Alps

Hannah and Simon took an ‘extreme day trip’ instead of having date night in the UK

A couple swapped their usual UK date night to fly to the French Alps for five hours of skiing and fondue. They claimed it could “easily be the same price” to go out for dinner and a show in London.

Hannah West, 39, and her husband, Simon, 52, wanted to see if an extreme day trip to the mountains was really possible. The couple, from Brighton, had an early 6am start in the airport but claim the trip was “totally worth it”.

The pair boarded a 6.10am flight from Gatwick Airport to Geneva in February, and despite the plane being delayed by an hour, they touched down in France by 10am. The content creators spent the afternoon skiing in La Clusaz before grabbing a fondue and flying back to the UK at 9.30pm.

They were back in time to kiss their kids goodnight. They added that, despite the trip setting them back £671.80, it could easily cost the same to go to London to see a show and have a nice dinner.

Hannah said: “We got in five hours of skiing which I think is how much most people would do in a day anyway. I feel like we got a really decent amount of skiing in. It was definitely worth it.

“You could easily have gone to London for the day and spent that if you went to watch a show and had dinner. The fact that we got to do that much skiing and it’s something we will never forget, I think it’s totally worth it.”

Hannah and Simon decided to challenge themselves to an extreme day trip after seeing others go on quick getaways. The mum-of-two said: “I’ve seen a lot of people doing them for city breaks, but I wanted to see if it was possible to do it for a ski trip.”

They spent £164.99 per person on return flights and determined to maximise their time on the snow, the couple hired a car for £59.18 straight from the airport and drove to the resort, allowing them to squeeze in five hours of skiing.

They arrived by midday, and after skiing, the couple still had time to get dinner and drinks. They spent £61 on a cheese fondue for two, dessert, one glass of wine and one cola. Hannah said: “The whole day felt magical and I felt like I was beaming the whole time. I couldn’t believe it was possible, the whole day I was on a high. It was the best date day.”

Their flight back to England was at 9.30pm. They managed to get back to their home in Brighton around 11.30pm, where their children – 11 and eight – were being babysat by their grandmother.

Hannah said: “This is such a great opportunity to have an amazing date day with your partner – to do something you both really love together and have a really special day you’re going to remember forever. It was exhausting, we were totally knackered.”

In total, the trip cost £671.80, which is £335.90 per person. While that may sound steep for a single day, Hannah argues it compares to a luxury day out in London.

She added that booking flights further in advance or travelling in a group would have reduced the cost. She said: “It’s not about replacing a week-long ski holiday, or am I suggesting this is something to do on a regular basis.

“But if you’re time-poor, or don’t have childcare for a week away, you can still have an amazing, special day together.” While she wouldn’t rush to repeat the adrenaline-fuelled day, she says she would do it again if the opportunity arose.

The couple took their trip in February 2025. Flight prices will likely be different now and will vary depending on the location people fly from, if trying to replicate a similar experience.

Cost breakdown (prices from February 2025):

• Parking: £31.68 at Gatwick Airport
• Flights: £164.99pp
• Car hire: £59.18
• Fuel: £14.63
• Tolls: £10.70
• Parking: £12.30
• Day pass skiing: £44.66pp
• Ski gear hire: £22.75 pp
• Food: £78.51
• Total: £671.80 (£335.90pp)

A COUPLE flew to the Alps for a day of skiing – which was still cheaper than a day out in London.

Hannah West, 39, and her husband Simon 52, flew to the French Alps to enjoy fondue and five hours of skiing.

The duo, from Brighton, flew from Gatwick Airport to Geneva last month 6:10am and returned the same evening at 9:30pm.

The day trip included a day of skiing in La Clusaz – including ski gear hire – as well as some fondue, wine and desert.

Hannah said: “We got in five hours of skiing which I think is how much most people would do in a day anyway.

“The fact that we got to do that much skiing and it’s something we will never forget, I think it’s totally worth it.”

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The couple also parked their car at Gatwick Airport for £31.68 and spent £14.63 on fuel and £10.70 on tolls.

The day trip cost a total of £671.80 working out to £335.90 per person.

While Hannah admits it sounds expensive, she said it was still cheaper compared to a day out in London.

For example, the average ticket price for the best seats at a London West End costs around £160 each.

If they were to have dinner before the show, that could easily set them back between £60 and £100 total.

And if they had travelled from Brighton on the train, an open train ticket is £42.70.

This includes just the evening entertainment…

If the couple were to do another activity in the day, this could set them back anywhere between £30 and £100 each, and then, of course, add on having lunch out and getting London transport around the city.

It adds up quickly.

She also explained how she has seen a lot of people head off on city day trips, but “wanted to see if it was possible to do it for a ski trip”.

Hannah said: “The whole day felt magical and I felt like I was beaming the whole time.

“I couldn’t believe it was possible, the whole day I was on a high. It was the best date day.”

“This is such a great opportunity to have an amazing date day with your partner – to do something you both really love together and have a really special day you’re going to remember forever.”

To save even more money, Hannah admitted that they could have booked their flights further in advance or booked as part of a group.

She added: “It’s not about replacing a week-long ski holiday, or am I suggesting this is something to do on a regular basis.

“But if you’re time-poor, or don’t have childcare for a week away, you can still have an amazing, special day together.”

In other extreme day trip news, travel experts have revealed their favourite day trip abroad destinations with £15 flights and free attractions.

Plus, one person has been on 30 extreme day trips to Europe – here’s their favourite destination and the one they won’t go back to.

The accident, near the town of Goppenstein, occurred as the region is under its second-highest avalanche warning, a level four out of five.

A regional train has derailed in southern Switzerland, injuring five people, police said, as the risk of avalanches in the region has reached its second-highest level.

The accident on Monday near the town of Goppenstein occurred amid heavy snow and at an altitude of 1,216 metres (4,000 feet), according to the AFP news agency.

“According to initial findings, an avalanche may have crossed the tracks shortly before the train passed,” police said, adding that the public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.

“Five people were injured. One of them was taken to hospital,” police added.

The train accident follows a series of deadly avalanches across the Alps in recent days involving skiers.

On Friday, three skiers were killed after being swept away by an avalanche in the upmarket French Alpine resort of Val d’Isere.

Cedric Bonnevie, who oversees the resort’s pistes, said one of the victims was a French national while the others were foreign citizens.

He said one victim appeared to have been caught in the avalanche high on the mountain slope, while the other two were part of a group of five, including a professional guide, lower on the mountain face and did not see the avalanche approaching.

In Italy, rescuers said last week that a record 13 backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers had died in the mountains over the previous seven days, including 10 in avalanches triggered by an exceptionally unstable snowpack.

Fresh snowfall during recent storms, combined with windswept snow sitting on weak internal layers, has created especially dangerous conditions across the Alpine arc bordering France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy, Italy’s Alpine Rescue said.

“Under such conditions, the passage of a single skier, or natural overloading from the weight of snow, can be sufficient to trigger an avalanche,” Federico Catania, Alpine Rescue’s spokesperson, said.

The avalanche deaths have occurred on ungroomed mountain slopes, away from the well-maintained and monitored Winter Olympic sites in Lombardy near the Swiss border, Cortina d’Ampezzo in Veneto, and the cross-country skiing venues in Val di Fiemme, within the autonomous province of Trentino.

Emergency teams intentionally triggered an avalanche near a Chamonix ski resort as a safety precaution. Three skiers were killed in the French Alps after an avalanche struck on Friday. Several major ski resorts were forced to shut down as avalanche risk levels surged across the Alps.