Aspire To Ski

Newsflash

2012-02-15T20:59:00.001+01:00

“What’s happened to your skiing blog?” I hear you cry. Ok, time to own up, I’m selfishly using it to advertise two events that I think you might be interested in. Firstly, I’m hugely pleased to announce the launch of my wedding photography website, www.hemsleyphotography.co.uk .

As most of you know I’ve absolutely loved photography for many years, and have followed and been inspired by many professional photographers involved in all areas of the industry. Many years ago my love and passion of skiing turned into an amazing career, and I’m just as motivated to make photography the same.

Last summer I had the amazing experience of photographing many weddings. They took me around the UK, and one in Méribel as well.

I had the opportunity of working alongside established and respected professionals, but also being responsible for my own weddings.

I’ve got to be honest and say it’s normally very unusual for me to say that I’m looking forward to start of the summer already.

In fact, that sounds ridiculous, because this winter season is turning into one of the best ever. But, it’s so nice to be able to look forward to something once this ski season has ended. I won’t go into the details, but I’m very excited about the schedule already.

Please feel free to browse my website, www.hemsleyphotography.co.uk , any feedback would of course always be welcome. Now back to Méribel and the second item in this newsflash.

Please mark Saturday March 17th into your diary because this is when the third Coeur Blanc Challenge will be taking place. It’s a charity event which involves teams attempting to ride every single lift in the Méribel valley. This may not sound difficult, but trust me it is, I’ve taken part in the first two challenges and it has been absolutely exhausting each time, www.coeurblanc.eu .

Every chairlift, bubble, draglift and even the baby slope ropes and magic carpets need to be used. A huge amount of money is raised for chosen charities both in the UK and in Méribel itself. Here is a copy of some text sent to me by one of the co-founders of the event, Rory Tapner.

“As you may know this is an event that Pierre Taylor and I (Rory Tapner) founded in 2008. Rather foolishly I have again committed to enter a team for the 2012 Coeur Blanc, which this year will be raising money for SkillForce. SkillForce is committed to inspiring and guiding 13 – 19 year olds who based on their backgrounds run a high risk of falling into the trap of being ‘Not in Education, Employment or Training’ (NEET), and as a by-product offer full time employment to former services personnel who become instructors to the kids, see www.skillforce.org .”

Every team is guided by a Méribel Ski Instructor, and I’m flattered and honoured to be asked by Rory to lead his team this year, so if you are able to, please do support us and click on the following link; www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CoeurBlancChocolat . Our team would fully appreciate any help you can give, especially when our thighs will be screaming in agony during the event itself.

Back to normal articles again shortly. I’m having a brilliant week with the Joneses, awesome skiing in great conditions. Plus Olivia and Robbie are doing their best to finish me off by skiing as many of the couloirs as possible. We are having a day trip away from Méribel tomorrow, driving over to Champagny and then skiing across to La Plagne, hopefully avoiding too many couloirs if I can get my way. Will post again soon.

Martin

NEWSFLASH UPDATE – Thursday Feb 16th.

I went across to the Paradiski (Champagny/La Plagne/Les Arcs) ski area today with the ‘Special-Weeds’ (Joneses), and took this shot on the Bellecote Glacier. Granted it’s nothing to do with Méribel, but somehow it fits in with the Coeur Blanc Challenge, ie a photo of a ski lift above a sea of cloud at a lung busting 3,250 metres altitude. An epic day that I’ll report on shortly.

Togging and Skiing

2012-02-10T19:56:00.001+01:00

As mentioned on the previous post I attempted a new landscape project just as the Big Chill started. Regular readers will know that I love the high mountains with a passion, but as a Tog (photographer) I find it incredibly difficult to capture the beauty of the scene in front of me.

Nevertheless I gave it another bash, at an unnamed location for fear of being rumbled by the security chaps, where I looked across the mind-blowing mountain ranges that included some infamous 3 Valleys peaks of Roc de Tougne, Mont de la Challe, Roc des Trois Marches, Pointe de la Masse and Cime de Caron amongst others. At first, the Big Chill didn’t affect me too much because of a flask of hot steaming coffee (with whisky) and a pair of hand-warming tea bag thingys!

In awe, Canon and I watched the sun set behind the crete; the temperatures plummeted to minus stupid degrees as Canon’s batteries struggled to stay perky. But what a slideshow nature gave us that evening. I’ve gotta be honest with you, the ski home in the dark wasn’t exactly the most accurate or as fun as I’ve ever had, but flipping ‘eck what an experience. But there were two things that bugged me as a Landscape Togger later that evening. Firstly there was little cloud in the sky to add drama to the shoot, and secondly I fluffed up on a couple of technical settings in camera which could’ve been something to do with shivering actively !?!

Don’t give up the day job I’ve heard people say in the past. Speaking of which, I had a brilliant two days teaching John and Gilly. We adjusted our goals and aspirations for the weekend mainly to fit around the stupidly chilly temperatures. We soon found some lovely bumps to practise on. We looked how to technically, tactically and psychologically approach one of the trickiest disciplines within the sport of skiing. It was great to watch both John and Gilly grow in confidence and experience the buzz. We also focused our efforts on fine tuning short turns.

As a Méribel Private Ski Instructor (bet you didn’t spot the discreet attempt at improving Google ranking there) it’s very important to help people develop their all mountain performance. This is where short turns are very important and can hugely help skiers’ balance and skills in all areas of the mountain. This worked to such an extent that it enabled us to ski down the Lac du Lou off piste route over in Les Menuires, but also taking John down the infamous Méribel Couloir underneath the new Saulire Express lift.

We packed in loads of skiing in two days during the bitter weather, and a couple of very fine lunches including La Soucoup in Courchevel. We even saw some amazing vistas through our frozen goggles, including this one from the top of the Méribel Couloir before dropping in.

My workload has been a little quieter than normal this week. Having said that I’ve had some lovely sessions with Julia from the Ukraine who works in Tiffanys in London, and Sara who is an ex-ballet dancer but now a pro singer, and also Jane from Chester who works for the Environment Agency. One of the great things about being a private ski instructor in Méribel (oops there it is again) is the variety of people I get to meet and ski with, week in week out. Plus of course being able to work in such a stunning office. The cold eventually forced my photography away from the top of the bitter mountain to lower down this week.

A location I’ve tried many times before has been just below the Altiport area. Post sunset often gives lovely pastel colours. But something was lacking, bold hearty oranges, reds and salmons that can be experienced on the horizon.

It was no good, I had to brave the elements again, so the next evening I returned to the same unnamed location high up on top of the Alps with another flask of you know what. It was cold, but this time I had some awesome clouds. More on that another time, including how a piste basher had words with me on the ski down !?!

So what else is on the menu? Firstly I’ll be joining up with the Joneses again for half-term week, always an enjoyable and hectic time. Secondly it looks as though I’ll be able to make a huge announcement to you all…… Have a great weekend everyone, and live with passion.

Martin

A Chilly Office

2012-02-05T16:57:00.001+01:00

At the beginning of last week I skied with Teresa and Bill for three mornings. It was a fascinating time because neither of them had skied for nearly twenty years. I’m not sure I can remember what skiing was like that long ago, but I do remember the kit that they would have been using. It’s amazing to think that they last skied on skis that were very long, ie over 2 metres, and very narrow under foot. The technique used in those days, sometimes referred to as ‘Pop and Swivel’, just isn’t needed today with the more user-friendly kit we are lucky to have at our disposal.

You could say that their technique was as old as faded sepia photographs found in a musty box up in the attic. Not sure where that came from, but you get my gist. Teresa and Bill did brilliantly at quickly adapting their technique for their new-found fancy carving skis. They also re-ignited their love and passion of being in the mountains again after such a long break. Well done Team for getting back on skis.

Quite why I’m telling you that it’s been a bit chilly recently, I don’t know. Because let’s face it, the whole of Europe including Blighty has been affected by the Big Chill. But when I wake up in the morning and see minus 19 degrees on my balcony, I know it’s going to be a tough freezing day in the office, ie the mountain. So what does minus 24 look like riding up on the first chair of the day?

Visually, whether we’re looking at minus 4 or minus 24, it’s not that much different, but I tell you what within just a few seconds your hands are about to fall off in screaming pain when taking photos, or checking texts. It has been Bitter here with a capital B. Fashion takes a back seat when people are kitting themselves up in full combat gear. It’s actually quite difficult to describe how cold minus 24 can be.

The only way I can think of is this. If it is plus 24 on a summer’s day you would probably sit outside in a short-sleeved shirt feeling very comfortable and happy about things in life. But then if the temperature were to drop down to zero degrees, that is quite a difference, you wouldn’t last long in your short-sleeved shirt outside would you. Ok, here’s the thing…. Now imagine that zero degrees is the new plus 24, and the old zero degrees becomes minus 24. The gap between the two temperatures remains exactly the same. Do you know what? Not sure I’ve done a great job of describing, let’s just say it really has been extremely cold on the mountain.

However it has been sunny for most of the time which helps. At the end of the week I skied for two days with John and Gilly where we did our best to stay warm. New mittens and hand warmers were bought and even a pair of heaters for ski boots. Before I skied with John and Gilly I decided to attempt another sunset shoot with Canon.

Quite what I was thinking of I have no idea, to say I got cold would be an understatement, even with a hot flask of coffee and a ‘splash’ of whisky to hand. I selected a new spot away from the pisteurs again. But I jumped out of my skin when one of my ESF colleagues skied past me with a small off piste group just as I was setting up Canon on his tripod. I need to head back again for better results, but there’s no way I’ll be doing that until the Siberian weather disappears.

I hope you are all coping with the Big Chill. Right I’d better start the fire again, trouble is, I’m running out of logs.

Martin

The Gooney Bird Annual Migration

2012-02-01T21:11:00.002+01:00

The self titled Gooney Birds, from Dublin, descended on Méribel last week. They sound like characters that wouldn’t be out of place in a Monty Python sketch, or even a Spike Milligan script. Come to think of it, the Gooneys are actually much funnier than the above. Either way they are a loud hilarious bunch, sometimes close to the knuckle and, how shall I put it, require special attention.

Mary, Margot, Jane and Rohiyah had booked me for six full days. In fact I’ve skied with them for at least three if not four winters now. When I first met them they were a very wobbly gaggle of Gooney Birds (feel free to YouTube 'Gooney Birds' and you’ll get the general idea) where I introduced them to the infamous Méribel green piste known as the Altiport. This was years ago, and where were we again last week? Yep, the gentle side of the Altiport.

Now, don’t get me wrong, their goals and aspirations of their week's holiday are probably different to most people's. So, the Altiport piste it was, day after day, after day, after day…… You get the idea. Mid-week I lost the will to live, but soon thought up a cunning plan. We agreed to a day trip over to Courchevel, to see if they could leave their dog basket of the Altiport, and experience different green pistes. We used the lifts to go up, and then back down again to the other valley of Courchevel.

After a few wobbles and flapping of wings, mainly because they felt lost away from the Altiport, we had great success in selecting the flattest of green pistes that Courchevel 1850 could offer. They saw and skied on different pistes, and I had a psychological change as well, what a result.

I could visually see their ruffling of feathers in excitement of experiencing a different area. I hoped that this would motivate them further to ski beyond the Altiport. But no…… The very next day we were all back on familiar territory. I boiled my head again, but you know, it’s not about me. The Gooneys trust me to not take them anywhere where they would lose confidence. They also trust me to help give them confidence at the appropriate time, deliver valuable feedback and instruction, and help them enjoy themselves. They are all looking forward to returning again next winter, if not sooner, when they promise to email me yet again to organise another week of head-boiling sessions, for me that is. Joking apart, they are very different to my usual winter clients, but boy oh boy it is a laugh and as long as I throw away the ski instruction manual of expectations for a week, I’m more than happy to help them enjoy their precious skiing holiday.

Martin

P.S. We’ve had yet more snow since the Gooneys migration, and it’s now absolutely freezing. Stay tuned.

Yesteryear, but yet today!

2012-01-26T23:20:00.002+01:00

Many years ago as a holiday maker, before I dreamt about becoming a ski instructor, I was lucky enough to travel the world following my passion as a skier. I loved so many things that all alpine countries offer. But ultimately I began to choose my favourite ski resorts, and continued to re-visit them as often as I could.

I bet you can’t guess which ski resort featured highly in my list? Yep, Méribel of course. However a noisy neighbour, Val d’Isere, was a close second on my list, only one and a half hours away on snow-free roads, not that we’ve had much of that this winter. It was almost a flip of a coin that decided on where I ‘ended up’ living and working each winter. Méribel won the toss, and certainly no regrets, so Val d’Isere was soon forgotten about. But was it? Everyone goes through the 'grass is always greener' thing, yours truly isn’t any different. So when the chance came along recently to work over in Val, I jumped at it with ridiculous energy.

Val d’Isere was where I launched myself as a holiday maker into having focussed private lessons twenty years ago, along with dabbling in the then new off-piste environment. A group of high mountain guides called Alpine Experience looked after me, notably a lovely chap called Wayne Watson. This background massively helped my start into becoming a ski instructor. Fast forward twenty years….Each morning last week my colleagues Slippers Jackson, Bryan and Dave would meet for a hearty coffee before starting work in a cafe called La Gourmandine. More on that later.

One of my groups was a very strong standard of skiers concentrating on ‘All Mountain Performance’ at a high level of red/black pistes and beyond. So with the conditions that we have had this winter, steep black bumpy pistes and off-piste was the main focus. My memory bank of the terrain still existed from many years ago, plus feedback from fellow professionals. Also more on that later.

It was a dream come true, many years ago I was being guided around by respected instructors and high mountains guides. Only this time, after years of training and numerous strict exams, it was my turn to show the sheer and utter beauty that the finest of the French Alps could offer. For some of the week we were very lucky to experience amazing skiing conditions in low avalanche conditions.

Some of the Val d’Isere off-piste classics were covered: the Vallon de Cugnai, the Tour du Charvet, the Vallon Perdu and the legendry Mattis trees. I won’t even list the epic pistes covered by Nick, Nicki, Sally, Chris, Mark and Mairead. It was an incredible week where I was able to share my love of off-piste to those who hadn’t previously dared give it a go, and what a buzz to see their enjoyment.

I know I’ve been guilty with banging on in the past about having the best job in the world. But to be able to go full circle as a client many years ago, to then being able to show, and share, the love with like-minded people is something else. Please don’t think that I’ve suddenly become an off-piste junky. I also had a brilliant group of blue and red piste skiers, I’ll never forget the same emotions experienced with Janet, Sue, Lee and Carole.

Since leaving Val d’Isere, from one extreme to the other, I’ve been with the green piste skiing Dublin ‘Gooney Birds’ in Méribel who have featured on this blog a few times before. Once I’ve recovered from their visit, I’ll report back…..

Martin

P.S. I’m one of many instructors who love a strong French coffee in the morning. Each morning last week in Val d’Isere, I’d meet with Slippers and the others for our early morning chat. Every day I’d spot Wayne Watson in La Gourmadine for coffee, but chickened out of talking to him, stupid really because he is such a legend. Wayne has had such an influence on me in the past. However one of his colleagues at Alpine Experience that we spoke to most mornings about snow and safety conditions was Henry of ‘Henry’s Avalanche Talks’ who you may have heard of on the local radio here in Méribel. He was a lovely relaxed chap readily happy to share knowledge. What a week!.

P.P.S. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Val d’Isere last week, awesome skiing conditions and experiences. But boy oh boy the weather conditions we had on our last day was some of the most brutal, nastiest and evil I’ve ever had the pleasure of !?! However myself, Chris, Mark, Mairead and Sally still managed to get a positive day. The shelter of La Daille forest just kept us sane, before the authorities closed the mountain. No photos I’m afraid, frostbite would’ve taken hold….

Me, Me, Me……part 1

2012-01-21T22:23:00.002+01:00

Just over a week ago I had an amazing experience, skiing with a highly respected professional photographer, Polly Baldwin of Dynamic Pictures. As a Christmas present, my wife had organised for me to have a session with Polly.

Polly for many years has been working very hard building a reputation in the UK, the French Alps and around the world as a passionate and conscientious photographer. Her academic background resulted in achieving a Ba (Hons) in Fine Art Photography. Her partner is also a ski instructor who I have known for over a decade. Her name had been mentioned to me for many years, but I had always chickened out of contacting her for a few reasons.

Time to own up to you all, I don’t have a huge amount of self-esteem about either ski instructing or photography. We are all different; some people like to bang on about themselves, some people are brilliant team players, and others go about their business in their quiet own way. So for me to meet an amazing professional photographer, whose partner is also a ski instructor, was a little intimidating. Being nervous is a natural emotion to some.

But within seconds of meeting up with Polly, I felt relaxed and we were soon chatting away about all sorts of things. To be in the company of someone so relaxed and yet so professional was a lovely experience. But why was I so nervous about meeting Polly?

In her line of work she gets to meet many high-end skiers, including skiing with and photographing other instructors. Some of us instructors are paranoid about how we perform on skis, and others just get on with polishing their own egos !?! Got to be honest, I was worried about being compared to other instructors.

But Polly soon put me at ease, gave me a wink and told me to go skiing without a care in the world and enjoy myself in one of the most stunning environments in the world. Great advice, and often easily forgotten.

It was an unusual situation for me to be in front of a camera; normally it’s the other way round. This tied in nicely with shared experiences as wedding photographers. We soon compared our experiences of wedding photography, with Polly being a veteran of many around the UK. After being involved with nine weddings last summer as a photographer, it was refreshing for me to talk to someone else about the industry and how to improve further. Polly offered me priceless advice, and I can’t wait to put it into practise.

Just like any passion, in this case skiing and photography, it was amazing to share it with someone else and I can’t wait to have a second morning with Polly. Speaking of passion, I’ve just come back from a week in Val d’Isere of incredible work and skiing, a report to follow soon. Plus, tomorrow I start six full days with the ‘Gooney Birds’ again from Dublin. No rest for the wicked.

Martin

P.S. As an instructor I hate the way I’m technically skiing in these photos. And even though I’m at my lightest weight in years, it seems I have a pot belly in the photos as well, rubbish. Polly says it’s a feature of skiing in a fat fluffy toasty-warm puffa jacket !?!

P.P.S. All photos are owned under copyright of Polly Baldwin, see www.dynamicpictures.co.uk for details.

