So you’re off to the slopes? Well, regardless if you’re a beginner or an old hand, there are ways and means of making your piste experience more comfortable and enjoyable. So, for the winter sportsfolk among you, here are some top tips for an ultimate snow holiday:
Be the last off the mountain
Take the last lift up to the top, wait until everybody else has skied down, and take one final leisurely run home on an empty slope in the sunset.
Take a lesson
The better you are at skiing or boarding, the more you enjoy it. You can benefit from a lesson at whatever your current level, and it need not cost the earth: the ESF (Ecole du Ski Français) offer two hour lessons from 97 Euros, and you can share the cost with a friend.
Try something new
Make your holiday memorable with a hot air balloon ride, tandem paraglider flight, husky sledding, ski-do riding, or snow shoeing.
Handle with care
Don't carry your skis horizontally on your shoulders – else when you turn round, you'll decapitate someone. Even James Bond got this wrong in 'The World Is Not Enough'. Canny tip: carry skis tips down, bindings behind your shoulder, tails high in the air.
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Don't schuss
...with your head tucked down, bum and poles sticking skywards - this is only permissible if under the age of seven. Good skiers bend slightly from the hips, hands behind back, poles behind them.
Don't put your hands-free ski pass in the right hand pocket of your jacket zip
The automated scanning equipment is always on the left hand side of the gates. You'll be left bobbing and gyrating wildly while a queue builds up behind you. Canny tip: keep it in your left hand pocket and the gates will smoothly open at your approach.
Don't walk around with boots undone and jacket open and flapping
Zip up, clip up!
Don't pollute the mountain
Please make sure you don't throw your rubbish off the lifts (including cigarette butts). Put stuff in your pocket and take it home.
The pistes may be less busy over lunch time
See if skiing between midday and 2pm and then lunching late when the restaurants are quieter works for you.
Unless you want to break up
...don't try to teach your partner to ski! This is probably the most important tip of the whole list.
Label yourself
Write any pertinent contact details on the reverse of your lift-pass. Anybody who needs to assist you will then be able to find these details easily. This may prove especially handy if you take your children on the slopes, in case you get separated. Plus, you will also increase the likelihood of your lift-pass being returned should you lose it.
Before setting out
Ensure you have collected information about the weather, snow conditions and recent avalanche activity. Listen to the experts and ask for advice. If in doubt, don't ski it.
Remain humble
Keep a sharp eye and ear out, and heed your own instincts. Always ski within the limits of your ability. Canny tip: take a course in mountain and avalanche awareness, and have the knowledge to understand the dangers and the courage to make the right decisions.
Never travel off-piste without adequate insurance
It is strongly recommended that you ski in the back-country with a mountain guide.
Fnd out more about ensuring you have adequate insurance.
And always remember to never eat the yellow snow!
*Photo by Leon Wilson.
