IAESTE Ski Weekend - Les Diablerets
December 4-6, 2009


Ski Weekend, Ski Weekend,
Skiing all the way;
Oh! what fun it is to join
IAESTE ski today! 

Dashing through the snow
In the swiss favourite way
O'er the glacier we go
Falling all the day

With all my friends I meet
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to drink and eat
A hot fondue tonight

Ski Weekend, Ski Weekend,
Skiing all the way;
Oh! what fun it is to join
IAESTE ski today!

Switzerland, the greatest skiing country in the world, and the "IAESTE Switzerland United Local Committees" is glad to offer you a weekend that you will never forget!

No matter if you have never seen snow before in your life or if you are a world champion in downhill racing: This weekend is for you! We will offer skiing classes for the beginners and ski races for the pros, hot wine and fondue for the real chalet experience and a never-ending party that will tire even the toughest party addicts!

Additionally, our special guest, the real Santa Claus, is going to reward you for being a good trainee this year! So be prepared for what his surprises! Moreover he will assign you to one of the several people from the tales. Each group (elves, padawan-santas, reindeers,...,schmutzlis (a swiss thing)) will compete over the weekend to earn the esteem of big Santa Claus.

Program

Friday, December 4

  • From around 21:30 on, we  welcome you at the chalet for "un vin chaud" (warm alcoholic beverage) and snacks at the chalet warming party. (Please bring your own food for Friday evening.)
  • Check in and place your luggage in one of the nice rooms.
  • Gathering in assembly room for Santa's welcoming speech!
  • Music and dancing in the chalet in the evening for those who like.

Saturday, December 5

  • Ski rental for those who don't have the equipment.

  • Skiing, snowboarding and sunbathing on the glacier during the day. (If you're not an experienced skier, lessons will be given by our professional staff.)
  • We will have sandwiches for lunch in the mountains.
  • Join Santa Claus for group games in the snow after lunch and at the chalet in the evening.
  • Finally, there will be a nice evening program: We will have a typical Swiss fondue after this skiing day. Then, we'll start drinking, dancing, playing games and maybe we'll manage to arrange a photo projection.
    ** As Santa Claus is moderating our Party and he will make sure his folk will be dressed accordingly

Sunday, December 6

  • Packing and warming up by cleaning the rooms before leaving to "Les Meillieurs" slopes.

  • More skiing, snowboarding and sunbathing during the day.
  • Have a warm soup at the chalet after returning from skiing.
  • Clean the rest of the chalet and start the trip back home in the evening.

Equipment

Rental ski and snowboards

We organize ski and snowboard rental in Les Diablerets for those who need it. Please select the appropriate option on the registration form.

  • interested in skiing: skis, sticks and boots.
  • interested in snowblading*: snowblades and boots.
  • interested in snowboarding: a snowboard and boots.

If you have your own skiing/snowboarding/snowblade equipment, bring it along! It will not only save you the money for the rental, but also time as the renting process can take a while. Maybe you can also borrow equipment from a friend or colleague (in this case, make sure that it fits you, though). Please only indicate on the registration form that you will bring your own equipment when you are sure about it.

*) snowblades are some kind of very short ski. For beginners this might be a convenient option to start. It is easier to ride on them. Also the transport is an advantage (you won't need sticks).

Additional outdoor equipment

Additional equipment that you need to bring:

  • Warm clothes, thick socks

  • Skiing/snowboarding pants. Warm jeans and raintrousers are an option, but we recommend to organize proper skiing/boarding pants - ask your friends or workmates! Note: Unprotected jeans (or any other 'normal' kind of trousers) will get wet in the snow after a short time and start to freeze - not pleasant...
  • Ski/winter jacket
  • winter cap, scarf, gloves
  • Sunglasses, sun cream, lipstick (the sun light in the mountains will be very bright due to the reflections in the snow such that you will have trouble seeing without sunglasses and might easily get a sunburn in the face without protection. The air is also very dry so that it can be a good idea to protect your lips)
  • For those renting skis or a snowboard: You will leave your normal street shoes at the renting shop on Saturday morning when you pick up your equipment and in exchange wander off with the skiing/snowboarding from there straight to the cable car. As you will return your equipment only on Sunday afternoon and come back directly to the chalet on Saturday afternoon with your skiing/snowboarding boots on, this means that you should have a second pair of shoes waiting for you at the chalet! You'll pick up your first pair of shoes when you return the rented equipment.
  • For your own safety, we recommend that you wear a helmet!

Note: Pants or jackets can also be rented as well (for additional charge of course). Write in the 'remarks' field on the registration form if you are interested. Renting of gloves could also be possible. We need to check with the shop about the availability and cannot promise anything right now.

Après-ski hours in the hut (dinner and party)

For our Après-ski party, we will join Santa Claus into his illusionary world of elves, reindeer, dwarves and grinches! Bring your home-country stories about the world's most beloved character to share it! Santa would be flattered (and would generously reward you)!

For sharing some memoriess: Bring on an USB-stick a digital collection of your best of IAESTE event pictures of this summer (please select not more than 50 ).

If you like some special kind of music, please take your compact discs, memory sticks, MP3 players (with cable) etc. with you (write your name on it). You can prepare some fun games - and if you happen to have a good bottle from your country, don't leave it at home!