Happy Hour

2012-01-12T18:29:00.002+01:00

Finally we’ve been enjoying some stunning weather, after what felt like weeks and weeks on end of snow storms. Some of my regular readers may remember I’m a sucker for sunset photography. So with the shortest day of the year three weeks ago, my time was running out for realistic attempts. Last winter was my first go at capturing Mont Blanc, and I wasn’t happy with the result with a particular viewpoint I had in mind. But the trouble is, sunset is well after 5pm now here in Méribel, which is also after last lift up the mountain.

I was hoping for luck and good fortune, especially because my viewpoint was right next to a Security hut occupied by plenty of pisteurs. It’s their responsibility to close the mountain safely, i.e make sure there’s no-one left up there. But the above shot of Mont Blanc, taken at 16.45pm, just doesn’t cut the mustard colour wise. One by one the pisteurs came across and spoke to me, I explained what I was after, and we all instantly bonded with mutual respect of the love of the mountains. Mind you, I’m sure my red ESF ski instructors uniform helped as well. They all soon whizzed off home after radioing down to their base about me still up on the mountain, and left me stood next to Canon. Within minutes it all got frantic with the colours.

This next shot, although a different composition, was taken only 21 minutes later at 17.06pm. Landscape photographers call this period of sunset ‘the happy hour’, you better believe it. What a magical experience all by myself in total silence, granted getting freezing cold, but very special all the same looking across to the highest mountain in the Alps, in the middle of the biggest ski area in the world. I was given strict instructions which piste to ski back down to Méribel, and by what time, in order to avoid the battalion of piste bashers on their way up.

Even skiing down during ‘Happy Hour’ was stunning. I stopped again a few times to take it all in. The above viewpoint is looking down the valley with the top of the Olympic chairlift on the left. And then just a few moments later the lighting behind the Saulire peak completely changed.

Although compositionally these last two shots are weak, it gives you an idea of the colours experienced during ‘Happy hour’. But you know what? Again I wasn’t happy with the results, I needed another attempt from a much better viewpoint. So Plan B was hatched with the forecast being just as good the next day. This time I headed much higher up, very high in fact, which worried me about any pisteurs generosity about allowing to stay so late on the mountain. I found my spot, off-piste just below a ridge out of sight from any pistes miles above Méribel Mottaret. I set up my equipment, with Canon feeling happy perched on his stable tripod. But then at about 16.55pm, just as ‘Happy Hour’ was starting, I heard a swoosh of snow and a pisteur said hello to me before he spoke in his radio. How the hell did he find me just like that? We started chatting about the view and the colours for photography. He was very excited about our environment, he then continued talking about the full moon earlier on in the day and also how they had spotted a herd of Bouquetin (Ibex) through their network of binoculars. Ah, binoculars, didn’t think about that. Anyway, he wished me luck, then dropped off over the ridge to ski back home off piste!?!

So there I was all by myself, getting cold, but happy looking across to the Dents de Burgin and Saulire in the fading light with a much better viewpoint of Mont Blanc behind. Again the speed at which the light transforms is pretty quick. There was only seven minutes difference between the main photo at the top of this post, and this final sunset shot.

What a way to spend your time? Although that was a bit of a long chapter on where I live and work, it hasn’t been all play this week. I’ve had the pleasure of skiing with a couple of Russian lads, a Russian mother also a lawyer, and four scuba divers from London.

I had a couple of morning sessions with Nick, Jo, Catherine and Leo. We spoke about the benefits of being balanced correctly on our skis, and how to accurately and simply steer our skis. It was a really fun couple of sessions with them, but quite how we got onto doing tricks with our skis I’ll never know.

One of the tricks was trying to jump into our skis together at the same time. It’s soo cool when it works, and not when it doesn’t.

But Nick seemed to have fun trying with the others in hysterics.

They all improved very quickly during the sessions, and benefitted from the amazing weather and snow conditions. It’s a skiers dream at the moment.

Also this week I skied with a professional photographer called Polly Baldwin from Dynamic Pictures. My wife’s Christmas present to me was to have a session with Polly, and for me to be in front of a camera lens for once, instead of behind it. More news on that at a later date. On Saturday I head over to Val d’Isere to catch up with friends and colleagues for a week which I’m really looking forward to. Don’t forget to look out for your next ‘Happy Hour’ where ever you are. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Martin

Les Villages

2012-01-05T22:57:00.001+01:00

I’ve been skiing with John and Gilly this last week, and to say we’ve had an amazing week would be an understatement. The story of this winter season so far has been regular heavy snowfalls, with this week being no exception. It’s literally snowed every other day.

As soon as we met up last week, it soon became apparent that neither John nor Gilly has had much experience of skiing in the powder. So what a baptism of fire it’s been for them both! We began by speaking about the differences of skiing in the fluffy stuff compared to prepared pistes.

In fact we probably skied just as much off piste than on piste. They had plenty of new experiences as well in terms of skiing new areas. Most of the time skiers tend to head straight up to high altitude to find the best of the snow conditions. But this week we had many more options available to us. Often the weather was so poor (or brilliant, depending on your own stance on heavy snow storms) that meant the best conditions were much lower than normal.

We enjoyed a few off piste routes below the Altiport area. We also skied the piste down to the hamlet of Raffort countless times, not often open or advised below the resort, but it was in amazing condition. We even skied all the way down the piste/itinerary to Méribel Les Allues in lovely deep fresh snow. But one of the highlights of the week for us was to follow the infamous itinerary all the way down to the spa town of Brides Les Bains miles below on the valley floor, which is at a ridiculously low altitude of just 600 metres.

I have only ever skied down there twice before, in all of my fourteen seasons here in Méribel (or should I call it the Méribel Valley now), because it is rare to have snow at such low altitude. But what a treat. We started our off piste descent at Le Blanchot restaurant just below the Altiport piste, and followed the route to the hamlet of Le Plantin which is located on the road between Méribel Village and Courchevel La Tania.

We crossed the road, naughtily on skis, and continued down through the massive forest that lines the valley.

There’s something very special about skiing through a snow-laden forest in complete silence away from the busy festive pistes. Words can’t quite do it justice, but we did try as we continued on our way lower down the valley.

Tree-lined track after tree-lined track, shepherd hut after shepherd hut, even the odd cluster of bee hives were negotiated. The occasional hamlet was skied through including Le Villaret and Hauteville, or Sticks Ville as I call it !?! But then finally we reached our destination, way down in the depths of the dark valley at this time of year in Brides.

This trip was one of many highlights of the week. I wasn’t only guiding John and Gilly around some of my favourite areas in snowy weather like this. We worked hard at our ‘performance threads’, took video footage and immediately put into practice new skills, and visited a few quiet, quaint and secluded gems of mountain restaurants as well.

A couple of afternoons with rare clear weather allowed us to delay our last ski home. We stopped for a final hot chocolate of the day, watching the sun go down on the western mountain horizon. The light at this time of day is just beautiful, often missed by people rushing down the mountain to happy hour offers in town. Whilst watching the light transform the landscape, John, Gilly and I celebrated our success of the day. What a way to finish a day on skis. This view is of the Mont Vallon peak in the final light of the afternoon, taken from the quirky Choucas mountain restaurant just below the mid station of the Saulire bubble.

An epic week, in epic conditions spent with lovely people. Even though I’m a little weary from the festive period, I couldn’t ask for a better life. One of my dream jobs just keeps getting better and better. Happy New Year everybody.

Martin

P.S. Oh, I bet you can’t guess what the weather is doing outside as I tap away on my keyboard? Yep, how did you guess? It’s still dumping down with snow yet again as heavy as ever. What a season this is turning out to be.

‘Cuties’

2011-12-30T08:47:00.001+01:00

The Festive Season is in full swing here in Méribel. The number of visitors has shot up in the past week. The snow conditions are just amazing at the moment thanks to the heavy snowfalls of the last few weeks. And finally we’ve had a few days basking in the sunshine. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that snowy days improve skiing conditions. But some official statistics recently stated that in December sixteen days out of nineteen were heavily overcast and snowy.

The first evening of the festive torchlight descents and fireworks took place here in Méribel on Christmas Eve. My name wasn’t on the list of participants which meant I could attend the event with my mates, Canon and Tripod, instead. One of these days I’m going to manage a decent photo of fireworks, it’s still a bit hit and miss at the moment. Note to self, must sign up for guru status firework footage seminars and courses….

The last week I’ve had two separate half day commitments. Afternoons have been dedicated to three ‘Spritelets’, or ‘Cuties’ as I call them. I’ve had the experience of introducing three, umm, three-year-olds to skiing….Yes, three-year-olds. At this age, to get them to walk in a straight line in ski boots is a success, let alone skiing in a pizza shape without splatting. Hence my description of ‘Cuties’. They were all soo adorable it was unbelievable. I’ve never had so many chats about monsters, fairies, high fives and Peppa Pig in all my life. What a load of fun, except for the odd screaming ab-dab moments. No photos of course because of child protection, but I loved spending time with them. As for my other bunch of ‘Cuties’ this week, meet Michael, Ryan, Mani and Sundeep.

Their goal this week was to continue improving control on blue pistes, trying the odd red piste and then deciding for themselves if they think they could try things beyond. We made the most of the stunning weather and snow conditions. We spoke about balancing on skis, steering effectively and had a really useful session using video.

Many people have never seen themselves on video. It can be an incredibly useful tool, as long as it’s used constructively, as these adult ‘Cuties’ found. The video confirmed things that were going very well, but also showed what else could be done to help achieve goals. On our last day together we came across a red piste over in the Courchevel valley that had a few bumps.

Like most people, they stopped at the top, and looked down with their facial expressions changed. We spoke about how to deal with bumps both technically, tactically and of course psychologically. The bumps were big, but in great condition with gorgeous fluffy snow. When we got to the bottom of the bump run all in one piece, they were all buzzing from the experience saying they will never hate them again. On the next chairlift up they were planning where to try the next bump field.

New Year is fast approaching, so another torchlight descent will be on the cards for me. I’m now skiing with John and Gilly until the middle of next week. The weather has just changed from sunshine to thick cloud, but this morning it’s dumping down with snow yet again. Better dash, I’m off to ski powder with John and Gilly. Happy New Year everybody.

Martin

Splatting

2011-12-23T17:18:00.002+01:00

Everyday this week I’ve been driving across to Courchevel 1850. Since taking this booking I was really looking forward to this week for many reasons, one being the pretty drive around the mountainside. It’s a stunning route that enables you to see across to the other side of a deep valley. Well, you would normally, but of course it’s continued to snow which meant I couldn’t see a thing. In fact there were a few times when I nearly didn’t make my destination because of the snowy road conditions. Thankfully yesterday morning was different; it threatened to clear up (when I took the above shot en route) before clouding in again.

I’ve spent all week with Helen, Charles, Gilly the Giraffe (Ella) and Billy Bonkers (Max). The weather was a challenge a few times, but we all made the most of what was available to us. On our last afternoon together we finally saw the sun break through, in a manner of speaking.

Being with them all day every day meant we had complete flexibility in terms of who was going to ski with who. This gave me the chance to adapt my teaching methods depending who I skied with at any given time.

Some examples of technique methods included squashing bugs, balancing on wobble boards, scraping with the big toe edge, zero position, steering wheels and many more.

Tactical and psychological methods included deep breathing, ignoring the red piste markers, one turn at a time, and looking forward to hot chocolate stops. One thing I soon learned was that the boy Billy Bonkers enjoyed his skiing more and more especially when the powder got deeper and deeper, and his first French black piste got steeper and steeper.

I completely lost count how many ‘splats’ he had, so did he, strangely enough!?! It’s funny how each individual enjoys this sport in so many different ways. So well done Team even though I felt sorry for you with the weather, I was chuffed that the weather cleared up for you briefly in the end. One new thing I learnt with the team though, and that is I will never eat a Steak Tartare again……. let’s just put it this way, my weight loss has continued.

Talking of Splatting, I had a short free ski with a mate last Saturday, funnily enough in the powder. He has featured on this blog a couple of winters ago, so some of my regular readers may recognise him.

He is one of the most relaxed guys in the valley both in temperament and fluidity on skis. His final ski instructor exams were put on hold, maybe indefinitely, due to a nasty break of his leg whilst training a few winters ago. Just over a year ago he had his ‘metal work’ taken out of his leg to help improve his quality of life. So with that in mind he is taking it easy on skis, just in case.

But as soon as Canon appeared on the scene he (who shall remain nameless) changed the way he skied! We call this a superman splat, ie a double ski ejection with a forward flip.

It was funny as anything, but he didn’t move for a while after the dramatic fall. To say I had a sudden panic about him and his injuries again would be an understatement. It took him a while to collect himself, and then shouted out in a muffled fashion “Did you get it?”

So what’s next in store? Starting tomorrow I’ve got a very busy schedule ahead of me with eleven straight days of work in a row. Harriet my wife flies out tomorrow as well for the full festive period. So whatever you are doing over the next week or so and wherever you will be, have a fantastic Christmas and I hope Santa brings you lots of lovely things. Stay healthy.

Martin

P.S. Come on Jez, oh rubbish I’ve just mentioned his name, stop messing about.

Attrition

2011-12-16T17:56:00.002+01:00

What’s the first thing you do after getting up in the morning on holiday? It has felt as though I’ve been on holiday the last two weeks whilst being at high altitude in Tignes. Don’t get me wrong, I have been teaching. But because I’ve stayed in a chalet it’s kind of felt as though I was a holiday maker. Back to my original question……I wish I could answer honestly and say I skip gaily out of bed full of the joys of spring. The reality is more like a bumble and a fumble searching for the curtains.

My bedroom in the chalet was facing due east, perfect for the early winter sunrise. Except that I only had about four days out of the two weeks of clear weather. Don’t get me wrong, the sunrise over the Aiguille de la Grande Sassiere, with Italy beyond, was very special. Fortunately the sunrise disguised the, how shall I put it, pig ugly urban landscape of the resort. Thankfully the breakfast room faced south looking towards the impressive skiable glacier of the Grand Motte. A gorgeous sight as the early morning sun gradually lit up the mountain.

I taught two groups this week, both under the description of ‘All Mountain Performance’. We looked at how to use skills that can be applied both on and off piste, in the bumps and also in variable conditions. We went through the theory of how the four ‘Performance threads’ can affect a skier's performance, ie Tactical, Physical, Technical and Psychological. This was particularly appropriate because the weather was quite a challenge yet again this week.

We had to deal with many days of heavy snowfall, and strong winds which resulted in sudden lift closures. We had a bit of a close call early in the week when we were rushing back from Val d’Isere, and only just made it to the Tignes area before the top lift and link closed. Our hoods and collars were used daily, as well as our psychological stamina.

I particularly liked Jane’s green collar, it was almost the shape of an angel's halo. It gave her the air of ‘butter wouldn’t melt’, but…….Our last afternoon together was focused on making the most of the stunning fresh snow, but at the same time as trying to ignore the very strong winds. We all started together, eight plus me, but within seconds two decided to head back to the comfort of the chalet.

As the afternoon wore on, and the weather continued to break us down, the group got smaller and smaller until just three of us survived and conquered (just) the war of attrition. Well done team.

I left Tignes whilst the storm was still blowing. The return trip to Méribel should only take 90 minutes with clear roads, but it took close to three hours instead. Thankfully I was able to tuck in behind a snow clearer between Tignes and Bourg St Maurice.

Since I’ve been back in Méribel the strength of the wind has increased with the precipitation continuing. In fact Meteo France today has increased the avalanche risk up to the maximum of five out of five above 1800 metres in the Savoie (of which Méribel is part) and the Mont Blanc range. The Mont Blanc range is due up to 150 cms of snow as the storm called ‘Joachim’ crosses the region. I’ve got to be honest with you, it’s a little unsettling to hear the wind outside of my apartment as I tap away on the laptop. But I’ve a fresh pot of chilli, and lashings of flapjacks to keep me company tonight.

Martin

P.S. Already missing the cooked breakfasts, afternoon tea with cakes, three course evening meal and cheese board in the Tignes chalet. Amazing to think I lost weight over the two weeks.

Ear to Ear Smiles

2011-12-11T21:38:00.002+01:00

You wouldn’t believe what has happened in the last seven days. It felt as though the whole of the French Alps would stay brown and snowless. The pistes were bone dry, with the odd mound of ‘cultured snow’ if you were lucky. But then it started to snow last Sunday night, and it snowed, and it snowed, and it snowed……. you get the picture.

After four days and nights here in Tignes we had over a metre of the white stuff in the village. What a transformation and what a relief. I’ve now been in Tignes for just over a week working for a top British ski coaching team. Catching up with Slippers (pictured above and below, see previous post), Bryan, Dave and Rupes.

The four of us had different teaching commitments and different levels. But it didn’t matter what standard of a skier you were, everyone loved these new conditions, there were smiles from ear to ear all over the mountain.

During the four days of storms, the visibility was a little tricky. We didn’t mind at the time of course, because we were all playing about in the deep stuff just like children. But then on Thursday when the high winds blew away storms, we were all stunned to see how much snow had fallen.

Some aspects gave us awesome depths, but other aspects were wind affected. It understandably took the pisteurs a while to make the mountain safe with extensive avalanche control, and then grooming the pistes for the first time this winter. Even when we could ski on the newly opened pistes, the mountain restaurants still had to dig themselves out and then get organised to serve us smiling new customers.

Because, you see the thing was, we just couldn’t stop smiling. I skied all week with Elaine, a lovely lady from Birmingham. It was her fourth week skiing, and she had never been to Tignes before. We spent every morning and afternoon together chipping away at her technique and confidence. It was a brilliant way to start my teaching this season. Elaine and I also had some great times with her friends Mike, Lucy and Captain Fred. One of my best memories from last week was skiing down from the top of the Toviere peak, one of the borders between Tignes and Val d’Isere, after a hot chocolate in the last light of the day down a deserted piste. Did you enjoy that Lucy?

It seems like it, there’s another smile. I’ve just started my second week of work here in Tignes, and then I’ll heading back to Méribel on Friday. The snow continues to be fantastic, and it looks as though we might get a top up tomorrow. Méribel opened its lifts and slopes yesterday, and it felt strange for me not being there this year. If it was half as good as it is here, then I’m sure everyone had a belting opening day. Ladies and gentlemen, the winter season has finally begun.

Martin

P.S. It seems my mate Slippers was enjoying the powder last week whilst teaching as well. How is it going Slippers?

Oh, looks like he can’t wipe off that smile on his face either.

