European Snowsport

Outstanding, independent ski schools in Verbier, Zermatt, Nendaz, St Moritz and Chamonix

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    European Snowsport

    Gaston Rossi – skiiing and travelling in Patagonia

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    Gaston is a ski instructor with with ES in Zermatt in the winters, and here he tells us about his summer, skiing, teaching and travelling in Patagonia.

    Contact us to book lessons with Gaston in Zermatt.

    Skiing in Patagonia

    In the summer, I travelled back to my hometown of Bariloche in Patagonia, Argentina. There, I teach skiing in the resort of Cerro Catedral, in the Andes. The ski season opened on the 30th of June and ran until the 15th of October. This is quite a long Southern Hemisphere winter, of 3.5 months.

    Cerro Catedral is 19km from Bariloche and it is within a national park. It has 120km of pistes, so it has the biggest area of lift accessed ski terrain of all the South American ski resorts. From the ski area, you can see the Nahuel Huapi lake, which makes for fantastic views while skiing.

    At Cerro Catedral, we have the most days with snowfalls in all of Argentina. The skiing is between 1030m and 2100m of altitude.

    The snow really motivates me to get up early every day and go skiing. I love skiing fresh corduroy on the slopes, or also skiing the new snow off piste if it has been snowing. 

    I now have over 20 ski seasons of ski teaching experience but I still love every day on the snow. What I love about ski teaching is that I am sharing my passion with others. I enjoy seeing how people improve their skills and get more and more out of the sport as they improve. 

    Hiking in Patagonia

    At the end of the winter season, I enjoy some hiking and the sunsets on the lakes, while I wait and look forward to starting the season again in Zermatt. In this area in the summer you can also go hiking and rock climbing and there are mountain huts and a camping area near the highest point in the resort.

    This October I took a trip to the ocean in Chile. This was a little road trip to Bahia Mansa, Chile, a little fishing town at a similar latitude to Bariloche, to change the mountains for the ocean a few days before coming back to the altitude of Zermatt.

    Gaston is now back in Zermatt already, and back on the snow ready for another great winter. 

    Gaston Rossi

    I grew up in Argentina Patagonia, by the Andes mountains, where I started to ski at the age of 10. Nowadays, after more than 20 years skiing I’m still motivated to keep learning and sharing my knowledge with others. This sport gave me many friends and the possibility to travel a lot, so I will always be grateful for this. I also like any other outdoor activity. Hiking, going to a beach or just walking around to discover new corners in town is always a good plan.

    Contact us to book lessons with Gaston in Zermatt. 

    Stef Schipper – Sustainable Kitesurfing in Holland

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    Stef is a ski instructor with ES in Verbier in the winters, and here he tells us about his summers, working with Harlem Kitesurfing, who are based in Holland.

    Contact us to book ski lessons with Stef in Verbier.

    Heading home

    As the days grew longer and the snow began to melt in Verbier, it was time to put a storage wax on my skis and head for the Dutch coast. I live in a town called Zandvoort (see photos below), famous for it’s racing circuit. I caught up with some friends and family, but not for too long, since I had a quick transition back to work the following Monday.

    Harlem Kitesurfing

    In the summers I work for a kite brand named Harlem Kitesurfing. We produce all essential gear that is required for an enjoyable kitesurf session out on the water. I’m in charge of the communication with all the factories where our gear is produced. I also maintain the software and business processes behind the scenes. My work involves making sure we order the right amount of gear, maintain the highest quality possible and stay on top of technological and sustainable innovations. At the same time, I ensure all day to day activities run smoothly in the office.

    Our peak season is during the summer, allowing me to teach skiing in Verbier during the winter months.

    Surfing, kitesurfing, wing foiling and gymnastics

    During my free time, I practice various water sports. Depending on the conditions and company, I either go surfing, kitesurfing, or wing foiling. Given the variable nature of these sports, I find it nice to keep doing regular exercise as well. After many years, I rediscovered my passion for gymnastics, and now every Tuesday evening, I join a training group for 1.5 hours to play around, learn new skills and stay in shape.

