The History of the Very First Skiing Holidays to Chamonix Haute Savoie
It was 1770 when the very first hotel opened in Chamonix France. Before this Chamonix Mont Blanc embodied a wild and sturdy agrarian town where locals hunted their animals and grew their oats.
Barns at this time were used to stock cows during the spring and summer. Their milk was conserved by changing it into different types of cheese and preserved down in the valley for consumption during the harsh wintertimes. In the winter season the chalets were fastened, and all valued possessions were locked in a liitle shack.
The person who invented chalet holidays is nameless, however it was likely some spirited folk who realised a idea which people liked. With Erna Low it began when she was a unhappy graduate and could not visit her parents back home as often as she wished. And so in the 1930’s she took a punt and put a advertisement in the broadsheets to invite punters on a winter holiday. The cost was £15 and they travelled to and from the skiing resort, had dinner and lodging in the solitary inn, and had skiing hire and lessons. Skiing was laborious work, there were no chair lifts, no safety bindings, merely strong leather shoes, but it was such a hit that Erna Low kept on taking groups on holidays, ensuring she used supreme hotels and ski instructors.
Ski holidays in the early years were very different from the luxury we have today. In the early days hot water was in limited supply, bathrooms would be shared with all of the clients, and there was no a cook; the guests needed to muck in. It was a real gamble who might share the chalet for the holiday, you may be agreeably surprised by meeting new allies, or have an uncomfortable week amongst strangers.
Chalets France were later publicized on its additional benefits. A cook, who would serve you breakfast and a plentiful evening meal and made you a cake, lots of warm water for bathing.