Participation fees

The participation fee is 160 CHF for everyone. Note that for this event no transport ticket is included, and therefore the price does not vary on that.

If you do not yet have a SBB half-fare card, we recommend you buying one! Check the SBB website!

A deposit of 5 CHF should be paid at the beginning of the event for the ski-pass, and would be returned when you give your ski pass back.

A surcharge of 30 CHF will apply for participants who are not affiliated with IAESTE or its partner organisations.

The money will be collected at the start of the weekend . Only cash is accepted! :-)

Included in the participation fee

  • Welcome "vin chaud" drink on Friday

  • accommodation for 2 nights in Les Diablerets
  • ski-pass for two days, including the bus transportation from the chalet to the slopes.
  • breakfasts and lunches (food and drinks) for Saturday and Sunday.
  • fondue dinner on Saturday (as well as some drinks are included for apres-ski)
  • Good-bye soup on Sunday

Not included

  • Equipments rental:
    Skis-Boots-Sticks or Snowboard-Boots for two days ca. 75.- CHF
    Snowblades for two days ca. 60.- CHF (only 15 pairs available)

  • The deposit for the ski pass (5 CHF refundable).
  • You should buy your own train ticket. If the number of people on the trains are large enough, we can make a group reservation and get a group ticket. We'll determine this when we know the number of people travelling with each train.
  • Your dinners for Friday's and Sunday's evenings. (There will be only a welcome drink on Friday and a good-bye soup on Sunday)
  • Extra drinks during the party (offered at attractive low price to control cosumption).

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel your registration
  • less than 12 hours before the start of the event (that is, 09:30 PM, Friday), you pay the entire participation fee
  • 12-24 hours before the start of the event, you pay 75% of the participation fee
  • 24-48 hours before the start of the event, you pay 50% of the participation fee
  • 48-72 hours before the start of the event, you pay 25% of the participation fee

Transportation

How to travel best

The cheapest way to reach Les Diablerets is to use "Gleis 7" or a "General Abonnement", but you may have to pay a part of the trip with "Gleis 7" (i.e. the part before 19:00).

Look below for the train timetable. You may all take the same train so you can have fun together during the trip also - it's a rather long trip!.

**Please note that the Gleis 7 is only valid after 19:00 - i.e. you have to buy a ticket from your departure city to the first stop of the train after 19:00.


**The trains at 19:04 are the last trains to les diablerets from Zurich and Basel!

Meeting point and train connections

Currently, the following meeting points are planned:

  • Zürich: At the meeting point in Hauptbahnhof at 17:50 (for the train at 18:04). Please purchase your train tickets before coming to the meeting!

  • Basel: At the meeting point at 17:50 (for the train at 18:05) . Please purchase your train tickets before coming to the meeting!
  • Lausanne: At the meeting point at 20:10 (for the train at 20:20). Please purchase your train tickets before coming to the meeting!
  • Les Diablerets: Directly at the chalet around 21:45

It is possible to use the other trains if you wish. In that case you can arrange to meet with people who want to take the same train. If you are traveling from other cities, please find your SBB connection yourself and arrange to meet with us on the trains if possible.

Please specify your travel/meeting time on the registration form so that we can reserve places on the trains for the large groups traveling together.

If you are travelling by car, please let us also know.

From Basel

Train from Basel

From Lausanne

Train from Lausanne

From Zurich

Train from Zurich

To Basel

Train to Basel

To Lausanne

Train to Lausanne

To Zurich

Train to Zurich

For further information on train connections, check the SBB website.

How to find the chalet


Address

Chalet Les Bosquets, 1865 Les Diablerets

  • By foot from the railway station: It's a 5 minutes walk to the chalet. Follow the road back towards Aigle until you get to the hotel "Mon Abri" which is one of the last houses of the village on your right. Take a right just before the hotel and follow the sign reading "Centre de Jeunesse Adventiste" until the end of the road.

You can reach us at the chalet during the weekend on the following numbers:

  • +41 24 492-2798
  • +41 24 492-2755

We will also give the mobile phone numbers of some of the organizers to the participants by e-mail. Remember to take these phone numbers with you during the weekend!

Interesting Links

Checklist - Remember to Bring

  • Cash for paying the participation fee

  • Your skiing/equipments equipments and warm clothes.
  • Dinner for Friday.

  • Sun screen, sunglasses, chapstick

  • A second pair of shoes if you rent skis/snowboard in Les Diablerets

  • Slippers (for inside the chalet), towel and all the necessary to be clean after a skiing day and to be dressed up and sexy for the night dinners and parties

  • Sleeping bag or light sheets cover

  • (optional) Music, photos, drinks to share.
  • Additional Large Clean Sock to receive your Santa's gift

No Need to Panic

Especially for beginners and even more for the ones who have never seen snow before: Don't worry and join us!

We will organize classes especially for you (for free). It would be the most exciting experience that you would take back home from Switzerland

 

Registration Policy

In the 24 hours right after registration opening, IAESTE trainees and members will be given priority. After that, registration is open to everybody on a first-come, first-serve basis.
 

Registration

The maximum number of participants allowed for this event is 77 (including organizers and helpers) and the registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. If your registration is not among the first 77, it will be put on the waiting list.

The online registration closed on Monday, 30 November 2009, at 18:00:00.

Check out the list of participants for this event.

Contact

If you have any questions, write to Show e-mail address.