Finding the Angle in Verbier
It was the green blur outside the train window that worried me. It should be white. Frozen land in its winter thrall. Green grass and the brown death of autumn still lingered, unwanted, it was December. The train was spat out of another tunnel and finally the peaks bore a resemblance of winter. A dusting of white. Hope returned.
The cold and the frost on the platform, the high speed assault on the altitude. We arrived and after doing my best not to fall in love with the dark hair, deep brown eyes, and soft accent of the girl, Emily, who checked us in, we stowed our gear and walked out into Verbier.
The town had the funk of any ski town the world over waiting for snow, the yearning for the first fix of cold smoke. Contagious conversations of weather patterns and false hope rippled through the air. As we sat in the loft, a bar perched just off the Place Centrale, planning our 3 day mission, heads began to turn and stare out the window, it had begun to snow.
We got 15cms that night and after collecting skis from Faction, a ski and outerwear company based in Verbier, we headed up the Medran Gondola to see what the mountain had for us. As we rose above the clouds the picture became clearer, low tide, shark-like rocks peppered every aspect but there were lines to be had off the piste. We would just have to be a little imaginative.
How hard is to make a ski film with basic consumer kit? The reason for this tip to Verbier was to find out, myself being a professional film maker along with Will Robson writing for Fall Line Magazine. We were armed with a couple of Action Cameras, a smart phone and we’re going to give it our best shot.
For 3 days we found pockets ofgood snow nestled between the rocks of the North facing slopes. Reenforcing the age old adage ‘never listen to people who complain about the snow’. There is always something to be found, you may just have to put a few core shots in your ski’s searching for it.
After searching out the pow we ate like kings at la Rouge, disco’d at Pub Mont Fort and feasted again at Écurie, a restaurant below our hotel L’Emitage, and run by the same family, it was delicious. More feasting and discoing took place at La Channe and The Loft. We were full and sleepy. Our time in Verbier had come to an end, but we’ll be back.
Keep an eye out for the full story in Fall Line magazine and we will release the film and some of our top tips here later in winter
