Skiing with Scott Dunn: the calibre of the kids

the picture postcard stuff – St Anton

There’s SO much to a ski holiday that could go wrong. And I’m not just talking about the awful prospect of broken limbs.  There’s the ridiculous amount of clobber you need to remember ALL the time, endless misunderstandings about meeting points and, of course, the seriously uncomfortable, weighty ski boots.

Yesterday we lost a glove.  One of Small’s.  Somewhere between the ski locker room and the first lift.  Something as small (literally) as this, can be enough to send you over the edge when you’re balancing more than one pair of skis on your shoulders with a blizzard in your face.

You’re getting the picture now.  The blue sky and easy turns are idyllic but they are really only the backdrop.  The real picture is the chalet comfort, the food served to hungry mouths and the organizational team picking up all those dropped gloves before you realise that you’ve even dropped them.

a welcome fennel loaf

I am lucky enough to be a guest of Scott Dunn this week here in St Anton and, seeing as the travel company can’t control the weather, I thought I’d report back on the level of service we received.

a double bedroom in Christoph

Anyone who frequents ski chalets knows that your service is only as good as the calibre of kids catering.   (The average age of a chalet host is 19 years old.)  Our ski party (2 dad, 2 mums, 4 smalls) is staying in Chalet Christoph, just above the St Anton village.  It is one in a bank of four contemporary (yet very alpine) ‘premier’ chalets – in fact an old sawmill converted to now include a hot tub, sauna, log fire and a number of flat screen TVs.

I thought the easiest way to give you a full picture of our Scott Dunn experience would be to run through our support team:

Lucy – our Scott Dunn Chalet Service Manager

Lucy, our chalet service manager, had the enjoyable task of listening to our moans and groans of noisy Chelsea neighbours (the chalet walls were thin) and an unsympathetic ski school.  We thought she coped brilliantly as she turned our wishes and gripes into suitable solutions.

Hattie – our chalet host

Joe – our Chalet Host

Hattie & Joe were our chalet hosts.  Hardworking, super friendly (without being unnervingly pally) and a pure pleasure to have around.  One was heading to LSE next year, the other to Oxford Brookes – so they were bright enough to keep us amused while young enough to play Uno with the Smalls.

Jason, our chef, is worthy of whole blog post to himself.  Enough said. (Blog post to follow).

Jason Eaves – our chef

Mikey – sous chef

Darren and his four-wheeler at the ready

Darren was just one of our three drivers making sure that we were seamlessly transported to our skis and the lifts (and back) without exerting any unnecessary energy.

I think you’re probably getting the picture by now.  I hardly needed to blink and a G&T was poured, a canapé offered and out rolled the 4-course dinner. And I am presuming that it’s no coincidence that every single member of the Scott Dunn team bowled us over in terms of their attitude, personality and punctuality.  So my point here is that not only are these kids carefully selected and well trained but it’s also clearly crucial that they are ‘of the right calibre’.  The Smalls have already asked me if we can ‘see them all in London’.  Gawd.  If only Scott Dunn could move in at home…

I was a guest of Scott Dunn staying in Lodge Christoph. 

The family holiday was booked through The Oxford Ski Company.