This is the newsletter that launches the coming season, albeit most minds are still on summer holidaying - but it is your reminder to come to the barbecue on Saturday, August 13th, and please do already sow the seeds with friends and acquaintances with the idea to try out the club.

But firstly, to recap events since the last newsletter that went to press at the end of January. There are two sad occurrences to inform you of. I am very sorry to report that Marian Barton, who skied with the club many times in the past, and indeed served on the Committee, died recently after suffering from cancer. Deryck, with whom Marian skied until recently, has written a few words in this issue. Also, Helly informed us of an avalanche accident in Canada that killed the brother of Herr Heimo Royer, the general manager of the Hotel Royer who addressed us a couple of times during Club Week. A letter of condolence was sent on your behalf, and I have received a card and very appreciative reply from him. He was skiing with his brother when the avalanche happened, so one can hardly imagine the desperate anguish in the immediate aftermath of that experience, and the despair at the final outcome.

On a much nicer note, many will remember Petra Schlechter, the lovely wife of Marian who was the club's chief instructor and guru for a number of years. She is now a world champion - in an unusual combo of golf and skiing - which took place recently, with a giant slalom on the Kitzsteinhorn, and golf on the Zell am See course.

Our AGM took place finally on 17th May. Once again, apologies to all for the change of date at a late stage. Your committee remains the same as last year, and the 20-odd who turned up, thank you, did their best to eat the copious buffet that BA Clubs produces for the number we place the order for. The greatest discussion was centred on how do we get new blood into our club, as the numbers are gradually reducing year-on-year, and how to distribute classes evenly.

So, to look forward, booking forms are in this issue for both Warm-Up & Club Championship Weeks, and the deadline for a discount on Club Week is end-August, as last year, with a cut-off date of 30th September, when we formally accept guest applications. No doubt there will still be some availability after this for both Zell and Schladming as previously, but I will have handed back any excess rooms not taken up at this time. Those who like to go a few days in advance may be coordinated, and perhaps have transport arranged, as seems appropriate nearer the time.

And here we have a major departure from the norm. As a result of discussions at the AGM, it has been decided to offer an alternative package, on both weeks, to broaden our appeal both to snow-boarders, and also to make welcome, say, the other halves of skiers/boarders who would like to be in our resorts, but who do not wish to slide around the mountains. (If sufficient boarders of a similar standard materialised, then we would be only too happy to use our good connections in the resorts to set up instruction, guiding etc.). Any beginners/near-beginners out there, you are most welcome. We strongly advise you to take dry slope lessons in the autumn to give you a flying start, (Wycombe Summit, where we have the barbecue, offers a discount to BA staff), and you will then receive instruction in our resorts, initially either privately or with the local ski school, as appropriate, and depending on numbers.

Some of you have been very good at recruiting in the past - we would love to see more, so do spread the word with colleagues and friends, inside & outside the airline, and get them along to say hello at the barbecue perhaps. (Remember, there are Hotlines & no-frills ways of getting cheaply to Zell & Schladming for non-staff). And anyone reading this on the intranet, or whatever, please make contact with one of the committee to get the flavour of our club - we only need you to be enthusiastic, your standard does not need to be high, and you will have a lot of fun.

Looking forward to seeing you, both new faces & old friends, soon.

Amount raised last Season £1,176.00

It was another very successful year for our fund raising. Everyone was very generous and the items that you the members gave me for the Auction, never fail to impress me. The money we raised this year was to help disabled skiers and their helpers, to take a ski holiday. I do know that it is very expensive to organise the care needed for disabled people so your money will have been well spent.

Unfortunately my contact for ski equipment was Ian Edwards. He has resigned from running the club and my new contact has stated quite clearly that he can only accept Short Carving skis as there is so much equipment in the store room. Our members have been so generous that there is now nowhere to store it. So please accept my apologies if you have equipment and clothes to donate, At the moment I am unable to pass them on. Ian Edwards will still be running the popular holiday in France so our raffle/auction would still be most welcome.

