1	You are likely to get superb cloudless sunny days mid March (for which our trip has an excellent track record).
	2	The days stay lighter for longer so you can ski full-days, OK - providing you have enough stamina. Maybe you lost half the week due to bad weather and want to make up for it as happened during 2001 (yes I know it was a long time ago!).
	3	Its not during any school holidays and so its a economic time of the year to go.
	4	The Alps have a good track record for getting a fresh dump of snow during the first week in March - incredible but true!
	5	It gives everyone the opportunity to go on two ski holidays - i.e. one after Christmas and one on this trip towards the end of the season. If we picked mid February then this would screw things up for those that go twice. If we pick January then some of us will be too broke after Christmas to afford it.

Last minute bookings are 'OK' if there are only two of you, but try booking 6 or more into the same accommodation on a late deal. Let me tell you, its almost impossible. Try doing that with over a hundred and you have no chance at all. Even booking early is no good because if only a couple of rooms in a hotel get booked by some early birds then it reduces the number of seats available to our trip. We also prefer to book out an entire hotel when we can. The only way open for us to deal with such a large group is to form a relationship with a tour operator and then book from a special preview brochure or even earlier by advance discussion. This way, we get to chose from entire hotels where not one single room has been reserved. That is how and why we book over a year ahead.

Its simply a great place to go skiing. The French Alps offer some of the most exciting, varied and challenging skiing in the world. The top resorts of Chamonix, Val d'isere & Méribel etc enjoy legendary reputations right around the globe.

Also, whilst it is easy to forget this, we must remember that during the early 90s the exchange rate was so poor that France was effectively ruled out for people in the U.K. on cost grounds.  Since then, the rate has improved dramatically and we have literally been 'making hay while the sun has shone'. The exchange rate for the Euro favours us equally well and so we can all live like kings in the top French resorts 'for 2'6d' - as your grandma would say.

Well why not? OK - so its a bit more pricy but we get a much better standard of hotel to compensate for that. The great Après Ski is worth going the extra mile for too. Just can't wait for them to get up enough courage to implement a smoking ban!!!

	1	Overall, the skiing is not significantly better than that on offer in the top European resorts - would you pay more for the same?
	2	There are piste police to stop you going too fast or doing anything a little wild - don't you want to let off some steam?
	3	The booking system means that it is common for prices to be based on 4 sharing a single room - would you do it with 3 others? - OR - would you be prepared to pay the two person under occupancy supplement?
	4	The flight duration times are so long that you need to book a 10 day holiday to get 7 days skiing - could you take 10 days off work to ski?
	5	The temperature is so low out there that it makes Europe look like an oven - are your cheek bones frost proof?
	6	The lift pass system means that you could spend a fortune, especially if you want to try out different places - Do you want to spend a fortune?
	7	Lastly, the accommodation won't include food - Do you want to pay to eat out every night?

In conclusion, when you are responsible for a large group trip, you don't want to gamble, you just want to provide a really good and enjoyable ski holiday in a resort that can offer good skiing accompanied by a good chance of snow.

Finally - In the words of my special friend "keep it simple stupid".  The trip is a great success as we started out with 6 bookings and have had  an absolutely crackers 66 in one year. It proves that sticking to this philosophy delivers the goods for most of us, most of the time!!!