The Great British Chalet Holiday – 80 years of making memories
"It's not really just about the skiing. The skiing is simply the reason we all end up together."
Dan Fox, Managing Director"I first skied in 1979 on a plastic slope belonging to Eilis Brigham, under the railway arches in Manchester. I grew up watching Ski Sunday and was glued to the screen watching Eddy fly like an eagle. I did my BASI and in 1989 ran away to work for GoSki in Valloire as a ski guide, France. My one season turned into 16 years and I’ve now been running SkiWeekends for 19 years. I have been in the ski industry for 37 years and I love it, as well as all the industry people who are my family. If there is the smallest part of you that wonders if you should … just choose a chalet and do it."
The front door swings open and a wave of warm air escapes into the cold mountain air. Boots are kicked off in the hallway, skis lean against the chalet wall, and someone asks the question that every skier loves to answer:
"How was it up there today?"
A freshly baked cake is waiting on the table. The kettle is boiling. The flames dance around the fireplace, just waiting to warm up toes. Outside, snowflakes drift quietly past the windows as the last skiers make their way back through the village. Before long, the smell of dinner begins to fill the chalet, wine glasses appear almost magically and complete strangers find themselves swapping stories as though they've known one another for years.
For generations of British skiers, this has been the real magic of a chalet holiday.
Not just the skiing. Not just the mountains. But the feeling of coming home at the end of every day to warmth and good food.
In an age of online check-ins, key safes and apartments, where you may never meet another guest, the chalet holiday remains wonderfully, unapologetically human.
A chalet holiday has always been about people.
Chalet Violetta in the snow in Avoriaz
The story truly begins long before ski lifts, high-speed gondolas and designer ski wear.
Although skiing itself has existed for centuries, Britain's love affair with the Alps really began after the Second World War. Many servicemen had discovered the mountains while serving in Europe. They returned home with stories of fresh snow, breathtaking scenery and a way of life that felt a million miles from post-war Britain.
It didn't take long before they returned, with family and friends. From the 1940's Brits were staying in the mountain homes of locals, so on your ski holiday you joined a gathering of friendly like-minded people. Not parties in the modern sense, but welcoming houses filled with laughter, conversation, shared meals and the excitement of discovering the mountains together.
You would be right if you were beginning to think of Wham and 'Last Christmas'.
The skiing brought everyone to the Alps. The chalet brought everyone together.
As the years passed, Britain fell steadily in love with skiing, and it wasn’t just for the rich.
Long before Instagram, YouTube or travel influencers, dreams of snow-covered mountains were fuelled by The Daily Mail 'Ski and Après Ski Magazine' and the Sunday Times had its own ski section, where over 150 ski companies offered their chalets - names like Erna Low, Bladon lines, Silver Ski, Ski-Whizz, to name a few.
Then, in the 1970s, something remarkable happened.
The unmistakable opening music of Ski Sunday drifted into living rooms across Britain, becoming one of the most recognisable theme tunes in television history.
Every Sunday evening, millions of people settled in front of the television to watch a sport that most of them had never even tried. Somehow, skiing captured the imagination of the nation, watching racers hurtling down snowy mountains at impossible speeds, viewers marvelled at the spectacular scenery and would quietly imagine themselves standing at the top of those same slopes.
For many, that dream would eventually become reality. Around the same time, school ski trips were beginning to flourish. For countless British children throughout the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, those trips became a rite of passage.
'Wish You Were Here' with Judith Chalmers and the team showed how anyone could have a go at skiing. Take a look at the old clips on YouTube, including this one, and you will see that somehow it was a wholly wholesome British passion, to enjoy doing something so badly.
The memories of the fun, the cold air, warm welcomes, the occasional tumble and stunning mountain skylines, set up a generation for a lifetime of dreaming of the snow. Many first time skiers spent more time sitting in the snow than skiing on it.
Yet somewhere between those first awkward snowplough turns and the journey home, something unexpected happened. They fell in love with the mountains.
