An interesting start to the season

It has been an interesting season so far – we have gone from excitement in November when the weather turned from a beautiful short-wearing Indian summer into a proper first early winter snowfall in the space of a couple of days. Enquiries for winter holidays took off, everyone in the resorts had a big smile on their face photo 1 Comp)and things were getting off to the best possible start for my first season with Mountain Plus. And then nothing. Warm weather, phones silent, brave smiles fading into looks of despair as we went into Christmas week with literally no snow whatsoever. Pictures of skiers and snowboarders waist deep in powder in North America did little to ease the pain, and the older folk started counting back the number of years since they had last seen such a dry December. 1999 apparently.

 

Having worked in the mountains for a number of years aged 18 to 25, I am well versed in the ups and downs and politics of ski resorts, although this was my first foray back into the Portes du Soleil for 2 or 3 years. Taking over Mountain Plus in November was a huge step out of the suit wearing office job I had been surviving for a number of years, often with a wistful look to the hills out of the window. Always keeping half an eye on various opportunities and dreaming of getting ‘back out there’, when I came across a small ad for a chalet rental company my mind (and calculator) went into overdrive and I began the process of boring friends and family to death with the pros and cons of taking the plunge into business ownership. I am lucky to have a very patient and supportive wife who was born and bred in the Swiss Alps, and got behind the idea straight away despite the initial  financial challenges such a move would bring about. Mountain Plus ticked all the boxes;  hospitality, contact with guests, sports, and above all the chance to back out into the mountains on a regular basis. The business had been built on going the extra mile for guests and ensuring that it was not a simple rental agency, but a helping hand throughout the holiday, always on hand to provide help or advice when needed. Not being averse to ‘networking’ over a couple of drinks at apres-ski also held a certain appeal…

 

Back to the present, and a couple of weeks of heavy snowfall has changed things considerably. What a pleasure to see happy snow covered faces coming down of the hill after another great day of powder turns, not to mentionView from Abondance making the most of my new found flexible working hours to fit in some of the best powder days in a long time. January is really a spcial time in the mountains, with great snow and empty slopes, and the feeling of having a huge 650km resort all to yourself. Businesses are looking forward to the busy periods in February and March to catch up on some of the lost time over Christmas and New Year, and there is a general feeling of relief that enough snow has fallen in the past couple of weeks to last the entire season.

Mountain Plus has added a couple of new properties to the portfolio, and will look to keep going as we seek to expand over the next couple of years to provide our guests with the best options for their holidays. We are currently working on a new logo, and look forward to getting new cards and brochures out soon – watch this space.

 

In any event I can safely say that life has got more interesting in the past few months,  and please do get in touch to come and see us and so that we can share our little corner of mountain paradise with you!

IMG_8432

Written by superadmin • 23/01/2016
Share Article: twitter Facebook

Related Articles