It’s the best group therapy for you and your pals on the slopes
LEARNING to ski with friends or making new pals in ski class ensures some of the best fun you will ever have in your life. But what do groups of skiers look for in a ski holiday?
And how can you experience the craic of a group holiday on your own or with just a couple of pals?
Most groups are looking for a mix of experiences – great skiing but also apres-ski entertainment, tasty food and non-ski activities.
If there are different levels within a group, it’s vital to choose a resort where it’s easy for everyone to meet up at lunchtime or for apres.
And remember that ski holiday activities now extend way beyond ice skating or horse-drawn carriage rides.
Depending on which resort you’re staying in, you can go skidooing, tobogganing, ice diving, ice driving, bobsleighing, fat biking, zip wiring, dog sledding or even ice climbing.
You can eat fondue in a gondola, experience a Scandinavian spa, go shopping in duty-free havens or enjoy mountain feasts before sledding back down the slopes.
You can go snowshoeing to dinner in a rifugio with just the light of the moon and a headlamp to guide you or take a train ride to soak up the culture of a nearby city. The options are endless.
Topflight Holidays are wellknown for their annual Today FM trip with Ian Dempsey which brings nearly 700 Irish skiers to Austria in late January.
This winter, the company will bring the group experience to even more skiers with a range of organised trips during off-peak weeks.
The trips, which include apres and other activities, are aimed at bringing like-minded people together on the pistes.
‘You might plan on skiing with one or two friends but want to have the craic of a larger group holiday. Or you might be a non-skier who wants to enjoy all the other activities on offer. You can do both’, says Topflight’s Maurice Shiels.
There are three different types of holiday to choose from.
If you want to experience full-on apres, ‘Party The Principality’ has your name on it. Skiing in the
Andorran resorts of Arinsal and Pas de la Casa, you’ll live it up in the bars and clubs of Pas de la Casa, known as Ibiza In the Snow.
Dates are January 13, 20, Feb 3 and March 17 with prices from €599pps, including flights, accommodation, transfer, rep services and a goodie bag of ski essentials.
If you’re a big fan of St Patrick’s Day but want to experience it in a different way, opt for the Paddy’s On the Piste trip to Söll in Austria’s Ski Welt.
According to Maurice, Söll goes completely green on March 17. Even the slopes are bathed in green for night skiing.
This trip departs on March 16 and costs from €699pp B&B, including flights, accommodation, transfers, rep and goodie bag.
If you’re an ardent skier and prefer your apres adventures to take place on the slopes, check out the Mountain Adventure Week in Livigno.
‘Livigno La Vida Loca’ which takes place on January 26, February 2 and March 9, will include skidooing, ski racing and a mountain feast. Prices from €653pp.
Now all you’ve got to do is gather your tribe and hit the slopes.
For further info, go to topflight.ie or contact them on (01) 2401700.