Ralph Johnson Director

I started skiing when I was four years old, on my first ever skiing holiday, it was also the first ever Ski Miquel holiday as well. It was freezing cold and, if I’m honest, I’m not even sure I liked it. Looking at the old photographs, I certainly don’t look entirely convinced!

But I was absolutely smitten with the mountains from day one. I spent much of my childhood following my dad around the mountains slopes, taking any excuse to join him on a "business trip skiing", gradually finding my feet and returning to the snow whenever I could. Those early trips took us to Andorra, France and Austria, and the ski slopes soon became the background to family life.

Growing up with Ski Miquel meant that skiing was always about people as well as the places. As I got older, I loved bringing people together on the mountain and sharing the experience with them. By the age of 13, I was also answering the phones in the office and selling holidays (mostly whilst playing on my Sega Mega Drive).

Running a business became what I thought was normal - You don't get a job, you make a job - This gave me an early introduction to the other side of a ski holiday!

There was an awful lot of 'Connect 4' along the way, too. I still claim to be the Ski Miquel chalet-hotel champion, although I suspect there are a few people who would dispute that. Some childhood ambitions are harder to let go of than others.

My working life took me into a rather different world to start with. I founded the software development company Felinesoft and spent 25 years building and running it to a team of 70 people, before selling it to a private equity company, just before COVID and Brexit. It was a big part of my life, but the pull of the mountains never went away.

Coming back to Ski Miquel felt like coming home, although with a somewhat hard landing as getting through COVID and all the staffing changes following Brexit were some of the hardest years I've ever worked, but it was well worth it to be back in the family business and to be doing something I’ve loved since those very first trips - Being in the mountains and sharing that enjoyment with other people.

Since then, we’ve been steadily growing Ski Miquel, adding chalet-hotels, resorts and looking for all the little ways we can make our holidays better. For me, that means listening to our guests, paying attention to the details and keeping the friendly, sociable feel that has always been part of the company.

I still love getting out on the mountain with our guests and taking a turn with the ski concierge groups, chatting to people at the bar and understanding what they love about our holidays and what would make them even better, but most of all hearing about the memories and the friends you have formed holidaying with Ski Miquel over the last 45 years and counting.

After all these years, sharing a day’s skiing is still one of the best parts of the job. And if there’s a 'Connect 4' board waiting back at the chalet-hotel, I’m always happy to defend my title!