European Snowsport

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

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    skitouring

    Split-boarding with ES

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    If you are a snowboarder who loves to ride powder but would like to venture a bit further afield, splitboarding could be for you.

    Skiers have long had the means of climbing uphill with touring equipment, leaving snowboarders to trudge up behind on a pair of snowshoes. Anyone who has tried a long hike through deep snow on snowshoes will know how physically exhausting it can be, whilst touring skis can glide across the snow with ease.

    Thanks to the invention of split-boards this overexertion is a thing of the past.

    Photo credit Martina Šafaříková

    What is a splitboard?

    A splitboard is, well, a snowboard split in two! The board can be separated lengthways to create two platforms that act much like skis when climbing up. Skins can be attached and bindings rotated and you are ready to go.

    Photo credit Martina Šafaříková

    What ES offers: 

    We have three levels at which you can try splitboarding, whether you are a first timer, intermediate dabbler or experienced explorer.

    • Half day discovering Splitboarding with a short hike follow by a off-piste descent.

    Get to know the equipment and enjoy the feeling of hiking up. This will be followed by a descent and all take place within the ski resort area. Lifts may be used to reach parts of the route. The level of fitness required will be appropriate for beginners to split boarding, with about 30 to 45 mins of ascent.

    • Full day trip including short hike with off-piste descent.

    Once again lifts may be used to reach parts of these routes. Riders should be fit enough to climb for 30 to 45 mins twice in the day, with a lunch break in between.

    • Full day rando tour away from resort with a longer hike and descent.

    Participants need to have a good level of fitness and should be able to climb between 1h30 to 2h with one or two short breaks for drink and snacks.

    Photo credit Martina Šafaříková

    Interested? If you would like to know more feel free to get in touch with us here at European Snowsport.

    8 Reasons why Verbier is Europe’s Premier Snowboarding holiday resort.

    The Big Five Challenge

    Touring Tuesdays with European Snowsport

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    ES has had teams in the last few Patrouille des Glaciers, a ski touring race between Zermatt and Verbier. Maryse, who runs our administration office and has been with ES since the start, has competed many times. Now, Jonas and Gibbo head up our ski touring pack. Happily, or unhappily, the Patrouille des Glaciers runs every second year, so this year is the year off.

    So to tide us over, we have launched “Touring Tuesdays”.
    Initially, this was just run for friends of the school, but now that we have beta tested it, we have decided to open it up to the wider public.
    Each Tuesday from 09.30-11.30 you can join like minded people in Place Blanche to start a gentle tour up through the forest.
    Our friends at Mountain Air even do a special deal for renting the equipment so that you can try it to see what you think (mention “Touring Tuesdays”).

    Touring Tuesdays are not meant to intimidate, but introduce you to a new way to see the mountains. There are many skiers in Verbier who know the pistes well, but ski touring opens a new side of the resort, a very different one.

    Away from the pistes and the lifts, and other people, you can improve your fitness, hear the birdsong, smell the pines, and fully appreciate what a beautiful place it is. This is not a race or a competition, it is an introduction to another way to enjoy the mountains.
    See you on Tuesday!

    If this sounds like something you might like to try, here are some other links that may be of interest;
    Earlier this winter, we posted this blog about how to learn ski touring;
    https://europeansnowsport.com/learn-ski-touring/

    We even made PDG, the movie;
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JKuV0h432Y

    And another little movie about the equipment you will need;
    https://europeansnowsport.com/what-you-need-for-the-pdg/

    Ski Fitness with Mountain Beach Fitness Retreats

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    Ski holidays are physically challenging. But that’s part of the fun right? Fret not Emma Bodkin from Mountain Beach Fitness Retreats is here to give you some top, ski fitness tips on how to avoid the burn.

    Underlying all things fitness is movement. At the core of this is Proprioception – this is your ability to sense the orientation of the body in your environment. This feedback loop tells your brain what position you are in. Modern life, lack of movement, age and injury can all impair this. Even if you are fighting fit there are ways to fine tune this as it is so so important when skiing, especially in bad visibility. By practising a few drills you can avoid injury in deep powder, ski like a champ in a white out and hit the moguls like a boss. One way is stand with one eye closed and on one leg and do one leg jumps, then try 2 eyes closed, change legs etc mix it up. Try testing your body and brain by moving in an unfamiliar way, jump laterally over an obstacle in a zig zag with little rest. Then try it with one eye closed, or on one leg… you get the picture.

    “…tool for calmness in the mountains.”

    @mountainbeachfitnessretreats

    Don’t neglect the core or the stretch. Work on your lower back, obliques and abs; try plank variations or suspended plank variations in the TRX. Natural movement patterns that make you unstable are the best. Last but not least is recovery; yoga is great as it will increase your range of motion and help balance your mind and body and also teach you an understanding of your breath which can be used as a tool for calmness in the mountains.

    There is no magic pill, no quick fix and no rocket science. You simply have to move more and vary the movement, pay attention to your movement, move mindfully, stretch, recover, listen to your body. Most fundamentally you should mix it up. Build strength in your glutes, quads, lengthen your hamstrings, try and improve powerful explosive movements (think bounding and jumping). Hit the stairs, downhill is just as important. Boost your overall cardio with some HIIT, 2 mins maximum effort then vary your recovery.

    “…ski for longer without fatigue…”

    @mountainbeachfitnessretreats

    The key is to build on your fitness incrementally and make it achievable and fun. This doesn’t have to be long hours in the gym or a boring prescriptive repetitious programme. Try to fit in some squats while the kettle boils, a plank variation while your running the bath and a few laps of the stairs before work. Little changes in your daily routine will minimise your risk of injury, allowing you to ski for longer without fatigue and enhancing your performance and most importantly fun on the slopes.

    A spot of ski touring! @mountainbeachfitnessretreats

    If you require any personal training, aerial yoga or specific recovery classes while you are in Verbier please get in touch with Emma and Lottie
    https://www.mountainbeachfitnessretreats.com/verbier-winter-fitness/

    [email protected]  +447764742475

    They also run holistic fitness retreats globally. Location include Sardinia, Sri Lanka, Verbier, Iceland, Uk, Tuscany and more.

    By Emma Bodkin