THE GREAT ESCAPE
KBO
Three nights. One mountain. Your son on the same chairlift. A coach who will not flatter either of you.
Request a placeThe point
Your son is twelve, or fifteen, or twenty-five. There is a window in which he still wants to go somewhere with you, and it is shorter than it looks.
So: a long weekend, one mountain, and a village that goes quiet at ten. You ski. Somebody else cooks. Nothing is scheduled that does not need to be.
This is not a family holiday and it is not a ski camp. There is a coach who will push you, an instructor who will push him, and an evening where the two of you play cards against the other pairs.
He comes back taller. You come back better. KBO.
The next one
Chapter I — Fathers & Sons
Argentière · Chamonix valleyA chalet-hotel at the foot of the Grands Montets. You finish breakfast and you are on the mountain — the lift is a minute's walk. In the evening: an outdoor jacuzzi under Mont Blanc, poker by the fire, and nobody looking at the clock.
- Dates
- SchoolLeave on Sunday evening and he misses nothing. Leave on Monday morning and he misses one day. You decide at the hotel, not now.
- Who comesFathers with sons of 12 to 17, and fathers with grown sons. Ten to fourteen pairs, three of us with you.
- Where you sleepHôtel & Spa Les Grands Montets ★★★★, Argentière. A twin room — two separate beds, balcony over Mont Blanc or the Argentière glacier.
- Getting thereGeneva 1 h 15. Luxembourg about 5 h 30 by road. Parking and EV charging at the hotel, free. After that you need no car at all.
- Price
Included
- Three nights in a twin room with a balcony, breakfasts
- A coach for the fathers, all weekend
- Le Pass lift passes, two days — adult and junior
- Saturday dinner in a Savoyard restaurant in the village: fondue or raclette, fixed menu
- Soirée Trappeur — the night snowshoe walk, mulled wine on the route, dinner in a mountain hut, transfer both ways
- Finest Hour — the father-and-son poker tournament. No money. Points and a cup.
- The spa: indoor pool 10×5 m, sauna, hammam, and the outdoor jacuzzi under Mont Blanc
Not included
- Getting to Argentière
- Lunches on the mountain
- Rental skis — we arrange them on request, fitted at the hotel
- Insurance — mandatory, with off-piste cover for the fathers
The weekend
Three nights, in order
The skiing is the day. The rest is why people come back.
Reporting In
Friday, from 16:00Passes and welcome packs. Rental skis fitted in the hotel if you asked for them. Then a fire and no programme at all.
Action This Day
Friday 19:00, and each morningWeather, groups, tomorrow. Ten minutes, standing, drink in hand. Sons included.
Two Groups, One Mountain
Saturday, 09:00Fathers with the coach, sons with the ESF instructors. The lift is a minute from the door. You meet for lunch and compare stories, and his are usually better.
No Sports
Saturday, 17:00Pool, sauna, hammam. The jacuzzi is outdoors, and it is January, and that is precisely the point.
Savoy Night
Saturday, 19:30The village restaurant. Fondue or raclette, fixed menu, no decisions to make.
Finest Hour
Saturday 21:30, and the final on SundayThe poker tournament, played in pairs: you and your son against the other fathers and theirs. No money changes hands. There is a cup, and there is a name on it.
The Black Dog Run
Sunday morning, weather permittingThe fathers take the hardest thing the mountain is offering that day. The sons are with their instructors and will hear about it at lunch.
Soirée Trappeur
Sunday eveningSnowshoes, headlamps, a column of men on a dark mountain. Mulled wine halfway up. Dinner in a hut at the top. Transfer both ways. This is the evening people describe afterwards.
The Cooler King
Awarded at the finalTo the weekend's most reckless. Title only. No prize, no appeal. It is not always a father.
Cooler Day
Monday morningBreakfast, the photographs, and the road. Those who left on Sunday night are already at their desks.
The coach, and his
To be announced
A coach for the fathers, both days. Small group, filmed on the hill, reviewed before dinner. He will tell you what is wrong with your skiing on the first morning and again on the last.
