Originally Posted by
Swiss Tony
To which I'd say, 1) if you're skiing (or boarding) in Switzerland then either you can afford it or they've seen you coming a mile off; and 2) it's not that long ago that skis were universally free - I can even remember not paying to take my skis on Britannia charters to the Alps in the mid 90's.
Actually if you're a solo (female, not called dave) traveller looking for some snow Switzerland works out as one of the easiest, albeit at a marginal premium. Do I want to pay single supplements to a package company, or travel when and where, and for however long I want to without faffing with the hire car or sorting out transfers? Switzerland's train service and half fare pass make it pretty affordable and accessible for 3 day weekend trips if you don't have anything but the legal minimum leave from the dayjob.
Fair point about the historical context. All things considered on BA, with a generous hand luggage allowance having to get creative with packing in the board bag isn't really a hardship.