Be Kind To Yourself

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest post from your favourite blogging Méribel ski instructor. This will be a slightly different one, as I'll explain later. However let's crack on with the usual formula, an update on the weather and snow conditions. A few weeks ago the pistes on the bottom half of the mountain had turned icy in places, due to a period of no new snow falling. It's all change now that's for sure. I've taken all of these photos since last weekend.

From last weekend onwards Méribel has had several weather fronts come through, with most of the snow falling in the middle of the night, a skier's dream. This has meant morning skiing on fresh snow, which has been a real treat. It's a tricky experience to describe to non-skiers, ie the childlike excitement and the lush feeling underfoot, but you and I know because we love it.

This winter is slowly brewing into a very good one. I'm not sure what the official snow depths are on the mountain, but we are well ahead of the two previous years at this time of the season. And I think you will agree after seeing these photos. All good for the forthcoming school holidays.

A few months ago I received an email from Richard B. We had skied together before in Méribel, and he wanted another couple of days this winter. We checked our dates and then I marked him in my diary. We met on Monday morning at the bottom of the Ariondaz ski lift in Courchevel Moriond (1650). During this first lift ride, he explained that he felt as though he was firmly routed on that dreaded Intermediate Plateau, and really wanted to improve his technique. We agreed that he needed a gentle warm up ski to begin with, before diving into the lesson, totally understandable. I'm not going to lie, I still couldn't help looking over my shoulder several times during this warm up run, and made a mental note of a few things that I saw. However as we stopped at the bottom of the Signal chairlift, Richard said he had that horrible thigh burn half way through the warm up slide!?!

This thigh burn feeling can be quite common for a lot of skiers, and by the look of the pain on his face, it became quite clear that we had to prioritise how he stood over his skis. He was relieved to hear this plan, and we started chipping away at his balance. What I find interesting, and I've come across this so many times, is that many skiers have knowledge about what they need to do but lack the clarity about how to get there. Richard was explaining that people in his chalet were often talking about trying not to lean back on their skis, in other words they were saying they had to lean forward. To a certain point this is true, however for many skiers this understanding of where the 'Holy Grail' balance position is missing.

Richard worked really hard, and you know what, there was a massive 'Light Bulb Moment' when he first had that feeling of the 'Holy Grail' position. It was such a joy to see his face when this moment happen. Talk about a happy chappy. We kept reinforcing this position, and it helped him become more consistent. The other thing I notice is that when sometimes prioritising one 'area of improvement' ahead of something else, and this topic improves significantly, the other things I spotted previously just vanish. How cool is that? It was lovely skiing with Richard again, and we had a fun couple of days.

A slight change of subject now, but I thought that I'd share this with you. I've spoken to many friends and clients who I know will relate to this. Around this time last year, I lost my Mum to Alzheimer's. Although not a shock, I wasn't quite ready for it because I had only lost my Dad just over a year before that. Straight away I needed to rush back to the UK for a few days to deal with all of the associated admin and organise the funeral. I was off skis for about five days before returning to Méribel for an important booking. This cycle of ski teaching, and returning to the UK, continued for the next few weeks.In total I had three stints in the UK, dealing with life (death) stuff.

Although having this time off skis was for an utter rubbish reason, if there was one positive to come out of this experience, it was that the physical fatigue that builds and builds during the winter, was less than during a normal ski season! Who would've thought taking time off skis would help physical recovery? But you see the thing is, us ski instructors are self-employed, that's how the ski industry is. When the enquiries come in, we know that helps with income. Taking time off can be sub optimal for finances.

Thankfully I've learnt from last winter, and have factored in a couple of periods when I'm back in Leamington Spa. Several months ago I targeted this week to take five days off work, and booked flights to and from Geneva and Birmingham.

Those of you who have gone through the grieving process already, have probably heard the phrase 'Be Kind To Yourself'. This can be a tricky change in mindset for some, but I've found it to be extremely important. On Wednesday morning this week, I drove away from Méribel in stunning sunshine and some of the best snow conditions for weeks! To make the most of the journey I stopped in Annecy for lunch, and then had a pootle about to see what was going on. And I loved it.

After two months of skiing and work, it's been really nice to have this short break off skis. Oh and also have the opportunity of popping into my favourite butchers/delicatessen in Leamington Spa to top up my pork sausage stock for Méribel! 'Be Kind To Yourself' and all that.

But you know what? The mountains are still calling...... I'll be flying back this Sunday, arriving in Méribel in the evening. Then I start skiing with Ted and Anja on Monday for a chunk of time. The weather forecast looks gorgeous. Bit of a curve ball there for a skiing blog post, but as I said a moment ago, I know that many of you will be able to relate to this. Right, that'll do for now, but please come back soon. Let's end with my usual credo...... Live With Passion. Martin.