Another day in Villars-sur-Ollon. At eight am the sun is shining and reflecting brightly back from the piled snow lying outside the dark wood chalet. It looks as if it will be around for another couple of months. That’s good I won’t need to look for another job, just yet!
The first group is waiting by the pommel bar ski lift on the nursery slope beside the Hotel du Parc. It’s just gone 9am. This is the second lesson with this lot, mostly American school children attending one of the many International Schools in the area. The pommel bar on this beginners slope goes off at a terrific jerk and usually causes someone to fall off and reduce the lift area to chaos. Sometimes the operators are obliged to turn off the lift in order to rescue some novice who has managed to fall more spectacularly than normal. With this group it happens twice and I get a very dirty look from the operator. Now, were up at the tree line gazing down a short but relatively steep slope. We’re going to do snow plough turns all the way to the bottom, follow me!" I shout as I lead my charges crocodile file across and then down the slope. I am really beginning to agree with my American colleague, Betty, who maintains that nobody should teach "snow plough" as it gets in the way of Stem Christies and then parallel turns. Oh, dear some has lost control, but the downward "schuss" has been altered by a conveniently located drift which brings the young skier to a crashing halt.
Meet the second group at the Roc d’Orsay telecabine. No difficulties here, we pile in and enjoy the ride over the trees and up the mountain. This is another group of English speaking kids, again mostly American but there is a British voice and an Australian twang amongst this group. I assemble them at the top of the run, and before skis are attached ask that all staffed bindings are checked. If a binding jams or does not budge they get sent off back down on the gondola to the ski shop to have the offending article unjammed .It’s daft to avoid this sensible precaution, but the kids don’t like it one bit! On this occasion all is well and we set off in file down the mountain.
The snow is crisp, just a touch of ice here and there, and over the moguls we go. What bliss, as the snow hisses beneath the skis, the sun beats down and all is well with the world all those years ago! |
