When is a ski holiday not a holiday? When you’re working but also away from home skiing! How is that possible? Well thanks to new technology and the growth of working from home, people have started to twig that they can actually work from, well, anywhere, pretty much. So long as there’s good wifi anyway …which most ski resorts now have. The idea of mixing business and pleasure already has an acronym which you may have worked out ‘bleisure’.
Ski resorts, hotels and other travel businesses have been cottoning on to this trend big time and are increasingly offering remote working bases for anyone wanting to work from where they are.
But what if your boss doesn’t want you working from 1,000 miles away? They at least want to feel you might be able to pop into the office fairly promptly if needed. Well at that point if you still want to move to a ski resort anyway much of your decision is down to your attitude to risk. If you are someone who’ll take that risk of being found out but think you should be able to get away with it (a line of thinking many of us experience at the top of a black run), then you’d be taking a “hush trip”.
It’s another growing trend where you sneak away unknown to your employer, still putting the hours in but from a remote location.
One big advantage is that you take a holiday – kind of – without using up any of your annual allowance. Of course because hush trips are secret no one really know how many people are taking them, but some pundits have theorised there may be a mass of workers booking holiday in December at the end of the calendar year, or March at the end of the financial year, because they’ve taken holidays through the year on hush trips so still have their official four weeks or so to claim.
One popular hush trip idea is to merge actual holiday with hush trip holiday so you start and or end your holiday pretending to be at home working which actually already on or not yet returned from your holiday. That can give an excuse for give aways like goggle tans.
Chamonix PIC CREDIT OT Vallee de Chamonix Salome Abrial
Choose A Location Suited To A Quick Getaway
A top tip for your sneaky ski trip, besides ensuring there’s very good wifi wherever you pick, is to opt for somewhere you can return from pretty quickly should your cover be in danger of being blown. Fortunately there are lots of flights from Geneva, and plenty of ski areas quite close by.
“If you’re going to risk skiing during office hours, pick a resort close to the many daily flights home from Geneva. If you go for Chamonix for example we’re talking a 50 minute drive to Geneva, check-in 40 minutes, flight 1:40 + drive-office 50 mins. So you could potentially reach your last-minute-meeting within 4 hours!” advises Richard Sinclair of ski travel agency SNO.
Louis Andrews, director of OVO Network France, is a fan of similarly close-to-Geneva La Clusaz, in the Annecy Mountains, and also recommends Morzine.
“We’ve seen growing interest from home workers looking for a peaceful ‘home from home’ in the Alps. But it’s the lifestyle on offer here that is the main attraction. A ski after work, a bike ride during lunch break, or a paddle board before a meeting – it’s a reality for more and more people. Many of our chalet owners have been quick to recognise the appeal of the Alps for home workers. In response they’ve invested in a range of facilities. Fast, reliable internet is key, but many properties also have a dedicated study or a home working desk located away from the communal chalet areas. And, of course, there are additional facilities such as hot tubs, saunas, table tennis and gyms, ensuring home workers can recharge and rejuvenate after their working day.”
Go Far, Far Away
White Season in Niseko Village
If you’re feeling brave enough to risk it however, or (probably simpler/safer) …have just agreed it with your boss, you could aim to travel long haul to your ski work station. Then working hours don’t clash with ski lift opening hours. Travel east and you can get a half to full day of skiing in before you start your working day, or go west and you can work first, ski later.
“Most ski resorts are open only during office hours, so use time-zones to your advantage by WFH in a ski resort with decent difference to GMT. On a “Workation” in North America you can be on the slopes in what’s the UK evenings after work, or head east to hit Japan’s perfect powder in the mornings, before your office in Blighty opens!” confirms Richard Sinclair
So just to be clear that equates to getting up around midnight, UK time, to ski all day in Niseko say, then you start your online work at 6pm in Japan and work through to 2am or 3am next day Japanese time.
If you prefer BC or the Rockies it’s the same but different so you could do your UK office hours through the north American night then hit the slopes at 9 or 10am in the Western US or Canada just as the UK working day ends.
DISCLAIMER: Any hush ski trips you may make are your responsibility. InTheSnow and other businesses featured in this piece do not recommend you take hush trips!
We have a regular Podcast called The White Out where we review the latest gear, talk about the latest snow forecast and updates on where is best to ski now, as well interviews with absolute ski legends AND we spotlight a resort every week and so much more. You can check out our regular podcast here Apple | Spotify | Podcasts or search The White Out on your chosen podcast directory.
