Back in 1770 the first alps accommodation hotel was completed in Chamonix ski resort. Prior to this Chamonix ski resort was a savage and rugged farming town where the populace captured their own animals and produced their own barley.
Farms then were used to farm dairy herds over the spring and summer. Milk was preserved by turning it into cheese and butter and stored in the valley for consumption over the bleak winters. During the snow season the farms were locked, and any valued possessions were put safely in a tiny hut.
Who devised the chalet holiday is obscured by time, however it was in all likelihood several enthusiastic folk who recognised a idea which people liked. For entrepreneur Erna Low it began when she was a homesick postgraduate who couldn’t see her family back home as frequently as she would like to. Therefore in 1931 she took a gamble and took out a small ad in the Times to ask guests on a ski trip. For only £15 they journeyed to and from the skiing resort, enjoyed dinner and board in the sole pub lodging, and paid for ski gear and tuition. The vacation was strenuous , there were no skiing lifts, no quick release bindings, only heavy leather shoes, but it was such a hit that she continued to take people on holidays, guaranteeing she found great hotels and ski guides.
Ski vacations during the early years were a far cry to the luxuries we can receive today. Back then hot water was in limited supply, bathrooms would be shared out by all of the clients, and there wasn’t a chef; all the guests needed to muck in. No one knew who might share the chalet for the week, one may be pleasantly surprised to encounter new acquaintances, or spend a week of hell with people you didn’t get on with.
Chalet holidays were later marketed on their extra benefits. A chef, who served you cooked breakfast and an evening meal and made you cakes, lots of hot water for washing.
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