SEARCHING FOR YOUR INNER JAMES BOND IN VERBIER
Freeride vers Savoleyres avec vue sur la station de Verbier et le massif des Combins
Bruson Freeride 2018 compétition
Heliski à Verbier, hélicoptère, neige poudreuse, pente vierge , ski freeride
Heliski à Verbier, hélicoptère, neige poudreuse, pente vierge , glacier , ski freeride
Heliski à Verbier, hélicoptère, neige poudreuse, pente vierge , ski freeride
Heliski à Verbier, hélicoptère, neige poudreuse, pente vierge , ski freeride
Heliski à Verbier, hélicoptère, neige poudreuse, pente vierge , ski freeride
Verbier en hiver, ambiance hivernale avec neige, chalets et toits enneigésVerbier brings out the James Bond in all of us reckons Alf Alderson
To get some measure of how good the skiing is in Verbier you simply have to meet Aussie mountain guide John Falkiner. Falkiner has skied all over the world; when I shared a ski lift with him in Verbier he was just back from British Columbia and about to leave for Kashmir, and he regaled me with fascinating accounts of his travels with the Australian and K2 freestyle ski teams, not to mention employment as a stunt skier in a James Bond spectacular or two.
And he chooses to live in Verbier. John has been there for close on forty years in fact, simply “because the skiing is so good. Sure, it can get tracked out in hours after it’s snowed but if you know the place well enough you can always find fresh powder “.
I didn’t know Verbier at all and I found fresh powder as soon as I stumbled out of the gondola to the top of 2727-metre Attelas peak. Twenty centimetres of sparkling powder had fallen overnight and was being rapidly gobbled up by Verbier’s mix of enthusiastic piste bashers and hard core backcountry skiers. Powder addicts from all over the planet descend on the resort every winter for its world-renowned off-piste skiing – you’ll encounter Scandinavians, French, Brits, Aussies, Canadians, Americans and any other nationality you care to mention in the lift queues.
But it’s not imperative that you be a freeride junkie to get your kicks in Verbier – whatever level of ability you’re at you’ll find plenty to go at since the resort is part of the sizeable Swiss 4 Vallées ski area, linked to the resorts of Nendaz, Veysonnaz and Thyon. The nightlife is also pretty legendary if you have any energy left after that lot.
I was escorted to the off-piste Tortin area by Adrenaline Ski School instructor Adrien Truwant , where we spent the morning floating down steep upper slopes then across gently angled alpine meadows where snow spangled on the branches of pine and larch trees.
The backdrop is as spectacular as the skiing since the region has more 4000-metre peaks than any other region of Switzerland, not to mention the Mont Blanc massif being almost within touching distance.
By one o’clock we were ready for lunch at what is arguably Verbier’s best mountain restaurant, La Vache. Investors in this pleasing mountain top mix of modern and rustic include former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio, popular crooner James Blunt and former world superbike champion Carl Fogerty. Well-heeled Brits have been a major presence in Verbier since the resort’s formative years in the fifties and sixties, and prices tend to reflect this.
The sun continued to shine for more afternoon off-piste action before weary legs dictated that we descend to enjoy another Verbier speciality – top quality accommodation in the form of the resort’s newest hotel, Cordee des Alpes.
Swiss-Australian owner Marcus Bratter opened the Cordee just before Christmas 2012 with the intention of combining the rich mountaineering history of the region with modern international design. The lovely larch and pine wood exterior offers a modern take on alpine style, whilst the rooms feature warm and welcoming décor such as old wood cupboard doors, hand-applied stucco wall finishes, hand-planed wood planked floors and hand-knotted Nepalese carpets. Verbier is renowned for its high end hotels and there’s little doubt that the Cordee des Alpes is yet one more jewel in the crown of one of the world’s great ski resorts.
I had space to scatter my ski gear randomly around my large lounge before lighting the fire to add that essential cosy alpine touch; then a brief snooze on the king size bed before the tricky decision of whether to enjoy a bath or shower in my large and appropriately luxurious bathroom or head off for a massage in the hotel’s Spa Cinque Monde.
It was a no brainer really, and as I luxuriated in my one-hour Indian Ayurevedic massage and felt the tightness drain from overwrought quads and calves it occurred to me that John Falkiner may have been a stunt man in James Bond films but I was actually beginning to feel like I was James Bond.
But that’s Verbier I guess – it brings out the James Bond in all of us…
Cordee des Alpes www.hotelcordee.com