Being Cultured

2011-12-02T12:34:00.001+01:00

Us Brits sometimes describe man made snow as artificial, or fake, snow. Yet the French typically have their own, how do I say it, arty way of labelling frozen icicles blasted out from a tall metal pipe. They called it cultured snow. How can snow be ‘cultured’, i.e. having class or educated in the finer things in life. Maybe cultured in their eyes means these frozen icicles have been nurtured?

Either way, I shouldn’t lose too much sleep about the nuances between our languages and how we look at things. As you may be aware, the French Alps has had one of the driest and mildest Novembers for many years. To be able to see some of these huge piles of ‘cultured’ snow up close is an instant relief. Ski resorts these days have a pretty good back up plan for when mother nature doesn’t play ball for us skiers.

My wife Harriet has been on holiday this week in Méribel, and we went for a walk together up and around the altiport ‘piste’, or should I call it the upper nine holes of the golf course? In fact last week I saw many people playing golf, for free, trying to avoid not only the bunkers but the snow mounds as well.

During the ski season it’s very rare to see how large the mounds can grow, so it’s difficult to describe to people. But a picture can say a thousand words…

Sorry about the bald bloke spoiling the shot, but at least he helps give a sense of scale to the image! So what’s on the cards for the coming week? Harriet heads back to Leamington Spa tomorrow. After dropping her off at Geneva airport I then drive directly to the ski resort of Tignes. I’ll be teaching and staying over there for the next two weeks which I’m really looking forward to. Sadly I’ll miss the opening weekend here in Méribel which has been sensibly moved back to next weekend. Good news on the weather front, it looks as though this stunning weather that we’ve had to ‘suffer’ is on the verge of deserting us and making way for much chillier temperatures and a few showers of precipitation. Can’t deny that I’ve enjoyed my time here in the sunshine, but I think it’s time to welcome more of the natural snow flakes for a change. Have a great week everyone.

Martin

My Mate ‘Slippers’

2011-11-27T22:27:00.001+01:00

Last Thursday and Friday I had my first ski of this winter over in Tignes. My mate and fellow ski instructor Slippers Jackson stayed with me in Méribel overnight, prior to us driving across on both days. We were also joined by another instructor Bryan Hogg on the Friday.

It was brilliant being back on skis again, if not a little wobbly at first. We had stunning weather on both days, plus the snow was pretty good as well. It didn’t take long for the banter to start between Slippers and me, after all we have known each other for many many winters.

I first met Slippers about fourteen summers ago when we were both mountain bike guides over in the Portes du Soleil. We would say the odd polite hello to each other, but that was about it mainly because we were working for two different companies. That soon changed the next winter during a ski instructing training course and assessment, we recognised each other again and instantly hit it off and became very strong friends.

I don’t often talk about the process of becoming a fully qualified ski instructor, because it could easily be interpreted as being big-headed, but it is extremely difficult to pass the very strict exams. Slippers and I for many autumns and winters helped and supported each other along this emotional path. We have shared some incredible experiences, some very rewarding, but also some rather unpleasant down right failures and rejections mostly to do with the European Speed Test. The Euro Speed Test is a stringent Giant Slalom race that both of us really struggled with and had to travel around France and other Alpine nations in order to attempt. I even had two full ski seasons down in New Zealand solely to race train, to help me achieve my goals, no work, no income, just an investment in self improvement!?!

On Friday we both watched with admiration a French second tier team train their Giant Slalom athletes. And to be honest, even though Slippers and I eventually reached our goals of passing the Euro Speed Test, these chaps were something else. But without banging on about stuff the average holidaymaker wouldn’t understand, let me move on. Both Slippers and I absolutely love the sport of skiing and the high mountains, we both love teaching, and we both adore passing on our passion to anyone who is willing to spend time with us during the winters.

But, there is a difference between Slippers and I. Boy oh boy has he been through the wars to get to this stage of his career, and I’m not talking about gaining the Full French Equivalence of qualification that not even most of the local aspirants get to. Since I’ve known Slippers he finally gained a much needed hip replacement, no mean feat. He told me on Thursday that his other hip is on the way out as well. He also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis!?!

He is one of the most positive chaps I’ve ever spent time with, especially in the mountains. So when I received a phone call last winter to help cover for him and teach as a replacement because he was unable to work for a few days due to a ‘fall’, I did my best to help out. On a chairlift last week I asked him more about this event and he eventually opened up and said that he had fractured his pelvis in two places. But he got back on skis within a week and continued teaching. How very humbling…. The next time I feel a little stiff and tired during the winter I think I shall just shut up and get on with it!

Blimey, that got a little heavy. But listen, one of the awesome things about being a ski instructor other than living in the high mountains each winter, is sharing the passion of the sport. I get to meet some amazing characters, and briefly share experiences of everyday lives that I wouldn’t normally come across. Bring on the next instalments.

Martin

Morph’s Girlfriend

2011-11-23T18:30:00.001+01:00

You know how we all slip into a routine in life, setting the alarm at the same time each morning then heading out to do the commute, at near as damn it the same time. Maybe the weekly shop is a routine as well, possibly the same running route for fitness, or even planning your week around your childs regular after school activities. So when a routine is broken, life seems a very different place doesn’t it?

My routine was completely changed this week, plus a change of culture was thrown into the mix. Half way down through France I stopped overnight in the wine country of Burgundy, this time Nuits St Georges. When I woke up and went for a walk around town, my senses were immediately sent into overdrive. There was an occasional strong whiff of baking pains au chocolat, the odd whiff of fresh bread as people walked past me with baguettes under their arms, and of course the odd whiff of a camel cigarette as beret wearing men wafted past.

The change of routine was like a breath of fresh air, even the local supermarket roadside advert painted on the side of a house made me smile. How very French.

But what really made me chuckle though was seeing this tiny statue holding an umbrella in the middle of the cobbled street. I’m going to call her Morphette, surely she is Morph’s girlfriend, a Tony Hart creation. In the UK I doubt very much that Morphette would be allowed to display herself ‘dressed’ like this. But here in France I’m sure there was a big fanfare during Morphette’s unveiling with giggling kids, proud looking Mums and happy looking chaps in attendance!

Tomorrow I’m catching up with my mate Slippers Jackson for our first ski of the winter season. We will be leaving Méribel first thing in the morning and driving across to Tignes to get our first few wobbles of the season out of the way. However, I hope we can sneak in a quick pain au chocolat before our first lift. Looks like a new routine is about to take hold again.

Martin

P.S. So how is Méribel at the moment? Stunning as ever, granted there’s very little natural snow cover right now. However, I went for a run this afternoon up and around the Altiport area and was very surprised by seeing pretty big mounds of man made snow. lined up down the piste.

Freezin’ Planet

2011-11-17T23:10:00.001+01:00

Some of you who know me will be aware how pathetic I am in conversations about TV programmes. It’s not because I’m rude, it’s just that, well, how do I say it…. I don’t watch TV. Phew, that didn’t feel so bad making it public.

Some of my regular clients are stunned when they mention household names and popular programmes, and I haven’t got a clue about what and who they are talking about. According to many clients apparently I’m supposed to look like Heston Bloomingtal, or someone named similar to that. For ages I had no idea if that was a compliment until I Googled him; still not sure!?! As for X Dancing, Come Factor, Big Bother and The Apprenticeship ……. completely lost.

So why am I banging on about TV programmes, let me explain. My wife Harriet reckoned last night that I was looking a little pooped due to a hefty workload recently. She suggested I relaxed in front of the TV, after nearly choking on my glass of wine, I succumbed.

She kindly switched on the TV for me, and found a channel called BBC1. OMG, what an amazing experience? In front of me was a visual feast of stunning, beautiful scenery with exotic wildlife. This wasn’t any old landscape I’m talking about, it was the Arctic, or was it the Antarctic, not sure. Note to self, must concentrate more instead of just focusing on the photography.

Speaking of which, after being reminded about snowy landscapes last night, here are a few of my favourite photographs from last winter.

They are in no particular order of preference.

Just fun times recorded, in the gorgeous surroundings of Méribel.

So I’m now officially very excited about this winter. I’ll be leaving Leamington Spa this weekend, and arriving in Méribel on Monday for yet another winter season of fun and adventures. What is it that makes us winter sport lovers so childlike with excitement? It’s tough trying to describe it to non-skiers isn’t it? But us skiers only need to nod to each other, don’t we?

Martin

P.S. That TV programme I mentioned earlier, don’t know if it’s well known or not, I think it’s called ‘Freezin Planet’. Check it out and spread the word, I reckon it could be very popular. ‘A la semaine prochaine’.

Hard Drive Depths

2011-11-07T13:57:00.001+01:00

Just a short post this time due to an endless but important ‘List of things to do’! It’s mad to think that in less than two weeks I’ll be back home in the French Alps again. I’ve hardly had time to ponder on such thoughts, but this morning it hit home whilst searching out these photos.

Deep in the depths of my now bulging photography files within the hard drive I’ve been able to find some shots that haven’t been published before. And what a treat losing my thoughts reflecting on last season, and of course day dreaming about the next one which is just around the corner.

The ski shows have been and gone, the days are definitely getting shorter, ski themed articles are free flowing in the weekend newspapers and even a TV programme last night was called ‘Will it Snow?’. I’ve just attended my three year refresher for Outdoor Emergency First Aid at the Tamworth Snowdome, which felt weird wearing salopettes again. Plus I’ve been taking loads of enquiries for this winter as well.

But for some reason it still feels as though the winter is further away than it is. Maybe that’s because it hasn’t turned that chilly yet, but also because my summer work continues at full pelt. In eleven days time I’ll be leaving Leamington Spa, but will try to squeeze in another post beforehand.

Martin

P.S. Hope your fitness is going well?

The Skies above Isle of Skye

2011-10-22T08:45:00.001+02:00

I’ve met many Scots, both colleagues and clients, over the years who often mention how ‘bracing’ the weather can be in their country. Having travelled around the world and visited many mountain ranges including The European Alps, The Rockies, The Southern Alps in New Zealand and our very own Lake District, I though that I knew what these Scots meant about rough weather.

Wrong….. How stupid could I have been? Good God the Scottish weather is on steroids, washed down with haggis, whisky and shot-blasted along by the soft dulcet tones of bagpipes. When Harriet and I arrived on the Isle of Skye for our ‘summer’ holiday last weekend, we were blown instantly to Norway !?!

Granted, we had been warned by several people that the weather may not play ball this time of year, but again we thought we knew best. We had loads of walks planned around the Cuillin Hills (for some reason the Scots call them hills and not mountains). We never got near them.

Each daily weather forecast mentioned extreme severe buffeting, rain showers and poor visibility. Any walking plans went out of the window, off over to Norway in fact.

We did our best to get out each day bouncing off each other in the buffeting. There was one time when poor Harriet couldn’t actually open the car door because of the wind.

These photos may disguise the look of our visit, i.e. gorgeous skies all the time. To be honest, we probably only had about 10% of time with cloud-free summits. And two days out of five I didn’t risk taking a photo.

We just adapted our walks to low level, close to the Lochs and enjoyed more seascapes than landscapes. When the clouds did clear briefly it was a very special experience, just like this shot below. But only three minutes later we got drenched and were air lifted in a flash back over to Norway yet again with the wind.

Would we come back again to the Isle of Skye? You betcha. But with different expectations. It’s a mind-blowingly pretty part of the country. We stayed at an amazing bed and breakfast called Coruisk House in Elgol, run by a top chap called Iain who cooks the best ever full-blown fry up that he calls ‘The Full Elgol’.

It’s now just over four weeks to go before I head back to Méribel, so with that in mind my next post will be much more skiing related. Can’t wait to catch up with some of my Scottish chums and nod with respect the next time they bang on about the Scottish weather.

Martin

P.S. Seriously though. We had a great time. The light for photography was spectacular at times. And the mountains, oh those mountains.

Priceless Mountains

2011-09-22T08:26:00.002+02:00

The Summer has continued at a frantic pace since the last post. Several more Weddings and loads of motivated learner drivers has kept yours truly very busy, to the point of not having a day off work for many weeks. So when a mid week wedding shoot took place up in Yorkshire, my wife Harriet seized the opportunity of whisking me away from work after the wedding and insisted on us having a long weekend together in The Lake District. Who was I to argue? The Cumbrian weather was as you expect, two days of wild stormy weather, but one amazing sunny day…

We stayed in the tiny hamlet of Buttermere, sandwiched in between the two Lakes of Buttermere and Crummock Water. What a tonic? Complete wild exposure to the mountains again, surrounded by stunning landscapes with a few mighty hikes thrown in for good measure. Priceless.

At the end of my last post I mentioned a new exciting project that is winter related. So without further ado, please welcome my new Ski Instructing website http://www.mh2ski.co.uk/ . After much thought and discussion with colleagues during last winter pondering the effects of the global recession, I decided to team up with a good friend and colleague of mine, Michael Harrison.

Mike and I have been friends for many years, we both work under the umbrella of the Méribel ESF, and share many values and thoughts on providing top quality Ski Instruction. So it seemed a natural progression to team up together and pool our resources in advertising and offering our Instructing services. The mh2ski website (both of our initials if you were thinking why the strange name!) will take over from my Aspire To Ski website. But don’t worry blog fans, I shall continue to post on this blog as regular and passionate as ever which can also be accessed via a link from mh2ski.

I hope you all like the new website, any feedback welcome of course. A massive thank you goes out to the Jones family for their help and encouragement with the website, in particular to Robbie who put our dream into reality.

Back to the post processing of weddings for me now though. Have you noticed that the days are getting shorter? You know what that means don’t you?

Martin

Méribel Wedding

2011-08-28T19:38:00.002+02:00

At the beginning of the month I had the pleasure of rushing back to Méribel briefly to shoot the wedding of Jamie and Mischa. After fulfilling the correct paperwork they were free to marry on French soil, more on the quirkiness later. It was a busy four days for me not helped by missing my flight out from Luton, luckily a mad dash through London to Gatwick airport saved my embarrassment !?!

The weather leading up to the wedding day was truly miserable, so to wake up on the big day without constant pouring rain was a relief to everyone involved, including the photographer. I had a packed schedule so soon dived into the ‘detail’ and Bridal prep shots.

I’ve really enjoyed this part of wedding photography, giving me the opportunity to capture the story telling side of the day. However after posting quite a few photos on Facebook recently in a similar style, I’ve been surprised by comments made by my ‘friends’ that my feminine side is shining through, Manly cough, perhaps, but it is fun though.

Whilst Mischa and her helpers were getting ready in Villard, a lovely hamlet above Méribel Les Allues, guess what Jamie and his mates were doing? Playing a round of golf up on the Méribel Golf Course. I caught up with them on the green of the 16th, after walking up underneath the Altiport piste draglift.

Jamie, Del boy, Greg and Jim were all having an amazing time, except for a considerable loss of golf balls on the ‘undulating’ alpine course. I promptly left the boys with an hour and half to go, with them still needing to complete two more holes before scrubbing up. The wedding was taking place in the Mairee back down in Les Allues. It has to be safe to say that no-one was sure what to expect with the ceremony room. Westminster Abbey this was not, but perhaps the staff at the Mairee could have been a bit more flexible and celebratory with the layout of the room !?!

But hey, maybe some of us expected too much, it just felt as though we were all attending a meeting with the Mayor, but with all of us overdressed. The Mayor of the Méribel commune officiated the service. But I swear he nodded off briefly at one point, at least President Nicolas Sarkozy kept a close eye on the proceedings.

After a very long speech by the Mayor, ‘I do’ was said twice, the odd hug and a kiss exchanged, rings slid onto fingers, lots of smiles, and eventually plenty of signatures recorded meant Jamie and Mischa were officially husband and wife.

The celebrations then started after a fun walk to the venue. The Bride and Groom requested a relaxed day with the photos, all done in a candid style and just a few formals with family and friends. But what was important to them were a few Bride and Groom shots to be taken up at Lac de Tuéda. We jumped in their car to make the trip up the mountain.

The Lac is always a stunning location, but today had the added ingredient of the newly weds, over looked by surprised but cheery on lookers.

This next shot is one of my favourites from the day, taken at the side of the Lac.

We then soon descended back down the valley to join all of the guests. The speeches started which were the usual mixture of styles, i.e. close to the knuckle…

….but also some lovey dovey moments as well……

I really enjoyed the day. A big thank you to Jamie and Mischa and to all of their guests who made my job that little bit more enjoyable. As ever there are always more people than you realise that help make the day run smoothly.

Since my short trip to Méribel, life has been hectic with further weddings in the Lake District, followed by another near Henley on Thames, and then yesterday in Burton on Trent, with two more scheduled in the next couple of weeks. Plus I’ve been involved with a completely different project that’s winter related, am very excited and I’ll tell you all about it in a few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the final few weeks of the summer.

Martin

“Cheers” to the Bride and Groom

2011-06-30T23:04:00.001+02:00

I can’t believe it’s been less than two months since I left Méribel and returned back to England, so much has happened. My Driving Instructing work is chugging along nicely, sometimes stalling in rush hour, kerb whacking, scaring local residents and being on the receiving end of ‘sweaty moments’. But what’s different this summer is a subtle move into Wedding Photography.

I attended another amazing photography workshop, this time specialising in weddings, within a week of getting back. My mate Canon was more than happy clicking away at different subjects instead of the usual landscapes that have dominated over the last few summers. Plus my mate Canon (7D) was joined by yet another sibling, official name 5D Mark2, but let’s name her Canon again shall we?

A considerable amount of effort has gone into studying in order to continually improve the quality of work. I’ve very much enjoyed the process of developing my skills further, and so far with positive feedback from my peers.

I was fortunate at the beginning of June to be an assistant to a Pro Photographer based in Nottingham. It was an amazing event with a church wedding and then a reception at a gorgeous country house in the heart of Nottinghamshire.

I was given special permission to attend under the direction of the Pro by the Bride and Groom. It was great fun working alongside people who share the passion of their work again, this time photography rather than skiing. One candid moment was catching Matt the Groom being looked after by one of his Ushers applying last- minute sun block protection without them realising a camera was pointing their way.

A second breakthrough this summer has been meeting another Pro Photographer, this time more locally in Warwickshire. Dani has been a Pro for twelve years with a huge amount of experience. She is a very busy photographer with a massive workload specialising in commercial work, mostly in London, and portraits – some in London again, but also at her studio close to Leamington Spa. I first met up with her for a coffee, we soon clicked and spoke for ages about goals and aspirations within the industry. Again it was really exciting being with someone who was passionate about their work.

A few days later after our meeting, I received a text at 6.30 one Monday morning saying - “Martin, fancy coming along to a Wedding next weekend and second shooting with me?” Damn right I thought, but blimey a 6.30am text, crikey how busy are you? So off I went with both Canons in tow and shot away.

