Is it possible for a total beginner skier to tackle a black run in a week?
Skiing is in the lifeblood of the Hardy family. My wife Felice and I make a living writing about it, one of our sons was in the British Ski Team, the other is a ski instructor, and our 21-year-old daughter Izzi was a schoolgirl slalom champion.
Izzi started dating Oscar while they were studying at Bristol University, and when the relationship started getting serious we realised that if ever they - or all of us - were ever to go on a winter holiday together, Oscar needed to get up to speed quickly on the slopes.
Before going on a family trip to Val d’Isère in France, we came up with The Oscar Challenge: put on skis for the very first time on a Monday morning and by Saturday properly ski the black run La Face de Bellevarde with video footage for proof.
La Face? We purposefully didn’t tell Oscar how challenging the run is. Many World Cup racers consider it to be the second most demanding downhill course on the planet, behind Kitzbühel’s notorious Streif on the Hahnenkamm.
When not prepared for racing, it’s less threatening. The run back down into town from Bellevarde reverts to a steep and usually icy black run that always demands respect. You need to concentrate, and razor-sharp edges are essential. Any mistake can result in a painful slide of 50m or more.
So, to give Oscar the very best chance of success, we figured he would need three hours of private tuition for six mornings, with the afternoons to practice his technique. Only one of the best instructors would do and so we called upon the services of top qualified British instructor Ken Smith, who runs Progression Ski and has been teaching for 20 years.
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Last January, at the beginning of the week-long challenge, Ken says, “Everyone around here tells me this can’t be done, but I believe it can, provided the circumstances are right.”
Many factors are in Oscar’s favour. Val d’Isère has an excellent new beginners’ area with three covered magic carpets at the top of the Solaise area, and the weather was forecast to be clear and sunny. Oscar is in good physical shape, has youth on his side - he’s only 21 years old - is self-confident, hopelessly fearless and has a pressing romantic motivation.
Day one
To make sure Oscar couldn’t use painful feet and dodgy skis as an excuse for failure, we picked the best ski and boot rental shop in town to get him kitted out. Run by Scotsman Jock Dun and his wife Susan, who have been fitting gear for 25 years, Snowberry was even named European Ski Shop of the Year by The Great Skiing & Snowboarding Guide in 2008.
Jock said, “We start with four basic boot measurements. The fit needs to be a combination of comfort and efficiency. Your foot and your ski need to work as one. Very simply, if your brain tells your foot to change direction, you want your ski to move at exactly the same time. If your foot and boot aren’t working precisely together, this isn’t going to happen.
“All the big name manufacturers make good boots, but each tends to have a bias towards a particular shape of foot. Once we have all the measurements we know which brand will suit him best.”
“In beginner skis there’s not such a variation, but we want skis that are soft and will flex properly in proportion to his build. Once he has a couple of days of first turns under his belt and is picking up a bit of speed, we’ll change them for a stiffer and maybe slightly longer pair, depending on his rate of progress.
Out on the snow in Lange boots, Oscar finally got his Salomon X-Drive Focus skis the right way round with a little help from Izzi (“the curly bit goes at the front”). Oscar shuffled off on the flat near the bottom of the Solaise gondola looking like a newborn calf, with Ken making encouraging noises. Izzi and I left them to it.
Within 30 minutes they’d taken the gondola, opened last season, up the mountain to Solaise’s new nursery slopes. Thanks to the magic carpet lifts, you don’t have to face the challenges of a drag or a chairlift before you’ve even mastered your first turns.
Incredibly, by lunchtime on this first day, they were off the nursery slopes and onto a green run served by the Madeleine chair. “I was pretty freaked out to begin with, but after the getting-on part, it was great. Watching the skiers below was fascinating and although my stomach turned a bit taking in the sheer height, I loved it. I could get used to flying up a mountain on a moving sofa,” said Oscar. This is where I would expect to find a beginner on day four.
“I like to push on quickly, concentrating on the shape of the turn and then there’s no time to develop bad habits. He’s plucky and he’s listening. He’s allowing the skis to do the work and therefore not fighting the mountain,” Ken told me. Unusually, Ken believes in an adult skier using poles from the first day.
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Izzi was suitably amazed. “I took him for a couple of runs this afternoon and he was actually doing linked turns”.
