08.12.09
An Account of the Very First Skiing Trips
Back in 1770 the 1st tourist hotel was opened in Chamonix Mont Blanc France.
Before this date Chamonix France constituted a savage and craggy rural village where folks hunted their own animals and farmed their cereals.
Chalets at this time were used to raise dairy herds during the summer.
The cows milk was preserved by changing it into cheese and preserved down in the valley for eating over the harsh wintertimes.
In the snow season the farms were locked up, and valuables were locked in a shack.
The person who invented the chalet holiday is obscured by time, it was probably various passionate folk who recognized a formula that was new and exciting.
For Erna Low it commenced when she was a nostalgic postgraduate and could not visit her parents in Austrias frequently as she wished.
Thus in 1932 she took a risk and placed a small ad in the broadsheets to ask clients on a skiing break. The cost was £15 and they journeyed to and from the ski resort, enjoyed breakfast and dinner and lodging in the sole inn, and paid for ski gear and tuition.
The trip was difficult, there weren’t any chair lifts, no safety fixations, only strong leather shoes, however it was so popular that Erna Low continued to take people on vacations, seeing to it that she sourced excellent lodges and ski guides.
These ski holidays during the early years were very different from the luxury ski accommodation we enjoy nowadays.
In the early days hot water was in short supply, the bathrooms would be used with all of the clients, and there wasn’t a chef; all the punters needed to help out with the chores.
It was a complete lottery as to who may share the lodge for the holiday, you could be surprised by meeting fresh skiers, or have an uncomfortable week amongst strangers.
