Calthorpe Tonale Sunday 10 April

Breakfast is at 08:00 and is a buffet. The only problem is you can't get near the thing for hundreds of Belgian saucepan lids! There are two coach loads of Belgians and they all seem to have come down for breakfast at the same time. The hotel has lockers to keep your ski's in and each room has its own individual key. This is another big plus point for staying here. We are all ready to start ski-ing at 09:00 and once all the children have gone off in their groups we can ski. I am a little apprehensive about the lack of snow but the slopes seem fine as we take the chair lift to our first run. I am ski-ing with Paul, Tommy and Steve. We ski a short blue run to another chair lift that takes us high into the mountains. From here we ski a couple of hundred yards to another chair lift that takes us even higher. From here it is a red run down to the chairlift and then a long blue to the bottom. The sun is out and the snow is good, what more could you want! We rejoin the long chairlift up and as we ski off it at the top Steve goes over with a mighty scream that says he won't be ski-ing any more this week. He is in agony as a stretcher and skiddoo is called for. Anne and Howard arrive to witness his pain as we can only watch as he is loaded onto a stretcher and taken down the mountain to the medical centre. We all ski down to the bottom and finish for the morning. Steve is taken from the medical room to hospital with Tommy going along to keep him company. Anne has given Tommy a bag full of flapjacks to keep him going. We are staying on a full board basis and lunch is a large salad/vegetable buffet with also a choice of starters and a main course followed by ice cream or cake! I try to eat the full menu but just do not have room. I will stick to salad and pasta in future as I'm not used to eating a lot during the day. In the afternoon I do some work on my new brochure before the call comes! I have offered to pick up Steve and Tommy from the hospital if needed and now am needed. Steve is having his x-ray examined at 16:00 and should be ready soon after. I leave the hotel at 15:30 for the 48km drive to the hospital in Cles, a town at the bottom of the valley. It is still very sunny and the journey from Tonale is in the opposite direction to the way we came. The road is very high with lots of hairpin bends but the scenery is stunning and I enjoy the ride. As I approach Cles I stop and buy the boys a couple of bottles of beer each before picking them up outside of the hospital. Steve is on crutches but not in plaster so hopefully not as badly injured as first feared although he definitely won't be ski-ing or dancing this week. The drive to and from the hospital takes an hour each way and it is a pleasure to drive. We are back at about 18:00 and are soon in the Magic pub to see if any of the students are there. Well that is the excuse I was given! The bar was student free. Dinner is very good once again and afterwards I go for a coffee with Brian. Having enjoyed my coffee and looking forward to an early night I bump into Tommy and Anne on their way out for a drink. They kindly ask if I would like to join them and being someone who doesn't like to offend I tag along! We have a great evening in the bar and back at the hotel and my early night turns into a late night!