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If you’ve ever sat on a chairlift after lunch, in this age of ever-inflating lift pass costs, and tried to calculate how much each run has cost you, you’ll appreciate an additional free day on the slopes. And that is what Helly Hansen’s ‘Ski Free’ promo is designed for. Buy an item of clothing from Helly Hansen’s skiwear range and they’ll buy you a day on the mountain.
The offer covers over 50 resorts across Europe and North America. Buy a jacket and pants together and you get two days in return. There are over 100 items in the promo including techy shells and insulated all-rounders, pants, bibs, and even a good kids’ range. I joined Helly Hansen in Chamonix—one of Europe’s pricier resorts, where a full area day-pass costs €90 during peak periods—to test how much I could cram into an extra day, free of the obligation to maximise the miles-to-moola ratio.
"Chamonix is one of Europe’s pricier resorts. A full area day-pass costs €90 during peak periods"
Anyone who knows Chamonix will know it’s not the most conducive to covering distance. Each of the ski areas in the valley are discrete entities with their own character and crucially their own separate access points, so skiing between the different areas not only requires a bus or a car, but in the case of Brevent, downloading on the cable car is also necessary.
Naturally many people choose to spend a whole day at one ski area, rather than wasting time travelling between them. The most accessible from the centre of Chamonix is Brevent-Flegere, south-facing and sun-baked, and with the finest views over the Mont Blanc massif. The next most convenient is Grands Montets – higher, north facing, and steep.
And then there’s Domaine de Balme. Or Le Tour as it’s often known. From where I was staying in Les Bossons, it was a 20 to 30-minute drive to the head of the valley, which accounts for it being consistently quieter than the other ski areas. It also has a run that takes you down close to the Swiss border; so, as a slightly out-of-the-way destination for a bonus day with no time pressure and with a spirit of adventure that such freedom provokes, Le Tour ticked all the boxes.
It helped that there had been a dusting of fresh snow, and that the poor visibility the previous day would have meant most skiers would have avoided the largely tree-free area. With the promise of fresh tracks all the way to Switzerland and with blue skies above, the bus ride passed in an excited flash.
With a small crew, I spent a very contented first hour lapping six inches of powder from the side of a Poma lift high up on the domed head of La Balme. We skied the south-facing, wide open slopes with the whole of the Chamonix valley laid out beneath us. The slowness of a drag lift is so much less frustrating when you’re not paying for your pass, I noticed—especially when there are plenty of fresh tracks to go around. The run down to the border at Vallorcine was closed, but the top section still offered classic high-speed, blue-run cruising through the trees – something of a rarity in Chamonix.
A free ski day for some people might mean the perfect opportunity for a long, lazy, guilt-free lunch in the sun. But I had lots to pack into this extra day, so I headed back to Chamonix Sud on a lunchtime bus to pick up a boulangerie takeaway and a flat white at one of several decent (and long overdue) coffee places that have sprung up close to the Aiguille du Midi station.
My mind was set on the spa at my hotel. Big Sky in Les Bosson is a fun retro throwback with mid-century furniture, kitsch Bakelite phones and garish 60s patterns. But it’s popular, and so is the spa. As a sauna purist (read: ‘please be quiet’) I realised I could put the “free” into “Ski Free” by hitting the spa while everyone else was on the mountain. Noise-free. Guilt-free.
Coupled with a brilliantly mixed Bloody Mary from Big Sky’s bar, and a sun-drenched view of the Bossons glacier and the Aiguille du Midi, this was not my normal preparation for après. But it was a thoroughly welcome and relaxing alternative. By 4pm I was back in the centre of Chamonix to meet the Helly Hansen crew for the essential après ski experience of live music at Chambre Neuf.
“Ski Free” is very aptly named. Obviously, it refers to not having to pay for your pass, but the real freedom is in taking away those feelings of obligation that an expensive lift ticket brings. Some people no doubt breeze through life unencumbered in this way, but it reminded me of how skiing used to feel—like a world of potential, on and off the slopes. It reminded me to embrace the whole package of what skiing is about, and just how much you can pack into a single day in the mountains.
Dan's Ski Free experience was funded by Helly Hansen.
