Anna S. E. Lundberg

Coach, Speaker, Writer

5 things that skiing teaches you about life

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skiingAnother year, another week of downhill skiing in Verbier, Switzerland. This week has been the best so far – there was fresh snowfall at the start of the week, followed by a week of glorious sunshine, and on top we didn’t do any classes this time so we’ve been completely free to ski, rest and eat whenever we want! It’s just been a really lovely week of skiing. Whenever I’m out on the pistes, though, I’m always struck by the life lessons that skiing brings to mind! Here are 5 things that skiing teaches you…

1. You’re on your own

You may have supportive friends around you, or an experienced ski instructor, but ultimately, no one can help you make it down the mountain (unless you really get stuck and they have to come and get you with a scooter!). Knowing that you’re all alone is both terrifying and completely liberating. You can block out the sound of other people, forget what they are doing or not doing, and just focus on what it takes for you to do what you need to do.

2. The longer you hesitate, the harder it gets

I’ve had so many moments over the years of stopping at the top of a slope or, worse, halfway down and just getting more and more panicked about how I’m going to do it. The truth is, though, that it’s not going to get any easier from waiting, so it’s really just a question of taking a deep breath and going for it. And turn, and turn, and turn! No ‘shopping around’ for the best turning spot, no stopping completely – as the next turn will only be more difficult!

3. A lot of the fears are just in your head

There are some very real fears when you’re skiing – accidents do happen, even with experienced skiers, and they can happen when you least expect it. I’ve fallen twice this week while WALKING so it’s not even just the skiing that you need to watch out for. However, I’ve actually very rarely fallen and when I have (TOUCH WOOD) it’s not been particularly traumatic; I have always made it down the slope, however terrified I’ve been; and I’m only getting better, so really there’s less and less to worry about. In fact the fears only make me tense up and do all the things that interfere with my technique so, as is often the case, your fears are actually having the opposite effect to what you are hoping.

4. You should be facing the slope head on and leaning forwards

Your natural reaction is to want to lean back, away from the steep slope that’s laid out in front of you – but in fact this is counter-productive, giving you less control over your skis and making it more likely that you’ll fall. Leaning forwards, down the slope, will make sure that the skis press evenly into the snow along their full length so that you have better control. The other normal tendency for beginners is to swing the body round with each turn, rather than facing the slope head on so that you can see where you’re going and again so that your weight is correctly distributed.

5. It gets easier with practice

I used to be scared just of the overall environment when you’re skiing: dangling from the sky in a little cabin, making sure you get off the chair lift in time, being able to control your skis enough to be able to stop when you need to! Of course over the years all these things have become a natural part of the process and no longer terrify me. It’s the same with the skiing itself, the more turns you do, the more you challenge yourself to take on trickier slopes, the better you get. You can let your fear stop you, stick to the easier pistes or even avoid skiing altogether – or you can commit to getting better, to pushing yourself and to keep practising. As the ski school ads around Verbier proclaim: better skiers have more fun!

In fact, the previous points essentially come down to this: you have to commit to each action you take, each move you make. You don’t want to be hesitating, you don’t want to be leaning back and you don’t want to be fighting against the natural force of gravity! I find that if I just take some deep breaths, find a rhythm and stop over-thinking it, I get into a really nice flow and it’s much less work. And for all the dangers and fears, it’s so totally worth it for the views, the food and the exhilarating feeling of whooshing down the mountain.

Flying High in the Swiss Mountains: A week of skiing in Verbier

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When my friend Serena suggested a ski holiday in the Swiss Alps, I jumped at the chance. I hadn’t been skiing in three years, and despite living in Geneva for nine years before that I actually didn’t make as much of it as I should have. I didn’t have a car so was dependent on someone else offering to take me (or taking the dreaded bus), and, if I’m honest, I was also just a little bit terrified.

Snowplough in the 1980s
It’s all about the snowplough…

I used to ski with my family in Sweden, in Åre and Lofsdalen, when I was little. We’d go for half term but one week every few years really wasn’t enough to make me comfortable on a set of skis. I’ve always been so jealous of the children I see zooming past me on the slopes… Kids are used to doing crazy things and falling over, plus they’re closer to the ground! They just don’t have that fear that takes hold of me when I stand at the top of a slope looking down over the ridge at the endlessly steep and narrow slope that I’m somehow supposed to go hurtling down…

Inside the Verbier cable car
Serena and I looking fresh-faced on our way up to the pistes at the start of the week…

So Serena and I signed up to the Warren Smith Ski Academy, which offered five days of group classes with a day off in the middle. We were divided into three groups based on a “ski off” and Serena and I ended up together in the bottom one. I say bottom, but this was no beginner’s class and the overall level was high across the groups. And so it was that we went tearing down first red then black pistes, and even off piste into the fresh powder that had fallen at the start of the week. My emotions during the week went from exhilaration and delight at how much I was improving – I learned far more than I’ve ever done before, thank you Will! – to trepidation and despair when I reached a particularly steep or bumpy patch. The problem with being at the lower end of your group is that you’re constantly behind, trying to catch up.

Anna above the clouds
The best thing about skiing is going up above the clouds, leaving everyone down below shrouded in fog. Mwahaha!

