SUMMER SCHOOL I
t was time for a revolution, a skiing revolution that is. My wife Caroline and I decided we needed to take our skills
on the slopes to the next level and so replaced our usual summer beach break with a trip to a glacier and an intensive one-week training course. We had previously had a day’s
tuition with an instructor from the Warren Smith Ski Academy in Verbier, where the school is based, and were impressed by a systematic approach that gives quick results. As the academy runs one-week summer courses on Saas Fee’s glacier, it was the obvious choice to help us transform our technique. It didn’t take much to persuade
our long-time skiing buddies Toby and Alison to join us. They’re as nuts about the sport as we are and, like us, are not prepared to let their kids stand in the way of a healthy addiction. We had Maisie our nine-month-old baby in tow, while Toby and Alison came with Amber, six, Hugo, four and 14-month-old Asher. Toby and I are lucky enough to
have started skiing young, and both had 30 years’ experience under our belts. We considered ourselves confident, go-anywhere skiers and therefore felt the course would be of greater benefit for our less experienced partners, to help them build up their confidence on steeper more challenging terrain. The Warren Smith philosophy is
to approach skiing as a performance sport rather than a recreational
I was surprised by the extent of the ski area – five main pistes are serviced by three t-bars and there’s a hubbub of activity, with teams from all over the world race training. After some stretching exercises
activity. Coaching entails breaking down your technique to the fundamentals, then rebuilding it. The course is spread over five mornings of intensive tuition, with two video analysis sessions in the evening of days two and four. The first morning set the routine.
We left the hotel at 8am to ride two gondolas and the underground funicular railway to Saas Fee’s summit – the early start necessary to maximise our time on the glacier, which closes in the early afternoon.
with the rest of the course-goers, we all had to ski down a section of the piste and be assessed by Warren and his instructors. They then split us into four groups according to ability. Toby and I eased into the top group but were surprised to be joined by our partners Alison and Caroline. Surely we were much better skiers than they were? Our other group comrades were Alex (a ski instructor who had just finished her gap-year course), Doddy (another part-time instructor and full-time product design teacher) and Joe (a London-based American banker).
Clockwise from top:
Warren shows off his latest home movie; “Can I eat these?” Maisie eyes up
Dad’s poles; There’s
always one who gets in the way at the cinema – video analysis sessions
www.metrosnow.co.uk
OUR FIRST EXERCISE WAS ONE that would form the backbone of the week, the braquage turn. The idea is to stand facing across the piste and then skid around 180 degrees from a stationary position without lifting the inside ski. After watching us all flounder, Warren explained, “We can all make a nice turn at 20mph, but remove the speed element and it’s a different story. What this low-speed work does is highlight how to use your body in the turn. It’s also a vital
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