Dani knew the Groom very well; he is one of her favourite printers. So the wedding was a very relaxed affair, except for a slightly restrictive church shoot due to the Vicar, but that’s something us photographers need to work around. Good job we went to a local landmark of Hatton Canal Locks which is a special place to the Bride and Groom.

So what’s in the pipeline for the rest of the summer? Where do I start? Driving work continues, fitness is plodding along. But my photography is going bonkers. I have four of my own weddings coming up in the next two months. One of which will be back in Méribel of all places, but then three days later another Wedding in the Lake District. How’s that for keeping a mountainous theme, even in my new Wedding Photography career? Any other opportunities will be a real bonus.

I hope you are all having a fab summer.

Martin

Beauties and the Beast

2011-05-04T07:54:00.001+02:00

Here’s a question, how often are you stopped in your tracks by beauty each day? That kind of question could easily lead to people sounding smug without meaning to.

Often I read on Facebook how people are chuffed in life; they love their current situations and are constantly full of the joys of spring. To be honest I’m probably guilty of such statements myself in the past during winters, especially if fresh powder and happy clients are involved. But yet again, even though the snow has gone, I’ve been constantly stopped in my tracks by beauty this last week.

This time it’s because Harriet and I have ventured further into the amazing Vanoise National Park. With the snow fast disappearing from the mountains we were distracted by huge peaks - bright white glaciers still covered in fresh snow - towering above deep lush valleys. We were being exposed to some magnificent wildlife: Canon and I have been on overdrive it has to be said.

We’ve enjoyed observing Bouquetin (more commonly known as Ibex) and Marmots in their natural environment.

Plus we’ve studied the maps and have investigated old traditional farming hamlets and villages that have been occupied for generations.

But the thing is, are they occupied because these hamlets and villages appear deserted. They are spooky places, occasionally we saw shadows move, we heard something cough in the background, smelt farm yard smells and saw evidence of activity but weren’t sure what. But we hardly saw man nor beast in these places.

That all changed at the weekend when we went to visit friends over in Chamonix. Suddenly we were surrounded by loads of people in this bustling town, but if anything the scenery was even more stunning.

Joy and Jim are both very busy with work during the winter as well. So it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with them just after their season had finished. Joy is an International Mountain Leader (‘accompagnateur’) and a Pilates instructor amongst many other things, and Jim is a High Mountain Guide. We had great fun reviewing our winters and spoke about many things that stopped us in our tracks. What I found interesting was that we all spoke with passion about how much we are looking forward to next winter already.

Harriet and I leave Méribel today, and I’ll be honest to say I’m gutted. However, I’ve got loads to look forward this summer. I’ll be back in a driving school car in a couple of weeks time, not with BSM this summer but with an exciting new school just starting in Leamington Spa. Next week I’ll be attending another intensive Photography Workshop in Derbyshire, specialising in Wedding photography. This will be the launch pad for further photographic motivation and a possible lead for work. With several weddings in the pipe line already I can’t wait get going this summer.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading my blog again this winter. Have a great summer everyone. Don’t worry, only 219 days until the lifts open again next winter.

Martin

What, Why and How

2011-04-26T15:33:00.001+02:00

Last Wednesday I delivered my final lesson of the season. Many months ago a friend contacted me and booked a lesson during the final week that the lifts were open. I was flattered to receive this booking because Cat is a Fitness Professional.

So what does a Fitness Professional do? In Cat’s instance she is a Pilates Instructor, a Personal Trainer, a motivator and an inspirational Spinning Coach. In other words Cat is a talented Instructor who knows how to teach, and she chose me to help improve her skiing performance. No pressure then?

Always up for a challenge, I thought we could both benefit using her teaching skills and background, and link them in with mine. Cat’s method of teaching uses the ‘What, Why and How’ sequence. So let’s look at how we could use this method with skiing. ‘What’ we were looking at was balancing on skis and using the sweet spot of the ski. ‘Why’ do we want to do this? A balanced skier can be more energy efficient; they can use the full length of the skis metal edge for grip; and they can steer (turn) the skis more easily. ‘How’ we were going to achieve this was by checking our position standing over the skis and ensuring we were flexing our ankles correctly. Did this teaching method work for me? I was happily surprised that it did, maybe I can try this in a few weeks time with my learner drivers back in Leamington Spa. Mind you, getting two Instructors talking to each other about technique almost led to overload and then meltdown.

Fortunately my wife Harriet came along to help keep it real. We had a great time over in Val Thorens, and celebrated our last day on skis for the winter of 2011. Good luck Cat with your new goals that you’ve set yourself in the Fitness Industry.

For over a week now I’ve been under the weather with Laryngitis (or was it maybe even the dreaded Man Flu?). So no sport or walks for me for ages. However as promised in my previous post, I can let you now know how Canon and I got on with the ever-elusive mountain deer, Chevreuil, here in France. They are impossible to get close to, but during my first attempt I was chuffed to achieve even these photos from this bumbling wildlife photographer.

Ok, so maybe I won’t be invited to enter the next Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, but I had fun anyway.

I searched out some Marmots as well, up around Lac de Tueda above Mottaret.

I’m hoping to head out again with my walking boots very soon, especially heading further into the impressive Vanoise National Park before heading back to the UK at the end of next week.

Enjoy all of the Bank Holidays everyone, especially the Royal Wedding.

Martin

Almost finished work

2011-04-18T14:05:00.010+02:00

The gorgeous weather has continued here in Méribel, but fewer pistes are staying open for skiing. Last week I had a brilliant time teaching a small kids group lesson. We caught the bus up to Mottaret and then skied around the Sitelle area. We all had fun, but unfortunately I couldn't take photos of their happy faces due to child privacy restrictions, which of course is fair enough. Shame though, because Ben wore one of the cutest fluffy-eared bear-like helmet cover I've ever seen. People were stopping on the piste to look at the five year old snowplough bravely down the slopes.

I was only working in the mornings which meant I could put on my walking boots and go exploring the local area. With Spring in full throttle, especially with the recent heatwave, there's plenty to see.

Plus it's been great being able to get fitter, what with more and more footpaths being exposed earlier than normal. On Thursday afternoon I decided to try to drop a little further down the valley to start my annual Widlife Photography challenge, which normally ends in failure, deer stalking. How did it go? They are still beating me hands down, and spotting me well before I see them.

I'll report more about that walk on my next post. Harriet has flown out from the UK to be with me during my time off work. Yesterday we went for our first walk together, in the sun again of course, up into the Vanoise Parc National. We saw our first few marmots of the Spring, from a distance. They are as gorgeous as ever, and so playful with each other.

I've my final lesson of this winter on Wednesday, and then it will be holiday time, yippee. Have a great week everybody.

Martin

That Holiday Feeling

2011-04-11T13:47:00.041+02:00

Last week I skied with The Joneses, and then later I spent time with The Tilsons and their various other group members. All week the weather was sunny (except a rainy Monday!), just like in the UK at the moment. But the temperatures have been more roasting hot than ever. Because they were all good skiers it was possible to get to the best snow over in Val Thorens. Even though it was hot and sunny in Méribel, because Val Thorens is so high, you can still come across challenging weather, especially wind. That wasn't going to stop everyone from having fun though. One of the Tilsons, Gilly, is a keen photographer, so we were all happy to pose, practise and experiment with each others cameras. This next shot was fun, taken by my very own Canon, of Gilly wearing her goggles with a reflection of La Folie Douce mountain restaurant.

Another fun shot was when I took Gilly's camera and squeezed her friends and family together in a tight semicircle in front of her goggles again. So instead of a mountain restaurant reflection, you could see everyone hugging each other.

On our last day together, again we went over to Val Thorens, and I tried to show them areas of the valley and pistes that they had never visited before. I continued in trying to find pistes that faced away from the direction of the sun, in order to avoid the sun damaged snow. We had a very civilised lunch at the excellent La Fruitiere, just before the DJ kicked off the afternoon session on the outdoors decks, at the adjacent La Folie Douce.

I've heard a rumour that the Folie Douce franchise may well spread into the Méribel valley soon, located at the Choucas restaurant close to the mid-station of the Burgin Saulire bubble. One of the many things I love about my job is being with people on their precious holiday. The relaxed, playful, happy and many other emotions are all very infectious. However, I also occasionally come across another mental state, competitiveness. This appeared on our final ski back down to Méribel, when the two Nicks wanted to go into the 'Fun Park' to do some jumps. There were two jumps close to each other, which were later discussed and judged down in Méribel during apres ski over a beer. So here goes with Nick T's first jump.

That's actually pretty high isn't it? So what can he pull out of the bag on the smaller second jump?

A bit old school, but still pretty impressive. Watch out, here comes the other Nick, looking a bit more physical on his approach.

Ohh, that's just as high, it's neck and neck in this competition at the moment. It's all down to the second jump. What can you produce big fella......

Oh dear, that's what we call a 'Yardsale'. He didn't quite make it to the second jump. Never mind. Looks like Nick Tilson is celebrating already.

I had yet another brilliant week last week with everybody, but the ski season is soon to end. I've one more week of work left, my first kids group lesson of this season is going to be my grand finale with the British tour operator Ski Esprit. I started with them this morning, snowploughing around, just as the Altiport piste was officially closed due to lack of snow. So my April Fools joke photo of the melting Altiport piste just eleven days ago posted here on this blog, has actually happened. That will teach me trying to be funny!?! I'm unlikely to photograph the kids group lesson this week, but they are loads of fun to be with already. We just need to find a replacement green piste with snow somewhere. Read all about it on my next post, coming from the tropical ski resort of Méribel.

Martin

P.S. I haven't really mentioned The Joneses much this time, so here is a photo of the gorgeous Olivia in the Caribou restaurant, how stunning is her hair?

Gooney Bird & Avalanche Scare

2011-04-04T20:18:00.027+02:00

Last week, just before April Fools Day, I skied for three days with Rohiyah, for the second time this winter. Rohiyah is part of the Gooney Bird Team from Dublin that you may remember back in February. Rohiyah decided that she couldn't resist squeezing in another ski trip to Méribel with Margaret this winter. It's always loads of fun catching up with her, because she always has loads of stories to tell. Plus she has a fascinating view on life gathered from many experiences in the past.

We made the most of the spring-like conditions, ie firm snow first thing in the morning before the strong sun warms up the snow. Plus, we also loved having the pistes to ourselves, you can just make out Rohiyah all by herself up on the Col de la Loze.

It wasn't always sunny; we had a top-up of snow mid-week as well. If you saw the first Gooney Bird post earlier in the season, you may remember that she is a natural in front of Canon, check out the Bridget Bardot pouting.

At the end of my last day with Rohiyah my feelings swung from one extreme to the other, ie having loads of fun with her one minute to hard reality the next. After I left Rohiyah at her hotel, I skied down to the school to drop off my ski kit. However just before I reached the school I noticed a couple of my colleagues racing towards the Tougnete bubble. Immediately I thought that was a little odd, but as soon as I reached the school I was hastily told about an avalanche on the Combe Tougnete piste and rescuers were urgently needed. I took a huge gulp and rushed across to the bubble at the same time as Alain, the Big Cheese of the school. His phone was ringing like mad, as were different channels on his walky talky.

In order to get to the avalanche we needed to use two lifts: the Tougnete bubble and then the Tougnete chairlift. Whilst going up on the bubble I spoke to Alain asking for any details he had, for instance was there anybody caught in the slide? All we knew was, well, nothing!?! Whilst we were on the chairlift we soon got a view of the slide, and because Canon was with me and Rohiyah earlier that day, I was able to capture the scene below us.

As you can see several rescuers were already at work, probing into the debris. It is essential that anyone buried in an avalanche is found in a very short time, I won't go into the details of the timings but let's just say the odds are definitely not in your favour after four minutes of being buried......

One of the many many ski instructing exams that need to be taken and passed include 'High Mountain Security' which helps you assess avalanche risk and rescue. That's all fine until the real thing happens. Training is training, but reality feels different. Especially fresh in all of our minds was the recent massive avalanche on Mont Vallon at the head of the Méribel valley where I believe a missing person has still not been found.

The urgency dominated my thoughts: no one knew if there was a victim. The pressure for accurate probing was high, it was very physical work due to the uneven nature of the debris. Plus my hands kept slipping on the probe due to the rain at the time. Also another factor came into play, close to me was a colleague from the school who I knew had lost their father in an avalanche many years ago, and understandably they were finding it all difficult to deal with.

Thankfully no one was found in the slide. It has to be said that this was a small slide compared to many. Afterwards I tried to think positively about the experience. I was most impressed by the discipline and professionalism of the pisteurs (and two sniffer dogs): the search ran like a military operation. Granted, ski instructors are professionals, we help people improve their skiing and help them enjoy their holidays even more by reaching their realistic goals. But the pisteurs you and I see, chewing on dried sausages soaking up the sun have many many qualities. I shall certainly see them in a different light now.

For the record, Canon was only used going up on the chairlift, and when my duties were finished and confirmed by the head pisteur.

Martin

Poor Snow This Winter

2011-04-01T07:39:00.006+02:00

Although I haven't mentioned it on my blog this winter, there's no denying that we've had a below average winter in terms of snow depths. The warmer weather recently has highlighted this. However, thanks to the snow cannon coverage the pistes are still skiable. The photo above is of the altiport piste. You can see the bunkers of the golf course are poking through, but it is still possible to pick a line down the piste.

I've recently been in contact with Nick and Lexy, they visited Méribel just over two weeks ago when we had better snow conditions. Because of this communication I decided to take a look at some of the photos again, taken during their visit.

We agreed that we should run a 'caption contest' on the above. So feel free to leave a comment on what you think they were saying to each other, please keep it clean people.

Martin

Problem Feet and Hangovers

2011-03-28T18:25:00.031+02:00

The weather has varied over the last few days, which has resulted in an amazing slide show of cloud formations. Work wise, this weekend I was involved with another 'Corporate' booking. I've taught Larry, Mark and Graham at different times. They've all been burning the candles at both ends, as is to be expected, with perhaps Graham going beyond the call of duty sometimes. Meet Graham. Oh dear, I don't think he's looking at his best right now, something to do with toffee vodkas. We'll go back to a photo of him a little later. Graham first put skis on last August, in Chile of all places. He had three days as a complete beginner over there, and I took over to help him progress on and beyond the green pistes. However, he had a major problem, incredible pain in his ski boots. It stems back to a few problems in his youth, plus breaking his foot when running to a meeting in London. Instead of jumping up to mount the pavement he instead swiftly whacked the kerb with full force, hence the broken foot. Cue wincing from all readers. Two operations later and his feet now look like this.....

This photo was taken on Mark's iPhone. On the second day, Graham said to me at lunchtime "It's no use Martin, I can't cope anymore with my feet, where should I go to buy some boots, who do you trust?" A quick text was sent to Helen, a highly respected boot fitter in Intersport below the Barometer bar, an appointment made and a few hours later Graham was the proud owner of some shiny new boots.

More on Graham later. At the end of last week I also taught Carmel, from Dublin. She is a retired school teacher, in her sixties. It was her first ever skiing holiday and was just loving the experience.

We had three fun sessions together, with the main focus of staying safe. However Carmel also developed her balance skills, perfected her snowploughs, and then fine tuned her turning/steering to the point that we were both happy to move away from the comfort zone of the nursery slope, or baby slope as she called it.

To many people it's a massive step to take, and the achievement is worth celebrating. Carmel was really pleased with herself, and couldn't wait to tell her friends and family how brilliant this sport is, at whatever age. I hope they all read this blog and see how chuffed she was. Respect.

Martin

P.S. Let's catch up with Graham again shall we? "How are your new ski boots Graham?"

"Boots (discreet burb) are absolutely brilliant Martin, feet are great, that's not the problem though, have you got any paracetomel (discreet burb) cos I'm really struggling here, I dropped my last two down the plug hole this morning !?!" Graham was looking a little yellow.

Hang on, the evergreen Carmel want's to make a comment... "What a light weight, you English can't hold your drink, chuckle chuckle" Oh, that's a bit harsh don't you think?

The Bigger Picture

2011-03-20T19:32:00.016+01:00

I absolutely love it when the weather changes in the high mountains. Watching how cloud formations develop and swirl around in the sky; seeing how it affects the lighting, colours, humidity and temperature and even the mood of people. It's fascinating to observe.

Quite often I hear people state with conviction: 'that cloud over there is the start of a snow storm', or 'I heard a local say the other day that the winter isn't over yet'. Another I heard last week when on a chairlift over in Couchevel - from a scary looking character - was 'I always come out for two weeks and this same week in March is invariably awful weather, I'll guarantee it!'

Poppycock. Unless half the population has suddenly qualified with honours at High Altitude Meteorology, it's a very difficult science to understand. After more than thirteen winters, I'm not close to being able to understand the weather.

Pah, 'You Ski Instructors should be able to sniff a snowflake from a hundred miles' I hear you cry. Not at all, but I do love the benefits of a few snowfalls, which is exactly what we've had over the last few days.

Every day last week was different. Some days were lovely and sunny, others gave us poor visibility but precipitation. With the temperatures bouncing up and down like crazy. But the quality of the snow for skiing has improved hugely since last weekend, especially on the top half of the mountain. So, who have I been teaching in the last week? I started with Maria and Vivian over in Courchevel at the start of the seven days. Then Sarah from Cork midweek, followed by Megan from near the Irish Republic border. Spot the Irish theme here, something to do with St Patrick's day Thursday I think. And finally I skied with Lexy at the end of the week for three mornings.

I first met Lexy this time last winter along with her boyfriend, now fiancé, Nick. I met Nick again along with his brother a few months ago in December as well. It was a last-minute booking this week which instantly got me excited because I remembered how much fun they were. Lexy lives and works in New York over the pond, with Nick based in London. Needless to say that whenever they meet up it's such a high energy atmosphere.

We all had a brilliant time together both on the pistes, relaxing on the chairlifts, impromptu stops in mountain restaurants, and sharing experiences with wedding planning.

What were they talking about whilst I took this photo? Does anyone remember the 'Carry On' films? The subject matter was similar, with Nick performing an amazing Kenneth Williams impression. I can tell that whoever their Wedding Photographer will be in New York later in the summer, they will have to be prepared for constant fits of laughter. Good luck guys, I hope it goes well.

My work is looking thin on the ground this week, so who knows what I'll be rambling on about again on Sunday?

