The Avoriaz ski school saga

Part 3

The June 3rd election turned the tables and with some subtle changes in voters' elligibility, paved the way to another slim victory by the Edmond Denis supporters.  That time, Claude Pernet was elected at the helm of the ski school with Jacques Simon becoming the technical director. I remained as a member of the executive committee. We forcefully protested the election procedure and the results that were forced onto us, but the ski instructor association wouldn't hear any of it.

On Saturday, August 12, 1972, as I was instructing skiing for yet another ski season down under, I received a telegram advising me of the death of Dominique Mollaret, our short-lived ski school director. It happened on the Italian side of the Mont-Blanc while he was repelling solo on the North Face of l'Aiguille de Peuterey. This news shocked me, both because I knew Dominique and also because we had just lost a hard-won leader.

When I returned home in October, it was upheaval all over again, with even more boiled up anger on all sides. When I returned, we retained an attorney and on October 17, 1972, sent a letter to the ski instruction association, protesting officially was were to us the "rigged" election results in St. Gervais.

From that point forward, I could only envision some massive retribution, but still kept on fighting as a member of the executive committee. Subconsciously, I saw the writing on the wall and understood that my ski instructor career might come to an end sooner than later. For the first time in my entire life, I began to mentally draft a plan for the rest of my life.

I kept on working like a dog, hoisting myself as the number two producer in the school, continued to play hard and juggle with my minority leadership role and hatred for politics. Another bitter winter that was portend of worst things to come...

To be continued...