With the pandemic-induced worldwide lockdowns (hopefully) nearing their end and travel becoming
Unplugged
ski week
french pyrenees
Jan 28 - Feb 4, 2023
We are heading back to the French mountains to reunite with our Tribe friends!
Unplugged adventures are all about our reunion; seeing familiar faces while taking an intentional break from work to reconnect and reminisce about the wild days of the Tribe. It's a chance to keep in touch with old friends a few times a year and stay plugged into the community, even when we're no longer fully nomadic and able to join month-long Chapters. Living our daily lives together is beyond compare, now imagine us in vacation mode.
A holiday with old friends, are you in?
Reunite with the Old Pals in the Snow
Our fourth unplugged adventure. Let's get cozy again and spend a week in the mountains in a French chalet. We'll be skiing, snowboarding, or practicing our turns for the 2nd time in the French Pyrenees. After conquering the mountain, we'll return home to relax in our hot tub as we sip hot chocolates and Aperol Spritzes.
Hit the slopes & make the first tracks
Explore the 62 miles of trails for skiers and snowboarders, all located within Saint-Lary-Soulan. No matter your skill level, find chairlifts and gondolas to take you to green, blue, red, and black pistes.
Not yet comfortable on the slopes? No problem. Join a lesson to learn how to turn and carve with other Tribers who want to sharpen their skills. There's no better bonding moment than rolling down the hill together and icing sore bums afterwards.
Discover snowshoeing or snowmobile
We'll bring our sense of adventure and hang on tight while we explore landscapes of the backcountry on a snowmobile or through a guided night snowshoeing experience.
Après-ski where it was invented
Grab an Aperol Spritz and join us in the hot tub, our chalet has all we need for the best ending to a day on the slopes. Après ski was born in France and a vacation must.
Our Home in Saint-Lary-Soulan
Saint Lary is a calm, quintessential small French town. Explore this mostly only French speaking, cobble stoned cute town for an authentic European ski experience. The village (~800m elevation) where we are staying in is connected via 2 fast cable cars/gondola with the base of the ski resort itself (~1700m elevation). This is where the Tribe stayed the last time we skied and adventured through Saint-Lary-Soulan. You can find more information about the ski resort on the official resort website as well as popular on the snow webpage.
Village center
Ski chalet
12-14 members
50 mbps
Highlights
Our home is a newly renovated chalet that's divided into 3 apartments with a furnished terrace.
We're located 1 minute from a free shuttle bus that brings us to the cable car station to access the ski resorts. Ideal for skiers and snowboarders, no need to rent an additional car to hit the slopes.
The chalet has fully equipped kitchens, a hot tub, washer & dryer, heated floors, ski gear room, multiple dining and communal spaces, and fireplaces for crazy cozy hangs.
Resort passes cost from €49 pp for a 1-day pass (or €195 for 6 days) and can be purchased ahead of time online.
Good to Know
Unplugged adventures are a time to take time off from work, the focus is on connecting rather than staying productive.
We are going to be in France so the main language is French. It's definitely going to help to learn a few words and download Google Translate for Restaurant Menus
The small private room is a low-ceiled room (1.6m | 5.3 feet height), ideal for the community & mountain lover who sees a bedroom as just a place to sleep & rest. Due to it's low height this room is reduced, but you'll still benefit from the amazing communal facilities and going on the mountain with the Tribe.
The 2-person shared rooms have bunkbeds (technically able to fit 4 people), but each person will have their own bunk without anyone above them.
Join Us in Saint-Lary-Soulan
Unplugged adventures are about reuniting with old friends. It's a week-long intentional break from the day-to-day to disconnect from work and reconnect with the Tribe. Members who have joined Chapters before and intimately understand what being a Triber is all about will thrive most on Unplugged adventures.
Booking priority will be given to Veterans, Citizens, and Nomads – find out which one you are here.
Jan 28 - Feb 4, 2023
Open to current WiFi Tribe members only.
Not a member? Apply here.
A few spots are set aside to build a more balanced community on the ground, with a mix of genders, nationalities, ethnicities, and member experience levels. All shared rooms are between 2 or 3 people of the same self-identified gender.
Not a Travel Program, a Community
We live, explore, and build our community together.
Embracing openness and curiosity, as a Tribe, we explore new places and ideas.
Do Life Together
We build relationships to last...the rest of our lives. Retirement-Tribe anyone?
Cocreate the Adventure
Discover how different travel feels when the experience is cocreated and shared as a Tribe.
Reignite Your Work
Realize your goals and dreams knowing you have the world's best cheerleaders in your corner.
Unplugged FAQs
Find answers about Unplugged below:
Secure your Unplugged Ski week booking with a deposit, full payments are due 12 weeks before the Unplugged Adventure begins.
Unplugged Adventure payments (please be aware this policy is effective as of the start of 2023):
- Booking requests are secured with a $300 deposit and will receive a link to finalize your booking to pay the full Unplugged Adventure fee
- The final full payment is due 12 weeks prior to the Unplugged Adventure starting. (Note: this means you’ll have from the time of booking until 12 weeks out to submit the full Unplugged Adventure payment)
- If your full payment is not received 12 weeks before the Unplugged Adventure start date, your spot will be given to the next person on the waitlist
- Bookings made less than 12 weeks before the Unplugged Adventure start date will pay the full Unplugged Adventure price at booking
Unplugged Adventure cancellations (please be aware this policy is effective as of the start of 2023):
Once the full Unplugged Adventure payment is paid, the following cancellation policy applies:
- You have a 48-hour grace period to cancel a trip booking and not forfeit your deposit. If a booking is cancelled within 48 hours, the deposit will be released for a future trip.