Martin

Bumps Addicts

2011-03-13T16:28:00.022+01:00

Last week I probably skied the most bumps on black pistes than I have since training for my final Ski Instructor exam several years ago - a shock to the body, but what amazing fun. I taught two sets of people, first of all James; then Gilly with John. James was visiting Méribel on a corporate trip, and often skis in the States, especially Utah where he loves the powder snow. Although he enjoys skiing on-piste, he relishes extra challenges and we soon realised that bumps were his new favourite thing.

We used the black piste, Bartavelle, for training. It's steep but with light fluffy snow it proved to be the ideal training piste. People often ask me how they should ski well in the bumps, and to be honest there is a list of things to think about. But with James we kept it simple and thought about how and when to turn the skis helping the all important speed control, and using our arms to aid balance. He loved it and was always looking for other pistes with bumps to practise his technique.

James and his colleagues were also visiting Méribel to enjoy the best mountain restaurants; they were 'Foodies', and it was an important part of their Corporate get together. So where else to visit, but the sublime La Bouitte in St. Marcel next to St. Martin de Belleville. It can be found in the Michelin guide, with two stars, yes that's right, two stars.

I rarely get to eat in gastronomique restaurants close to this lofty standard, but what an amazing experience. The service was impeccable, the quality of the food was beyond anything I'd eaten before with subtle tastes, and of course the wine was.......... well I'd better stop banging on about it now. Let's just say that we all had a very enjoyable lunch that extended late into the afternoon.

I was introduced to John and Gilly many winters ago at a drinks party held in Méribel by one of my clients, who is also one of their senior colleagues. This recommendation wasn't forgotten, and we finally got to ski together last week.

At the start of our time together I asked them what they wanted to achieve during their lessons together. Gilly replied "I feel as if I've reached the Intermediate Plateau which is frustrating, and I hate feeling like a muppet when it gets difficult". John then replied "I like challenges, and I want a workout at the same time, oh and by the way I have donor tendons when I blew my knee apart playing football, oh and I want to ski the Grand Couloir one day !?!". Whilst John gave me this answer, I saw out of the corner of my eye Gilly shaking her head. Two very different answers required quick thinking on my part to enable me to form a plan and aim for success. No pressure then.

We immediately looked at the basics of ski technique, balance, pressure control and quality of steering. John and Gilly responded brilliantly, so I decided to gradually ease them into trickier terrain, ie off-piste and bumps. Gilly was constantly smiling because she couldn't believe how well she dealt with this previously alien territory. And John was more than happy because he was getting his workout, and throwing himself down things in a blokey, but controlled fashion.

One technical focus we had in the bumps was to always keep our skis in contact with the snow, this ensured continuous friction between the edge of the skis and the snow, hence speed control. We also looked at other 'tools to have in our toolbox', or as Gilly preferred to call it 'Apps on your iPhone', to call upon in sticky situations. For example diagonal side slipping to lose height off-piste. Why? John didn't realise I was scheming, but I was aiming to help him achieve his goal of skiing down the Grand Couloir in Courchevel, especially after conferring with Gilly.

The Grand Couloir is no ordinary black, it's very intimidating, and I have to say dangerous if it goes wrong. It has an awe about it, and quite rightly so. However skill levels had been improved, and permission had been given. So off we went. Did John survive? Here he is at the bottom.

Both Gilly and I were relieved, and after John's heart rate dropped enough to speak, he explained that he was a little scared at the start, but he loved it all the way down. Job done. I posted a comment on Facebook the other day that I love my job even more, now you can understand why.

Martin.

P.S. Gilly at the end of the week said to me "I don't believe it, I've become a bumps addict". That's quite a statement when sometimes the bumps were as big as her.

P.P.S. Meanwhile back at La Bouitte, the cheeseboard has just been wheeled out. Good job I've been skiing so many bumps this week, to burn off all of the calories.

Diplodocus, Friends and Ghosts

2011-03-07T20:14:00.015+01:00

Last week I returned to the UK for a brief break from work, and met up with Harriet in London. We had a few days together and made the most our time by visiting both The Natural History Museum and The National Portrait Museum. As soon as you enter The Natural History Museum you walk straight up to a massive sauropod dinosaur called Diplodocus who has been on display there for over 100 years.

It's an impressive sight that stops you in your tracks. Diplodocus has a few friends for company: here's one, a Giant Sloth.

So why did we visit the Museum other than to look at old fossils and skeletons? To view the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. We both love and appreciate amazing photos, especially wildlife in its natural habitat. It was all quite a shock to the system, coming from the stunning high mountains in Méribel to be immersed within one of the busiest capital cities in the world though.

The contrast in scenery couldn't have been greater. Coming from twee, secluded, quiet, rustic Alpine Savoyard achitecture to suddenly being underneath The Lloyds Building was quite a shock. Even other (less ugly!) high-rise office blocks within the City seemed to affect me. Not sure why, was it being down at sea-level again? I remember feeling like this last winter when I left the high-altitude environment and was suddenly dropped briefly down in London. Is it similar to 'The Bends' I wonder? But I swear I saw ghosts sometimes!?!

Anyway, a strong coffee in Starbucks, and a stiff talking to myself pulled me out of such nonsense. I put on a brave face and decided to continue enjoying the experience. Harriet and I were really keen to see 'The King's Speech'. Where else to go and see a film when in London, the West End of course. But before we went to the cinema, we visited The National Portrait Gallery nearby. Inspired by what I saw in the Gallery I pretended again to be a pro-photographer again at Trafalgar Square. Harriet being the willing model of course.

We still had plenty of time before the film, so we popped down the road to have a look at No.10 Downing Street, and then the Horse Guards.

I wish I understood what was going on with men wearing odd uniforms and funny helmets. However, it all felt very British at the time.

Hang on a minute, what the hell is going on here? Canon was trying to capture some of this Britishness when a ghost appeared behind this chap with a wonky helmet. Was it a ghost? Must have been, because what normal person in their right mind would spoil such a photographic moment?

It was no good, I suddenly reached my limit of being at sea level. I legged it to the nearest airport, and flew straight back to the mountains just in time before hitting the self-destruct button.

I've had a brilliant time back at work since escaping. I've already had a couple of days' skiing with John and Gilly, who work in a place called London (!), and today I've been with James who works from Bermuda. Can't wait to tell you all about it in a few days time. In the meantime I need to visit a psychiatrist pretty soon, or perhaps the high altitude will continue to provide a natural cure.

Martin

Doppelgangers

2011-03-04T20:21:00.020+01:00

Last Sunday Méribel enjoyed another very welcome snow storm, along with low temperatures. For the first time in three weeks (thanks to plenty of pre-bookings and then the hectic school holidays) I had a free day. I couldn't believe my luck that neither Mike nor Lara were working either.

It's often difficult to squeeze in free skiing, especially with colleagues, and in particular with brilliant fresh snow conditions like this.

Some people will shy away from skiing in poor weather, but hey, without this weather how else do we receive perfect powder snow, albeit in white -out visibilty as you can see. Guess who came along as well? Yep, my mate Canon.

Before we jumped on our first lift together of the morning, we agreed to avoid bombing around the mountain at full 'ski instructor pumped up super charged turbo macho' speed that can sometimes happen when free skiing with colleagues from the ski school.

Why was that? It's nice just sometimes to go for a casual ski, especially relaxing in the environment that we all love. And yes, a coffee stop was included as well, how very civilised.

We were all keen to have some photos taken of each other, not because of vanity, but because we are keen to improve our websites.

So what photos are needed for a website? Well I'm no expert on this yet but a mixture of action shots of holiday makers, action shots of ourselves, gorgeous scenic shots, happy smiley people on holiday and portrait shots will always be a winner.

Canon and I couldn't help with all of these categories, but we did our best. I was pretending to be a pro-photographer for the morning, with Mike and Lara busy role-playing as supermodels !?! The result, you can decide.

Even Mike took control of Canon briefly to take a rare photo of yours truly. Not sure what Lara was doing here, she said she was trying to sniff out some farm yard smells. Hhhmmmm.

How are you doing with placing the Dopplegangers, yes there are two? Think out of the box, think Ski Sunday and you might get there. First correct answer in 'Comments' will win an unthinkable and invaluable prize !?!

Martin

P.S. I got back from London late last night, the next post will show a strange mixture of friends, will post early next week.

Half Term Hallelujah

2011-02-27T16:30:00.018+01:00

What a brilliant week we've had here in Méribel. The snow conditions have improved massively due to three separate snowfalls. None of them were huge but each one has really helped, especially during one of the busiest weeks of the ski season.

The 'skiers dream' continued because straight after each fresh snowfall, bright sunshine immediately followed. One day we dressed in full combat gear to deal with the falling snow, the next day we were slapping on the sun block and thriving with awesome conditions and visibility.

Over the last few weeks we have had to choose our pistes very carefully depending on aspect, frequency of piste grooming, snow cannon cover and altitude. Plus regular sharpening of the ski edges also was a must. However, we can now choose our favourite pistes without any of these considerations. This photo is the Lagopede red piste, taken on Wednesday just after the second snowfall.

All week I've been skiing with Helen, and occasionally her daughter Olivia. I've skied with Helen many times before, she is an accomplished skier capable of moving around the massive '3 Valleys', claimed to be the biggest ski area in the world. So we had plenty of options when staying ahead of the crowds, finding secret quiet spots and making the most of the fresh snow.

It was a real pleasure to be able to ski in the fluffy stuff again after weeks of being on firm snow. But, we still wanted to improve our performance particularly in the chopped-up snow the other side of the piste markers. Helen's balance works well, so we looked at the quality of pressuring and edging the skis. It can be tempting when off piste to shove the skis around the corner of the turn quickly and slam the edges in the snow which can result in stressful, jerky and unbalanced results. Instead we looked at the advantage of keeping both skis flatter on their base when steering patiently around the curve of the turn, ie avoiding extreme edge angles.

This is quite a big change to make both technically and psychologically in this environment, and it can take a while to trust this method. But, blow me down, Helen immediately felt the benefits and loved this new relaxed, floaty and energy-efficient way of skiing. Fantastic. Although this all sounds very technical and intense, we still had plenty of time to admire together the beauty surrounding us, including unusual wind ripples left in the snow at the top of Mont Vallon, the highest area of the Méribel valley.

It was an excellent week we shared together with awesome skiing, in awesome conditions avoiding the crowds. A special time indeed after weeks with slightly below-par snow conditions.

BREAKING NEWS: It's been snowing again for the fourth time this week, and heavily since 'Sparrows Fart' today, and it hasn't stopped yet, it's now late Sunday afternoon. I can't give you any official depths but it was easily over 30 cms in places by mid-morning. I didn't have any work today so I went skiing with friends and colleagues Mike Harrison and a new British recruit within the ESF school Lara Crisp. Today is my birthday, and what a present to have. So here is a rushed processed photo of Lara from earlier this morning.

Martin

P.S. I fly to London tomorrow afternoon to have a few days break from work, and spend some time with my wife Harriet. I did take loads of photos today of Mike and Lara, but don't worry I'll post them later on in the week.

Cosmo Time

2011-02-20T20:44:00.017+01:00

For many years I have skied with Robbie and his family several times each winter. The last three or four years Robbie has thrown himself into ski race training, up until recently. He has now decided to retire from racing, for different reasons including various injuries and impending GCSE exams !?!

Yesterday we skied over to Val Thorens in search of some good snow, and to enjoy a bit of cruising. Robbie is now revelling in free skiing (and I have to say, doing very well indeed on his slalom race skis) away from the confines of the race pistes. Whilst on the Moutiere chairlift we spotted some bumps on a black piste, got fidgety with anticipation and I was dead chuffed that Robbie was more than keen to give them a go.

We spoke about different techniques that can be used in the bumps and practised together underneath and in full view of a very busy chairlift (no pressure then!) Whilst practising together, I decided to take some photos with Canon. This time I took my skis off to get a lower viewpoint of Robbie, and guess what happened on this steep black - one of my skis decided to slide down the mountain below me, rubbish.

Both Robbie and everyone on the chairlift above us found this highly entertaining, with Robbie taking a sneaky photo on his mobile phone when I side-slipped down on one ski to retrieve its offending partner. Thanks everyone, very funny !?!

Last week I didn't have any of my own work, so I returned back to the ESF ski school and opened myself up to their planning. What a cosmopolitan week I had, due to the start of the main European holidays. I was given a group lesson in the morning, and loads of private lessons that filled the rest of the time.

My group each morning consisted of three from England: an Investment Adviser, Intensive Care nurse and an 81 year old retired Surgeon - and then we have a Parisienne singer, a Dutch Community Care Adviser and two Russians.

We had fun enjoying experiences together, sharing our language skills, learning about each others' cultures and jobs - and building confidence on skis to move away from the comfortable green piste of the Altiport to further afield.

I think one of the most interesting things from last week with this group, was not only how quickly they built confidence with improved technique, but the realisation that the mind can be a used in a very positive manner. For example, ignoring the colour of the piste markers at the side of the piste, and focusing on how to ski each turn one at a time.

It was a great week last week, finishing off with a decent fresh snowfall today. About time I hear you all cry !?! Here is Robbie from today in the fresh stuff before he flew home for some mock GCSE exams. Good luck.

Have a great week everyone.

Martin

P.S. Apologies to Robbie's family for being 35 minutes late for our very nice lunch yesterday. We got carried away by squeezing in an extra bumps run, plus I slightly mis-judged our route back from Val Thorens. Oooops.

Gooney Birds Are Go

2011-02-16T19:33:00.010+01:00

Last week I had a brilliant time with some of my regular clients, the Dublin Ladies. I've taught Mary, Fiona, Jane and Rohiyah the last three winters and each time we've had loads of laughs on the green pistes. Their goals were to stay safe snowploughing, to have fun and feel good about their skiing without becoming Olympic Champions !?!

Staying safe is always a priority of mine, having fun with these ladies is never an issue and very infectious, so much so that I had to keep reminding myself that my job was to improve their skiing without being too strict !?! But, and there's always a but, early in the week I was intrigued by Mary talking about the Gooney Birds.

Each time I want to stop skiing at the side of the piste and then have a discussion, I try to give everyone plenty of warning by putting my hand up and then say the words "Coming into land". And of course the quality of the landing (stopping) can vary depending on all sorts of things. This is where Mary in her strong Irish accent rated her landing on the 'Gooney Bird' scale. So what was a Gooney Bird? Mary explained it was a large bird that lived on islands in the South Pacific.

It sounded more like a character in a Monty Python sketch to me. But one evening I went onto the internet and googled 'gooney birds' and then clicked on a few youtube clips as well. And sure enough, 'gooney birds' do in fact exist. One article describes them as 'The Keystone Cops of the bird kingdom'. Apparently their flying is magnificent, however their landing can be, how shall I put it, rather ungracious and clumsy. It wasn't unusual for them to crash into each other when landing !?!

Towards the end of the week I realised that I hadn't captured any of our fun with Canon. So they all tried posing in front of Canon by pretending to be pouting at each other together. It kind of worked in between the laughter.

But then I noticed that Rohiyah was very relaxed in front of my camera. Eat your heart out Victoria Beckham and Naomi Campbell, your pouting skills have been eclipsed.

At the end of each day, I had several of my French colleagues come up to me and say "Hey Martin, I saw you with some loud laughing ladies today on the Altiport, couldn't understand a word they were saying, looks like you were having loads of fun". Oh yes.

Martin

P.S. The school holidays have just started, am I ready to deal with further enjoyment on skis? Stay posted.

British Ski Instructors in Méribel

2011-02-09T19:52:00.012+01:00

Towards the end of last week I had some spare time on my hands. I took this opportunity to have a play with Canon on the snow, whilst spending time with a couple of my colleagues and their clients over two separate lessons. First off, Mike Harrison (pictured above) and his friend Gil.

Mike has skied with Gil many times before, especially last winter. Both Mike and Gil were delighted that I tagged along. It was almost a technical overkill having two ski instructors, but it became immediately apparent that both Mike and I were 'singing from the same hymn sheet' even though we used slightly different words and phrases which mean the same thing.

We went over to Val Thorens for a change of scenery and to benefit from the snow conditions there. We spoke about various disciplines within skiing, especially steering the skis in different terrain.

Speaking of different terrain, I also had a brilliant morning skiing with another British colleague, David Lindsay and his clients Tish and Elodie.

Hang on a minute, that surname of Lindsay may well ring a bell to Méribel regulars. Let me put you out of your misery here. David's father, Colonel Peter Lindsay, co-founded what is now one of the world's most renowned ski resorts in France, if not the world; a place called Méribel. So with his background and pedigree, I had huge expectations of skiing with David and his clients. Guess what, I wasn't disappointed.

Even though David teaches/guides for only two weeks each winter these days, he hasn't lost his passion for this sport. If anything, it's the complete opposite, he is like a kid in a sweet shop. He loves exploring off-piste areas and finding the best snow. Which at the moment is no small task. However, we all went over to ski the Lac du Lou itinerary starting at the Cime de Caron and had a great time.

I continue to utterly love this career. A job that enables me to be in amazing scenery, amongst people on holiday having fabulous experiences. But also a job where it's a joy and a pleasure to be surrounded by motivated, passionate and friendly colleagues all sharing the same values.

Martin

P.S. Canon and I have recently experienced plenty of Irish silliness. Keep posted !?!

P.P.S. Cheer up David, I know you are only out here in Méribel working for just a mere two weeks each year, but next winter will come round soon.

Misty Eyed Young Love

2011-02-03T17:01:00.016+01:00

Yesterday I took my new 'Young Love' to the shores of Lake Annecy. It was nice for both of us to have a change of scenery, from a ski resort to this stunning lake surrounded by mountains. What is it that makes 'Young Love' so, well you know, so fantastic? We can't help but keep staring into each other's eyes, we giggle together at silly little things, and don't care about normal annoying stuff because 'Young Love' just glosses over them. But there's one problem though, guilt. Guilt about how my previous love is/was..... well, let's be blunt here, history.

I feel guilty because we had many many years of happiness. We had so much in common. We shared many holidays together. We shared many weekends away together with other friends. Don't you hate it when friends become involved in personal issues?

We have had countless happy times together on skis, especially powder days in the snow....

But maybe because I'm approaching middle age, I decided recently that it was time to move to a younger model. Someone who has more intelligence, more of a personality, better vital statistics and younger fresher looks. All those things that makes 'Young Love' so special........

