The Alpine Elements Story

Celebrating our 26th year!

Alpine Elements is a specialist activity holiday brand of iGO SKI Ltd and we are entering our 26th year, or our 50th season (winter & summer). We are looking forward to enjoying it with the many thousands of loyal guests who still come away with us each year and the many long standing (and rather brilliant) staff who work tirelessly to make our activity holidays happen. Some of our team have been with us for more than 19 years and our Alpine Elements family is stronger than ever - for it’s the people that make us who we are

How it all started

Our Company was originally conceived in 1997/98 by James Hardiman as a one-chalet operation in Morzine. In those days it was called ‘Snowboard Lodge Ltd’. Whilst James was in his final year at university and most of his fellow students were preparing for exams, James was busy setting up the Company as well as doing his finals. In the summer of 1998 James graduated with a BSc (hons) in Product Design & Engineering and then (with no real interest in engineering) went straight overseas to operate their first season. 

With little more than an advert in the paper, use of a small office within a carpet factory in Kidderminster, plastic garden chairs to sit on and a modest bank loan to buy an aged minibus and the deposit for a chalet in Morzine - James was in business!

In that first year he took away 136 guests; and with the help of 3 staff to run the operation it allowed James to manage the office as his heart was set on growth! That first season they cooked, they cleaned, they taught their guests how to snowboard, (which you were allowed to do in those days), and met some amazing guests, many of whom still travel with us today. 

The Dawn of Alpine Elements

Gradual expansion over the next 5 years saw new chalets opening in Morzine, Chamonix, Serre Chevalier, Tignes and even a handful of chalets in Whistler (Canada).

James came to realise that the specialist snowboard market was too small for his growing business and so he renamed the Company ‘Alpine Elements Ltd’ in 2004 and revamped his advertising and operations in a bid to attract skiers. And it worked! Alpine grew steadily through two recessions and expanded into offices in London, attracting a great team of loyal staff. At its peak in 2020, Alpine and Ocean Elements transported more than 26,500 guests on holiday each year to France, Austria and Greece and became Britain’s Largest Independent Operator of exclusively run catered ski chalets and hotels in the Alps.

Our New Company

The landscape for travel significantly changed through 2020 when Covid struck. After 22 blemish-free years Alpine Elements was restructured and is now a brand of iGO SKI Ltd. We are still run by the same great people and as we enter our 25th year, we have attracted a huge following of  loyal guests who come away with each year.

New Alpine is a little smaller these days. We employ about 100 staff (instead of 350) and transport about 9,000 guests instead of 26,000. But we are happier, because we have a more niche and sought-after brand for our loyal and valued guests - where we can focus on a more personal service and an even higher attention to detail.

A selection of Snowboard Lodge, iGOSKI and Alpine Elements
brochures over the years

Recent members of our in-resort Mountain Team