Lee McMahon

Adventures in Finland with the IASF, as seen by Richard Leach

It's March, so it must be time for the WASC. WASC? The World Airline Ski Championships, though it is better called 'What A Skier Craves'. If you ski, work for an airline and don't take it too seriously, that is (Lufthansa excepted).

So it was a bright, warm spring day as the small crew of Your Correspondent, Paul Turner, Alexis Hunter and Trevor Plows took the trip to the frozen north of Finland and the delightful little resort of Levi, about 170km inside the Arctic Circle. A long way to go for a week, maybe, but worth the 7am flight and the connection at Charles De Gaulle, (accidentally collecting Tania from Swiss International along the way) to arrive in plenty of time for the arduous 15 minute transfer from the little airport of Kiittilä to the apartment in Levi.

The one thing that was apparent throughout this was how a warm spring day in Paris turned into a bloody freezing spring day in Finland. Even hardy skiers pass comments during the week, though in the week-long sunshine and with a hot coffee in your hand, it was a pleasant place to be.

Tuesday afternoon was a memorable one for many of our members who have skied in the Saltzberger Region for many years. We all met up at the Panorama Pfiff Restaurant to celebrate BA Ski Club's 30th Anniversary in the area. There were a few VIPs present including Peter from the Lebzelter Hotel and Marta and her team from the ski school. A presentation was made to an emotional Helly in appreciation of all her work over the years. There will be a separate report on this event.

Our instructor Martin Heuberger enjoyed a bevy or two in the Breiteck Arms before skiing down under the Areitbahn to Shuttdorf and wondered why he could not find his car, clearly forgetting he had parked it at the bottom of the Standard. A bus ride and one hour later he found it, with Paul still waiting for a lift home.

Unusually, the event kicked off on a Sunday, so there was no time to acclimatise before the practice sessions on the Monday. Although there were a good hundred or so skiers using the course, the snow stayed flat, firm and grippy for the whole time, which made a refreshing change from the toboggan tracks we are used to. This boded well for the following day, and with confidence high, we set off to explore the rest of the mountain.

As it is, the mountain itself is not the most challenging steep-wise, but the introduction of some well-managed tree runs, a snow park and open off-piste gave plenty for all but the most extreme skier to enjoy. Providing you were out of the wind. But with a plateau at the top and nothing higher around you, things got more than a bit cold on the drag lifts…

Ski legs intact, and nursing slight hangovers from the previous night's Opening Party at the Hullu Poro Areena (sic), we kicked off with the Slalom. Three starters, two finishers, with Your Correspondent contriving to miss the 51st gate on the second run, with a good time in sight, even for the quick course that had been set. Some amusement for the crowd in the gallery, though the après-ski crowd were more amusing in many ways, not least their undecipherable Finnish version of 'Bob the Builder'.

The evening saw the traditional parade around the local town accompanied by the local school children and their papier maché aeroplanes. A bit of a scare as one of the Condor guys collapsed, though it turned out he had spent a bit too long in the sauna.

Alexis rushed over to do her Florence Nightingale bit and it wasn't long before he was feeling much better, though I'm sure there were a few people who would feign collapse to get a ride in the reindeer sleigh that led the way. We were also treated to a display of local leisure activities, which seemed to performing lunatic stunts on snowmobiles. In fact, there were more snow mobiles than cars around, and as they had separate trails, you had to really watch where you were going as they came up behind you quickly.

Clearly one of them is not standing around outside at night, given the muttering that accompanied the display from all concerned about how cold it was. About -15°C, which is apparently quite balmy for March. Warming up again in the Hullu Poro, there were a fair few people who needed to go for the brandies, spurning the excellent local speciality, Minttu.

