Friends in High Places – how solo ski holidays are growing

Mates not going snowboarding this yr? Don’t fear: ski holidays for solos are making it straightforward for folks to affix up with different snow lovers within the Alps.

I’m standing in entrance the door of a picket ski chalet in a reasonably Alpine village. Contained in the chalet are the folks I’m about to spend per week with. However I don’t know who they’re.

The group I’m becoming a member of has been introduced collectively by an organization known as The Ski Gathering. The thought is easy. The Ski Gathering hire catered chalets or lodges for sure weeks of the season. Skiers and snowboarders can e-book a shared or a non-public room. It’s an oven-ready ski vacation ¬– albeit with random human elements.

Shared catered chalets, bookable by the room, have all the time been common with British skiers. Having breakfast, tea and dinner sorted is a incredible ski vacation expertise – in one thing that appears like home-from-home for per week. However by enabling people to share a room in a chalet with somebody they don’t know, the Ski Gathering takes this to a brand new degree.

While you take a look at the stats, there’s a necessity for this. In response to Ski Membership of Nice Britain’s 2025 Client Analysis, 11% of skiers say that they didn’t go snowboarding final time as a result of they didn’t have pals to go together with. That’s quite a lot of ski holidays that by no means occurred – merely because of lack of firm. Enabling these folks to affix up with others on vacation is a useful service.

Thus far, the Ski Gathering provides holidays within the French resorts of La Plagne, Morzine, Les Will get and Chamonix, Corvara in Italy and Zell am See in Austria. For winter 2025-26 they provide 48 totally different holidays between December and March. Some are normal and open to all, some are specialised. These embody a women-only inexperienced persons, 30-40 age group, over-50s, intermediates and a bundle that features off-piste snowboarding with a information.

Our chalet is in Montchavin la Plagne, in France – a very good resort for teams of various degree. The resort is a part of the 425km Paradiski ski space, shared with neighbouring Peisey-Vallandry and Les Arcs. You’ll be able to ski all week right here and nonetheless really feel you’ve barely scratched the floor, such is the extent and number of the terrain.

I’ve travelled independently by practice, attempting out the Eurostar Snow service from London. On board it’s snug and social, a far cry from airport queues and lengthy transfers. The journey is simple: a 9am Eurostar to Lille the place on the adjoining platform we swap to a different a Eurostar (continental) practice to Aime-la-Plagne station. Arriving at 5.30pm, a Ski Gathering switch is there to whisk me as much as the chalet, a 20-minute drive away.

Though I’m fairly assured socially, I discover that getting into the chalet lounge to fulfill a bunch of individuals you’re going to spend the following week nonetheless brings some nerves. Over canapes and dinner within the chalet the primary night, the dialog across the desk is of course about snowboarding. That is clearly the ‘secure’ subject as folks begin to get to know one another. There are solely seven of us within the chalet this week, because it’s not bought out: three single guys, two male pals who got here collectively and one couple.

It’s not till the following morning that I realise how modest folks had been being once they described their ski ranges at dinner the night time earlier than. As 4 of us set out collectively to discover La Plagne’s intensive terrain, I uncover that my new snowboarding companions are far quicker and skilful than they let on. I’m an skilled snowboarder, but when anybody goes to be the weakest hyperlink, it feels prefer it’s me.

As I’ve witnessed many occasions over time, there’s nothing like slope-time to convey folks collectively. By the point we’re having après-ski drinks on the native bar in Montchavin, known as Base Camp, it appears like we’ve recognized one another far longer than 24 hours.

La Plagne – in addition to the Paradiski extra broadly – is a belter of a resort for teams. The slopes structure is fascinating, with totally different gradients mendacity at totally different angles and loads of treelined runs. Surroundings smart, it’s beautiful. Powdery peaks fan out into the space, with snow-laden ranges that resemble the perimeters of an ice-cream gateaux.

The resort has loads of excellent on-slope eating. La Bergerie is a agency favorite, together with the Borselier and La Bozelet. In Champagny the lovable L’Alpina restaurant is a beautiful pit cease, too.

