French Alps specialist Ski Olympic closes business

Doncaster-based chalet operator Ski Olympic has closed its business after trading since 1986.

The French Alps specialist has posted a ‘goodbye’ message on its website and Facebook page about the closure.

“After 38 years of taking you lovely guests out to the French Alps, we have finally decided to hang up our skis,” said the message on Facebook.

“The good news is that this was not a forced decision and simply made by us for all the right reasons.

“We thank all our fantastic guests, many of whom have become great friends, for their loyalty over the decades and we wish you all well for the future x.

“We must also mention our amazing staff. Without you we would have been unable to offer such wonderful memorable holidays x.”

The website said that Ski Olympic was founded in 1986 and has taken more than 20,000 skiers to the slopes.

“As a family-run independent company, we have offered many chalets in many different resorts over the years,” said the website.

“We operate our own chalets, train our own staff, and run our own charter flights and airport transfers.”

Nick Edwards, managing director at ski specialist agency Snowfinders, noted its closure “with great sadness”.

He said on LinkedIn: “It should be stated that Olympic have not failed financially but post Brexit running a tour operation offers lower returns with higher costs, higher risks, and a bemusing amount of paperwork and regulations that prior to 2020 did not occur.”

He said the operator had been set up by husband and wife team Bernie and Maggy Osborne. Their son, Jarrod, took over the reins to become MD.

“Whilst operations were scaled back more recently to just one chalet hotel and two chalets in Vallandry (Les Arcs) guests still enjoyed that northern hospitality that the company was famed for,” wrote Edwards.

“Writing this in April as Vallandry has just received a mega-dump of over 100 cm of snow fills us, at Snowfinders, with sadness as yet another UK ski tour operator closes its doors - thanks Mr Cameron.

“To lose another partner is depressing but to lose our friends in Ski Olympic, even more so. Thanks for the memories Jarrod, Sharon, Cath and the team - hopefully we will meet again on the pistes.”