For the second (and clearly final) time during my 40 Day Challenge, I was to take to the skies and discover a part of the world I had not yet visited. While my earlier adLenture took me to the distant lands of Budapest, Day 39 saw me go to Verbier, one of Switzerland’s most celebrated ski resorts. Cue the snow, cheese and chocolate: it’s time for an Easter weekend ski break!
Switzerland itself isn’t exactly uncharted lands for me. Thanks to my Swiss roots, I have a lot of extended family in the area, and have therefore often visited the country. Verbier, however, is a resort I’d never been to, but had heard much about. Famous for its treacherous off-piste skiing (awesome) and banging après-ski scene (awesomer), Verbier is mountain town to see and be seen. It also happens to be the resort where my brother worked as a chalet boy three years ago, before falling down a mountain, being flown by helicopter to hospital and spending the next four months in a wheelchair. The town therefore has a bit of personal importance and seeing it for the first time was going to be an interesting experience.
Soon after arriving in Verbier – and after our chalet/skis/lift passes/empty stomachs had all been sorted out – we hit the slopes. Although I would class myself as a pretty competent skier (living in France for a year will achieve that), it had been two years since I was last on the pistes, and I always need a bit of time to acclimatise. Not today, though. Accompanied by Ben, an ex-competitive skier (enough said...), my first run saw me combat a gruelling mogul field. For any non-skiers, moguls are basically big bumps on the slope which can be hugely difficult to manoeuvre around. Half out of politeness half out of fear, I allowed Ben to take me down the treacherous piste. As is generally the way, if you don’t think too much about where you’re skiing, it becomes a lot easier. I pushed myself off, hurtled down the steep hill and made it down in one piece. Success!
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| King of Slalom |
Later in the day, I tackled a genuine slalom course. This was a completely new challenge for me, and therefore added to the experieLent. Slalom is a form of competitive race skiing whereby you traverse quickly around poles while zooming down the slope. Again following Ben’s example I whipped down the slalom course, passing one pole after another. Not only did I not fall head-first down the mountain, but I actually competed the race course. Not in record timing (not even close...), but at least I didn’t look like a complete idiot. Eat my snow, suckers.
Before the end of my first day of skiing in Verbier, there was one final hurdle to overcome, this one being more mental than physical. While on the lift back down into town, my brother showed me where his near-fatal accident took place. Because most of the snow had melted in the spring sunshine, the area where he fell was now basically a sheer rock face. It was hard to imagine my brother actually skiing down this precipice, but easy to comprehend how he ended up with two broken heels, broken ribs, a broken sternum and a fractured back. Seeing where this life-changing event took place was a harrowing and slightly frightening experience, not least because I was now there on skis, putting myself in potentially dangerous situations (though obviously not the same ones). But then again, my brother was there too. If there’s one thing I can take from him being back on the slopes it’s that, as Noah and their Whale would say, life goes on. And, rightly or wrongly, there’s very little you can do about that...
Day 39: Visit Verbier, face my demons and ski like a pro. BIEN FAIT!
Peace & Love,
Rich xx
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