european snowsport zermatt

Steven Gekiere – Scuba and cycling in Europe

27 October 2023 by Laura Shadbolt

Steven is a ski and snowboard instructor with ES in Zermatt in the winters, and here he tells us about his summer; scuba diving, surfing, cycling and traveling in Europe.

Steven is from Belgium, in the Flemish speaking part. This summer he caught up with friends and family and at the same time had some adventures.

Cycling and surfing in France

With his bicycle, Steven went to the Vosges region in NorthEastern France. There, he conquered “Le Grand Ballon,” the region’s highest peak, and tackled the legendary “Le Super Planche des Belles Filles,” a renowned site in the world of Tour de France racing. Since 2012, the climb to the summit has been used several times in the Tour de France.

Here is a photo of Steven on his bicycle trip:

Then he travelled to picturesque Lacanau, on the Atlantic coast in South Western France. There he did some surfing and sightseeing, immersing himself in the beauty of the surroundings. This is an area with big sandy beaches, and some fantastic surf spots.

It also has a pine forest behind the beach dotted with bike trails, and an unspoilt lake that’s ideal for sailing, windsurfing, fishing or canoeing.

This area is not too far from where our Verbier instructor Stéphanie spent her summer (see her blog here).

Here is a photo of Steven traveling with his dog:

Scuba in Belgium and Holland

Steven then returned to Belgium and Zeeland in the Netherlands, and spent some time scuba diving. He followed a course to become Dive Guide and Assistant Instructor, delving deeper into the world of diving. This course helps you learn the skills needed to guide and supervise certified divers on recreational dives. He has also done a course about how to react, rescue, and deal with emergency dive situations.

Steven has done lots of different types of diving, including night dives, dry suit dives and navigation dives (using natural features and compass to find your way).

He has also done extended range diving. With the extended range dives, these are longer divetime and deeper than recreational dives, and you need to make decompression stops.

Most people don’t think of Belgium and Holland for diving, but there are many dive spots in this part of the world, both fresh and salt water. You need a thicker wetsuit than elsewhere, as it is quite northerly.

The sea diving spots are good for training because you need to be aware of winds, currents and tides, which all add challenges when planning and executing a dive. However there are national parks with lots of life, as well as wrecks, and some beautiful spots to explore. In Zeeland, there are lots of lobsters, crabs, sea stars, snails and clams, as well as some very well camouflaged baby cuttlefish.

There are also freshwater dives available in quarries and lakes.

As it starts to get colder, Steven will first go to Cape Verde, Boa Vista, for some more diving, and then head back to Zermatt, ready for another winter of skiing and snowboarding.

Steven loves to travel the world, to see new places. He finds himself coming home to the mountains every year where he loves to do all kinds of snowsports.
He’s always up to go on an adventure and have some fun!

He chose to teach snowsports because snowy vacations are simply the best. And for real, who wouldn’t want this place to be his/her office?

Tim Franken – Coaching on the volcano in New Zealand

17 October 2023 by Laura Shadbolt

Tim is a ski instructor with ES in Zermatt in the winters. Here he tells us about his summer, coaching skiing on the volcano at Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand.

After the winter season in Zermatt Tim travels all the way to the other side of the world to New Zealand. Here the southern hemisphere winter starts late June and ends half way through October.

Tim lives in a small town called Ohakune at the foot of Mount Ruapehu. Mount Ruapehu is an active volcano in the middle of the North island. The resort has stunning views that reach all the way to the coast. Ruapehu is one of New Zealand’s most active volcanos, with ten eruptions since 1861, the last one being in 2007.

It is located in a World Heritage National Park. Solidified lava has shaped the terrain and made the mountain an incredible playground for skiing. The resort has everything from gentle learner slopes to advanced freeride terrain.

Bringing on new talent

Tim works at the southern side of the mountain at Turoa, training gap year students to become ski instructors during the week and coaching some of new Zealand’s upcoming talent on the weekends. Some of his students have been competing in the junior freeride world tour and in the NZ junior nationals. Its amazing to see how dedicated the youth is to the sport over here.

This season’s conditions

This season Turoa had some incredible conditions with a snow base averaging 255 cm. On the 20th of August, NZ records Mount Ruapehu having the deepest snow base worldwide with the groomer’s snow satellite data reporting snow pockets as deep as 8 meters.

