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My helmet was so tightly fastened, I could feel my heart beating through my ears as I stepped onto the cross for my turn and waited. My metal button clanked around the corner, swinging dangerously towards me as the man grabbed it and slotted it into position. I held on for dear life and the slack in the wire eventually went taut as my skis started sliding up the hill. YES. I was doing it. I edged slowly up the mountain, and it all seemed to be going well until one of my skis wiggled off the smooth path the skiers had made and into the powder to the side. I could feel my leg being left behind as the ski wedged itself further and further into the snow, and the button took the rest of my body up the mountain.
‘Let go, Holly!’ Alice shouted from the button behind me. ‘Let it gooo!’
Alright, Elsa. My legs were doing the splits up the mountain as I pulled the metal seat out from between my legs and inadvertently fired it towards twin two. I fell face-first into the snow, rolling to the side to save my stuck leg. Skiing wasn’t going to be my sport. I clicked off the ski on my free leg and watched it shoot down the mountain before I could grab it, hitting some poor bloke who was trying to eat a croissant in peace. I gave him a wave to claim it as he angrily looked around. I’d retrieve it once I’d retrieved my leg. I inched myself backwards so I could dig my other ski out, carefully clicking it off my boot and wedging it into the snow next to my poles. I was running out of time to be Luca-ready for a casual ski on Sunday.
‘Holly? Are you OK?’ Alice swooshed over to me, knocking my second ski over and sending it flying down the mountain after the first, hitting the croissant-man again, mid-bite. I gave him another wave.
‘Yes, just a nice stretch,’ I said, giving my inner thigh a rigorous rub.
‘You nearly got to the top of the mountain, so bear with me and I will bring the girls down here to start our lesson.’ With that, she swooshed off down the mountain, grabbing my skis from the croissant-man and hopped back up on the button lift to collect the twins. I couldn’t imagine ever being that confident on the slopes. She was zipping up and down, navigating the mountain with a nonchalant ease. I’d packed one of Liv’s protein flapjacks to enjoy should a moment present itself, so I unwrapped it and took a bite, bum-shuffling towards the piste, to be well clear of the button lift swinging past. I put my goggles on my head and lay back in the sun, enjoying the sweet taste of honey and nuts. There was plenty of time. I just needed Alice to teach me how to hoon it down a blue run by 2 p.m.
The three amigos came snowploughing towards me at a tortoise-pace, so I saw them coming a mile off. Alice gently pushed my skis over to me, making sure I caught each one and didn’t send them careering down the piste a third time. I clicked them on and was ready to start.
‘OK. So that was a snowplough. Very good work, Tina and Gina. Holly, I will show you too and you can practise with us by following me.’
FFS, I only had three days. I couldn’t snow-plough next to Luca while he was doing Olympic-level double flips; I needed to learn proper skiing and quick. Nonetheless, I followed Alice, Tina and Gina in an embarrassingly slow four-woman snake down the side of the mountain. We eventually got to the bottom and I side-eyed the button lift which was clunking and clicking as it dangerously circled innocent skiers.
‘We will get the lift back up the mountain now. Holly, you go first, and I will wait until all three of you are at the top before I follow.’
I had no choice. The very least I needed to be able to do as a skier was get to the top of the mountain. I navigated my way to the side of the queue where the man gave me a look, took a deep breath, and let me through. This was going to be a very simple, mind-over-matter exercise. The lift transported thousands of people up the mountain every day. Those fourteen-year-old twins did it first time. The button would not defeat me.
I stood in position and watched as my allocated button jiggled towards me, swooping in fast and then slowing down as the man did his thing and I grabbed it with both hands. In seconds, I’d been scooped up by the lift and was once again making my way up the mountain, clinging on with everything I had, but this time mindful of keeping my skis facing forward and following in the tracks of all the button-lift success stories that had gone before me. And it worked. It was working. Every muscle in my body was clenched tightly and I was holding my breath, but it was working, I was successfully snailing my way up the hill. I didn’t move, other than to adjust my skis when they occasionally went rogue, and as I reached the top, it felt like a new day was dawning. I was euphoric.
‘Let go,’ the man shouted at me, as I continued to cling to the button and slowly went around the top section of the lift. I wasn’t sure how to get off so I held on with a vice-like grip.
‘What are you doing? Let go of the button!’ the man repeated in alarm, as the wire continued dragging me up and I rose into the air. I started to panic. If I let go now, I’d fall, but every millisecond I clung on meant I was going higher and higher. The man had run over by this point and was wrestling the button from me. He released it into the sky with a jolt as I fell in a heap on the floor.
‘Vous êtes folle!’ he said in disgust as I caterpillar-ed myself to safety. Tina and Gina had already dismounted and were standing neatly to the side. I managed to get myself up as if nothing had happened by the time Alice skied off the lift and came over to us.
‘OK girls, we are now going to go down the mountain very slowly, using the full width of the slope for our practice. You need to keep your knees bent but soft and stay grounded in the soles of your feet.Allez?’
We all nodded and followed her lead down the mountain. It was unusually quiet on the piste, so we could take our time and go extra slow, which suited me just fine. If I could get it right going painfully slow, then it was just a matter of practice.
Alice gradually built us up over the course of the lesson to use slightly less of the mountain to traverse from left to right, but it was still the very basics of the basics of beginner’s skiing. It wasn’t going to cut it with Luca. I’d have to take a few risks when I met him on Sunday but at least I was getting direction from a professional teacher. It was one thing self-learning with Xavier by my side, but quite another when I was trying to blag the boss.
As I slowly swooshed along with the sun on my face, I took a moment to appreciate the magic of nature and actually enjoy myself. I was starting to see why people were into it. Skiing down a mountain was certainly something I nevereversaw myself doing, but maybe it wasn’t all freezing cold lifts and wet bums after all. There was something about the fierce concentration needed on the slopes that resulted in pure, unadulterated freedom. A genuine break from reality, from social media rabbit-holes and the frenetic pace of life. There was no time to think about anything else but getting down the mountain safely. I slowly arrived at the bottom of the slope just behind Tina and Gina, who were giving each other a high five.
‘Excellent work, all of you,’ Alice said, smiling around at us. ‘I see lots of natural talent amongst you. It is just practice now you have the basics.’
‘Thank you so much…’ Tina said.
‘…we’ve really enjoyed it,’ Gina said.
‘Are we safe to practise on blue runs, do you think?’ I asked tentatively.
‘Not yet,’ Alice said, shaking her head. ‘You work here, don’t you?’
I nodded.
‘Do the greens for a couple of weeks until you are comfortable, and then onto the blues. Girls, if you are only here for a week, I suggest you stay on the greens and get as much practice as possible. Maybe try a blue on your last day with your parents if you are feeling confident.’
If I spent the next three days practising on the green runs then I’d be fine on a gentle blue by Sunday. I smiled and nodded at Alice, about to completely ignore her advice.
‘Time for me to go then, girls, but you have all done a wonderful job today. Remember, head up, stay confident and worry about what is in front of you, not what is behind you.’
Good advice – for life, in fact.
‘Thank you, Alice,’ I said, as I clicked out of my skis and scooped them up. ‘Nice to meet you two, go safe,’ I said to Tina and Gina as they waved and headed back towards the button.
