No friends on powder days! But is that really what you want? To many of us, the idea of a solo ski holiday can sound daunting. Your mind fills with images of lonely evenings in your chalet and no one to take selfies with on the chairlift. But skiing and snowboarding are social sports, and even if your friends and family don’t have the budget or the time to join you on your ski holiday, there are plenty of opportunities to meet people. We have lots of tips for going on a successful solo ski holiday, whether you’re interested in making new friends or just finding someone to share the airport transfer with!
One of the easiest ways to make instant friends on your solo ski holiday is by booking with a solo-friendly tour operator or singles-friendly chalet. Companies like Solos Holidays, The Ski Gathering, Ski Weekender, Solitair and Cold Fusion all offer ski holiday packages aimed at solo skiers, offering opportunities to meet like-minded people through sharing a room in a chalet, chatting over breakfast, skiing together or bonding during après-ski. Alternately, you can meet up with a Ski Club of Great Britain member in one of their 18 resorts and have them show you around the ski area for a day. Another advantage of booking with a singles-friendly tour operator is that you'll be able to share the airport transfer.
If you’re looking for something a little more laid-back, there are plenty of opportunities for finding ski buddies on social media. Community Facebook groups and ski forums offer the chance to meet other skiers and plan ski holidays together. Another similar service is Mountain Rideshare, which mainly exists so that drivers and would-be skiers can link up and share petrol costs on the way to the mountain.
If you’ve swallowed your pride and just gone ahead and organised your own solo ski holiday, it’s not too late to make friends when you’re already on the mountain. Strike up a conversation with the people on your chairlift or gondola! Everybody’s in a good mood and everybody shares a common interest – skiing – so making new friends has never been easier (if it’s something more than a friend you’re looking for, check out our best chairlift chat-up lines)
No matter what your ability level, it’s always useful to take a ski or snowboard lesson to improve your technique. Plus, it’s a great way to discover the local powder stashes and get insider tips from your ski instructor on the best slopes. Book yourself into a group lesson and you’ll be basically forced to spend the whole morning with a group of strangers – perfect! Highly doubtful that you’ll be lunching alone today!
Once the schapps get flowing, it’s suddenly easy to make new friends! Many solo tour providers organise soirées so skiers can mingle with each other and make new friends. Another option for making friends off the slopes is signing up for a fun activity like snowshoeing or a torchlit descent with a fondue dinner... do you actually even need an excuse to try this out? Even though you sign up individually, it will likely be a small, close-knit group of people who will end up being your new skiing friends!
If you aren’t going with close friends or family, be sure to take appropriate precautions for if you should get lost or injured. Leave your number at the hotel desk and ask them to take action if you don’t return at the end of the day. Write down the emergency phone number of the ski resort and keep a copy of your travel insurance policy on you in a clearly marked paper. We strongly advise against going off-piste by yourself but if you’re that crazy, at least bring avalanche equipment and know how to use it.
The more the merrier! Now that you’ve found yourself a group of new friends to go skiing with on your solo skiing holiday, which piste will you tackle first?
Born and raised in the ski paradise of Vancouver, Canada, I learned to ski before I can remember, balancing precariously on my parents’ skis as they sailed down the hill. I started snowboarding in my teens and am now delighted to be exploring everything Europe’s ski scene has to offer!