Towards the end of the season the temperatures have been rising fast and a lot of the snow has been washed away by rain on the lower parts of the mountain. Thankfully the deep snow base has kept the upper mountain intact, and has kept the resort going for some epic spring skiing!

Hiking up to the top of the crater and skiing all the way down to base is an amazing experience!

While you read this Tim is probably mid flight, making his way back over to the other side of the world, getting ready for another winter in Zermatt!

Tim loves sharing his passion and knowledge about skiing with anyone! It doesn’t matter what type of skiing you are into, Tim does it all with utmost enthusiasm! Skiing bumps, floating in powder, freestyle in the park, racing gates or just a casual ski around enjoying the mountain scenery. Tim has been teaching in Zermatt for many years, and knows every corner of the resort.

The Big Five Challenge

27 November 2018 by Laura Shadbolt

Having listened to the feedback from our clients over many years, we know there are a lot of good skiers and snowboarders out there. They often know Verbier well, having stayed here over many years, and are advanced level or expert on the snow.
So we have developed the “Big 5 Challenge”, a special day out with an ES instructor who will guide you to the best unpisted runs, with the best snow. And we will give you a “Big 5 Challenge” certificate and gift at the end of it, if you complete the challenge.

Ski the top 5 unpisted trails (“itineraries”) in Verbier, the freeride capital of Europe.
-The Steepest
-The Longest
-The biggest moguls
-The best tree skiing
-The most beautiful itinerary runs

Here is your day;

1. Start with the itinerary that is the best kept secret in the 4 Valleys, through the trees in the morning on Les Otanes, on the Bruson side. If snow conditions permit, you can go all the way down to Le Chable.

2. From here, take the lifts back up on the Verbier side, past Lac de Vaux to the top of Tortin.
This run is legendary for its steepness, length, and bumps! You can dive straight down or, depending on conditions, take the trail off to the side, to tackle the soft moguls that can get as big as cars, with famously good snowholding on the north facing slope.

3. Three lifts take you back up again to the top of Mt Gele (“Frozen Mountain”), where all of the ways down are steep and unpisted. Depending on conditions there are different options; all of them are steep, empty and wild.

4. Take the swooping run in to your next itinerary, Gentianes. Play in the natural half pipes and fabulous snow, heading down towards Siviez and the other valleys past Verbier.

5. Two more lifts take you back up and then you will finish by heading down the narrow track, often with over a meter of snow piled on either side, that takes you into Vallon D’Arbi. This long, steep, wooded itinerary takes you into terrain many Verbier regulars have never seen, finishing in La Tsoumaz. Take lift back out, then be last off the mountain on the long run back to Verbier.

Instructor Beth Lloyd in the trees! Photo by James Rushforth.

Depending on mountain conditions, including avalanche risk and run closures, some runs may be replaced with others on the day. For example, Vallon D’Arbi may be replaced with Col des Mines, a beautiful itinerary with spectacular views that takes you back into Verbier in the afternoon sun.

Worth it for a certificate? Of course not, but this experience will stay with you for a lifetime.

The “Big 5 challenge” is 595chf for the day. The price does not change if your friends and family join in, so you can invite others to share the experience with you. We guarantee there will be plenty to talk about for the rest of your holiday!

By Laura Shadbolt

Winter warmers: How to keep warm skiing.

19 November 2018 by Beth Lloyd

Keep Warm Skiing

So you get cold easily and want to keep wam skiing. It’s to be expected when taking part in a sport thousands of meters above sea level at below zero temperatures. Having the right gear to combat the elements is important. Choosing the right layering system, cosy gloves and woolly socks is on the minds of many at this time of year. It would be a shame after all to book a ski holiday, book lessons and then be unable to enjoy yourself because you can’t feel your hands and toes.

For some though buying a nice warm jacket isn’t quite enough. Long days on the mountain can cool off the hardiest skiers and extra measures need to be taken! Luckily there are lots of ways to warm up with some of these great winter warmers.

Getting your layering system right.

