The hills are alive
Dressed in my friend Sally’s 1980s C&A salopettes (they’re so out they’re almost in) and her face-smothering goggles (more Wham! than glam) I set off for what was to be my first encounter with a ski slope. My aim was to positively answer the question: is it possible to learn to ski at 50? The nursery slopes were aptly named – they were full of bendy-limbed under-fives attached by rope to one of the many instructors who patrol the vast Les Trois Vallées region of Courchevel 1850. Theirs was an easy task. Children have a low centre of gravity and are impervious to falling over. Middle-aged women, I can report, do not.
Ever since it was invented by Sir Arnold Lunn for the British national ski championships in 1921, slalom skiing has long been associated with the chic set. Svelte silhouettes set against vast white landscapes. Audrey Hepburn. The Duchess of Cambridge. Winter holiday snaps of those who aren’t on first-name terms with the man at the local chippy. But normal people do go skiing. Last year, 1.2 million Britons were among them – many of them over 50.
Being new to skiing should be no barrier. True, it helps to be fit, or at least fit enough to walk while weighed down by heavy boots, but you don’t have to be an Olympian. It helps, however, to have a head for heights; cable cars or ski lifts are not for vertigo sufferers.
The other thing that helps is to know when to ask for help. Or more importantly, book it in advance. Supertravel Ski is an English company that has held the hands of novices for decades. Supertravel Ski doesn’t just supply well-equipped, extremely comfortable, chalets and apartments, it supplies the whole lifestyle. From professional instructors (mine was a genial New Zealander) and the option to not ski at all.
The annual Gourmet Week offers the chance to take in the Alpine scenery and learn some new cooking skills from Michelin-star chef, Richard Phillips, without changing your shoes. Then, when the rest of the party return from sliding down the mountain you can impress them with your ability to make sculpted roses out of butter – a skill I never realised I needed.
The food is as fabulous as the scenery
Courchevel itself is exquisite and has been popular with naturalists since the beginning of the last century. It is also France’s first purpose-built ski resort: an idea conceived by Laurent Chappis and Maurice Michaud, while they were interred in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp. Following their release, Chappis spent the 1946 winter season surveying Les Trois Vallées in a bid to map out all the best routes.
For those who can ski, it still offers some of the best terrain, with (I am told) a challenging mix of runs. Not that I got that far. Coordination seems to be key. Legs bent, back straight – or was it back bent? Feet apart, concentration.
For those of us who prefer our results delivered immediately, the preparation is rather torturous. There were thrills. The first time I managed to go down the shallow incline was exhilarating – even if I was overtaken by a five-year-old snowboarder going backwards.
And there were spills. After two days of intensive instruction, it was decided that I could tackle a ‘green run’. It was the lowest rung but it was progress. There was a bar at the bottom and my aim was to get there. Some people are naturals. And some people aren’t. Halfway down, I discovered that I fall (quite literally) into the latter camp. I can’t say exactly how I ended up surfing down the mountain on my back, attempting to navigate by the stars, but I can say that I am grateful to C&A for not stinting on the padding.
Gourmet Week with Supertravel Ski is a seven-night ski break in Courchevel 1850 from £1,378 per person. Available for departure on 23 March, the price includes return flights, transfers and chalet-board accommodation at the six-bedroomed Chalet Eboulis, with an outdoor hot tub and sunny balcony: 020-7962 9933
Ever since it was invented by Sir Arnold Lunn for the British national ski championships in 1921, slalom skiing has long been associated with the chic set. Svelte silhouettes set against vast white landscapes. Audrey Hepburn. The Duchess of Cambridge. Winter holiday snaps of those who aren’t on first-name terms with the man at the local chippy. But normal people do go skiing. Last year, 1.2 million Britons were among them – many of them over 50.
Being new to skiing should be no barrier. True, it helps to be fit, or at least fit enough to walk while weighed down by heavy boots, but you don’t have to be an Olympian. It helps, however, to have a head for heights; cable cars or ski lifts are not for vertigo sufferers.
The other thing that helps is to know when to ask for help. Or more importantly, book it in advance. Supertravel Ski is an English company that has held the hands of novices for decades. Supertravel Ski doesn’t just supply well-equipped, extremely comfortable, chalets and apartments, it supplies the whole lifestyle. From professional instructors (mine was a genial New Zealander) and the option to not ski at all.
The annual Gourmet Week offers the chance to take in the Alpine scenery and learn some new cooking skills from Michelin-star chef, Richard Phillips, without changing your shoes. Then, when the rest of the party return from sliding down the mountain you can impress them with your ability to make sculpted roses out of butter – a skill I never realised I needed.
The food is as fabulous as the sceneryCourchevel itself is exquisite and has been popular with naturalists since the beginning of the last century. It is also France’s first purpose-built ski resort: an idea conceived by Laurent Chappis and Maurice Michaud, while they were interred in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp. Following their release, Chappis spent the 1946 winter season surveying Les Trois Vallées in a bid to map out all the best routes.
For those who can ski, it still offers some of the best terrain, with (I am told) a challenging mix of runs. Not that I got that far. Coordination seems to be key. Legs bent, back straight – or was it back bent? Feet apart, concentration.
For those of us who prefer our results delivered immediately, the preparation is rather torturous. There were thrills. The first time I managed to go down the shallow incline was exhilarating – even if I was overtaken by a five-year-old snowboarder going backwards.
And there were spills. After two days of intensive instruction, it was decided that I could tackle a ‘green run’. It was the lowest rung but it was progress. There was a bar at the bottom and my aim was to get there. Some people are naturals. And some people aren’t. Halfway down, I discovered that I fall (quite literally) into the latter camp. I can’t say exactly how I ended up surfing down the mountain on my back, attempting to navigate by the stars, but I can say that I am grateful to C&A for not stinting on the padding.
Gourmet Week with Supertravel Ski is a seven-night ski break in Courchevel 1850 from £1,378 per person. Available for departure on 23 March, the price includes return flights, transfers and chalet-board accommodation at the six-bedroomed Chalet Eboulis, with an outdoor hot tub and sunny balcony: 020-7962 9933