Even before reaching the Alps, many had learned their first tentative turns on Britain's dry ski slopes. Long before modern carving skis and lightweight boots, generations of skiers slid around on plastic slopes, so many of us gained the dreaded Dendex thumb! It didn't matter!
Rossendale ski slope celebrated its 50th year in 2023. Dan learnt here in the early 80's
Every expert skier has to begin somewhere. The British love success stories, the underdog overcoming challenges and our skiing story has always been built on first turns.
Few people embody the British spirit more than Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards. His Olympic story wasn't one of medals or victory. It was about determination, optimism and refusing to give up, qualities that resonated with the entire country. We've been lucky enough to have Eddie ski & stay with our chalet guests on several occasions over the years, and he remains exactly as people hope he will be - warm, generous and endlessly enthusiastic about introducing others to the joy of skiing.
Getting ready to watch Eddie's film with the man himself in Chalet Monique in 2019
Every generation seems to discover skiing in its own way.
More recently, films like Chalet Girl captured another side of life in the Alps: the friendships of chalet holidays, the laughter, the challenges, the romance and the life-changing confidence that so often comes from spending time in the mountains.
And perhaps that's the point. The lifts have become faster, the clothing is warmer, equipment has become lighter and easier to enjoy, and the villages have grown. Yet somehow the feeling remains exactly the same.
The mountains and the friendly chalet welcome are waiting for you. Ask anyone what makes a great chalet holiday and they'll probably start by talking about the skiing. Then without missing a step, they will talk about the people.
Staying in a catered chalet is about great food, and meeting great people
Unlike a hotel, where guests often come and go without ever speaking to one another, a chalet has always been wonderfully sociable.
Breakfast isn't simply breakfast cooked for you, it's the excitement of planning the day ahead with the friends you are holidaying with and the others in the chalet.
Which runs have the best snow? Should we head high while the sun is shining? Is today the day to explore the next valley? Everyone including your chalet host will share their favourite slopes, top tips, mountain restaurants, the perfect sundowner spot and more; whether you buddy up with others or go your own way, a day of adventure awaits.
Everyone heads off to enjoy the mountain in their own way, then everyone comes home to the chalet.
That's the difference.
The chalet isn't simply where you stay, it's where the day comes together. Sharing stories, experiences and a glass of wine, making plans for tomorrows adventure and growing friendships.
Over the decades, chalet dining has evolved enormously. The hearty home cooking of the early years has given way to imaginative menus, carefully chosen wines and food that rivals many excellent gastropubs, while still retaining the relaxed atmosphere that makes chalet dining so special.
You never feel as though you're eating in a restaurant. You feel as though you've been invited to dinner with friends who have gone all out for you. That's something rather special. Just in the Alps and in your chalet.
At SkiWeekends we've always believed that is what makes chalet holidays different.
Yes, we make sure your transfers are organised, your lift passes are ready, your ski hire is straightforward, and our teams are there to help you make the very most of every day on the mountain. But those things simply make the holiday easier.
The memories are made somewhere else. They're made over afternoon tea and around the dining table. Gazing at crisp blue skies and hearing the sound of your skis on fresh corduroy pistes or an unforgettable powder day. Simply watching the silent snow fall outside the chalet window. Laughing with people at the dinner table who, just a few days earlier, you had never met.
Perhaps this is why chalet holidays have stood the test of time.
In a world that often feels increasingly busy, increasingly digital and - if we're honest - sometimes a little disconnected, a chalet offers something refreshingly simple.
The chance to slow down just enough to remember what holidays are really supposed to be about.
Nearly 80 years after those first British "house parties" made their way into the Alps, the spirit of the chalet holiday is still alive and well.
Many things have changes in our world. But the welcome is just as warm. The conversations just as memorable. The mountains just as magical.
The Great British Chalet Holiday isn't simply a way of going skiing.
It's simply one of Britain's greatest travel traditions.
Long may it continue.