So here’s the science of skiing according to Anna… I think it’s made up of three things: the technical, the physical, and the mental. The first, the technique, is ‘easy’ to learn and during the week we got through flexing, thigh steering, pole plants, etc. You need to keep practising to engrain it in your muscle memory but it’s something that you can work on. The second, as it turns out, is just as important: you need the physical strength and the flexibility to ski all day every day, and although I’ve been training hard at the gym it turns out that this requires a whole different set of muscles and another type of stamina! By the end of the day I simply didn’t have the strength to turn with my legs and I would end up losing control. Finally, there’s the mental aspect: fear is a killer! Here I think I made the most progress this week, as I began to attack even the black pistes with gusto. There is nothing worse than traversing across the slope, “shopping” for a turn that looks easy, until you stop at the very edge of the slope and are out of options. The reminder to keep my body facing down the slope, my arms up and my legs doing the steering instead of the shoulders, was a huge help in keeping me focused on making steady progress down the piste.

Pumpkin soup at Chez Dany
The food was pretty good everywhere we went. This is the pumpkin soup at Chez Dany on the slopes, served in farmers’ bread; I had pumpkin soup again at Le Dahu, also on the slopes and with a spectacular panoramic view. Down in Verbier we had three delicious courses at Le Rouge (where we also had our first Pornstar Martini), and the famous Potence at Le Vieux Verbier (sizzling meat on spikes! with a selection of sauces).

Of course, the best part of skiing is après ski, right? Each day when we finished at 3pm I would heave a huge sigh of relief at having survived another day; I cannot describe the pleasure I got from taking off my ski boots and putting on my lovely normal walking boots. We were actually very civilised, going to a café for a cup of tea or a salad after finishing for the day, rather than heading straight to the bar. Every other day we would then have a massage (a genius idea on the part of Serena, and a huge help for my sore calf muscles), after which we’d shower and head out for the après-après ski. The great thing about nights out after skiing is that you start so early – so you can have a long night out and still be in bed by midnight! If you so desire.

Pornstar Martini at Le Farinet Lounge
My new favourite drink: the Pornstar Martini, made from passion fruit and vodka and served with a shot of champagne. Shaken, not stirred…

By the end of the week we’d settled into a routine: dinner at Le Farinet Lounge (I particularly recommend the Crispy Pork Belly and the Super Farinet Salad, or the Assiette Valaisanne to share), rounded off with a Pornstar Martini; then we’d head over to the other side of Le Farinet, where there’d be live music until about 9pm; then the T-bar and then the Loft Bar; and sometimes even continuing on to Farm Club or Twin Peaks. We were staying in the Hotel Phenix, right in the centre at the Place Centrale, which meant that everything was in a couple of minutes’ walking distance. The mood was incredibly different on different nights: when we arrived on the Saturday, Farinet Après Ski was full, with the bartenders pouring vodka straight down people’s throats or else down the back of a ski, beer being flung across the dance floor, and topless young men building human pyramids. Wild. On weeknights, though, it was much calmer, with people scattered about talking to their friends and maybe a lone crazy person dancing to their own beat. Wednesday night was back on track, though, as it’s the one day that all the seasonaires get off; and then of course we came full circle back to Friday and Saturday night when the “weekend warriors” returned to the bars.

Champagne at Le Farinet Lounge
Champagne all around during the Ministry of Sound night at Le Farinet Lounge, courtesy of Russian oligarch Aleksandr.

I’m not sure what I expected from this one week but I had such a good time, meeting great people, improving my skiing, getting to know Serena better – and even coming up with a new business idea together that we’re now pursuing, full speed ahead. I’m incredibly tempted to do a full season next year, to overcome my fears once and for all and get really comfortable on the slopes. That’s the benefit of being self-employed, right, that I can bring my laptop with me and work from anywhere? I just need to find an apartment with a strong Wi-Fi signal as the weak and unreliable Wi-Fi at our hotel was excruciatingly painful. Ah, the plight of modern-day life…

I leave Switzerland having lost my voice, my favourite purple pashmina, and a sock (a modern-day Cinderella?!), with bruised toes, a suitcase full of dirty laundry and a whole lot of new gear, and with great memories and even greater plans for the future. Merci Verbier, I’ll see you next year!

 

The soundtrack for the week:

  • Taylor Swift, Shake it Off (don’t ask)
  • Hozier, Take Me to Church (Serena made me watch the music video for the first time. Wow.)
  • A fabulous original song from the Swedish band in Farinet with a rather creepy chorus of “Stay awake, watch my back!”
  • 4 Non Blondes, What’s Going On (always a favourite of mine, since it was played as the last song at summer camp when I was 13)
  • Time of my Life from Dirty Dancing (cheeserama but oh so good)
  • Calvin Harris, Blame it on the night (a great sentiment: blame it on the night, don’t blame it on me!)

The practical bit:

Warren Smith Ski Academy: The Warren Smith Ski Academy runs courses in Verbier throughout the year for intermediate right up to “athlete/performer” level. It was in English, which meant that I actually understood all the body parts and movements that our instructor Will was talking about! We did the 5-day winter academy at £429 per person. They’ll video you at the start of the week and then again at the end so you see how much you’ve improved.

Hotel Phenix: The Hotel Phenix is nothing special, breakfast included cold scrambled eggs and sausages, but it’s clean and comfortable and the location is perfect if you want to go out to all the classic bars and clubs. There was a free navette (shuttle bus) that picked us up just across the road and went to Médran, where we rented lockers for the whole week so that we could leave our skis and boots overnight.

Massage: We booked a massage every other day at 5pm, each taking half an hour. The masseuses from The Verbier Touch would come to our hotel with a heated bed so it was incredibly convenient. The only problem was wanting to go to sleep right afterwards, but a quick shower and the hunger pains we were feeling by this point would ensure that we ventured out into the night…