Your son skis with ESF instructors in Argentière, in his own group and at his own pace. We ask for his level on the form and the instructors settle the groups on the first morning. He does not need to be an expert — he needs to want to be out all day.
The evening
Dinner, and what follows
Breakfast at the hotel. Saturday is the Savoyard restaurant in the village, Sunday is the hut at the top of the snowshoe walk. Nothing to book, nothing to choose.
Then the cards. You play as a pair, which is the whole idea: he watches you lose a hand, and you watch him take one. No money is involved, and it does not make it any gentler.
Fathers and sons
What comes home
A boy who skied two full days with somebody watching properly, and knows exactly how much better he got.
A father who was in the photograph instead of behind it.
And the chairlift: eight minutes, several times a day, with nothing to look at but the mountain and each other. That is where the weekend actually happens.
The sensible questions
- Sons ski with ESF instructors in their own group. The fathers have their own coach.
- Insurance covering off-piste and mountain rescue is a condition of the place — Carré Neige with the pass, or a card that covers skiing.
- The poker is for points and a cup. No money changes hands, and nobody is teaching your son to gamble.
- The pool and the jacuzzi are open to teenagers accompanied by an adult.
- Three of us travel with the group and stay with it.
- Nobody drives after arrival. The lift is a minute away; valley trains and ski buses are free with the pass.
Membership
How this works
- Members
- Everyone who has done a Chapter. No application fee, no committee.
- The Few
- Three Chapters or more. They get first refusal on places, and they use it.
- The Lodge
- The closed chat. You are added after your first Chapter, and not before.
- Summer Chapters
- Bikes, mountains, lakes. Same rules, less snow. Details when there are details.
- The Chairman
- Reads every request himself and telephones before anybody is confirmed. Says no more often than yes.
Questions
Before you ask
How much school does he miss?
None, if you leave on Sunday evening — the drive to Geneva is an hour and a quarter and he is in class on Monday. One day, if you stay for Cooler Day and leave on Monday morning. You decide there, not now.
How does paying work?
The request is free and commits you to nothing. The Chairman telephones. When the group reaches six pairs we send confirmation and an invoice: 50% to hold the place, the balance by 1 December. The place is yours only once the deposit is paid, and the queue runs in the order requests arrived.
Is there an early price?
Ten per cent off for the first five requests, confirmed by payment within 72 hours of the invoice. It is tied to the request, not to the payment date, so asking early costs nothing and may save something.
What if it does not happen?
If the group never reaches six pairs, nobody is invoiced and nobody has paid anything. That is why we ask before we charge.
Cancellation?
Before 1 December: a full refund less a €90 fee. Between 1 and 20 December: half. After that, we move you to the next Chapter if there is room.
How old does he have to be?
Twelve. Grown sons are welcome too — a thirty-year-old son is still a son, and the pair plays the same cards.
What level do we need?
You: confident on red, all day, in most conditions. Him: we ask on the form and the instructors settle the groups on the first morning. He does not need to be an expert, he needs to want to be out all day.
What if he skis better than I do?
Likely, and everyone will know by Saturday lunch. You have Sunday morning with the coach to do something about it.
Do we have to share a room?
You share with your son — a twin, two separate beds, balcony, private bathroom. A father with two sons gets the duplex with a mezzanine and three separate beds. Nobody shares with a stranger.
Insurance?
Mandatory, for both of you, and for the fathers it must cover off-piste and mountain rescue. The simplest route is Carré Neige bought with the lift pass; a bank card with proper ski cover also works. Bring the number.
Poker with a child?
For points and a cup. No money changes hands at any table, at any point in the weekend.
How do we get there?
Fly to Geneva — Argentière is 1 h 15 by road, with scheduled shuttles from about €20 a head or a hire car. From Luxembourg it is around 5 h 30 by road. Parking and EV charging at the hotel are free. After that you need nothing: the lift is a minute's walk and the valley trains and ski buses are free with your pass.
Can I come without a son?
Write to the Chairman. There are sometimes places, and they are not advertised.
Enrolment
Request a place
No payment at this stage, and no card. You send this, the Chairman telephones, and if the pair fits we hold you in the queue. Money is only discussed once the group has six pairs.
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