing the the weather ( and therefore the traffic ) remained at a reasonable level. In the end thee was a snow fall which did lengthen the journey but we did make it within the allotted 2 hour period.
At Salzberg airport and ready for the off ( just 2 hours late )
