Introduction
A special celebratory alpine meet will be held at the Kurhaus Hotel, Arolla from 14-17 March 2025 (Friday-Monday). Arolla is a serene Swiss alpine village located at 2000m in the stunning Val d'Herens. It offers easy access to breath-taking mountains, glaciers, ski routes and CAS huts such as the Vignettes and Dix. It is part of the Espace Dent-Blanche which offers both Alpine and Nordic skiing and is famous for its position on the “Patrouille des Glaciers” ski-race and the classic "Haute Route” between Chamonix and Saas Fee.
We have secured exclusive private use of the historic Kurhaus Hotel with special half-board rates for up to 130 guests. The estimated cost per person starts from around 320 GBP* for shared 4-person room. The cost includes half-board dining for the duration of the 3-night stay. (*Final cost is subject to overall occupancy and excludes any drinks and dining supplements)
We anticipate a wide range of activities including guided day-tours, training and ski coaching sessions, possibly a "just for fun" skimo race, talks, exhibitions, and a special celebratory dinner on the Saturday evening. The club's touring programme for 2025 will include a number of multi-day tours which will start or finish at Arolla, or within easy reach, so as to link up with this event. For 2025 only, this meet will replace the normal Argentiére weekend meet.
Arolla is accessed from Sion in the Rhone Valley, which can be reached by train from Paris (5h30, change Lausanne), Geneva (2h direct), Zurich (2h30, change Visp) or Milan (2h30 direct), followed by a Post-bus or shared taxi service up to Arolla. The planning team are also assessing additional transport sharing options.
Registration
The following section describes how to register and attend the ESC Centenary Alpine meet 2025 in Arolla, referred to as “Arolla25”. There are four key dates to follow:
- 1st June - Initial registration opens.
- 1st September - sign-up for activities, event options and ESC Tour application submission.
- 17th November - Closing date for registration.
- 21st December - Final invoice to be paid.
Initial registration opens 1st June 2024. To secure your attendance at Arolla25 you will need to choose your preferred room type and pay ESC a 100 GBP deposit for the booking through submitting the Registration form. The club has made a downpayment on the whole hotel, so we need your support to cover the cost of this booking.
The hotel has 57 rooms (10 shared 4/5 person rooms, 15 double rooms and 32 twins rooms) in total accommodating 136 guests. Demand is expected to be high and for this reason we are for now limiting the number of guests to one per club member. Ideally couples or friends that wish to share the same room should register using a single form. Also, the comments section at the bottom of the registration form is available to include any names of individuals with whom you wish to potentially share or any other personal preferences. Room allocation will be prioritised based on the date of registration, so please hurry. We will try and match your requests, but if there is a problem we will get back to you with the next best option. It is important to register as soon as possible to guarantee your preferred room and allow the planning to progress.
Once you have paid, you will receive two confirmation emails: one acknowledging your initial registration and one providing you with a payment receipt.
Detailed sign-up for activities will open 1st September 2024 to coincide with the 2025 ESC ski tour programme being published. This timing allows members to develop their own schedule both before and after the meet as well as choosing activities at Arolla25. The detailed sign-up will include a summary of activity choices that club members and guests can register for around instruction, coaching, training, and guided skiing. It will include dining options, possible transport options, and include specific requests for additional information that enables more detailed planning.
Submission of ESC Tour online application form will be compulsory for all members planning to take part in any ski activity to ensure compliance with insurance requirements and the ESC tour “Conditions of Participation”. Non UK resident club members will not be covered by the clubs combined liability insurance and will be required to arrange their own third-party liability insurance protection. Non-members will not be allowed to take part in any non-guided ESC ski activity.
IMPORTANT :The closing date for registration, submission ESC tour application and completing sign-up for activities will be Sunday 17th November 2024 (to coincide with the AGM weekend). A final invoice will be issued during November to each member and guest attending with an obligation to have completed all payments to ESC by Saturday 21st December 2024.
Planning is being handled by a small group of volunteers led by Graham Dudley, who can be contacted for further information on arolla25@eagleskiclub.org.uk
Additional information
Accommodation
The estimated cost* per person includes half-board dining for the duration of the 3-night stay.
- Shared 4-person room 320 GBP;
- Standard shared 2-person room 375 GBP
- Mountain view balcony shared 2-person room 420 GBP
(*Final cost is subject to overall occupancy and excludes any drinks and dining supplements) Please note there are only 15 double rooms available so you need to be quick to register if that is your preferred choice.
Refunds due to cancellation will be considered if other club members are able to substitute the vacant place. If a replacement member or guest can not be found to take a cancellation then the deposit may not be refunded. Through-out the period from 1st September 2024 up to the Friday 28th February 2025 there will be a wait-list to help manage any cancellation or changes in attendance. After 28th February there will be very limited scope to change plans or provide any possible compensation. Note if anyone's accommodation requirements can not be acceptably matched they will be eligible for a refund of their initial deposit.
Extending the length of stay beyond the three nights reserved for the Centenary event (nights 14, 15 & 16 March). Any members or guests wishing to extend their length of stay at the Kurhaus can do so by contacting the reception of the hotel directly via email: reception@ghk-arolla.com. This must be arranged as a separate account for your personal payment. When booking you should confirm that you are part of the ESC Arolla25 event and you should be eligible for a 10% discount on any extra nights you reserve.
Arrival and check in at the Kurhaus hotel will be available from 15:00 hrs on the Friday 14th March with a Arolla25 special welcome reception and introduction planned to start around 18:00 hrs in the Grand Salon. After the weekend check out from your rooms is to be completed by 11h on Monday 17th March. There will be storage space available at the hotel for caching baggage so you can ski on the Friday or Monday before check-in and after check-out.
The total number of guests will be monitored and controlled as priority for attendance will be given to ESC members. Initially, one guest per ESC member will be allowed, however if the number of guests becomes disproportionate versus the number of ESC members, we may need to further limit guest attendance.
Club members wishing to only attend the celebratory meal on the Saturday evening 15th March. Priority for attendance at the celebratory dinner will be given to residents of the hotel who are staying for the full three nights. However, depending on demand there could be scope for arranging a celebratory dinner rate for a limited number of extra guests not staying in the hotel. Please make this request via email to the planning team.
Arrangements for staying less than three nights at the Kurhaus will only be assessed later in November as the priority is to maximise occupancy with people staying the full three nights. Please make this request via email to the planning team.
Menu questionnaire will be issued to all attendees in early February, and it will be required to be submitted by Friday 28th February 2025.
Parking at the hotel is limited to only 45 places and will be assigned on a first come first serve basis. Extra public parking is available above the hotel at the base of the old Gitza ski lift.
Travel
The only public transport route to Arolla is via Sion. It is a good option in Switzerland as there are many efficient train routes to Sion from Milan, Geneva, Zurich and Paris. The bus route to Arolla involves taking the Post Auto 381 that goes from the main “Sion Poste/Gare” to “Arolla Poste”, with a change to the Post Auto 382 bus at the small village of Les Haudères. The 381 bus departs every 2 hours until 16:05h, with a later bus at 17:45h on some days. It is best to check the timetable online. Details can be found on SBB (an English version) and also an SBB App.
For later travel arrivals, the best option would be to get a bus to Les Haudères and then a taxi for the final few kms to Arolla. All taxis would require pre-booking. Options and prices for booking taxis or the hotel minibus will be made available as part of the sign-up in September. But as a guide a taxi from Sion to Arolla would be around 200 CHF or more, so not cheap. A taxi from Les Haudères would still be around 80 to 100 CHF. For further information on low carbon transport options please refer to the Arolla - specific travel advice | Eagle Ski Club