The winter holidays are for far more than gathering around the fire (or, as it happens, the living-room radiator) and plonking cheap chocolates in stockings for distant cousins. If you’re starting to feel flapped about the prospect of organising another Christmas, this message is absolutely and unequivocally for you: you deserve a break. A ski break.
Even just a weekend throwing yourself down some semi-gentle mountain slopes can be just the ticket for clearing the winter blues, and all the more so if you have your family in tow. Even if you’ve a busy December schedule, this shouldn’t stop you from finding the time to get your mindful mid-ski fix. Indeed, the following tips are all you need to make the most of the best ski weekends.
1. Choose Resorts with Short Transfer Times
With a shorter getaway, time is a much more precious resource, which means a lot of your decisions need to benefit your schedule more than otherwise. With this in mind, your choice of resort gains another criterion! By selecting ski resorts that sit closer to major airports with frequent and easily-accessible flights, you can significantly reduce your travel time – ultimately allowing more time on the slopes. For example, Chamonix is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes from Geneva Airport, and exceedingly well-connected by public transport.
2. Opt for Early Departures and Late Returns
With time being quite literally of the essence, your itinerary needs to work on your behalf to give you the most ski-time possible. Unfortunately, this might make for a couple of sleepless nights; the earlier you leave and the later you return, the better for the content of your getaway. Book an early flight at the crack of Thursday dawn, and arranging a return for after Monday midnight, can provide you with up to 4.5 days of skiing.
3. Pre-Book Lift Passes and Equipment
Put simply, the more admin you are able to accomplish before your arrival the better. Wherever possible, pre-book what you can – from lift passes up the slopes to the equipment rentals you’ll need to secure. Many resorts offer online booking options, allowing you to skip the physical queues and on-site headaches, and giving you more precious time on the slopes.
4. Consider All-Inclusive Packages
As a corollary to the previous point, there are many booking sites that bundle everything into a single process on your behalf. Though they can sometimes be a little pricier than a DIY ski holiday, all-inclusive ski packages can dramatically simplify planning by bundling accommodation, meals, lift passes, and sometimes even ski lessons in one. Spend a little more, and save yourself a great deal of time and energy – both of which you can spend as you’d like on the mountain!
You may also read: Bridging the Physical and the Digital