A breath-takingly cold start to the following day, and the GS. A day of surprises to boot, not least the rare sight of the BA name of Paul Turner against 1 on the leader board. Yes, BA managed to lead a race for once! Fame, glory, shiny neckwear, they all came into view. The thing not always mentioned, however, is the fact that Paul's bib number was also '1'. By the time we got to bib number 3, the visions had all disappeared as Paul's time was well beaten by the perennially quick Widerøe boys. And, surprisingly, by a perennially slower BA skier. Paul blamed the wrong snow and bad edges for lack of grip and a slow time, though Trevor and I couldn't see what the fuss was about…

Being Lapland, there was no way the theme party could be anything other than 'Christmas'. So, with some opting for the usual collection of Santa hats and red coats (of varying degrees of sexiness), some airlines went for broke. There were a lot of flashing lights and some elf costumes, though the prize was a choice between Transavia's Christmas Trees (made out of wooden floor underlay) and Delta's 'Blizzard'. This consisted of the women wearing white clothes with inflated white balloons attached to them. As they all burst into the room, it was a blizzard! Suffice to say, the blokes found sharp objects from somewhere very quickly and the costumes didn't last long. A very friendly affair, and there were a lot of people being very friendly with Transavia's mascot, the 'Moose with the Juice'.

The final day saw the last of the cross-country races and a chance to spend the morning roaming the mountain before the Fun Race. The curtain-raiser this year was, however, the 3 x 1km cross-country relay. With a flat course and an expectant crowd, there were some surprise entrants. Not us, I assure you (Trevor having injured his wrist previously), but some who didn't quite realise that all three people in the team are supposed to have their own skis. Cue chaos in the change over area as people swapped skis, and it was hard to tell who was who.

The Fun Race was a more chaotic affair than that, with the first leg dribbling a football with one foot on a cross-country ski (harder on snow than you think), followed by one pushing another on a sledge, finishing with the team of 3 having to down a bottle of sparkling wine, one glass at a time. KLM and Transavia did well, with the Finnair teams doing surprisingly badly. Seems there is no such thing as home advantage when it comes to cheap champagne drinking.

We particularly welcomed Martin Heuberger and his wife Shelley. Martin was our instructor at the time of the Clubs first visit to the Region (and the writer was privileged to be in his group in December 2004). Shelley has provided Chairman Graham with much material (clean and otherwise) for his after-dinner perorations.

The Fun Race was a more chaotic affair than that, with the first leg dribbling a football with one foot on a cross-country ski (harder on snow than you think), followed by one pushing another on a sledge, finishing with the team of 3 having to down a bottle of sparkling wine, one glass at a time. KLM and Transavia did well, with the Finnair teams doing surprisingly badly. Seems there is no such thing as home advantage when it comes to cheap champagne drinking.

The whole thing was accompanied by the traditional fair of food and beverages from around the world, featuring Glogg, Minttu, Oranje, Kalbsbraten, raclette, some really creamy coffee from Swiss and the noisiest Mississippi Mudshot blender on earth. As the afternoon wore on, it was clear that the crowd of gawping locals was getting larger, no doubt prompted by some using their ubiquitous Nokias to text their friends with "Come and have a look at the loony airline people!!" Someone found a toboggan too, so soon everybody (including Skippy) were up and down the hill. Toboggans, benches, tables, crash mats: whatever came to hand.

The rest drifted away to prepare for the gala dinner that evening, which was a sumptuous affair, though the more squeamish didn't take kindly to the reindeer kebabs after referring to them as' Bambi on a Stick'. The highlight was being serenaded by the Finnair Pilot's Big Band throughout the meal, followed up by them belting out some classic funk and soul with Finland's answer to Rod Stewart (minus the dodgy haircut).

A gentle day on the slopes was followed by a more energetic final one as the trio tackled some cross-country skiing. The picture says it all really…

An early start to the final day was not too welcome, but the last flight out of Kiittilä to Paris for the season had our seats on it. A few hours (missing luggage and Tania's broken wrist later), we were back in London, wondering how much better it could be next year…

Sounds like fun? Then join in next March for snow, parties and free beer!