Base layers: Merino

The materials we choose to dress ourselves in matter and so does the way we layer them. With a decent base layer we can keep ourselves dry, regulate our temperature and even manage unwanted odours. There are many natural and synthetic solutions to this out there on the market today and the choice can be a little overwhelming. Keep Warm Skiing

Merino has always been a firm favourite for skiers and hikers. This particularly soft sheeps wool is a great choice for base layers as it is finer than more traditional wool and therefore much less likely to cause irritation. It is highly breathable, wicking away moisture to help you stay dry and yet has anti-bacterial properties that reduce body odour. Even when damp, the material has the ability to both retain body heat as well as release it if you were to get too hot.

Mid layers: Down and synthetic

Having your trusty down jacket can be a saviour on the chilliest of days. Yet they are infamously difficult to look after. Washing, drying, repairing, and conserving a down jacket can be a tough job, so why own one?
Well firstly down’s ability to conserve heat is well established. Couple that with its warmth-to-weight ratio and you’re onto a winner. Down insulation is made from the natural midlayer of geese or ducks, using the fluffy, lofty feathers beneath their outer plumage. It is extremely breathable and packs down easily too, which is great for mountaineers and skiers who may be out in changing weather conditions.

It does however fall victim to wet, humid weather and once those feathers are wet your jacket’s performance will suffer. Which is where synthetic insulation comes in. It aims to do everything down can do and continue to do it when wet. Synthetic fibres dry faster and come with a cheaper price tag too. That said, it struggles to match down’s natural warmth-to-weight ration however, so you need to decide what is more important to you .

keep warm skiing — One of our instructors in their trusty down jacket, out exploring last year’s record snowfall in Zermatt.

Outer shell: Gore-tex

Two of the biggest factors in cooling are wet weather and wind chill. Both on their own and in conjunction with one another, they can do a great deal of damage to your core temperature. So having an outer layer that can protect not only you but your thermal layers below is pretty important. Gore-tex is one of the most well known brands in this area because of its ability to protect from wind and keep you dry. It is also breathable, a problem with most waterproof garments. It’s all very well being protected from wet weather on the outside, but if you are too hot and sweating inside your jacket, you can begin to cool down just as quickly. Keep Warm Skiing use Goretex.

Ski Boots

Getting the right fit with your boots has a big part to play in preventing chilly toes! Too big, and the air space around your feet can cool quickly, too tight and blood flow will be restricted, leading to the same problem. The socks you wear can also contribute to this. You should only wear one pair of thin, technical ski socks. This helps with circulation and allows your feet to breathe. More than one pair of socks can lead to discomfort and overheating, sweating, then cooling.

Adjusting your boots in different situations can also be useful. When you’re on the lift, undo your clips to give your feet a little space. Then, when you tighten them back up to ski, be sure not to over tighten them! Keep Warm Skiing!

Heated clothing

If your layering system still isn’t working quite well enough you can turn to the world out heated ski clothing. Battery powered gloves, socks, and jackets are steadily becoming less bulky and more affordable. There’s no unwieldy battery packs or tangled wires. You’ll just see neatly concealed systems that could leave onlookers completely unaware that you are secretly being kept toasty warm!

For example, once your toes go it’s very difficult to concentrate on working your skis. But in a space as small as ski boots, preserving heat can be challenging. Heated socks and/or foot beds are a great solution.

You don’t need to compromise your custom foot bed and liners either. Many boot fitters will help to build the heating elements into your boots. Then they run streamlined wires along the soles and up out of the liner to small battery packs on the cuffs. Some systems can even be controlled by Bluetooth from your mobile phone. So there’s no need to roll up the bottom of your ski trousers to control them.

So with all that sorted you should be able to head out on the hill insulated, regulated and protected against whatever mountain conditions you may face. If you’re not worrying about numb toes or a bitter, winter wind then you can focus fully at the task at hand -skiing! Keep Warm Skiing.

ES Zermatt Valley Rally 2018: Raising money for the children of Nepal

25 March 2018 by Emma Farrington

Spring is here. Time for the Zermatt Valley Rally organised by our very own ES Zermatt team! ES instructor, Emma Farrington, takes us through the day as it happened.

