You don’t need to be an extreme skier to experience the best of the snow
While most ski and snowboarding lovers might be fairly content with one mountain holiday a year – or two if they’re lucky – there are others who think of little else except the snow, and find a way to go the extra mile to fit in as much time out on the mountains as possible.
Former Financial Times ski correspondent Arnie Wilson set a Guinness World Record in 1994 for being the first person (along with Lucy Dicker, his girlfriend at the time) to ski every single day of the year. Over that year, they skied 240 resorts in 13 countries, so there’s little he hasn’t done in the pursuit of the next slope.
“There were several times we’d ski at night or before dawn, with resort staff taking us up on snow cats so that we could fit in a couple of runs to meet our daily goal before flying off to another country or continent,” says Wilson. “There was a memorable time in New Zealand when we went up in the dark with the piste grooming machines – skiing in front of them so that we could use their lights to see where we were going but taking care not to get run over,” he says. “In India the army drove us up a mountain so we could ski down anything we could find – frozen waterfalls and the like, we also skied on volcanoes in Chile, which was quite an experience.”
Even away from his world-record skiing, Wilson will go to great lengths to find the best snow. “I’m lucky enough to have heli-skied in many places all around the world. I’ve also been lowered down the icy face of some seracs [moving ice cliffs] in Chamonix on ropes to access a particular route down the famous Vallée Blanche, and into another couloir to get to some particularly great powder. It’s a bit scary being lowered down, but when you’re first into that magnificent snow, it’s all worth it – although on one heli-skiing trip on the Italian side of Mont Blanc I had to be rescued from a crevasse!”
But you don’t need to be an extreme skier or go off the beaten tracks to experience the best of the snow. “Many resorts now run a ‘first tracks’ programme where you can get up early and be first on the slopes – it gives you a very different perspective and they usually throw in breakfast too,” says Wilson.
Lynsey Devon learned to ski in the Scottish Highlands as a child but found her true love – snowboarding – while living in Alpe d’Huez, France in the early 1990s. “We’d had several metres of snow overnight so our resort was closed because there was an avalanche risk,” she says. “But we heard on the grapevine that some other resorts were open so I got up at 5am, hitched a lift down the valley with the binmen, took another lift with the postman and then hitchhiked a further few hours, and then hiked up on snowshoes to the most amazing powder. So I travelled several hours in terrible conditions to enjoy just a couple of hours of incredible powder – but it was absolutely worth it.
“Totally hooked, I worked a total of eight winter seasons. My 13-year-old son is a total powder addict too. I feel very lucky that we have such an invigorating, outdoor activity we can share – it’s very bonding. He started skiing almost as soon as he could walk and now he loves both skiing and snowboarding. It’s really fun to explore new resorts and spend an entire week together without the constraints of work, school and other distractions, which so often get in the way. Our mountain holidays mean a lot to us. I can’t imagine life without them.”
Starting young is something Finn Holloway-Hudson is also familiar with. He started skiing aged 18 months, but it was on a holiday to Andorra two years ago that the hobby turned into a passion. While out there he decided to quit a renovation job to stay in the mountains for the rest of the season with his snowboard. Since then he has spent a second season in Soldeu, Andorra as a rep working for Neilson, and is looking forward to working in France or Austria this winter.
“I’ll quite happily trek up a snowy hill for an hour and half for a run down through some powder which might only take a couple of minutes – it’s always worth it,” he says. “I’ll pretty much always trade a lie-in for getting up early to get the best of the snow, and I’ve even been known to volunteer to work on my day off so I can hitch a lift on the bus to the neighbouring resort of Arcalis in Andorra because I love to ride there.”
Whether you’re looking to up your ski game and reach the experience levels of these snow hunters, or if you need some advice on where to get the best powder, Holloway-Hudson and his colleagues across a range of Neilson resorts will be on hand to help, for free. Neilson’s Mountain Experts are qualified ski instructors who live for the snow and are ready to turn you into an expert powder hunter, too.
Enjoy the crisp mountain air this winter in style. Join Neilson for top resorts, food, accommodation and free ski guiding and coaching