JIM BARTON and BEA in CHAMONIX - 1977
Or, an innocent (skier) abroad

Some months ago Marian Barton handed me a manuscript Diary written by her first Husband of an early visit to Chamonix. She thought it might interest and amuse readers of this Newsletter to read of rugged facilities and unpisted decents as existed hardly more than a quarter of a century ago. Marian was not a member of the party but this report is included in her memory (see our Obituary on page 14) DLT.

Saturday
Carrying my suitcase, skis, boot bag, duffel bag I walked down to the station. I had only the phone number of the agent in Chamonix, no name and no address. The phone in the station was out of order. I asked in Francais where the nearest public phone was. I didn't really understand the answer, I seem to suffer some kind of mental breakdown on entering a foreign country on my own. Eventually phoned agent from a hotel and got directions. After a ten-minute walk I arrived at the agent just as he was locking up for lunch. Chose a restaurant for lunch which I enjoyed. Had half a litre of wine which seems to be the minimum quantity one can order.

By now I was feeling really comfortable in Chamonix and convinced that I would like it. Saw old grey cat, liked him too. Had to stump up 370 francs to get key of chalet. The bus conductor was very helpful (I liked the place more and more) and showed me where to get off and explained the best way to get to the chalet. I walked for about two minutes when I saw, ALAN POWLEY getting out of a blue car:. After hugging and kissing Alan, I kissed Gerda, Hugh and Nigel who were all in the blue car. "We don't know where this chalet is and no one seems to know" they cried. "All is organised" I replied, "I have the key and know exactly where it is". More hugging and kissing followed. I was thrust into the car with my luggage. (Luckily I was on top of Gerda and the luggage was in with Hugh and Nigel).

Sunday
Got up at 7.30. Cooked eggs for breakfast. Forgot about altitude and only cooked them for 4 minutes. Put on the ski gear, boots left out in entrance hall all night and take to skiing place in boot of car. When we got to skiing we found boots were frozen and very painful to put on. Had cold feet for about an hour. We all left the chalet at about 8.45 and decided to ski at Argentiere. The lift pass was a sticky label with detachable back and wire frame). Got on "Logman" cable car - no real queue. Then caught Grands Monet" cable car to top. Went to the loo at the top and I could see Chamonix through the hole in the floor. (was also a little worried about frost bite as wind was blowing and was very bitter. Drank a hot chocolate at top (cost 10/-).

Heavy snow at first but we went off piste and found the best powder snow I have ever skied in. Sun was shining and the scenery was magnificent. We were skiing along side a glacier, glistening and shining blue in the sunlight.

Alan lost a ski in some deep snow. We spent half an hour looking for it. I have definitely decided now not to use ski stops for free skiing. We found the "secret way" from the top of the chair lift. A little powder and a lot of crud. Then tried the other chair lift. Wind was blowing now and cold. Clouds had gathered although not dense. Cable car was closed (in fact some people were stuck in it for about an hour). Had another run on a chairlift and our half day lift pass was up! A good skiing morning. A good skiing area. We skied down to the bottom and had lunch at the Brassiere (A brassiere I said) I had frits and saucission and café au lait. Cost £2 but was very nice (Delicious mustard). Others had jambon rolls. I drove us to Flegere for pm skiing (après-midi in French). Arrived about 2.45, funny old cable car but no queue. Caught Gondola at top. A bit cold as wind still blowing. Old drag lift also used once.. Had a lot of runs, fairly good long runs but snow not so good, also light poor. At one place there is an area where an avalanche had obviously fallen and the snow was in the most strange contours and shapes and skiing over it most peculiar. Parts of the way down were steep and icy plus a few rocks. Gerda is going to cook dinner tonight. (Pause for food & wine)….

We had a good dinner well cooked by Gerda. Drank lots of wine. Discussed Alan's idea that as urine is sterile, one could fix up a tube into one's boots to keep one's feet warm. The idea is to be marketed as ' Piss in Boots'. Had a hilarious evening.