- Cancelling 10+ weeks before arrival: 100% refund of the trip payment. Your deposit is forfeited if you didn’t cancel within the 48-hour grace period. Otherwise, the deposit is released for a future booking.
- Cancelling 8-10 weeks before arrival: 50% refund of the trip payment. Your deposit is forfeited if you didn’t cancel within the 48-hour grace period. Otherwise, the deposit is released for a future booking.
- Cancelling less than 8 weeks before arrival: No refund and the deposit is forfeited if you didn’t cancel within the 48-hour grace period. Otherwise, the deposit is released for a future booking.
Closest airport:
- Tarbes Lourdes Pyrénées Airport: 80 km
- Pau-Uzein Airport: 100 km
- Toulouse-Blagnac Airport: 150 km
More arrival information available on the official resort website.
In the Chapter's Slack channel before arrival, members often coordinate transportation to our homes together. You'll receive the address and other relevant information closer to the start of the ski week post completed payment.
See our COVID guidelines and procedures here.
Whether you're an experienced rider or new to the slopes, consider travel insurance that includes added protection for adventure activities. Things like:
- Trip protection against weather-related incidents that cause trip cancellations or delays
- Gear protection to protect yourself against theft, lost or damaged equipment
- Emergency medical insurance and emergency evacuation to cover any accidents on the slopes
Unplugged adventures are about reuniting with old friends. It's a week-long intentional break from the day-to-day to disconnect from work and reconnect with the Tribe.
It's a chance for us to keep in touch with old friends a few times a year and stay plugged into the community, even when we're no longer fully nomadic and able to join month-long Chapters.
That's why, for these adventure weeks, we're looking for members who have joined Chapters before and intimately understand what being a Triber is all about.
We're a group that loves to ski and snowboard, members have self organized their own ski weeks with fellow Tribers, so we want to help take it a step further. There's magic to renting out an entire chalet for cozy community hangs and bonding over a shared passion with people with whom we already feel close.
Chapters have a focus on productivity with the expectation that everyone will log on to work Monday-Friday. Unplugged is a time to... well, unplug.
Set up an out of office message and take off days from work, these week-long adventures are a holiday as a Tribe. We won't be working during the week, instead all of our focus will be on the adventure and the intention of getting even closer by sharing an epic experience.
Since this is a chance to unplug from our daily work schedules, we aren't specifically sourcing accommodations for their wifi reliability and speeds. We also won't have the backup MiFi devices on the ground or other supportive tech gear.
During Unplugged adventures, our accommodations might have wifi but it's not a given!
Find answers about the resorts and Saint-Lary-Soulan below:
Saint-Lary is near 3 ski areas, Pla d'Adet, Espiaube, and Vallon du Portet. We chose the French Pyrenees specifically for its balanced selection of pistes, it's perfect for a mixed-ability group. With 59 pistes (11 black, 14 red, 26 blue, and 7 green), the slopes here are considered less demanding than other resorts but there's typically a lack of crowds which will make our runs that much more enjoyable.
Starting with Pla d'Adet, beginners will find green and blue pistes with meandering runs from 2300m altitude. Ski school lessons are also available for those who want to learn how to ski or snowboard.
Intermediate skiers and snowboarders will enjoy Espiaube. This area has blue and red pistes plus a sports zone with more red and black glades through the forest. You'll also find some of the resort's longest runs, clocking in at 3km long, these are some of the most popular trails for riders of all levels.
More adventurous riders can go straight up to Vallon du Portet. Sitting at 2000m altitude, expect extraordinary 360° views of the Pyrenees and, with some luck, lots of blue bird days.
A ski pass is not included in the trip price because everyone will likely have a different agenda in the Pyrenees. Some will take the first lift up the mountain and be the last ones down, while others indulge in the many other winter activities on offer here.
Saint-Lary is near 3 ski areas: Pla d'Adet, Espiaube, and Vallon du Portet. We can pre-purchase resort passes that cover all 3 areas for up to 20% discount, the promotion looks to be valid until the end of December 2022. The discounted price for a 6-day pass is about €196 per person. If you only want to be on the mountains for a few days, a 1-day pass is about €49 per person.
The Saint-Lary resorts also offer a SkiYou Later Warranty for all 1 to 6 day passes, including credits and refunds for unused passes due to a variety of reasons.
Of course! Saint-Lary Soulan offers a variety of winter activities and a bustling small village to fill your time. Try dog sledding, skijoering, toboggan trails, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or tubing to experience the French Pyrenees without hitting the slopes.
The village sits in the beautiful Aure valley and has easy access to the slopes via two lifts right outside of town. Being so close to Spain, the village has Iberian and French influences seen in the cuisine and architecture throughout town. There are about 20 restaurants for eating out and 9 popular bars dedicated to the art of après ski, France is where the term was coined after all. After a day of runs, the rue Vincent Mir comes alive with riders exploring the shops, restaurants, and après ski watering holes to relax after a long day in the snow. You can also rejuvenate and relax at one of the thermal bath and spas in town, the water in Saint-Lary-Soulan is known for its healing properties.
The village is a perfect place to live out your winter wonderland fantasies, cozying up to the fireplace and unplugging from work.
Make it a Journey
Create connections with more members or meet up with old friends by booking back-to-back Chapters.
