European Gay Ski Week (EGSW) 2024
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European Gay Ski Week (EGSW) is the largest LGBT+ skiing and snowboarding event in Europe, with more guests and bigger parties than any other. EGSW is the only ski week that moves to different resorts, so that skiers and boarders can explore different resorts, pistes and nightlife across the whole of the French Alps.
EGSW will take place at Val Thorens (France) from Saturday 16 March to Saturday 23 March 2023.
Val Thorens is part of Les Trois Vallées (The Three Valleys) ski area (Val Thorens, Les Menuires, Méribel, Courchevel). Les Trois Vallées is the largest connected ski area in the world linked solely by ski lifts and slopes, with about 600 km (370 mi) of ski slopes.
You can ski with your ODL friends or join an EGSW hosted ski or snowboard group to meet new people too.
ODL at EGSW
Attending EGSW is an excellent way to meet new people while you learn to ski or board or just have fun on the slopes. EGSW organises all of the classes, hosted groups and après-ski/parties.
Given the Saturday arrival day can often be quite chaotic, no specific catch-up or event has been planned yet for the start of EGSW. Instead, an “ODL at EGSW 24" WhatsApp group will be set up in the week before the event commences. Anyone who signs up for the vent will be added, unless they advise the leader that they don't wish to be added. The WhatsApp group is for ODL members to chat and to plan catch-ups throughout the week, including drinks and dinner, or meeting up at the parties, or for skiing/boarding.
Each afternoon at the EGSW après-ski (from 16:00 , but it gets busy from 16:30), the ODL contingent will get together for a bevvie and a chat and perhaps a podium boogie, and to plan that evening’s dinner and party shenanigans.
What to bring
Equipment Hire
If you've booked your ski / board equipment through EGSW as part of your booking, you will receive the voucher in your pre-event email, together with accommodation vouchers etc. Make sure you PRINT these just to be on the safe side. You will then exchange the voucher for equipment in almost any of the hire shops in Val Thorens.
If you haven’t booked your ski / board equipment, you can do that at the resort - there are plenty of options in Val Thorens.
Val Thorens is a ski-in / ski-out resort. Hopefully, the streets will be covered in snow, so we'll be wearing walking boots when out of ski gear, not trainers.
Food & drink
Food and Catering at EGSW
You have the option of half-board accommodation that includes breakfast and dinner, or self-catering apartments.
There are mini-supermarkets scattered around Val Thorens that have a reasonable variety of stock, but if you have any specific delicacies you need, then bring them from home . . . and bring a bag-for-life too. Note that some self-catering places don't provide some basics like toilet paper, so a quick trip to the supermarket on day 1 is essential.
Alternatively, there's self-catering accommodation, but you can book a breakfast or breakfast & dinner package through the EGSW website, to save yourself the trouble of cooking.
When you're out on the pistes, you should carry a few snacks, plus some water.
There are lots of mountain-side restaurants for lunch. These will range in price from ~ €15 for self-service to much more for a sit-down meal that includes wine. There won't be many places where you can sit down to eat a packed lunch, especially if the weather is bad.
EGSW has its own currency in the form of coloured plastic tokens. Using these helps to speed up the service for drinks at bars and sometimes entitles guests to a discount off their food bill in some partner restaurants.
You buy your tokens at the EGSW check-in or at any other EGSW event. If you pay for them by credit card, your transaction will be processed by your credit card issuer as a normal purchase, not a cash withdrawal. You then use your tokens to pay for drinks at EGSW venues, or food at partner restaurants displaying an EGSW sign. The drinks at EGSW venues cost 1, 2 or 3 tokens, whilst your food bill will be discounted by the agreed % in partner restaurants, if they are offering a discount.