“Blue skies and glorious sunshine; a classic bluebird day here in the Swiss mountains gave us the perfect day last week. On Wednesday 14th March, teams competed in the ES Zermatt Valley Rally, raising money for children in Nepal affected by the devastating earthquake a few years ago. For those of you wondering what a valley rally is? It’s an event where teams compete against each other (often in fancy dress), skiing and snowboarding around the mountain visiting various locations, gathering information or completing tasks. It’s always a fun event and competitors can be of any age or walk of life; this year we had a good mix of guests and their instructors, as well as seasonaires and Zermatt residents.

Zermatt Valley Rally 2018 — Stop no. 1: Snowman building.

The background to the Zermatt Valley Rally comes from a group of locals who wanted to help the survivors of the earthquake a few years ago. Now the event is pretty big and is organised by ES, with prizes and sponsors from all over Zermatt. In particular, the money goes towards helping children from the country’s poorest areas get back into education and rebuild their lives. Fresh water and food supplies were cut off as a result of the quake so a lot of the money goes towards providing new clean and sustainable resources and equipment. Hygiene is a basic commodity that so many of us take for granted, so it’s been important to provide for the children and their families to avoid the spread of disease. Emergency aid continues to flow into the country; it’s so hard to imagine the full scale the impact a natural disaster this large can have, both in the short and long term recovery period, which is why it’s such an important cause.

I think everyone who took part can agree that we were incredibly lucky with the weather and snow conditions on the day, as it’s seemed to snow rather a lot this season in Zermatt! The day started off with registration and a gathering at Papperla pub, a local favourite with seasonaires and tourists alike. Each team donated money towards the cause, rules were explained and tasks / maps handed out. Then we were unleashed onto the mountain.

Checkpoints were across all three ski areas in Zermatt – Sunnega, Gornergrat and Kleine Matterhorn. Due to long lift queues at the Matterhorn Paradise lift, most teams headed all together up to Sunnega to complete tasks like taking photos at every lift station including Kumme (for those who did not hear about Zermatt being closed off back in January due to heavy snowfall and avalanches, Kumme bottom station was wiped out by an avalanche). Fun moments on this side of the mountain also saw teams visiting Fluhalp restaurant and taking photos on the band stage as well as building a snowman at the famous Findlerhof restaurant, also known as Franz and Heidi’s.

The next stage was to go over to Gornergrat, via the famous Gornergrat bahn cog railway, and write down all the glaciers on view from the 360 degree platform before a quick ski down to Iglu-Dorf, the home of the famous ice hotel in Zermatt. Teams attempted a handstand here with some interesting photo evidence, as expected. Another dash down to the, again famous, Alphitta restaurant for a pyramid building challenge on the stage.

For those teams that wanted to go the extra mile, it was then a long journey up to the top of the glacier on Kleine Matterhorn to get a photo on the border line between Switzerland and Italy. Quite a lot of points were available for a continuous video of teams going through the freestyle park with at least one team member going over a jump and a box or rail. A lot of fun, but several bruises followed these attempts! The final task on that side of the mountain was to stop by Furi lift station and make the words ‘ES’, ‘ski’ and ‘snow’ using team members and their equipment.

All teams made it back to Papperla by 4pm for drinks and prize giving. More money was raised by guests enjoying après at the bar! Overall a great day was had by all and many fun memories were created. And those bruises from the park run were forgotten after a few beers!”

Es would like to say a massive thanks to everyone who took part on the Zermatt Valley Rally and to those who helped organise. We’d also like to say a massive thanks to the Papperla Pub for hosting, as well as Glacier Sport, Zermatt Massage Centre, Zermatt Rosterei, Bramble Ski, Zermatt Holidays, The Omnia, Zermatt Ski Chalets, Mountain Exposure and anyone else who helped out or donated a prize. It was a great day and thanks for all your hard work!

Mogul Mayhem Zermatt 2018

22 March 2018 by Harrison Jones

One of our instructors tries his hand at at a fun freestyle moguls competition, the legendary Mogul Mayhem in Zermatt.

“Mogul Mayhem, where to start?

Well it’s my first season here in Zermatt working for ES. So far it’s been absolutely brilliant. I’m having the time of my life, working with a fantastic team of outgoing and like-minded people in what has to be one of the top resorts in Europe!