    One of the most exciting aspects of my summer was my involvement in an ambitious project with Harlem Kitesurfing. Already since November ’22, we were on a mission to transition to the most innovative, sustainable production facility for kites and wings. It is called Brainchild Production and is based in North Macedonia. In March we managed to start producing there, and in August we launched our first product from this new factory. See the photos for the colourful result!

    Now that winter is approaching, I’m more than excited to get ready for the ski season again. Summers at home are fun, but winters in Verbier are something else!

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    Stef was born and raised on the flat terrain of Holland but that didn’t stop him from seeking out and exploring the mountains. Learning to both ski and snowboard at an early age, Stef would originally only go to the snow for one week per year but eventually, after spending a whole season in Revelstoke, Canada he got hooked by the allure of the ski industry for good. As a CSIA and CASI certified instructor Stef is a passionate instructor, more than capable of bringing your skiing to the next level. For him, teaching is about having the right balance between learning and having as much fun as possible.

    Contact us to book lessons with Stef in Verbier. 

    Steven Gekiere – Scuba and cycling in Europe

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    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.

    Contact us to book lessons with Steven in Zermatt.

    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 Gekiere

    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?

    Contact us to book lessons with Steven in Zermatt.

    Tim Franken – Coaching on the volcano in New Zealand

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    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.

    Contact us to book lessons with Tim in Zermatt.

    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 Franken

    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.

    Contact us to book lessons with Tim in Zermatt.

    Stéphanie Mugnier –Surfing, cycling and cheffing in Switzerland and France

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    Stéphanie is a ski and snowboard instructor with ES in Verbier in the winters, and here she tells us about her summers, growing, cooking and surfing between Verbier and Moliets.

    Contact us to book ski or snowboard lessons with Stéphanie in Verbier.

    This summer I was based both in Verbier in Switzerland and Les Landes, Moliets, which is a surf spot on the Atlantic coast in France.

    Les Landes, Moliets

    Moliets is located in the Bay of Biscay, north of the border with Spain and the natural barrier between the 2 countries created by the Pyrénées. To the south you have Biarritz and Hossegor, which are also famous for their surf. To the north, it is about 2 hours drive to Bordeaux.

    I love coming to Moliets as I have my home here and have spent the last few years renovating, including putting in a new kitchen, and also completely changing the garden. We had to change the layout and the landscaping completely, and added a wooden deck. We planted lots of shrubs and flowers and now, a couple of years later, the deck and garden are a beautiful space for relaxing. It was a huge amount of work but we have created a very special and peaceful place.

    Here are some photos of the garden;

    My home is about 20 minutes from the beach, which is a long golden sand beach, with pine forests behind it. The area isn’t as built up or touristic as Biarritz and Hossegor, but it has the same north west swell that makes it great for surfing.

    The area is good for beginner and intermediate surfers, as well as experts. However, because the beaches are quite hard to get to (often just on small tracks), the area has remained a bit of a secret. So it doesn’t get too busy even in the holiday weeks of the summer.

    As well, there are great hiking and biking trails that take you through to the beach.

    Verbier

    When not in Moliets, I am also based in Verbier in the summer. I have been in my apartment in Verbier for many years and it is really home now. This summer I made lots of tarts and jams with local fruits.

    With lots of fruit farms in the Rhone valley, I love visiting where things are being grown. In the summer, I try as much as I can to get my produce direct from the farm, including picking the fruit from the trees.

    When I am hiking, I also love picking berries and this summer I made lots of jams from wild fruit that I picked myself.

    I work as a private chef in Verbier, sometimes for families or groups of people who are in Verbier for a while, and sometimes for one-off events. I have been working as a private chef for a long time and over time I have moved to specialise in healthy food from local ingredients.

