If proof was needed of snowboarding's emergence from anti-establishment underground to thirtysomething mainstream, this is it. A British company has launched the "snowboarding sabbatical", billed as the solution for professional types looking for an extended stay in the mountains without the need to give up their real jobs.
Snowboard Lodge, which runs specialist holidays in the Alpine resorts of Avoriaz-Morzine and Serre Chevalier, came up with the idea to cash in on the vogue for employers offering valuable staff the extra perk of longer breaks on full pay.
The company has been inundated with requests from thirtysomethingboarders who wanted more than the traditional week in the Alps but who were unwilling to swap their careers for the hand-to-mouth existence of traditional seasonaires.
Already, it has had to dedicate four of its chalets solely to boarders on monthly trips, as well as taking on extra self-catering apartments in each of the resorts. The majority of clients are signing up for two- or three- month trips.
"These are people whose feet are getting itchy and who realise that if they are really going to improve their riding, the only solution is to spend longer in a resort," says James Hardiman, one of Snowboard Lodge's founders. "Sabbaticals are so popular now that about 90% of the people who make initial enquiries about the programme get the OK from their bosses to take the time off."
The programme has been so popular that Hardiman is planning to put desks and phone points in the bedrooms next season so clients can work from the resort.
Starting from December 8, Snowboard Lodge is offering trips from one month to a full season of five months. A month's stay in a fully-catered chalet in Morzine - an hour and three quarters' drive from Geneva - starts from £690 in December, rising to £890 in February. The price includes airport transfers and all local taxes, but not a liftpass. For stays of one month or more, a full season pass is required, costing about £370 for access to the entire Portes du Soleil area, which claims to be one of the largest linked ski areas in the world.
