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Well, there's sun, there's snow, you've got
a newly reconstructed cruciate ligament and the doc has banned you
from the slopes... Doh! Time to try something new...
 Girls
on the Piste
Four girls together we got ourselves a lovely ESF instructor, four
pairs of very skinny skis and hipflasks all round and headed up
to the heady heights of the Meribel Altiport to join all the old
fogeys and lycra clad sport-freaks in our normal ski & boarding
gear, feeling just a little out of place. But hey, cross country
is dead easy, right? Just like walking, but on skis and you get
comfy boots...
Not as easy as it looks...
We managed the whole boot thing, although actually attaching the
skis to our feet proved a little tricky and very embarrasing in
front of the hundred or so middle aged french men having a race
for corporate entertainment. Seeing as they were all wearing snowshoes
and had to carry a tray of vin chaud through various hoops we felt
that we probably got the last laugh.
Marie shows us the way |
Learning to walk uphill |
Stopping for light refreshments |
Tough thighs required
"Stand like you are pissing" - these were the wise words
of our instructor when contemplating snow plough with no edges on
your skis. Try it. Go on - stand up and pretend your boots are not
flexed and your skis are made of plastic and you're on a 1:5 gradient
with a big drop off to one side. It's tough on the thighs and you
look like a complete loon. Apparently you don't want to lean back
or forward, just sort of get the ankles bent and hope.We hoped we'd
find a bar soon.
But no, we then had to learn how to slow down
once your feet are in the pre-cut trails. "But surely it is
all on the flat?" we cried. Well, not exactly. Marie pointed
out how easy it was just to take one ski out and use that to snow
plough down the side of the track while keeping your other ski in
a straight line. We were all doing fine at this until a pine cone
in the track managed to spill every one of us. Woman against nature,
and we lost.
Bird and Phin take a little break |
Learning to snowplough again |
Heading off into the sunset |
Sunshine and silence
Once we had managed the basic long step, a sort of hopping, sliding
gait, we actually got away from it all into the forest. It was a
perfect day, warm sunshine and clear blue skies. Stopping every
so often to contemplate the silence around us and the contents of
our hip flasks we began to understand why people do this. Not only
do you have well comfy shoes, but you don't need a lift pass and
it gets you really fit. Well, we certainly found it pretty hard
work...
 Marie
obviously had more faith in ourselves than we did, taking us down
some off piste (well, just off the piste) at the end of the day
and then down a run heavily populated by boarders on their way home.
Should be easy, but after two and a half hours of unaccustomed exercise
this was not quite all it could be. Points for speed, but sadly
not for style. Here's some fresh tracks in the making...
Not extreme, but great fun
We got there, we had a ball, and I'd recommend it to anyone! Thanks
to Meriski and Alpine Infusion for their kind company and lots of
laughs. It may not have been extreme, but we were all home in time
for tea and cake in Dicks Tea Bar, and no one got injured (well,
maybe some pride!).
Report from Phin
- Natives Special Correspondent
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