Hang on a minute, I've just realised how this reads and looks, I hope you don't think that my marriage to Harriet has taken a turn for the worst? Not at all, I'm not talking about my lovely wife, I'm talking about Canon, silly. Without going into all of the personal details, Canon and I have decided, amicably, to go our separate ways. On Monday Canon was replaced by, well let's just call the new Young Love 'Canon' again shall we?

So going back to yesterday walking around Lake Annecy. We couldn't keep our hands off each other.

We absorbed the beauty around us, and also noted how the locals love to stay in shape in the great outdoors.

Granted it's going to take a while for us to get used to each other, but hey, that's 'Young Love' for you. I can't wait to introduce Canon to skiing in Méribel, and all of my friends and colleagues. Plus most importantly, I can't wait to introduce Canon to Harriet this weekend, she flies out here on Saturday for a week's holiday to keep an eye on me and also to make sure I'm not going around the bend here at altitude!?! So if you hear me whistling and see me skipping gaily down the street next week, you know why.

Martin

P.S. If you are new to this blog, or haven't got a clue what I'm talking about in this post, then I'm not surprised. Don't worry, I'll go back to my usual style soon.

Air turning blue

2011-01-28T17:42:00.019+01:00

I first met Dave, pictured above, as he was staggering towards me with his family down at Chaudanne on Sunday morning. He bellowed out in his strong Yorkshire accent "You must be Martin, f'*%* I'm chuffing bu&%*##d, that's the problem with being a fat b#%#*%$". Silence followed as his family closely watched to see my reaction to these expletives. Sweat was pouring off his face, as I burst out into laughter. His family looked relieved.

I've had one of the funniest weeks with the Johnson family. On skis, they were a mixture of complete beginners and blue to red run skiers.

Back home in Leeds they are a real mixture of professions: an accountant, two entertainers, a freight company director, a sparky, an ex pro boxer now tiler, a health advisor and others. Each morning I never really knew what physical state they would turn up in.

Thankfully, nothing matched some of the hangovers observed during their first morning!?!

One thing was guaranteed however, the daily Yorkshire expletives flowed freely, only from Dave's lips though I'm pleased to say. Even so I loved being with them, helping them on the pistes and sharing chairlifts and stories with them. I bet you can't guess which football team they worship?

I've also been skiing with Alex this week, a retail banking consultant in London. Alex is a strong skier on piste, especially high speed carving. But he realises that his technique suffers on other terrain, for example skiing on bumps, off piste and down steep couloirs.

We worked out that balance could be fine-tuned, and steering of the skis could become more accurate. Both of these points were tested when one afternoon I thought we should try some proper off piste the other side of Val Thorens. We explored down the 'Combe sans Nom', where even though the temperatures were still low, there was no powder to be found anywhere.

Alex and I were joined by his friend, Nash, who is a snowboarder. Although the snow conditions off piste were far from perfect, they really enjoyed the experience of being miles away from anywhere. Plus they loved the high altitude exercise when getting back to civilisation, even though Nash struggled on his board traversing sometimes!?!

The weather feels like Groundhog Day at the moment, sunny blue skies rule day after day, why bother checking the weather forecast at the moment? I can think of worst places to be right now.

Martin

P.S. I haven't done the fifteen word summary recently, so here goes;

Expleting Yorkshire beginners entertain Méribel, Nash turned green snowboarding off piste with Alex, chuffing Banker !?!

Team Work

2011-01-23T21:41:00.012+01:00

Last week I had a brilliant time in Courchevel working for 'Inspired To Ski', a top UK Ski Instructing team. Every morning my main focus was to look after a small group of 'Novice and Nervous' ladies. Sue, Rosie and Mary had all skied before, but had yet to be convinced about the joy of skiing and being in the mountains. They had each experienced different things that somehow hadn't quite gone to plan, be it snow conditions, feeling relaxed away from outside pressure, or quite frankly, always knowing what one should do on those planks called skis.

Every morning we spoke about each others' goals, listened to each others' requests, and felt relieved that we were all after similar emotions. So we took it one step at a time. We looked at simple, basic, easy to understand effective ski technique. Plus, being aware of the all-important effect and powers of the mind.

Each day we chipped away at every new experience, each slightly steeper piste, the occasional icy piste, the sneaky demons that reared their ugly heads, and celebrated by watching each other on video whilst having a scrummy hot chocolate. After a few days we all wanted to ditch the tag of being a 'Novice and Nervous' skier, so it was decided to call ourselves 'Cautious Improvers' instead. You could argue that we were playing with words, but it was important to move on from the previous description of ability. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Sue, Rosie and Mary, and I really hope we can all meet up again on skis another time.

Each afternoon I took the chance to ski with other groups and instructors, namely Dave Peek (pictured above in some chopped-up snow underneath the Chanrossa chairlift) and his group. I also had the chance to ski with Bryan Hogg (pictured below) and his group, playing around on Mont Vallon.

Although we have struggled to find fresh powder-skiing recently, the 'Inspired To Ski' team did their best to search out skiable off-piste snow. We've had brilliant sunshine day after day for ages now, and very cold temperatures the last few days.

Today I started with a family and their close friends from Leeds, and I have to say I think there's going to be plenty of laughs this week. In the meantime, here's my Level 4 group (that's reds and blacks) messing about at the top of Saulire from just over a week ago with 'Inspired To Ski'.

Martin

Powder Skiing in Méribel

2011-01-16T13:16:00.020+01:00

Last week we had an amazing mixture of weather. A couple of snow storms brought lovely fluffy powder to play in, sandwiched inbetween bright sunshine which gave incredible views all week. I continued skiing with Vladimir and Sasha, see previous post.

As mentioned before about Sasha, he loves skiing off piste. So when the snow conditions, safety and weather allowed, we dived feet first into the fluffy stuff, or in Sasha's case head first sometimes !?!

Sasha's younger brother and mother were also on holiday, being looked after by one of my colleagues and now friend, Francois Bonnod. Working under the banner of the ESF Ski School is always full of wonderful surprises. This is now my seventh winter working for the 'Pull Rouges', and most days I would see Francois down at the school. Our lockers are close to each other, and we would often say hello with a nod and a grunt and that was it.

However, it was really important to work closely together to help our Russian family have a great holiday. Each morning we would talk to each other about the weather forecast, where we thought the best snow conditions would be, and of course there was much discussion about where the best mountain restaurant was for a hearty lunch.

Over lunch we chatted to each other, and I soon realised that actually we are both foreigners in the school, ie not originally from the Méribel valley. He comes from Lyon, but is now based with his family up in Brittany. We have loads in common: a love of skiing, a passion for the mountains - and also a passion for all skiing-related equipment. Even though the Russians flew back to Moscow on Friday, I'm sure Francois and I will be speaking more to each other now, ie more than just the early morning grunt.

So what's on the menu for this week? Francois is making the most of a quiet period in resort to take a week's break from instructing and return to Brittany to be with his family for the next seven days. As for me, I have some very exciting news.

I will be going over to Courchevel every day, to join one of the UK's best and most respected Ski Instructing and Coaching Teams. 'Inspired to Ski' offer some of the best British Ski Instructing services available on the market and are visiting Courchevel. The company has been around for a while now, travelling around the French Alps. I've often watched the team from a distance with much admiration; they include some very impressive Ski Instructors known throughout the industry - many of whom I looked up to when I was myself studying to become an instructor.

So to be invited to join the team next week is an honour, but also a little intimidating. But just like working with Francois last week, I can't wait to have the chance to work together with other professionals. It's an industry where information sharing is vitally important in order to be able to provide a great service.

Have a great week everybody.

Martin

P.S. Meanwhile, Sasha is still trying to put his skis back on again after a tumble in the soft powder.

Let's get going Sasha, your Dad (Vladimir) is waiting for us and giving us 'that look thing' again !?!

'The Look'

2011-01-09T19:52:00.014+01:00

For most of this week I have been teaching Vladimir and his eldest son from Moscow. His voice is very deep, and coupled with a strong Russian accent it sometimes felt as though I were involved in a James Bond or Jason Bourne film. One thing constantly caught my eye, his deep stare - it even haunted me at night-time. My imagination ran wild, like a child reading Cold War stories; I often wondered if he had travelled the globe and knew the underworld in Moscow that you and I don't want to know about. "Pull yourself together Martin, nothing sinister is happening here in Méribel." I declared to myself.

He is such a loving father and husband. Sasha, his eldest son, only wanted to ski hard: off-piste, in the bumps, on black pistes - and only reds as a last resort, a typical pumped-up boy teenager in other words. Vladimir always stayed close by, but usually avoided the more extreme requests from Sasha. On the chairlifts they were often talking to each other, and regularly spoke to me with passion about their country.

Sasha was determined to have a go at the 'big airbag' jump at the top of the Altiport piste. Fortunately Vladimir didn't want to take part; that let me off the hook as well, phew. Even during these moments of parental bonding, I couldn't help noticing things about Vladimir, for example he was always alert.

Whenever we stopped for lunch or the occasional waffle, he seemed to be constantly checking his surroundings. Or was I getting carried away with the Russian paranoia thing?

Today we went to the 'Ferme de la Choumette' in St Martin for lunch. The farm animals are a great attraction at this restaurant, with the milk and other produce obviously being fresh. The whole family loved the experience, including Vladimir. But occasionally, occasionally, that 'look' thing was still going on !?!

We've got some snowfalls due our way in the next couple of days, in fact it's snowing outside as I type, fantastic.

Martin

P.S. It was no good, I couldn't resist it any longer, I just had to ask Vladimir what his job was. "I'm retired, from the military" he replied on the chairlift. "Oh, how exciting" I thought, thinking he may have been some high-flying General. "Were you in the Army?" I bleated out...... He gave me that dark 'look' again and ignored me for a moment. He then leant forward, and spoke to me in his deep voice... "I was in the KGB, and retired in 1995 because I got bored after the end of the Cold War". GULP. He continued softly "I travelled the world for many years, it was a great job" and then listed the huge number of countries he visited. I must have looked shocked because he quickly said, more cheerfully "I'm not carrying a gun here". DOUBLE GULP.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-02T15:37:00.015+01:00

Happy New Year everybody from a very sunny paradise here in Méribel. It's been gorgeous weather all week, with great snow conditions thanks to the heavy snowfall we had over Christmas. I've been very busy teaching families this week, spending time with the Sockwells, the Evans family, the Shepherds and a Darlington. It's a lovely experience to join families on their precious skiing holidays. But what I've noticed over the years is that there is often a difference in standard within the family unit.

Sometimes the parents are better skiers, but other times the children are the better skiers. In the case of the Evans family, Phil and Di the parents realised that Nicola and Liam were rapidly overtaking them in the skiing hierachy. At least Nicola and Liam didn't rub it in too much with looking smug all the time.

But what was great about our time together in the afternoons was that we all worked together. We were able to break down and simplify ski technique and psychology on the piste in a manner that each person could benefit in their own way, whatever their standard.

Plus, because the weather had been fantastic all week, we were able to ski further afield away from Méribel. One afternoon I showed them a secret track that's unmarked on the piste map. It leads into the depths of the Courchevel forest, down to the village of 1550, after starting at the very top of Saulire. It's a pretty route that takes you past a couple of shepherd huts, and one where we found this abandoned piste basher. Of course, Liam couldn't resist diving in, boys and their toys!

I also skied with the Shepherd family, pictured above, minus Nicki. This time it was really important for the family unit to split. At the start of each session I skied with Nicki on the lovely Altiport green piste to build her confidence. Then we celebrated her success together by skiing down the blue piste, Lapin, to Méribel Village. After that I met up with Martin, Francesca and Matthew and continued working with their technique. We all had loads of fun, especially counting how many times their Dad crashed into the kids every time he came into stop. It wasn't his fault each time of course, however I did lose track of all the different excuses he came out with though !?! Next up Stan ......

Just before Stan and I skied away from the meeting point, his parents said to me "Ski him fast, in the bumps, off-piste, you know all the stuff we can't do with him now, we want him coming home feeling tired." Stan is a strapping fourteen year old rufty-tufty type. We blasted all over the place, popped off the side of pistes into gnarly steep pitches, and climaxed by skiing down the Méribel Couloir. This couloir is the impressive-looking beast at the top of Saulire, which can be seen when climbing up in the Burgin Saulire bubble, but accessed by a tricky ridge from the Courchevel cable car.

It's very steep narrow at the top, and gradually fans out towards the bottom. Photographs often make gradients look flat, and it's the same here. However, the metalwork at the top of the picture is the final pylon of the Courchevel Cable Car, this may give you more of an idea of the gradient. The snow was lovely, with great visibility and Stan tackled it with gusto. Did I achieve the goals set out by his parents at the start of the session? I hope so! (I didn't tell Stan at the time, but I was utterly knackered after that one).

So what's on the cards for this week? Quieter slopes, cooler temperatures, sunshine early week and many Russian visitors in time for their Orthodox Christmas. Plus a mid-week visit to Tignes to be part of a 50th birthday celebration.

Martin

P.S. Hang on, who is this? "Liam, Nicola, it's time to stop looking smug about how good you are. Mustn't over do it now, don't forget who pays for your skiing holidays?"

Hand Shoes

2010-12-26T14:07:00.011+01:00

Merry Christmas from Méribel, where we currently have brilliant snow conditions thanks to a weather front that lingered around from before Christmas Eve to Christmas Day night. It dropped plenty of fine, light powder so when the sun eventually shone today on Boxing Day it was a real treat. I hope you've all had a great Christmas, and I suspect for quite a few of you in the UK it's been a white one. This year my name wasn't on the list to take part in the torchlight descent on Christmas Eve, but I decided to watch with Canon instead.

I've had a busy week yet again. With this job I get to meet an amazing range of people. I helped a beginners group earlier in the week, which included a group of medics from Bournemouth. On their first day it was interesting to see how their frustration soon turned to relief and then complete joy within the space of a lesson. On Thursday I was drafted in to help a couple of Courchevel instructors who were looking after a 'large group of Muslims' (as they referred to themselves) from Surrey and London. They were fantastic fun to be with. Over lunch the conversation was enlightening, they spoke with passion about their families and described their religion and culture to me. I really enjoyed my time with them and hope to see some of them again in the future to have more fun.

Our friend Phil has been staying in Méribel this week. I've been able to free ski with him briefly on alpine skis. But mid-week he asked if he could have a lesson with me; he wanted to be introduced to Telemark skiing. It was interesting to see how his body language changed from being a relaxed and accomplished alpine skier, to being a complete beginner on the slopes this time on telemark skis. He continued telemarking after the lesson, and then promptly hired the telemark kit on Christmas Day as well. I think he's hooked.

Harriet and I went over to La Plagne on Christmas Day to visit her sister and family. My nephew Harvey has been having snowboarding lessons all week, and was very keen to show off his new skills to us. So after opening our presents, we booted up, and headed out into the snowy weather.

Without sounding like a proud Uncle, I have to say he looked excellent. For a nine year old he had great skills and was very responsible on snow by being aware what was going on around him. He had been learning the lift and piste names, plus he always looked out for other people nearby. Here's Harvey standing proud with his board with Harriet and her sister Sophy.

And finally this morning, Boxing Day, I had a lesson with some of my Dutch neighbours. I love spending time with Dutch people, they are friendly, their accent makes me smile and occasionally their choice of words are hilarious. It was the first sunny day in ages, with fantastic fresh snow, but very cold. So on the first lift up I was talking to Stefan about Christmas presents. He said he was given a new pair of 'hand shoes', as he admired his fancy-looking gloves. I was confused at first and then burst out with laughter. Apparently the direct translation from Dutch to English for gloves is 'hand shoes', brilliant.

Later in the session whilst we were skiing in the powder, one of them asked why their skis felt 'boobly'? I wasn't familiar with that description with skiing technique, but I think they meant wobbly. We had a great session skiing in the fresh snow, a couple of tumbles in the powder and a lost ski for about ten minutes, finishing off reviewing some videoing over a warming hot chocolate.

I've another busy week coming up, with I'm sure just as many tales to tell next weekend. Have a great festive period.

Martin

P.S. I've just re-read this post and thought I could play the summary game, ie reduce it into 15 words. Merry medics beginners and Muslims shake hand shoes with Telemarker and marvel at Dutch booblies !?!

Etre Timbre

2010-12-18T08:49:00.016+01:00

On Wednesday Méribel hosted the second round of the World Cup Bumps competition. Did any of you see the bumps last winter at the Olympics on television? It is a sport made for TV; one that stops you in your tracks.

Fundamentally the course is a steep piste turned into a long strip of large man-made bumps, which 99.9% of people would avoid like the plague on skis, with two huge kickers where the competitors launch off to perform stunning jumps. It's judged on the speed that the skiers rattle down, the technical performance, and the quality of the two jumps. Because of the flat light we had on the day, the photos don't show how huge these bumps and jumps were.

On TV it looks insane. In reality, I don't have the imagination to be able to put it across to you in words. However this may help....Sometimes during my French language lessons I come across idioms that make me smile. Here's one, 'Etre timbre'. Which means 'to be stamped', or 'to be nuts'. So are these athletes nuts?

This is skiing at the elite level, or beyond as some people would say. Most people can't even relate to such performances. All skiers though, at any level, will come across four issues; Technical, Physical, Tactical and Psychological. Let's quickly talk about beginner skiers. They will quickly build their technical skills, ie learn how to be balanced on the skis using the snowplough position to help them control their speed. Physically, the snowplough can be very tiring. Tactically they will realise that they have to choose a route down the piste that keeps them safe, ie turning to control their speed and avoiding any steep sections. And pyschologically they will experience many emotions, like the beauty of the mountains quickly being replaced by complete fear of a steep nursery slope.

So now let's go back to our rubber-legged friends in the minefield of bumps and jumps pulling several back flips when pinging off the ramps. Technically they are very skillful with fast movements, with a huge range of movement to be able to absorb each impact. Physically, they are super fit with strong core strength, explosive leg power, and at the same time being very supple. Tactically, they vary their speed carefully before launching off the jumps, and they will adjust their line in the bumps. Psychologically, well, I'll let you decide what goes on there !?!

It was an amazing spectacle to be able to experience, and great for Méribel to up its profile even further. Moving on, I've had a busy week teaching Lisa, and back with Rick. Lisa and I had different weather and snow conditions during our sessions. Sometimes flat light, sometimes stunning blue skies. We also made the most of checking out hot chocolate establishments as well. All for research purposes of course, it was nothing to do with it being super cold at minus daft degrees.