In the course of the week I examined Aérolive, an revolutionary new expertise the place a few of the ski-lift gondolas have had their home windows eliminated. It’s a suspended journey a whole bunch of ft above the snowy floor, by way of the air between Roche de Mio and Stay 3000. A harness retains you secure and lets you enterprise to the sting of the cabin and lean out – making a heady combination of vertigo and exhilaration.

Because the week progresses, bonds with my new ski mates get stronger. I probe them for the explanations they got here on the journey.

“I’ve often skied with my very own crew or my dad and mom,” London-based Matt tells me, including, “However it’s actually nice to have the ability to come away and simply meet good folks to ski with and be on vacation with. My spouse doesn’t ski in any respect, so we don’t go as a pair.”

The Ski Gathering’s chalets in La Plagne

Matt is a Speedy Gonzales on the slopes, and but admits he doubted his potential.

“My trepidation about approaching the journey was not about getting on with folks; it was that I won’t be a ok skier and may find yourself slowing folks down. However we’ve all been snowboarding at an analogous pace and degree, which has been nice.”

Sam and Michael had come as a result of as two mates. Sam’s an excellent snowboarder, whereas it’s Michael’s first time. So, becoming a member of others on a vacation made sense.

“I believe it’s essential to have a little bit of an eclectic combine of people so that you simply get a mixture of talent ranges,” Sam tells me. “That manner you possibly can cut up off from the person who you initially got here with – if they’re totally different degree from you. They will do their very own factor, and go to classes. And you could find people who’re at your degree and have enjoyable with them and meet new those that manner.”

The social side has been a giant a part of their journey.

“I’ve finished fairly a little bit of travelling and interrailing, and this type of ski vacation labored effectively when it comes to assembly new folks,” Sam says. “Earlier than we booked this, Mike stated to me: ‘We could simply e-book a lodge, you’re a social particular person, you’ll make pals in resort.’ However I don’t essentially assume it really works that manner. Probably the most essential issues about assembly new folks is sharing dinner. You speak about your day and share tales and also you hardly ever have a dedication within the night. A number of the finest social experiences I’ve had have been in hostels that provided dinner, and I believe that’s why this Ski Gathering chalet journey has labored out so effectively.”

I meet and quiz Wealthy and Jessie, who run Membership Alpine, the chalet the place our Ski Gathering vacation relies, as to the way it’s figuring out. “Throughout our chalets we have now 13 weeks open to the Ski Gathering, most of which have bought out,” Jessie tells me. “Subsequent season I believe we’ll increase the off piste as a result of it’s proved actually common.”

How is the room choice finished, I ponder. Does Jessie attempt to gauge who would finest match with who? “The overwhelming majority of persons are reserving solos. I don’t actually choose based mostly on persona or ski potential. The general public coming are going to have one thing in widespread anyway as a result of they’re reserving the identical kind of vacation to ski collectively. They’re approaching a social vacation and I don’t assume it’s my job to decide on and pair up, so I fill the rooms as folks are available in. I believe it could be sophisticated for those who tried to engineer it, and could be quite a lot of effort for not a lot acquire. And generally opposites entice.”

The overwhelming majority of skiers are from the UK, Jessie tells me. The place chalets don’t promote out, individuals who had booked to share are given a solo room, which is what occurred in our case, the place there are seven of us in a 12-person chalet.

“Persons are all the time eager to learn how many individuals are booked into a selected week, what the ages are and what the ski potential is. Cos they’re popping out right here to seek out ski buddies.”

Does Jessie see this type of vacation rising? “I believe persons are stunned that this type of vacation exists. Persons are generally stunned that folks would come and share a room with any person else. However a lot of folks do it and have a very nice time and it clearly makes the vacation much more inexpensive. Persons are very respectful of different folks’s area it really works very well. However skeirs simply don’t know that it’s an choice.”

As I head off to the raise to affix my new ski buddies for a remaining day of exploring La Plagne, I’m glad that I’m within the know, and within the snow.