    For me, cooking is a bit like creating my garden. Preparing and presenting food stays interesting when I am always thinking of ways to use colours and textures to create food that is beautiful as well as tasting great.

    Hiking, biking and swimming

    In my spare time in Verbier, I love hiking and biking. The summers are fantastic for exploring the mountain and forests, and Verbier has some great trails that take you to spectacular views and vantage points. When I am biking and hiking, I am always looking out for flowers and pockets of nature that I can photograph. My other favourite thing to do is swim in the alpine lakes, it is very very cold, but so refreshing!

    When the winter comes, I can’t wait to put my skis or snowboard on and get back on the snow!

    I miss skiing and snowboarding in the summer. However I really like the balance that my life has between growing and creating in the summer, and passing on my love of nature and being in the mountains in the winter.

    Stéphanie was born in the Alps and has always been skiing and snowboarding.  She is dynamic, optimistic and fun. Stéphanie is fully qualified to the top Swiss level of Brevet Féderale, which means she can teach both on piste and off piste. She teaches both skiing and snowboarding, and also Nordic skiing.

    Stephanie’s clients say ‘Stephanie has been an amazing instructor and it was a pleasure to learn … with her. She’s incredibly patient and always comes up with new ways of improving the technique and breaking down any barriers of fear. I can’t thank her enough. I truly had a fantastic time.’

    Contact us to book lessons with Stéphanie in Verbier.

    Allis Österman Wallén – On the beach in Norway

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    Allis is a member of our sales and bookings team with ES in Verbier in the winters, and here she tells us about her summers, exploring Scandinavia. This summer Allis was cycling, walking and on the beach in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

    Contact us to speak to our sales and bookings team in Verbier.

    Cycling

    After finishing my spring in Verbier, I travelled home to Sweden. My summer started off with a small bike trip. We started in Lund, and then biked through Malmö and took the train over the bridge to Copenhagen, Denmark. It was amazing how much of Copenhagen you got to see just by biking through, WOW. We continued biking towards Helsingør and stopped at Louisiana Museum of Modern art on the way, for quick cultural break.

    Once we arrived in Helsingør, we took the ferry over to Helsingborg, Sweden. From there, we cycled around a bit in the sun by the beautiful coast of Sweden, and then we eventually turned around to go home. We biked about 60 to 80km a day, for 3 days. What an amazing tour, and it was such a good way to see the south of Sweden and the east of Denmark! I would strongly recommend it!

    Here are some pictures from my biking trip:

    A couple of days after the bike trip I had a shoulder surgery, which meant that I had to spend a month on the couch. However, that did not stop me from celebrating the Swedish holiday called midsummer! It’s one of my favourite holidays, where you dance around a maypole decorated with leaves, play games and sing “snapsvisor”, or drinking songs.

    Hiking and surfing

    I spent the later part of my summer in Lofoten, Norway. Lofoten is truly beautiful, with its stunning mountains rising from the ocean. Most of the days were hiking days, even some of the rainy ones. You just can’t stay inside with those beautiful surroundings! In the winter, you can put on your touring gear and head up to catch some turns in the soft powder snow. I am looking forward to doing that one day.

    Here are some pictures from my hikes in Lofoten, where you can see the beautiful nature:

    When not hiking, I was the designated surf photographer (since I could not surf myself this summer). Lofoten has several great surf spots, and many argue that it has the best spots in Norway. I lived in Unstad, where the most popular surf spot is. The water may be cold, but with a nice and warm wetsuit it is great fun!

    Below are some pictures I took of my friends surfing:

    I hope that my summer will inspire you to explore the Nordic countries, and have a great time just like I had this summer.

    In the winter time Allis spends most of her time snowboarding. Having skied since she was 3 years old, she fell on love with snowboarding when she was 10 years old. Ever since then, snowboarding has been her passion. She treasures all different kinds of snowboarding, from park to piste to freeride. When she is not on the snow, Allis has worked in the ES office for the past two seasons.

    Contact us to speak to our sales and bookings team in Verbier.