The Eve Of Another Winter

Hi everybody, and welcome back to another blog post on what feels like the eve of another winter. It's that time of year when department stores are stocked up with winter clothes, ski shows have mostly been and gone, and a certain Méribel ski instructor seems to be spending half of his life glued to ski-related social media sites!

One of the things I've noticed is the build up of activity with lots of us posting photos or videos from previous winters. And my goodness, I didn't quite realise the size of my back catalogue of images. But then it dawned on me that this coming winter will be my twentieth European season (plus two down in New Zealand at the start of the century). Twentieth !?! That's amazing, and you know what? I seriously cannot wait for this winter to get going. I cannot wait to see those mountain views again. I really can't wait to start sliding down the mountain in a few days time, and trying to fix my damn right pole plant (click here for my mention of this at the end of last winter)! And I also can't wait to catch up with friends, clients and colleagues over the coming weeks.

You see, looking at photos from previous winters really does put a smile on your face. Such great memories. This weekend I'll be leaving Royal Leamington Spa - via West Sussex for a final curry and beer with Harriet and friends - and will then head down to the mighty, magnificent, majestic and mesmerising Méribel.

Whoever it was that thought up recreational skiing, and started this special and unique sport, was an utter genius. If they were brought back to life, I'm sure we would love to buy them a tartiflette and a couple of vin chauds, or a hot chocolate with cream on top if they prefer. What am I talking about? And what will the winter of 2018/19 bring? Who knows.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope to see many of you during the winter. There will be high fives all round, group hugs, and the odd glass of vin chaud quaffed. I hope your fitness is coming along nicely by the way, because you know it make sense. If you would like to read another article with a little more substance, see the previous post about skiing with sound, basic technique. Live with passion. Martin.