A Chilly Office

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