The mountain train pulls away from the top station on its 20-minute descent to the village, and my friend and I wave goodbye. Then we plant our poles into the snow and take off down a wide blue run.
Ahead of us, the undulating white landscape is punctuated by other skiers; craggy monochrome peaks watch on from afar. A child half my height zooms past and I hear my friend laughing as she follows me along a trail through the woods. If we're speedy, we should get down before the train.
It's the end of our first day in Villarssur-Ollon, a resort in Switzerland's Vaud Alps, and I skipped that mountain train ride in order to tackle this final run instead - a stretch I was once too fearful to do. But after learning to ski in Villars as a nervous 30-something and having returned many times since, I now feel confident exploring as my ability grows.
A two-hour train ride from Geneva, Villars isn't as well known abroad as Verbier and Zermatt (nor is it as pricey, thankfully), but it's certainly popular with the Swiss- and for good reason. Together with the linked ski areas of Gryon and Les Diablerets, it provides 104km of slopes for all ability levels, from absolute beginner upwards.
Earlier today I passed the short blue slope where I first tested my ski legs all those years ago, and I was reminded not only of how much I've improved since then but how much fun I've had here along the way. I learnt to correct my laughably bad body position during a lesson with a ski school instructor. I skied off-piste for the first time on the way to Gryon. I enjoyed a beer with friends at Jimmy's Bar on the slopes, and lingered at the top of the Grand Chamossaire chairlift to absorb the 360-degree sprawl of the Vaud Alps before zigzagging down a sunny red run.
Beyond the slopes
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 2023 من Woman & Home UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 2023 من Woman & Home UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Welcome to ENGLISH WINE COUNTRY
Ellen Himelfarb discovers palate-tingling wines and warm hospitality among the sunlit slopes and flint villages of Sussex
Naturally STYLISH
Combining mindfulness ideas and natural materials, this country house - built by Lisa and David Wallace – exudes beauty, calm and serenity
Make ANXIETY Your superpower
Embracing worrying thoughts might be more beneficial than suppressing them, says Samantha Wood
I hope the kids have my self-confidence
Author and presenter Richard Madeley reflects on the early days of parenting, and watching his family grow
Love..OR LIES?
Romance fraud is, sadly, on the increase - meet two women affected and find out how to stay safe
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A...PROBATION OFFICER
Meet Sarah Port, 40, deputy head of the Probation Delivery Unit in North Essex
Could YOU live on your PENSION?
Surviving on the minimum retirement living standard for a week shocked Faith Archer into increasing her contributions
We're having a FASHION moment
And long may it continue, says Wendy Rigg, charting the rise of midlife fashion
There really is NO PLACE LIKE HOME
But when Yorkshire-woman Sharon Wright fetched up in Surbiton, which would hold that special place in her affections?
Older & bolder
One of our favourite comedians, Helen Lederer, has finally sent imposter syndrome to Room 101