Having no one to go skiing with doesn’t mean you can’t go on a group ski holiday. I joined The Ski Gathering in Les Gets, France, in January. Here is my travel article that was published in The Sunday Post newspaper.
Group skiing holidays for solo skiers
Poring over the map with a small group of skiers and snowboarders, we enthusiastically make a plan for the afternoon.
Everyone’s voice is heard and we plot a route of different ski runs, from easy greens to challenging blacks, and factor in lunch and coffee stops.
Soon after, having clattered into a gondola with skis and boards in hand, we sit back and chat as we ascend airily from the base station of the French Alpine village of Les Gets into the snowy mountains of the wider Les Gets-Morzine resort.
Over the next few hours, zipping down well-groomed slopes, stopping to wait at intervals, checking signposts and starting off again en masse, we form a companionable club.
We exchange bits and pieces about life as we travel on chairlifts and exclaim out loud at the gorgeous mountainous views as the sun burns off the cloud.
The atmosphere is up-beat, supportive and encouraging, which are all the ingredients I would hope for during a ski holiday.
Yet, surprisingly, we had met only hours earlier.
Apart from two women who travelled from Scotland as friends, the rest of the group arrived for their vacation knowing no-one else.
This is The Ski Gathering, a concept described as “social holidays for solo skiers and snowboarders”.
The Ski Gathering is not a singles holiday, but a social holiday for solos.
Skiing is undoubtedly an activity that most people choose to do with friends or family, but for different reasons there are many who find themselves alone as the ski holiday season approaches.
I hear a range of stories, including people in their 30s who used to ski with their parents, but have now outgrown the holiday tradition. Others could not find mutual dates and budgets with their usual gang of skiing pals. One skier says: “So many friends have young children now and are tied to school holiday breaks.”
For skiers in their later years, the obstacles include a reluctant partner, a divorce, or, more sadly, the death of a spouse. Another skier, from the US, says jokingly: “I married a lizard.” Then qualifies: “She only likes hot and sunny holidays, while I still love to go skiing.”
And what about me? When my husband told me he had been invited on a boys-only ski week, I decided to find an alternative for myself.
What everyone agrees is that it was great to discover a holiday company that allows them to book on their own but still with all the benefits of being part of a group, such as chalet accommodation, shared meals and apres-ski, plus ready-made skiing chums.
As well as Les Gets, located in Haute-Savoie in south-east France, The Ski Gathering operates in five other French destinations, Morzine, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Chamonix and Meribel; plus Zell am See in Austria and Corvara in the Italian Dolomites.
The holidays are often themed, such as women-only, novices, age groups and guided. During my week in Les Gets, there are three chalets of up to 12 people. They are grouped as “beginners”, “30s to 40s” and “over-50s”.
Raphaël Cabuis, the founder of the company Montagne & Tradition, which created The Ski Gathering, explains: “We find that the solo holidays work best with groups of similar aged people, or people at the same stage of skiing, sharing one chalet or staying in the same hotel.”
Born and raised in Les Gets, Raph, who lives in the village with has young family, is also the accomplished chef who oversees the impressive meals, including breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner, plus beer and wine, served daily in the chalets.
Another bonus of booking The Ski Gathering in Les Gets, set in the vast French-Swiss ski area of Portes du Soleil and an hour’s transfer from Geneva Airport, is resort manager Belinda. The Brit is a high energy fairy godmother, who sprinkles a dusting of magic wherever she goes.
Belinda comes to the aid of nervous solo skiers with suggestions of ESF lessons and confidence-boosting pistes. If people are troubled by ill-fitting boots, want a tip for an apres-ski bar, or need to buy blister plasters, she knows just the place.
She also encourages the formation of groups of similarly able or fit skiers, smooths out wrinkles before potential frustrations arise, suggests route plans and organises trips to nearby ski areas.
When time allows her, Belinda happily provides a few hours of resort showcasing, which gives The Ski Gathering groups the benefit of her in-depth knowledge and bonhomie.
Of course, no-one can predict the weather for a skiing holiday but we luck out with plenty of fresh snow and sunshine.
Over the week, I explore Les Gets, with its 120km of varied pistes, and enjoy day trips to peaceful Saint-Jean d’Alps and picturesque Châtel, which gives skiable access to Switzerland.
But what I most appreciate is meeting and hanging out with a like-minded gathering of happy skiers and snowboarders.
Travel facts: The Ski Gathering
I stayed in Les Gets with The Ski Gathering on half-board catered chalet basis. Prices: Sharing a room, from £695; single room, from £1495. You can request help to book transfers, ski hire, lessons.
I flew Edinburgh to Geneva with easyjet.com. Airport transfers were booked separately.
I used a Portes du Soleil lift pass.
- * I was a guest of The Ski Gathering and Les Gets resort