Ski season is upon us, and with it that familiar dump of status anxiety. Sliding down mountains has always been a rich man’s folly, but only a few years ago, normal people could just about afford to go if they saved hard enough. Not anymore. In parts of France, the cost of a six-day lift pass is just shy of £400. In Switzerland, a pizza can set you back forty quid.
That’s just for starters. Factor in the cost of ski hire, ski wear, flights, accommodation, après-ski and mountaintop lunches, and your eyes won’t stop watering. Bring the family, and you’ll need more than a second mortgage. Flights and accommodation alone can double in price during school holidays, and those energetic sprogs will need fuel – lots and lots of expensive fuel.
Overcrowding has become a real problem, turning blue runs into war zones
It’s not just about affordability. You’d have thought the cost-of-living crisis might have emptied the slopes, but resorts are busier than ever. Overcrowding has become a problem, turning blue runs into war zones as armies of privileged young snowboarders jostle for powder. It seems the super-rich just keep on spawning while the rest of us panic about the rising cost of childcare.
Many resorts now resemble gaudy theme parks, with furiously entitled bankers spending more time queuing than skiing. Not that skiing is even about skiing anymore. For the look-at-me generation, pristine slopes and blingy chalets have become just another envy-inducing backdrop for social media posts. See how the rich kids pout and pose in their £2,000 Bogner jackets, selfie-sticks at the ready.
With all these grotesque displays of wealth, après-ski remains as tacky as ever, although these days you’re more likely to be sharing the dance floor with overweight hedge-fund managers than nubile young Sloanes. All of this assumes there’ll snow, of course. Rising temperatures across Europe have led to shortages of the white stuff, with dangerously patchy runs and green pastures becoming the norm. But don’t expect a refund when you’re greeted by driving rain and ankle-deep slush. If you do manage to find a lift that’s actually open, prepare for injury. Overcrowding means accidents are at an all-time high, so make sure you’re adequately insured.
OK, so skiing is risky, posy and overpriced, but there are ways to hurtle down red runs in relative peace without breaking either the bank or your back. My advice is to forget about going for a full week. I tend to get bored after a couple of days, what with all the queuing, the boot blisters and those tediously repetitious lifts. Skiing may be exhilarating, but I find three or four days is enough to give me the required fix, and a long weekend works out at a lot cheaper.
You can also save big by choosing a hotel in one of the less fashionable resorts, but make sure the accommodation provides more than just a place to deposit stinky ski boots; you’ll need something to do when the slopes are bare. Avoid the overpriced mega-resorts; you don’t need hundreds of miles of multi-coloured runs if you’re only there for a few days.
Last year, I spent a long weekend at the tiny resort of Seis am Schlern that lies at the foot of the famously spiky Schlern mountain in the Dolomites, and I virtually had the place to myself. Husband-and-wife team Lea and Simon, who own the aptly named Sensoria hotel, cater to casual snowhounds rather than ski-bore obsessives, so even if it’s raining outside, you can always slob out by the pool and enjoy some free early evening cocktails. The village itself is at the base of the Alpe di Siusi region, part of the largest high Alpine plateau in Europe, so access to the lifts is easy but not essential – non-skiers have plenty of other options, and the village is more than just another generic resort.
When I visited back in March, the slopes were pretty much empty apart from a few kamikaze five-year-olds in motorbike helmets. It’s less than a two-hour flight to the tiny airport at Bolzano, followed by a nippy half-hour transfer – ideal, then, for shorter trips. There’s only one flight a week from Gatwick, and you’ll be travelling in one of those tinny little propeller planes, but it all adds to the sense of adventure. To properly enjoy a ski break, my advice is to try not to make it all about the skiing. Keep expectations in check, and don’t let status anxiety lead you to financial ruin.
Comments