The History of the Very First Chalet Vacations to Chamonix Haute Savoie
27 May 2009In 1770 the inaugural tourist hotel was opened in Chamonix Haute Savoie. Prior to this Chamonix ski resort embodied a uncivilized and tough rural town where folks hunted their animals and harvested their own barley.
Barns then were used to raise cows during the summer months. Their milk was preserved by transforming it into cheese and butter and preserved in the village for eating during the bleak winters. Throughout the winter season the chalets were secured, and all valuables were secured in a tiny shed.
Who devised the ski chalet vacation is nameless, however it was likely numerous zealous people who realised a idea which was new and exciting. For entrepreneur Erna Low it started whilst she was a unhappy postgraduate who couldn’t see her family back home as frequently as she would like to. And so in 1931 she took a punt and put a ad in the broadsheets to ask clients on a ski vacation. For £15 they travelled to and from the skiing resort, enjoyed meals and board in the only chalet, and took ski hire and instruction. The vacation was hard work, there were no ski lifts, no quick release bindings, merely strong leather shoes, it was so successful that she carried on taking friends on holiday, seeing to it that she utilized first-class lodges and instructors.
Chalet holidays in the formative years were a long way from the luxuries we enjoy today. Back then hot water was in limited supply, bathrooms would be used by all of the clients, and there was no a chef; the punters were expected to help out. No one knew who may be in the chalet for a trip, you may be pleased to encounter fresh allies, or spend a week of hell with people you didn’t get on with.
Catered chalet holidays were later on advertised on their extra bonuses. Your own cook, who would serve you cooked breakfast and dinner and baked you a cake.
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