MondayAiguille-Du-Midi Magnificent - Scared.
Monday morning dawned fine and clear. Decided we should do the Vallee Blanche run from the Aiguille du Midi.. The run is 20k and you are supposed to have a guide which costs 300 francs. After a lot of discussion and with some trepidation, we decided to go up the 2 stage cable car without a guide and if the run looked too formidable we could return the way we came. The cable car was dramatic on its own being the highest in the World. At the top there was a scruffy bar selling souvenirs and certificates (7francs) to say that you had been there. There is a lift (elevator) inside the middle needle which you reach for the cable car across a short wooden bridge. The bridge spans a drop of 1000 feet or so. I was scared walking across it. The lift takes you up to the PITON, a large structure for TV broadcasting. The view from the top is absolutely fantastic (and frightening). We saw lots of people skiing the run. The sky was cloudless and there was only an occasional gusty wind. We decided to do the run as the track was clear and we would be most unlikely to ski into a crevice in these conditions. Obviously if the conditions are bad, visibility is poor or new snow has fallen, it would be stupid not to have a guide, but perfect conditions with competent skiers as we are there is no danger. Except at the top. I was absolutely scared shitless by a catwalk. Very steep with a rope ladder that you had to descend carrying skis and sticks for about 300 feet. The slopes dropped away on either side leaving a path width of about 3 feet. I cut off my fear and concentrated on putting my feet in the right place so that I did not slip over the edge. I was so relieved to reach the bottom and put my skis on. We thought "If the run is as difficult as that, perhaps we will need a guide". However, it was an easy run but magnificent. The scenery was absolutely fantastic. Great sharp pointed mountain ridges above, glaciers glinting green and blue in the sun below and alongside us sharp razor edges of still rivers stretched for perhaps half a mile. The contorted shapes of the glacier as it moved imperceptibly creating deformed and strained shapes. It is like scenery from the Lord of the Rings. I have never seen or experienced anything like it. We followed the run down over and along the Mer de Glace. At the beginning we would see the stationery gondolas strung across the sky of the cableway from Aiguille Du Midi to the Helbronner in Italy but this was soon out of sight and we were completely away from all manmade structures and devices. It was a beautiful experience. We crossed the ratchet railway and ended the run at the outskirts of Chamonix. We sat in a small restaurant and had sandwiches of ham and French bread. Nigel volunteered to walk into town to collect the car then collect us. Three cheers for Nigel even if it did take him one and half hours. When he finally returned we went to a skiing area called Le Brevent on the opposite side of the valley L Mont Blanc. En Face de Mont Blanc as the adverts say. This is a two stage cable car and the second stage sounded a though a bearing was going. I was scared again. The run was fairly steep and interesting. That is the run from the top of the second stage to the Plan Praz (the top of the first stage). No piste preparation is done and the snow was deep and cruddy but we enjoyed the run. We then had a few runs on the chair lift but this was rather short and limited. We finally decided to go up the cable car (second stage) again but it was closed, so we started to ski down to Chamonix. It was an awful run (but better than going down in the cable car). For much of this run we were skiing in the remains of an avalanche which was hard, icy, rutted, narrow and in places steep. Bloody awful. The night before we bought a crate of beer wholesale as well as plenty of wine so we were well set. We got home to our delightful chalet eventually and had "tea". Just the thing after skiing. We decided to eat out that night and eventually went back into Chamonix to find a restaurant. We got a bit drunk and Gerda volunteered to collect the car and drive us home. Which is exactly what she did. When we got into the car all four of the group crammed in the back, nobody daring to travel in the front seat. Actually she drove well and we got back home ok even if a little cramped. Talked till about 12.30. Slept well.

Tuesday
All day at Argentiere. Had kidneys for dinner cooked by Gerda. Washed up by me.

