BackSwiss Alps Knowledge Building and Networking Weekend
On February 27 to March 2 2025 (Thursday to Sunday), we brought together 40 members of the VOYAGERS family for our fourth special weekend snow adventure in the Swiss Alps. This immersive three-night experience is designed to foster close friendships among VOYAGERS spanning a diverse range of industries and geographies – including startup founders, investors, researchers, activists, and more. The weekend included a curated workshop and discussion programme featuring specialists from health tech, climate tech and other multidisciplinary fields. These sessions are designed to keep you ahead of emerging trends and opportunities while inspiring meaningful collaboration. We ran this weekend at cost, staying true to our mission of community building.
WHAT DID THE PROGRAMME LOOK LIKE?
This three-day adventure made the most of the mountainous Gstaad region of western Switzerland, easily reachable by one of Europe’s most stunning train journeys. Here’s a map of the extensive mountain runs — 200km of ski slopes nestled between 1,000 and 3,000 metres above sea level. We conquered slopes together, shared stories, played late-night games — all activities designed to build meaningful connections as participants made significant new friends. And, of course, we enjoyed the best of local food and drink, in some very special locations.
See photos from our previous Gstaad ski adventures:
•March 2024 | •March 2023 | •March 2022
Read feedback from our previous Gstaad ski adventures:
•March 2024 | •March 2022
We love this location and hotel, and returned for the fourth time. Our official schedule started on the Thursday afternoon, with drinks and canapés on the terrace of our cosy base, the super-comfortable HUUS Hotel Gstaad, which has its own spa, pool, gym and ski shop. Later in the evening, we gathered for an official welcome dinner at the hotel’s cave-like basement restaurant, where we got to know each other over some traditional Swiss delicacies. As part of every VOYAGERS gathering, we concluded the day with some storytelling and late-evening group games such as Werewolf (which is a VOYAGERS tradition).
On Friday, we enjoyed our first full day of skiing and snowboarding on the local mountains, including a group lunch with panoramic views. We provided participants with their ski pass as well as ski guides (at various skiing levels), who took care of our group throughout the day. Our group ranged from beginners who had never skied to accomplished off-piste experts. In the late afternoon, participants could unwind at our hotel’s spa, sauna and pool. After some spa time, we headed to an organic farm in the nearby village of Château-d’Œx, operated by farmers of the fifth generation – all in a fully sustainable and regenerative way. Participants learned how to make cheese, take care of the farm animals, had a chance to milk cows, and more.
In the evening, we began our content programme, with experts leading workshops and discussions on key themes of relevance — such as “How to create great company culture”, “How to think about fundraising”, “How to hire the best talent”. We got to know our new friends even better over dinner at a traditional fondue restaurant. We had an after-dinner bowling tournament over drinks at a nearby alley.
Saturday was another full day of mountain sports on a glacier, followed by spa time. After dinner in a historic building in nearby Saanen, we gathered for a party featuring the informal VOYAGERS talent extravaganza.
Our formal agenda ended after our last morning of skiing and a farewell lunch on Sunday at HUUS. Participants could ski for the rest of the day, continue the adventure themselves, or begin their journeys home.
The adventure brought together VOYAGERS from our climate-tech and health-tech communities, as well as VOYAGERS working in unrelated fields where they’re delivering impact.
Here are some testimonials from our 2022 VOYAGERS adventure in Gstaad, including:
•You have blown my mind by how you curate and create magic between a group of strangers. Thank you for giving more than we could ever return. Everything was perfect. — JD
•A most wonderful trip — immediately useful for my business, personally endlessly rewarding. — AS
The group you brought together was incredibly inspiring, thought-provoking and generous. I’ve made many good friends who I’ll be in touch with for years to come and hopefully one or two investors. You guys are incredible
WHAT WAS INCLUDED
We took care of participants from the moment they arrived in Saanen, near Gstaad, on Thursday, until the moment we said farewell on Sunday afternoon. We provided:
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Three nights’ accommodation in the HUUS Hotel in Saanen, near Gstaad
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All meals: breakfasts, lunches and dinners from Thursday’s afternoon welcome cocktail to Sunday’s farewell lunch
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All drinks taken with the group, including wine and beer, soft drinks, tea and coffee
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Mountain (ski) passes for three days to include access to the Glacier 3000 glacier slopes
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Ski guides/instructors for the group, from beginners to off-piste
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All visits, entertainment and other scheduled activities
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Our knowledge-building content programme
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All transport for the duration of the scheduled adventure
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The VOYAGERS gift pack
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The VOYAGERS production team‘s services — a team of six, including our official photographer
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Advance curation by the VOYAGERS team, including extended site visits
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A few extra surprises we announced nearer the event.
CANCELLATION POLICY
We collected a €500 deposit to hold each place. Our suppliers ask for payment from us in advance, and for firm commitments on numbers. You could cancel your place, for any reason with no questions asked, for a full refund until January 4 2025. Our refund policy is as follows:
•UNTIL JANUARY 4, 2025 (Midnight GMT): Your deposit was refundable in full on your emailed request to david@voyagers.io, NO questions asked.
•UNTIL FEBRUARY 5, 2025 (Midnight GMT): You could receive a refund of all fees paid, excluding your forfeited booking deposit, minus a 50% cancellation fee. If you found someone to take your place (subject to the VOYAGERS organisers’ approving this person), we refunded all fees you had paid, including your deposit, once this person had paid the full fee for their participation.
•AFTER FEBRUARY 5, 2025 (Midnight GMT): No refund was payable to you; but until February 22 2025 if you found someone to take your place (subject to the VOYAGERS organisers’ approving this person), we refunded all fees you had paid, including your deposit, once this person had paid the full fee for their participation.
