A Tale of the First Ski Breaks to Chamonix
Back in 1770 the 1st lodge was opened in Chamonix. Before this date Chamonix France was a wild and tough farming hamlet where the populace caught their own animals and farmed their cereals.
Farms back then were used to farm dairy herds during the spring and summer. Milk was preserved by making it into different types of cheese and kept in the valley for consumption over the long winter times. In the winter the farms were fastened, and all valued possessions were locked in a liitle shed.
The person who devised chalet holidays is nameless, it was in all probability a few zealous folk who recognized a formula which was novel. With Erna Low it started whilst she was a unhappy student and couldn’t see her parents back home as frequently as she wished. And so in 1931 she took a gamble and took out a ad in the papers to ask guests on a skiing holiday. The cost was £15 and they journeyed to and from the resort, were provided with dinner and accommodation in the solitary hotel, and paid for ski hire and tuition. The vacation was difficult work, there were no ski lifts, no quick release fixings, merely leather boots, but it was so successful that Erna kept on taking skiers on breaks, making sure she employed fantastic lodges and instructors.
Ski vacations in the early years were a far cry from the standards we can receive now. In the early days hot water was in short supply, washrooms were shared out with all of the customers, and there wasn’t a chef; all the punters were expected to help out with the chores. No one knew who might be in the accommodation for the trip, one could be surprised by meeting new allies, or spend a week of hell with people you didn’t get on with.
Catered chalet holidays were later marketed on its additional benefits. Your own cook, who served you breakfast and an evening meal and even made you cakes, numerous bathrooms hot water for washing.
