14th Jan or 11th March 2023

“These trips are designed to provide a ready-made support group of new friends to learn with, so you don’t feel you are holding anyone back or have to listen to seasoned skiers bore on about going off-piste…By the fourth day I understood why people become addicted to ski holidays.”The Guardian reviewed us!

We know that a skiing or snowboarding holiday can be a bit daunting for first-timers, so we put together a couple of special weeks for those who have never done it before, haven’t done it for a while, or just haven’t quite got the hang of it yet.

Morzine, in the French Alps, is a great place to learn, with beautiful scenery and a large range of wide open easy runs – and if it turns out you’re a natural, there’s a vast area of more challenging pistes.

Everyone will be on a similar level, which makes for a great group atmosphere and you can compare your turns and snowplough technique over a well-deserved glass of vin chaud at the end of the day at our cosy mountain chalet, or in one of the town’s bars.

Most of our guests come on their own and it’s a great way to meet new people and learn an essential (well, we think so) new skill.

Beg, steal or borrow some snow gear (here’s a ‘to bring list’), get yourself to Geneva airport and we’ll sort out everything else – lift pass, all equipment hire, lessons, as well as everything that is usually included in a HOFNAR holiday.

A word of warning: you will become addicted to snow holidays!

• You’ll be staying in our original chalet in Morzine, Chalet Armaillis. There is a choice of twin/double or same-sex quad rooms.
• 6 -day local area lift pass
• 6 days hire of skis, boards, boots, poles & helmet
• 6 mornings of skiing or boarding  group lessons
• Continental breakfasts and a full English breakfast once a week
• 5 evening meals
• Enough food in the chalet to help yourself to a packed lunch
• Afternoon tea
• Welcome drinks
• Unlimited tea, coffee and hot chocolate, beer, wine and cider (alcohol just served with meals)
• Services of a live-in hofnar host

Check out our ‘to bring’ list here

– Flights are not included, you just need to get yourself to Geneva airport (look on kayak.co.uk for some of the best prices)
– Transfers from/to the airport. We can easily arrange this for you but it costs £110pp return
– Clothing. You need your own ski/snowboard gear – beg, borrow, steal off friends otherwise use ebay, TK Maxx. For help just give us a shout!
– Insurance. Essential, do make sure it has ‘winter sports’ cover and if you are more on the ‘crazy’ side just check it covers you for parks and / off piste.
– 2 x evening meals. Usually we go out as a group to local restaurants at your own expense first and last evenings. Everything is a little flexi, so this could be changed if (for example) there’s a birthday or other special event.

The beautiful small town of Morzine is located in a valley in the French Alps, at the very heart of one of the largest ski resorts in the world – the Portes du Soleil. (Check out the pistes maps here)

Just 1hr and 20 minutes from Geneva it one of the easiest and quickest ski resorts to get to from the UK.

This historic mining and farming town has avoided the ugly tower blocks that blight many of the French resorts and remains a ‘real’ French town with a market on a Wednesday morning and a year-round population.

There are loads of shops and quite a few bars. It’s not exactly Ibiza but there is definitely a good aprés scene with loads of live music and new for winter 2019 the famous Folie Douce is opening up in neighbouring Avoriaz.