Rick and I were skiing together again, this time both on normal Alpine skis and then Telemark skis as shown here in the photos. Since these photos were taken we've had a decent dump of snow. In fact the apartment has just shaken because of some huge avalanche blasting going on outside. Perfect timing for the start of the Festive holiday period.

I don't have any of my own work yet for this week coming up, so fingers crossed the school will be able to find me some willing clients, how exciting. Some friends are also arriving in resort. Plus, Harriet my wife flies out on Wednesday for two and a bit weeks. It's going to be a brilliant week ahead I reckon.

Martin

P.S. Going back to our rubber-legged friends, here is a chap at the top of the course having a psychological moment before the off. Is he pre-visualising his run, or trying to keep his breakfast down? I didn't hang around to find out.

What a Privilege

2010-12-13T21:36:00.012+01:00

During my day off yesterday I was pondering. For years I've been frustrated by my inability to capture the beauty and sense of scale of the high mountains with a camera. I suspect that many people on a skiing holiday have felt this same emotion. How many times have we taken a photo in this incredible location, but sometimes felt flat after reviewing the image.

With the shortest day of the year beckoning for accessible and available sunset colours, and a busy working period soon to take hold, I had to try once more to capture a decent shot. So I loaded up my pack with Canon, tripod and other gear and sprinted towards the last lift up at 16.20 hrs. By now most skiers and snowboarders are on their way back to resort for a well earned apres-ski drink, or bath.

The weather was stunning at the top of Saulire between Méribel and Courchevel. With clear skies and a sea of cloud below in the valleys, the view across to the mighty peak of Mont Blanc was electric. What a privilege in life to experience such beauty. However, there was a slight problem.

At the end of every day, the pisteurs have to sweep everybody off the mountain, from top to bottom. It's their way of knowing that the mountain is safe and clear before night-time. A pisteur skied down towards me whilst I was exposing away. He stopped next to me and Canon on tripod, nodded and said hello whilst looking at the view. I replied and asked for just a few more minutes. He then radioed to several of his colleagues, talking about an instructor still on the mountain, with a camera, and the tranquility. What is it about these pisteurs, they are just so laid-back and relaxed?

I felt under pressure though, because I didn't want to miss the moment with Canon of the alpenglow over Mont Blanc, but in doing this I was delaying the end of a working day for this dude. So I packed up Canon, strapped tripod back onto my pack, and clicked back into my skis. Just as I started to ski off, Monsieur Le Pisteur stopped me and said with another nod and smile "Quel un privilege" ("what a privilege/honour"). He then skied off in the direction of the deep Courchevel valley down under the layer of cloud. How cool was that?

I still haven't captured 'the shot', but what an experience yet again. Hmm, is it time I stopped banging on about photography and the mountains and got back to my day job of ski instructing?

Martin

Being Assertive

2010-12-10T08:41:00.013+01:00

Over the last two days I've been teaching Rick who always loves to come back to Méribel and kickstart his skiing as soon as the resort opens. Rick is a high-level recreational skier, one of those skiers that you would look down on from a chairlift and think "Wow, he most be a local who's been skiing for years". Unless you class Cheltenham as local then no, he just loves continuously working on his skiing.

But on his first day back on skis with me, he went through the same process that I did last week, and the process that you all go through on your first day's skiing. He found himself being a little defensive the first couple of runs. During this time we spoke about being balanced over the skis, and effectively steering the skis around the curve of the turn. This all helped, but I could tell this wasn't the Rick I've known for many years.

The Oxford dictionary defines assertive as 'having or showing a confident and forceful personality'. Being assertive is not being aggressive. Being assertive is the opposite to being diffident. This was it, we had to become more assertive. Rick had to be 'a pilot on the skis and not a passenger'. We had to make sure that we were both standing on the sweet spot of the ski, we both had to create a curve shape with our skis as we turned. Let's have a look of this next photo with Rick in the foreground.

He is balanced and looking dynamic in poor visibilty. But notice how the other three skiers behind him look hesitant. Their body language is visibly tight. So is being assertive a ski technique, or is it a state of mind? It's not only good technique that can help a skier, it's mental strength (ie psychological) as well.

I had a couple of interesting emails this week from a TV production company in Los Angeles, California. They are making a series that examines paranormal phenomena and may use a couple of my photos. "Where are you going with this Martin, you are a Ski Instructor in Méribel in the French Alps?"

Regular readers of this blog may remember a post back in April 2009. Underneath the Cote Brune chairlift in the Méribel valley, we experienced two large patterns in the snow that looked like winter versions of crop circles. Last time I mentioned these patterns I got blasted with emails from enthusiasts wanting more details and dimensions of the patterns, so please don't try again, my memory is awful.

I'm busy with work again over the coming days: teaching Neil later this morning in Courchevel, who has one week's skiing behind him; then I'm back with Karin who also loves getting in a cheeky weekend with friends before Christmas. Lisa will arrive soon. Plus Rick has more sessions booked. Also Méribel is about to be invaded by rubber-legged skiers from around the globe. The resort is hosting a World Cup Bump skiing competition on the bottom of the steep Olympic race piste. Do you think that bump skiers need to be assertive? Oh yes.

Martin

Gorgeous views from yesterday on the top of Saulire.

What were we supposed to do?

2010-12-04T18:38:00.012+01:00

On the first lift up this morning, the opening day, I had a slight emotional issue. Now the Ski Instructing text book clearly states that the first run on the first day should be taken easy. In other words, allow yourself time to ease back into skiing, find your balance, build your confidence without any pressure - nothing silly, in other words. But sitting next to me on the chairlift was Ed (in blue), who is also a Ski Instructor. We were looking down on amazing scenes: deep, fresh, light powder, and then back at each other smiling. He knew what I was thinking, I knew what he was thinking.

Also on the chairlift with us was Caroline (of http://www.merinet.com/ fame), and three other friends. What were we supposed to do? "Stuff the text book" Ed and I said to each other laughing. We spoke to the others and everyone made up their own mind.

Caroline thrives in this deep stuff, and Simon (wearing the black jacket) gradually built his confidence. The lifts and pistes were lovely and quiet, which made the day even better.

I've got a busy week coming up, I'll be heading over to Tignes a couple more times this week. This may lead to a very exciting development in January, more news on that hopefully later. Plus I'll be starting my own teaching work, during the week. Also, my French lessons will start again. This time I'd better take more notice of text books.

What a brilliant way to start my thirteenth winter season here in Méribel.

Martin

P.S. Nice skiing Simon, I hope you don't have any friends who would feel envious of your day !?!

A Big Little Victory

2010-12-01T10:25:00.013+01:00

Apparently moving house is up there in the list of the most stressful things in life. I get to move house twice a year, and it can certainly throw up its challenges. However I don't expect to receive any sympathy from anyone, so I won't even begin to start moaning about what's happened the last week or so. So any 'little victory' is even more appreciated during these times. Monday I gratefully received such a victory.

The weather was stunning, rare amongst all the recent snowfalls. I decided that I wanted to make the most of the gorgeous lighting and aim for a sunset session with Canon, high up in the mountains. Problem is, the lifts don't open until Saturday. Not to be put off, I attached 'skins' to the bottom of my touring skis, and loaded up my back pack.

Sherpas are thin on the ground at the moment in Méribel, so everything had to be shoved in. Numerous bits of camera kit, food and water, extra warm clothing, a head torch and my tripod. The bag weighed a ton, but I thought it would be good for fitness.

My target was the ridge bordering Méribel and St.Martin, where the Tougnete 2 and the St.Martin 2 chairlifts meet, also the location of the Panoramic webcam seen on http://www.merinet.com/ . It took two hours of frantic puffing to get up there, but boy oh boy did Mother Nature put on an amazing slide show of colours for me.

Photography and skiing aside, to stand on a peak at dusk looking at the world stretched out beneath you is one of those experiences to connect you to the very roots of your soul. Getting to where you need to be for that epic vista can be somewhat tricky without the lifts running, but what a reward. I love the juxtaposition here of a snow cannon looking down on one of Europe's highest peaks, Mont Blanc.

After the slide show of colours, it was time to re-fuel and then disappear pretty sharpish because it was very cold, with daylight now all but gone. So on with the head torch and off I skied into the darkness for my first ski of the season. Not the prettiest of skiing, but who cared.

Some sights stay with you forever - this is one.

Martin

P.S. Yesterday I met up with ski instructor friends Tim and Bryan over in Tignes and Val d'Isere. The snow conditions were brilliant all the way down to resort. We all had a great day. The lifts here in Méribel open on Saturday: it's currently snowing again, so Saturday should be 'off the charts' !?! Fancy coming out for a cheeky weekend before Christmas, you know you want to?

Base building

2010-11-27T10:34:00.011+01:00

It was less than a week ago that I was still in the UK dreaming about the mountains, hoping for cold temperatures, praying for regular snowfalls, visualising snow cannons blasting away and imagining piste bashers thundering by.

Guess what, that's all been happening every day since I arrived. It's a perfect start to this coming ski season - and it's still not December.

That all important 'base' is being formed both naturally and artificially. So whilst many people are shivering in the UK at the moment, I've personally got a massive smile on my face because of these conditions. Some people could say this is selfish, maybe, but the positives are worth it for us skiers in winter.

Even though the lifts don't open here for another week, I'm hoping to put on my skis soon. I'll either skin up the mountain somewhere, as long as the clouds disappear. Or I'll head over to Tignes and Val d'Isere for a cheeky first slide. Time to dust off the ski kit methinks, and make sure my Icebreaker thermals are to hand, it's freezing out here.

Martin

How very French.

2010-11-23T12:16:00.009+01:00

My last evening in the UK was spent in Sussex. Harriet and I drove down to catch up with friends who I used to work with decades ago in the IT industry. Both Rog and Dickie were on fine form during our curry, how very English! Then the next morning I was off over (or rather, under) the channel to France, before stopping overnight in Gevrey Chambertin in Bourgogne (Burgundy).

The next morning I decided to have a walk about with Canon to ease myself back into France. Gevrey Chambertin is the home to some very very fine wine. Last winter season I was fortunate enough to taste some amazing examples during a 'wine tasting' session with The Joneses. You really do get the feeling of excellence in this area. The architecture, road signs, vineyards and the politeness of the people all enhance the experience.

Whilst I was trying to find a shop to buy some credit for my French mobile, I bumped into this girl pushing a wheelbarrow. Normally you would expect rubble, or perhaps manure being loaded into a wheelbarrow. Not this one, which was full to the brim with bottles of red wine. It was the village of Gevrey Chambertin darling after all !?!

I continued my search for shops, but they were all closed. Even the local post office was shut, how come? It was Monday, and shops are closed on a Monday in some villages, of course, how silly of me. My topping up of mobile credit would have to wait for another day. How very French.

I arrived in Méribel early yesterday evening. So how does it look? Difficult to tell, because it's been very cloudy, chilly and lightly snowing since I've got here. The forecast: temperatures to continue to drop with a few snow showers coming our way this week. It's looking to be a great start to the winter.

I'll keep you posted as always.

Martin

What do we want?

2010-11-18T21:44:00.012+01:00

We want mountains....

We want winter storms....

With heavy snow falls....

We want ski lifts....

We want deep powder....

We want groomed pistes to have fun....

We want silliness....

And we want mountain tranquility....

So when do we want it?

NOW.

Martin

P.S. It's not too much to ask is it? I handed back my BSM driving school car today. Last minute packing now because I'm off back to Méribel in a couple of days time. Come on Canon, let's get going.

P.P.S. Have a quick look at the webcams, http://www.merinet.com/webcam/meribel/34 . It looks so much better than this time last year already, FANTASTIC.

Last winter's favourites

2010-11-04T21:04:00.021+01:00

In no particular order or priority, here are my favourite photos from the winter of 2009/2010....

It's been fun selecting them from my archives.

Happy days, having fun with like minded people.

In paradise.

In anticipation for this next winter.

Even Canon has started fidgeting in his camera bag sensing the sub-zero temperatures.

Enjoy.

You have booked your ski holiday for this winter haven't you?

And your fitness program has started already hasn't it?

Martin

Instructing and Coaching

2010-10-18T21:37:00.016+02:00

Over the summer I attended an interesting training course provided by my summer employer, BSM. Continuous professional development keeps my enthusiasm and motivation going in what is a sometimes challenging, but also a very often rewarding, job. The training course was aimed at how to coach experienced individuals to further improve their standards for 'Fleet Driving'. The discussion around the table soon concentrated on the difference between 'Instructing' and 'Coaching'.

It was decided amongst the attendees that 'instruction' is telling somebody what they have to do in an exact fashion in order to achieve a task. For example, there is a procedure that a driving instructor must use to 'teach' a learner driver how to move off from the side of the road safely. Without boring you with the details, it is a rigid, set in stone, bullet-proof method to ensure that they won't do anything dangerous to you or I on the busy public road. If they don't follow this 'taught' sequence, that is examined by the DSA on their driving test, they will not only fail the test, but be a danger on the road.

So what does coaching mean? Coaching helps people learn how to decide on 'when to use', 'how much to use', and what affect 'taught methods' can have on the road. Let's think of an example: an experienced driver running late for work, or dropping their kids off at school. This driver knows how to control the clutch, they know what the traffic light sequence is locally; they know what the speed limit is, and they also know where the local speed cameras are.......The experienced driver doesn't need an instructor to tell them 'how' to drive themselves to work, or drop their kids off at school. So who cares if they drive slightly above the speed limit, drive through amber traffic lights, forget the increased braking distance on wet roads, are lazy with the lack of observation at zebra crossings, and suddenly give in to the urge to get ahead of the annoying boy racer?

Blimey, where did that lot come from? But let's be honest here, haven't we all been guilty of one or more of the above? But as a trained coach for 'Fleet Drivers', it is my job to help people deal and react with such scenarios on the road, and as a coach select and match feedback styles and suggestions to their personality. This in turn will help them make their own choice.

"But Martin, this is a skiing blog, not a driving instructing blog!" I hear you cry. Absolutely, so before your heads explode from my ranting, let's look at instructing and coaching with skiing.

Complete beginners need to be 'taught' several essential skills; balance, grip and steering. They need to be 'taught' the theory and be given the opportunity to try to practise these skills.

These skills, or tools, can then be developed further in order to deal with different snow conditions and gradients. At some point, the skier realises that these skills will work in varying amounts in any snow conditions and gradients.
The skills develop to the point where the skier will then be in a position to be able to choose how to use these skills effectively. For example, Lisa (below) is nicely balanced, with grip, and can choose exactly where she wants to take her line down the piste by steering her feet and skis. So has Lisa been instructed on this piste, or been coached?

Mark, below, is very experienced with skiing on piste but wanted to improve off piste. He was coached on how to use his balance skills, his pressure skills and his steering skills to help him enjoy and master powder skiing in poor visibilty last winter.

There is a subtle but important difference between 'Instructing' and 'Coaching'. The main point about this post though, is that as individuals we can all continue to improve and develop our skills.

Martin

P.S. The other evening I was asked if I had experienced any accidents yet this year in the driving school car. "Fortunately not." I replied. The next day however, I met a colleague who unfortunately had; he shall remain nameless. Thankfully both Dave (oops, sorry) and his learner survived unharmed. Thanks Marie for this i-Phone photo!?!

The next post will include some of my favourite photos from last winter.

Unseen from last winter

2010-10-05T23:02:00.016+02:00

Sometimes it's tough leaving out photos when posting on this blog. The above shot is of Rob enjoying the April powder last Easter. It's tricky at the time not to share with you all of the fun that goes on each week. However it could come across as being mean to keep blitzing you with photos. After all, I don't want people to feel envious. This next photo is also typical of a daily occurance, a chairlift ride I get to share with people each day. They attempted to make it look like an Alton Towers fun ride.

This was taken during the 'Coeur Blanc Challenge' charity event, see the posting during March last winter. Later that month a random sighting of my friend Isabelle and her hound on the Altiport draglift. This was taken whilst waiting to meet up with Chris before his lesson in March.

I also happily reported last January about Phil and his friends. They were enjoying their first skiing holiday - I didn't want to bang on about it too much at the time, but what a brilliant week.

And then Harriet flew out for a long weekend, and we got to go off piste skiing between rustic hamlets. Again I didn't want to rub salt into the wounds of those who weren't on holiday at the time.......

But hang on, during February half term, Olivia and family were also enjoying the soft fresh snow in different ways. Not that we wanted to shout from the chalet rooftops too loud.

However there are often many many tranquil moments. Cruising up on draglifts on sunny days, with your body relaxing and mind drifting in wonderful dreams before yet another glide down on skis. Not that I'm saying it's any different to most people's commutes into work !?!

Suddenly, just as you think the winter was over in April, another snowstorm blows in which helps Helen continue her passion for skiing, after numerous injuries and setbacks. What a reward.

But finally, just as the ski lifts close, my mate and ski instructor colleague Ian and I manage a final ski together down the magnificent Gebroulaz glacier.

Oh dear, I've just read this post. A little self-indulgent I think. In fact, very very self-indulgent. But how else was I supposed to continue to share my passion for skiing and the mountains with you during autumn and get away with it? Keep that fitness training going everyone, because you are planning on skiing this winter, aren't you?

Martin

Beardies and Dobbins

2010-09-20T17:17:00.018+02:00

Harriet and I have recently returned from our summer holiday in Cornwall, both of us determined to maintain that chilled and relaxed holiday feeling.

I managed to make several sunrise trips with Canon and tripod, and also as many sunset outings as weather allowed. As always these times are unsociable, but as mentioned before on a previous post, it's when the light is at its best. Various locations were used including Lands End, St Michael's Mount near Penzance, Coverack and Porth Nanven to name just a few.

When I returned after each shoot, Harriet would ask me if I met other Beardies!?! She seems to think that all keen landscape photographers have neatly trimmed beards, wear sandles, eat Bran Flakes with dried prunes and have a compass dangling around their neck on a piece of red string. How rude.

But yes, I did meet other Beardies, lurking behind their tripods tinkering with their cameras and filters. And yes, some of them did in fact proudly sport beards.

Harriet was able to launch into her favourite hobby (behind sking of course), horse riding. We were able to find different stables dotted around Cornwall offering hacks. Harriet rode on two hacks that were both close to St.Ives. But they didn't offer exactly what Harriet was after, riding on a beach.

Finally on the last day of the holiday, we found a stables close to a beach on the Lizard Peninsular. This enabled her to fulfill a dream she had had since childhood: cantering on a beach - she described it as horse riding's equivalent to powder skiing in deep fresh light powder on a sunny day. Wow, that's quite a statement to make.

