As far back as 1770 the 1st lodge was opened up in Chamonix Mont Blanc. Before this date Chamonix Mont Blanc France constituted a uncivilized and craggy rural village where the populace caught their own animals and produced their own oats.

Farms at that time were used to stock cows over the summer months. The cows milk was preserved by turning it into cheeses and stocked in the valley for eating during the cruel winter times. During the snow season the barns were locked up, and all valued possessions were put safely in a tiny hut.

Who came up with catered chalet holidays is obscured by time, it was probably various passionate people who acknowledged a set up which people liked. For entrepreneur Erna Low it all began whilst she was a unhappy graduate and could not visit her folks back home in Austria as frequently as she liked. Therefore in 1930 she took a gamble and placed a small ad in the London Times to tempt clients on a skiing holiday. For £15 they travelled to and from the town, had breakfast and dinner and accommodation in the solitary chalet, and took ski hire and tuition. Skiing was hard , there weren’t any skiing lifts, no safety fixations, just heavy leather boots, it was so successful that Erna Low carried on taking friends on breaks, ensuring she sourced grand accommodations and ski instructors.

These ski breaks in the beginning were very different from the standards we can have today. In the early days hot water was in short supply, washrooms were shared with all of the clients, and there was no a chef; all the punters were expected to help out with the chores. No one knew who might share the accommodation for a week, one might be agreeably surprised by meeting new skiers, or grimaced by the thought of spending another day with unpleasant guests.

skiing holidays were later on advertised on its other benefits. Your own cook, who served you breakfast and dinner and prepared you cakes, private bathrooms warm water for bathing.