Skiing Slippers

Since the last blog post all about the first ski of the winter for both myself and Michael, I've been over in Val d'Isere and Tignes. This time of the winter can often be a little shy in ski instructing work, so it is an ideal time to cram in as much skiing as possible. I met up with my mate Tim 'Slippers' Jackson again. If you are regular readers of this blog, you may have come across him a few times in the past. Me being based in Meribel, he in Morzine and Les Gets, means it is always fun when we meet up.

Many years ago when we were training for our ski instructor exams we would often share an apartment together. Last week we were in Tignes Val Claret again, and back sharing an apartment just like the old days. It was like a sketch from Morecombe and Wise at times, and I shan't go into all the details, but suffice to say we had a great time.

I might be known in resort for liking my kit, but Slippers is on another level. He had great delight in showing me his new outfit, skis and other goodies. In fact he asked if I could take some photos of him skiing. He knew that the mixture of skiing and photography would get me going. He hasn't lost his magic on skis, even though the colour grey is starting to creep into his designer stuble !?! Here are a few photos of him cruising around the Espace Killy area, along with his grey stubble! 

It was of course great fun cruising around together. We bumped into many ski instructor friends, worked on each other's skiing and thoroughly enjoyed the conditions. The weather has been stunning, with fantastic dry snow, and the piste conditions are great over in a busy Espace Killy ski area compared to a quieter Meribel at the moment. We met some lovely people over there and can't wait to head back another time.

I'm back in Meribel now and I should be a lot more settled than the last few weeks, which has felt as though I've been living out of a suitcase travelling around the Alps. I've picked up my new uniform, which looks different to the last few years. I'll have my first ski in Meribel this winter tomorrow and can't wait. On Tuesday there is a FIS World Cup Ladies race over in Courchevel, which I hope to go across and watch (with my mate Canon of course). Then in the middle of the week I'll have my first lessons of the season here in Meribel. Then before you know it, it will be Christmas week. I wonder if Slippers will be mistaken as Father Christmas on the slopes with his grey beard?

Don't forget you can click on each image for a larger version. If you enjoyed this article, you might like to read a previous blog post where I interviewed Slippers and he spoke candidly about the last few years, click here. Feel free to share away on Facebook, Twitter and Goggle+ by clicking on social media icons. Or you can leave a comment below, it's dead simple to do. Have a great week everyone. Martin.