So, have Harriet and I been able to hold onto that relaxed holiday feeling after being back at work for a week?

Hanging by a thread.

Martin

P.S. Is it me or are the evenings drawing in earlier by the day? Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Thought so, in that case here's a photo (slightly out of focus, thanks Beardie) of me from last winter to help you along the way.

I'll post more unpublished photos from last winter in a couple of weeks' time.

Summer holidays, past and present.

2010-09-01T19:22:00.010+02:00

A few weeks ago I received an email that put a spring in my step, no bad thing when working hard in the driving school car. A cycle clothing company called Polaris asked if it was possible to use one of my mountain bike photos that they had come across. I was, of course, delighted and flattered that they wanted to use it as part of a poster campaign over the summer. The above shot is the one that they used. It is of a friend of mine, Pete, taken when we were cycling back from Courchevel over the Col de la Loze.

Because of this request I decided to delve deeper into my hard drive and recall some epic cycling trips in Méribel. Instantly it made me miss the mighty Alps, because sadly I haven't had the chance to visit during the summer for the last two years. However, on a positive note, it has made me realise how far my photography has developed since these shots were taken.

Harriet and I are off on our summer holiday this weekend to Cornwall, can't wait. Just the two of us, oh and Canon with tripod of course. Fingers crossed they haven't run out of Cornish Pasties and Fish and Chips down there since the school holidays finished.

Hopefully these extra calories will vaporise due to my heavy training schedule at the moment. I'm aiming for another half marathon at the end of this month. I hope you have all had a brilliant summer and enjoyed your well-deserved holidays.

Martin

Wet Slopes and Dry Slopes

2010-08-07T18:22:00.018+02:00

Harriet and I recently spent a rare weekend in London. Harriet met up with friends in restaurants whilst I took Canon to see the sights. We were lucky enough to be based in 'The Barbican' in the City, with easy access to famous London landmarks like St.Paul's Cathedral, the Millenium Bridge and a little further afield to the London Eye.

Whilst Harriet was catching up on all the latest gossip within the Automotive Engineering Industry, I was experimenting with long exposure photos. I attempted to blur the cloud with movement and soften the mucky River Thames by turning it into milk.

Although these shots are far from being original in the field of photography, Canon and I had loads of fun trying it for ourselves. However, my goodness, how many tourists visit London during the summer? I was totally surprised. Thankfully no-one tripped over Canon and tripod.

It was a completely different type of weekend to what we normally have, ie being in the great outdoors, but great fun all the same.

Last weekend was back to our normal treat of being out and about, where we visited the Welsh Mountains. Did our luck hold out with the weather yet again?

Nope, not this time, we had three full days of persistent precipitation. However, part of the reason for being in Snowdonia was to catch up with our friends Tim, Lisa and their daughter Eva; ski instructors during the winters in Morzine and Les Gets. Harriet and I were keen to walk up Snowdon, the highest of the Welsh mountains. We had to turn back on our first day because of 50+ mph winds, not to mention the rain.

But at our next attempt on day two we succeeded. It was still rainy and windy; we couldn't see a thing on the top half of the mountain. This is me (on the right) reaching the peak in the cloud looking more like a puppet, instead of a finely tuned athlete !?! Oh well, at least we walked up, ignoring the more traditional method of jumping on the mountain train.

On our third day, we all went for a more gentle walk around Llynnau Mymbyr - that's a lake to you and me - at the foot of Snowdon (the summit of the latter still covered in cloud and being ravaged by wind).

We shared loads of experiences from last winter, with plenty of smiles and laughter. Then suddenly we walked past the Plas Y Brenin National Mountain Centre and saw these lads having a skiing lesson on the dry slope. They were having heaps of fun, and our smiles grew as we watched and then continued along our way. What a great weekend in the (wet) mountains, being with friends talking about skiing.

I hope you are all having fantastic summer holidays wherever you are.

Martin

P.S. Would I go back to Wales again to the mountains?

Oh yes, but I would keep my fingers crossed hoping the weather will be kinder.

Happy Hour !?!

2010-06-25T14:22:00.016+02:00

How amazing has the weather been so far this summer? I hope you have all been able to make the most of it so far, and maybe even had time for hobbies. I'm straight back into being a Driving Instructor with BSM around the Leamington Spa and Warwick areas in Warwickshire. But there's still enough time for my hobbies of running, mountain biking and photography.

Since coming back from the French Alps in Spring I've thrown myself into improving my landscape photography. What with subject matter and strong composition both important factors in creating a punchy image, interesting light will make or break a shot. You can be at the most amazing viewpoint in the world, but with strong bleached midday sunlight, hazy conditions or flat grey clouds, an image can lack impact. Let me give an example with this next shot.

Harriet and I recently had a walking weekend in the Yorkshire Dales based at Ingleton. This is Harriet on the limestone pavement on Whernside, one of the three highest peaks in Yorkshire, looking across to Ingleborough. It's a very special, picturesque area of the UK. But to me the photo just hasn't worked, even though it's a nice record and memory to have. But later on that evening I hoiked up Ingleborough and waited for sunset.

The bleached mid afternoon sunlight has gone, making way for subtle colours. Professional photographers have a description for this period, ie before and after sunrise and sunset, it's called 'Happy Hour'. I can see exactly what the pros mean, the light goes through some magical transformations during this time. Standing at the side of Canon sat on tripod watching the light evolve is very special. The next weekend Harriet and I went to Wivenhoe in Essex, to visit her parents, and also the place where we married. This next photo shows you aren't guaranteed decent sunsets every night. Just thirty minutes before sunset time a whole bank of cloud rolled across the colours. Oh well, you win some, and you lose some.

So far I've only mentioned sunsets and not sunrises. Why? Mid summer now means sunrise is stupidly early. But if I'm pretending to be a pro photographer (as all hobbyists do!) then surely I should give it a go. Hhhmm. We revisited Snowdonia in North Wales recently, back to the Idwal area, one of our regular favourites. Was I brave enough to experience a sunrise? My alarm was set for 03.50 am on the Saturday morning for pre sunrise. Did I crawl out of bed on cue past a snoring Harriet? Oh yes, check this out.

It's a gorgeous place, but boy oh boy, at 04.20 am the shot had to be worth it to warrant getting up that early on a Saturday. I stayed on location drinking coffee for a while, watching the colours in the sky and light transform, sat next to Canon feeling quite content. An hour later I took the following shot just before the light became too harsh, with the Tryfan and the Glwdr Fach peaks in the background.

Anyway, enough of me banging on about my hobby. I hope you are all having fun smothering yourselves with hobbies, whatever they are. Enjoy the long summer evenings, and early light mornings !?!

Martin

The glorious Gebroulaz glacier

2010-04-27T19:51:00.024+02:00

Last week, myself, Ian and his son (pictured jumping above) embarked on our annual end of winter celebration together, ski touring on the amazing Gebroulaz glacier. This glacier is located at the head of the Méribel valley bordering with Val Thorens, Europe's highest ski resort. That's the thing, it's high altitude.... very high.

So when we attached our skins onto the bottom of our skis to enable us to start walking uphill, we all knew that our lungs would soon start heaving, along with our hearts pumping away like crazy up at 11,500 feet above sea level. I don't remember my organs working this hard on the Altiport beginners' green piste during the winter !?!

However, what a reward. The views of the peaks skimming across the top of the Alps, and more importantly the local crevasses, just blow me away. No photo could ever do justice and replicate the experience.

The last pitch up is the steepest, which means that the first section skiing down the glacier the other side is also very steep. Unfortunately again photos often 'flatten' gradients, trust me it's really steep.

We had timed our ski tour to perfection, there had been precipitation the previous day which gifted us with fresh cold powder at the top. But also the sun was beating down on us all day long.

The glacier is vast, but constantly moving. It changes character every year, in other words, we couldn't rely on memory of where the dangerous deep crevasses were. Ian and I noticed several interesting changes since our previous tour last spring. However, we were still able to select pitch after pitch of clean virgin snow.

Canon came along for the tour as well, and was kept busy capturing these images. Ian kindly took Canon off my hands and recorded me skiing down leaving some 'old school' squiggles behind.

Eventually we all made it safely off the glacier and aimed for our picnic spot at the Refuge du Saut. We took our time with our picnic, enjoying the weather, watching a distant group of chamois, discussing how to teach skiing technique when off-piste. When suddenly, BOOOOOOM, all hell let loose noisely above us. At first I thought it was a rock fall, when in fact it was an avalanche high above us coming our way.

I felt a 'little' uneasy, but Ian soon snapped me out of it by shouting 'Take a photo, quick'. Sure I thought, where's Canon, but it's getting a bit close. In fact it settled about thirty metres away from us. What caused it? A bumbling Marmot on the cliff above us disturbing the snow, or the high temperatures causing a natural slide, or even the 'Good Lord Above' kindly reminding us where we were? Who knows? But what an awesome day yet again in the mountains.

In about a week's time I shall be leaving Méribel to return back to England, this time Leamington Spa. I've already spoken to my boss at the driving school BSM, about re-joining as an instructor. She seemed delighted, and can't wait to hear all about my winter. Blimey where do I start? But in two weeks' time I shall be back on the dual controls again, patiently guiding learner drivers around the Midlands. Please make extra allowances on the road when you see an 'L' plate sign on a driving school car. You never know, I maybe inside !?!?!

Martin

P.S. Meanwhile, just below the snow line down in the valley.... Following up on my previous post titled Deer stalk. I've still occasionally been trying to get that elusive 'stunning' photograph of mountain deer. But time to own up and give the latest scores on the doors; Martin/Canon 'nil', Deer '53,553'. Ooops, those mountain deer are good. In fact I swear I hear them laugh louder each time at me as I'm spotted and then dart away. Oh well. Where's that Highway Code?

UPDATE: Wednesday April 28th

P.P.S. Have totally given up on deer stalking now, they are stunning creatures, but such a tease. However, would you like to hear about the latest photographic score with our furry friends called 'Marmot' ? It's Martin/Canon '5', Marmot 'nil'. Here goes with the photos from todays short walk up at Lac de Tueda;

And finally, my favourite of these little fluffy creatures from this morning, enjoy......

Operation Stalk

2010-04-21T19:19:00.022+02:00

Over the last few days I've muddied my walking boots every day. Why? Because I'm on holiday and I love to continue enjoying the fabulous French Alps and all that it has to offer.

The lower half of the Méribel valley has snow melting as fast as hair disappears from my forehead, it's that fast!?! This time of year Canon and I pretend to be wildlife photographers, with a mixture of success. Late evening and early morning excursions can sometimes result in mountain deer sightings. It often involves me crawling around on my belly 'commando' style, trying to avoid squashing noisy twigs, leaves and anything else that gives away my stealth like position.

Deer have amazing power of sight and smell. I'm no real match for these finely evolved creatures. If there's more than one of them together then I'm normally stuffed, no chance, forget it. I will have about two seconds to take a photo before they shoot off and away at lightning speed.

This morning I had the bright idea of getting up at 6am to launch into my next 'Operation Deer Stalk', after last Sundays success which produced these deer photos. Through sleepy eyes I could see that the sky was clear of clouds after crawling out of bed, game on. The coffee pot was switched on hastily, and then muesli poured all over the floor instead of in my cereal bowl. Not a great start. Anyway, how did it go during todays Operation? Well, there were plenty of fresh deer tracks, and heaps of fresh poo everywhere. But, nothing, not a jot, didn't see a thing. Hemsley/Canon 'nil', Deer 'one' yet again. Today just wasn't the day to build on my current portfolio. However, a beautiful morning was had drinking strong coffee from my flask looking across at the distant peaks, without deer for company. But what a great way to start the day.

But I did have some luck the other day though, in spotting a fox from a distance. We were both next to a very noisy stream, swollen from snow melt, which meant that he couldn't hear my approach.

Come on Foxy, look this way please towards Canon.

No not that way, this way, damn!?! And off he sped as I was cursing his lack of cooperation. Hemsley/Canon 'nil', Foxy 'one'. Oh well, another great experience was enjoyed yet again.

I recently went ski touring up and down the amazing Gebroulaz glacier. I'm still buzzing from the epic trip. An awesome sunny day, with recent fresh snow, solitude, incredible views, where Canon and I had much more luck with taking better photos. I'll post about it in a few days time. Aren't holidays the best, especially in Méribel?

Martin

P.S. Is it me, or do mountains often smile at us?

Jobless

2010-04-16T14:40:00.011+02:00

At this late stage of the winter, I experience many emotions. My lessons have finished for another year, which means I'm now jobless again !?! Suddenly from being on a high when teaching, to having no work is a shock to the system. As soon as the body realises it doesn't have to crawl out of bed first thing in the morning and rush down to work, it decides to shut down on you.

I love my job with a passion. Many times before on this blog I've stated that it is the best job in the world for me. But holy cow, it's exhausting at times. That's why over the last few days I've imitated being a marmot in winter, ie in hibernation. However at the end of last week I finished skiing with the Joneses and extended family, it was brilliant fun. Here are further photos from last week.

Each day the pistes became more and more quiet. Lift queues completely disappeared. The mountain restaurants were empty and the days sunny and long.

Many of my colleagues left the resort last weekend to go back to their homes around France. Some locals asked if I was going to have a holiday before going back to the UK. I replied "Yep, I'm having my holiday here in Méribel". They looked delighted for me and nodded with respect.

Surely there's no better place than Méribel to be on holiday? There is still plenty of skiing to be had, especially ski touring up at high altitude. I'll be dusting off Canon again before heading up and down the mountains to see if we can find any wildlife and jaw dropping views.

Fine French wine and cheese will be bought and consumed (oh and fruit and veg of course if Harriet is reading this). In between all of this, I'll be planning weekends away with Harriet to various places that we both love around the UK. For example the Lake District, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cornwall and Snowdonia.

I hope you have all enjoyed following the blog again this winter, I've certainly enjoyed sharing my passion for skiing and the mountains. Do keep reading in the next couple of weeks though before I head back. Right, where's my glass of wine, I am holiday now after all.

Martin

Powder, picnics and couloirs

2010-04-07T18:55:00.014+02:00

Since the weekend I've been skiing with the Joneses and their extended family from Scotland and Seattle, USA. Yet again we received further amazing fresh powder, but this time with bright sunshine as soon as the lifts opened. Our first run together was off-piste in deep powder. This is Andrew literally making his tenth turn since arriving from Seattle.

Baptism of fire, but hey, it had to be done. Everybody skied really well in the deep stuff, especially when you consider how rare it is to be able to practise in these conditions. We all had massive smiles on our faces for hours afterwards; one of those days that we will never forget. Here is Chris, a dedicated Méribel skier, who couldn't believe his luck with the April powder.

Not only have we had deep, fresh, light, untracked powder this week; but the sun has been out as well. What excellent conditions for picnics on the piste!

There's something about 'roughing it' whilst having lunch enjoying the views and weather, away from other people.

As we all know, children don't like to sit still for long. Here are Iona and Olivia showing us how to perform forward somersaults.

Very entertaining but I'm not sure any of the adults were inspired to try these antics ourselves.

Anyway, back to the skiing. Rob was very keen to learn what else Méribel had to offer in terms of challenging expert skiing. The Joneses had kindly invited Harriet along as well, so Rob, Harriet and I went off to ski several couloirs. A couloir is beyond a black piste in difficulty. Basically, they are off-piste, very steep and often very narrow. Here is Harriet negotiating the nasty knife-egded ridge on the way to a couloir, between Courchevel and Méribel at the top of Saulire. No room for errors here or else............

We skied down several couloirs including the Grand Couloir, the Méribel Couloir, the Gasex Couloir and various other steep gullies. What a week we are all having! April often gives us these treats before strong spring temperatures start affecting our beloved pistes.

Martin

P.S. It's no good, I just can't resist showing other photos from this week. Sorry if it's been overkill on the powder skiing images recently, but it's what us skiers dream about isn't it? Here are Harriet and Rob from Monday. Enjoy.

Boys will be boys

2010-04-02T21:20:00.016+02:00

This week Arthur and I have been skiing together with various members of his family and friends. The other day I skied with Arthur and his Uncle Jonathan. It was lovely being part of their bonding experience on skis. When being on chairlifts together, they often pretended that they were on a wonky, scary, tilting roller-coaster, as pictured above.

But little did I realise that they would constantly be challenging each other to be the best skier, and also to be the silliest at the same time. I really regret showing Arthur how to flick snow accurately from one's skis towards someone else !?!

Thankfully the skiing conditions this week have been sublime, cold temperatures and fresh snow most days. Arthur's father Rory enjoyed demonstrating how to ski in the April powder.

"What do you think to that, Uncle Jonathan...... Jonathan, stop bullying Arthur and pick on someone your own size please."

At least Auntie Sparkie is able to ignore the silly boys, and enjoy her own powder skiing.

"Arthur, it's your turn again to ski off and show your family how good a powder skier you are, Arthur, Arthur...."

"Arthur, for goodness sake please stop flicking snow and show some respect to your elders. Actually, fair do's, it's only Uncle Jonathan. Anyway, time to go powder skiing again."

What a wonderful week in these wintery skiing conditions. The weather forecast is indicating that the low temperatures are due to continue with even further snowfalls tomorrow evening. Brilliant. What a great winter, sorry, Easter period.

Martin

P.S. Did Arthur and Jonathan ever stop flicking snow at each other? Hmm, eventually.

That's better

2010-03-28T18:40:00.009+02:00

It's amazing how life improves after just a few days. Since my last post we have received some much deserved fresh snowfalls. Perfect timing for the start of the Easter holiday period.

Today I received several texts from friends who were skiing in the fresh stuff up the mountain, one of them went like this; "I think I've died and gone to heaven...". "Enjoy, Freddie!" I replied. We've all been waiting for a while now for an improvement in skiing conditions; this has definitely done the trick.

Over the last couple of days I've taken some time off teaching to recover in time for the final holiday period. Although we missed out on the powder skiing today, Harriet and I still enjoyed the pretty conditions. We went for a Sunday stroll together up at Lac de Tueda within the Vanoise National Park, pictured above. We walked along marvelling at the scenery, chatted for ages, even one of us had a doze on the snow whilst the other took photos with Canon!

Harriet brought her friend along as well, called Fujifilm compact! We all - that's me, Canon, Harriet and Fuji - had a lovely relaxing Sunday afternoon.

After seeing all this fresh snow, I can't wait to be on my skis once more. I'm meeting up with Arthur and family again tomorrow morning, can't wait. It's even due to snow a few more times this week. Isn't life great?

Martin