Wednesday
Decided to spend the day at Courmayeur. Nigel drove us through tunnel. We had a look around the village which is very attractive. I like the place very much. Bought a super Italian doughnut. Typical Italian village. Seems just as expensive as Cervinia but not so classy at the upper end. Skiing very good for all grades except absolute beginners. Started skiing at about 10.30 buying day tickets for 5000 lira. Main skiing area is reached by gondola which crosses the main road. Had lunch in a very nice mountain restaurant. Skied hard all pm. Hurt leg. Gerda hurt her head which was worse, or is it? You don't need much brain to ski. Had some coffee in a funny old bar called "Porta", pottered around, bought some of the dinner for tomorrow night Porta and Gruner sauce. (sauce is very runny and dark green, on the whole very unpleasant looking, I wonder how it will taste). We went to the Gatti restaurant for dinner. Had "Hare". Not so good. Cost about £4 and was ordinary.

Thursday
Today Gerda was bitten by a horse (ha ha). Actually it was a black Shetland pony. He was hanging around the chalet as we left this morning to go skiing. I rubbed his nose and he snapped at me then, having missed with his teeth, turned round and tried to kick me. Luckily he missed that time as well. He went over to Gerda who stroked him then he bit her finger. He chased Hugh back into the chalet. He was having a great time. We all got into the car eventually and took Gerda to Hospital for a tetanus jab. We then drove to Argentiere to ski and on arrival found that I had left my boots behind. Hugh and Nigel went skiing, I drove back to the chalet to get my boots and then back again to Argentiere to ski. So at about 11 am I caught the cable car. A day ticket at Argentiere costs 48 francs and does not cover the very top cable car. I skied in the long chair lift black run and eventually met up with Hugh and Nigel. We skied a couple of runs and then skied down for lunch at about 1.30. It had been a beautiful morning - clear blue skies - and it was shirts off for lunch which lasted until 2.30. We then caught cable car and skied the rest of the afternoon. Alan collected us in the car at about 5.30pm. We tried to kill the horse on our way back in the car but it avoided us. I have just had a bath and am waiting for Gerda to finish cooking our sumptuous umpteen course meal with umpteen bottles of wine. Today I skied like a real hot dogger.

Marian Bogdan (Barton)

We sadly record the death of Marian after a long illness on May 11th in the Michael Sobell Centre Northwood.

Marian joined BEA (later to become BA) in 1965 working in Passenger Travel in Hartley House, Ruislip (near the BEA HQ at Bealine House). Retiring last year she had served the airline for 38 years. Latterly she worked in the BA Medical Centre in Piccadilly and enjoyed the change from accounting and ticketing

Marian's colleages down the years speak of her friendliness and helpfulness. Her skill in the use of things electronic was employed to the full in her job and in her private life, where her understanding of computers, DVDs, mobiles and the like was awesome.

Gwen and I first met Marian at events promoted by the Silverwing (that is to say BEA) Ski Club in 1972. For some years she served on the Committee of the Club, became Racing Team Manager and was much involved in off-season events. Her husband at that time was Jim Barton who skied (strenuously) with the Club as a Guest. They later divorced.

Marian was a very proficient skier and pursued the sport most years until last year when we skied with her at St. Moritz. (She left the BA Club some years ago because she said "they start too early in the morning"! True enough, although experience of early shifts to preside over her beloved ticketing machine may have had something to do with that decision). She especially enjoyed the Sella Ronda in the Dolomites, which she skied on a number of occasions with BA friends. A treasured memory for us was skiing with Marian on a midsummer day in Austria and afterwards sitting outside in the dark to see the tradition of lighting fires on the top of a circle of alpine peaks.

Marian met Vicentiu Bogdan some 15 years ago after he had made his bid for freedom from Romania, the country of his birth. Much later he and Marian came to love each other and such was the intensity of their relationship they decided to marry and rings were exchanged on the 23rd April, just 17 days before Marian died.

DLT

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