I went on a solo ski holiday five months after becoming a father – don't judge before you've tried it

When my daughter Grace was born in November 2024, I was over the moon. It’s a life-changing experience, and she is a little star. Of course, becoming a dad meant skiing was out of the window for at least a year or two. Or was it? Knowing my love of the slopes, my long-suffering and very understanding fiancée Eilidh told me to pack my bags and take myself off to the Alps for a week. She would stay home to look after Grace and our two golden retrievers. So it was that in early April 2025, I found myself on a plane from Edinburgh to Geneva to catch the penultimate week of the season.

Why I love skiing alone

© Jack McKeown Five months after welcoming his daughter Grace, Jack McKeown set off on a solo holiday to the Alps

After a relaxing train ride (the Europeans do rail travel so much