By the end of the day Oscar was clearly exhausted. “I wasn’t prepared for how tiring this would be. It’s the combination of the physical and the mental elements – my muscles are aching, but I also feel mentally worn out. Trying to remember the technique whie your body’s energy feels totally depleted is hard work. I’m so glad I’ve made a start though, although Peter tells me the third day is the most demanding. My morale is still high…for now!”
Day two
During the morning, Ken worked on Oscar’s body shape and had him carving turns. “To do this by the second day is absolutely amazing," said Ken. They then worked on technique for skiing steeper slopes and finished off by skiing Diebold, a difficult blue run. “It’s a fantastic achievement and I, for one, am pretty chuffed,” said Ken.
As for Oscar, he said, “My body is aching even more today, but I loved it. It’s really satisfying setting goals and achieving them with Ken. I can hardly feel my legs, but I know it’s worth all this effort, and plus being in such beautiful surroundings makes it much more bearable. I didn’t expect the mountains to be this stunning!”
Day three
Oscar and Ken skied to the neighbouring resort of Tignes where Oscar managed to ski the red Double M run down from the Grande Motte glacier, making smoother, less punchy turns. He said, “It’s coming together today - I feel I can follow Ken’s tracks much more exactly.”
Ken’s response, “Actually we’ve set ourselves a bit of a problem here: a green run day one, a blue on day two, a red on day three – I’m a bit nervous about tomorrow.”
Day four
At the end of the morning lesson, it was difficult to judge which of them had the biggest grin. “We’ve just skied the black run down into Tignes Le Lac,” said Oscar and Ken, in unison.
Izzi was incredulous. “I don’t believe it. You’re making it up? The second half is seriously steep.”
Day five
Oscar and Ken spend the morning working on technique. The black to Tignes Le Lac is indeed steep, but La Face is much meaner. In length, the World Cup downhill is just short of 3km with a vertical drop of nearly 1000m. While the average gradient is 31 degrees at its steepest point it falls away at a vertigo-inducing 71 degrees.
There’s also an unexpected extra hazard. The previous month the slope was injected with ice in preparation for a World Cup downhill.
Normally the course would have been broken up and regroomed after the race. But because of the lack of fresh snow and low temperatures in previous weeks, the surface remained rock-hard and unforgiving. What’s more by mid-morning the sky had clouded over and the weather was now deteriorating. Lunchtime was crunchtime.
“Tomorrow is day six and your last day in Val. There’s a storm brewing and there’s every chance that La Face will be closed in the morning," Ken said.
Oscar, clearly disappointed said, “You mean I won’t be able to do it?”
“No, I think you’re up to doing it," replied Ken.
“But when?” questioned Oscar.
“Now…but, don’t rush. You can finish eating.”
With the light beginning to deteriorate and the wind strengthening, Oscar and Ken, to my delight and astonishment, skied La Face on the afternoon of day five.
Ken, at the bottom, was clearly delighted. “Oscar didn’t just get down it, he nailed it. In what were fairly challenging conditions, he stayed in my tracks and carved every turn. He didn’t learn to ski in a week, he cracked it in five days. I’m thrilled for him. It’s a truly remarkable achievement…actually, I think, it’s a remarkable achievement for both of us,” he said.
Back in the day, when boots were leather and skis were thin, it took me a decade of annual ski holidays to reach this level of expertise. I didn’t think Oscar had a hope of mastering The Challenge in a week, let alone in five days. It’s true to say that it’s not the cheapest way of learning to ski, but it’s the quickest – and the best. Oscar is now a strong intermediate skier who simply hasn’t had the time to pick up any bad habits along the way.
“I’m so proud of him. I didn’t think it was possible. It puts all my years of ski school to shame!” said Izzi.
“I’m hooked. I can’t wait to go again. We’re already planning our next trip,” replied Oscar.
"Excellent, I think, but do you have you any idea what ski holidays cost?"
Need to know
Le Ski offers seven nights’ accommodation in Roc Merlot, Val d’Isère from £687 per person including chalet board, flights and transfers. Private tuition with Progression Ski costs €254 (£227) per three-hour morning. Snowberry offers ski and boot hire for six days from €150 (£134). Clothing supplied by Picture Organic, goggles by Dragon.
