My journey to La Clusaz began by meeting up with 24 excited folks, some of whom I was meeting for the first time, at St Pancras International station at the supremely civilised hour of 5pm on the Saturday afternoon. This was great as it gave me a chance to pack and pick up a few last minute bits and bobs on the Saturday after a busy week at work. Also great because St Pancras is one tube stop from my home!
After getting some snacks and supplies (read: wine and champagne), we all shared a carriage on the Eurostar train to Paris and spent a couple of leisurely hours getting to know one another while sipping drinks and grazing on the snacks we’d brought with us - well it was Saturday night after all!
Most of us at some point during the trip retired to the bar and by the time we reached Paris, I was feeling rather ‘energised’ and had already made a number of new friends from the group.
We were met at Paris by pre-booked taxis and ferried a couple of miles across town from Gare de Nord to Austerlitz. This was convenient for everyone, but for those people bringing their own ski equipment, it was a necessity. It would have been no fun traipsing around the Metro with all that equipment in tow.
We stopped for dinner at a pleasant bistro near the station, and then onto the sleeper train to Annecy, the only problem being no-one in our carriage was quite ready to sleep straight away! So we opened up a bottle of rum, put on some music and had ourselves a mini-party in the 6-person couchette, until our energised feeling lurched towards ‘tired and emotional’, at which point we knew it was time for bed. Before we knew it we were in Annecy, from where the chalet staff whisked us off to our beautiful residence for the week. After some tea and biscuits and a couple of hours’ rest, it was time to ski!! By around 10am, we had our passes and equipment and were at the bottom of the ski lift ready to go for day 1!
The chalet was lovely and had a super chef. The skiing was fantastic - we had two dumps of snow during the week, and skied both in La Clusaz and in Le Grand Bornand.  Sadly at the end of the week it was time to come home.
The trip home was a daytime journey – we left early Sunday morning and got the express train to Paris, then the Eurostar. We talked, read, watched movies, listened to music and napped all the way home. I left the chalet at 8.15am and was at my front door by 5pm. A little longer than taking a flight perhaps, but much more relaxed overall.
I’d definitely consider taking the train again on a ski trip - it was much more fun and sociable than taking a plane, we got a bonus day’s skiing without the need for another night’s accommodation and of course, we dramatically reduced our carbon footprint.