I was never into ski competitions; I entirely believe that skiing is all about having fun. In my opinion, competitions often get too serious and take the fun out of skiing. I never felt comfortable or confident enough to do them. Never would I have pictured myself in a mogul competition, I always disliked and struggled with skiing bumps and moguls. But when I heard that Mogul Mayhem was coming up and signed myself up straight away. I spent the next few weeks wondering who else would do it with me and I questioned many times if I had somehow lost my sanity, signing myself up for a mogul competition.

Mogul Mayhem Zermatt — Harrison looking fly. Photo: Henry Meredith Hardy

Soon the day came along, after little sleep the night before in anticipation. The teams were sorted, ES had two teams competing, each consisting of four members. A member of the opposite sex or a second discipline had to be on each team in order to compete. The competition was going to be tough.

We all met at Iglu Dorf at 10am, suitably dressed in retro gear and looking a little like an 80s tribute band. The weather was looking bad in the morning but luckily we were in a bit if a sun spot and the sun stayed, right up until the end of the day despite the clouds looming over the Matterhorn in the background.

Looking down the course for the first time was extremely scary, waiting for a few people people to go first just made the anxious anticipation worse! Then it was my turn to go, dropping in felt very uncertain but after a few dodgy turns I started to get into the rhythm of it. Just in time for the large moguls to give way to little rut lines in front of the jumps, of which there were two choices. One large with a very steep lip that kicked you right up in the air and the other a much mellower jump that kept your forward momentum up without sending you up into infinity.

Soon the first competition run came up, after skidding the track a little to smooth out the bumps and take the ruts out of the backside of each large mogul. The runs are judged on speed, style and the jump at the finish.

I managed to pull ahead on the first run and it was all going well down the moguls. Then we reached the ruts at the bottom which I actually found harder to begin with. I kept trying to turn in them and could always feel my edges catching on them, but I made it! I played it safe at the jump with a double handed grab under my boots to stay level in the air and not do the helicopter arms that I’d have done if I’d just tried to do a straight air. The landing was good and I managed to win my first run out of three.

Tim, Beth and Max also put in stellar performances with no crashes. Plus, the crowd was great, too! Everyone was welcoming and encouraging to all the competitors that came down throughout the day and it made for a really fun atmosphere.

We were down for a few minutes before being told to return to the top for our next run. It was quickly noticeable how much bigger the bumps had become from people skiing down them and they now had ruts on the backside again that can catch you out in an instant with the wrong edge angle. There were two lines to go down and everyone had a preferred line / side to take. We all preferred the red side on our team, which we had in our first run, but now we had the blue side to deal with.

We all made it down with no incidents in a good time, Tim did a great 360 off the bigger jump keeping his skis nice and level through his rotation picking up some good points. However the opposing team were far stronger than us and actually went on later to be the overall winners of the event.

The final heat was up next and it was a very tough one indeed; the moguls were now like mini Matterhorns and the ruts were like the grand canyon in my opinion. Beth was up first and got off to a flying start with her competitor crashing near the start giving her a great lead. Right up until one of her skis ejected from the pressure created from skiing the moguls. Luckily she had time to climb back up to the ski, put it back on and complete the run before her competitor, winning the run overall.

Then it was my turn, dropping in I was feeling good and I managed to pick up a slight lead although I could always hear my competitors skis bouncing off each mogul just behind me, so I knew it was very very close! There was a set of three particularly tricky and large moguls, where I put a little extra pressure on my heels to skid a little more and scrub off some speed, but unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough! I had to hold the slide over the bump. I landed into the next mogul a little backseat and instantly regretted it as I felt my skis ping off the top of the mogul. Before I knew it I’d cleared the next mogul and crashed down in the dip at the bottom, losing my slight lead and therefore finishing second.

Tim was also caught out in the same spot, but Max managed to get down without any trouble before throwing a backflip off the big jump, and coming extremely close to landing it.

Looking back I’m absolutely stoked to say I took part and tried. Like I said at the start, moguls were never my thing before but now thanks to the training I’ve had over the season with ES and also thanks to this event, I feel far more confident and I’m starting to really enjoy the challenge of skiing them.

Overall, I had such a great day, finished up with a ride back down to town on the (literal) party train, which is also not to be missed!”

Harrison proves that moguls can be fun! It just takes a little practice. If you’d like to learn how to enjoy moguls in Zermatt, Verbier, Nendaz, Chamonix or St. Moritz, get in touch and we’ll organise you a lesson!