When the white stuff hits, snowsports fans flock to Glenshee. Gayle enjoys a much-needed ski lesson…
Driving up the twisty road from Bridge of Cally to Glenshee, I always feel a twinge of excitement.
The views are stupendous no matter what the weather but when I journey up there last week, I’m on a mission to go skiing.
Alas, I’ve not picked the best day. There’s no sign of snow – only grass, rocks and heather – until I turn the corner and the ski centre hoves into view.
Having only taken up skiing a couple of years back (and only ever had a handful of lessons), I’m here for a much-needed refresher session with FreshTracks Ski School.
I love the sport so much that I’ve invested in my own gear, albeit cheaply: the boots were bought off Gumtree for £30 and the skis (£120 online) had a huge gouge taken out of them after I slid over a huge rock in the Cairngorms last season.
I’m delighted when my instructor Peter Cowie has a rummage in my boots and concludes they’re a good fit and a fantastic bargain!
As for the skis, the gouge goes right through to the core and he me some tips on how to repair it, DIY-stylee.
Despite the lack of snow (it’s since hit Glenshee big time), Peter reckons the conditions are good for a lesson.
“Let’s go up Sunnyside,” he suggests.
“There’s a decent amount of snow, but watch out for the odd grassy patch. There are a few rocks around, too, so keep your eyes open.”
Once we’re at the top of the run, which is a nice, easy green, Peter takes me right back to basics.
“Follow me and imagine you’re standing on an eclair with your outside foot when you make a turn,” he says.
“The pressure shouldn’t be too hard or too soft. Really drive through the turn if you want to make it happen more quickly.”
To demonstrate how easy it is to turn the skis, Peter asks me to envisage curling my toes round a tomato.
I’m surprised just how effective this is, even though the image makes me chuckle.
Throughout the lesson, which we take at a very slow and steady pace, Peter gives me some fantastic tips for technique, some of them absolutely hilarious.
“Imagine you’re sitting on a park bench and suddenly, you see Brad Pitt to your side. You reach out and grab him.”
That one works very well indeed, in terms of getting me to bend and flex my legs.
One of my favourites is Peter’s “stable door” theory.
Standing parallel to the mountain, he asks me to imagine throwing myself up and over a stable door, bringing my poles to my side. This results in a fabulous turn.
There’s also the “fencing” theory. “Hold your poles as if they were swords, pointing them straight out in front of you,” says Peter.
“Then squat down and touch the snow with the tips.”
Again, a great turning technique and one which sees me hurtling down the hill at decent speed.
Another strategy is spraying “enemies” on either side with powder snow.
It’s kind of like a skidding turn, and (I think) the point is to make me carve better.
It’s a fantastic hour and I pledge to spend the afternoon up the other side of the ski centre, on Butchart’s Access, putting Peter’s theories into practice.
I’m with photographer and snowboarder extraordinare Kris Miller, who fires off down the slopes at breakneck speed.
The temptation is to try to keep up, and we have a jolly couple of hours zipping down blue and red runs, narrowly dodging rocks, heather and icy patches.
Soon enough, I topple over, and force myself to go back to basics.
I guess I’m a kind of – “if I can make it down the hill without keeling over, I’ll be fine” – skier, and that needs to change.
I exhibit absolutely no finesse and it’s more a case of legs flailing, bum sticking out and the air turning blue.
I really do need to reign myself in and take control, but flying downhill at speed is great fun, no matter what it looks like.
The lesson has definitely helped me to improve and Peter has given me fantastic food for thought.
Long may the snow fall on Glenshee and in the words of Arnie, I’ll be back.
info
For updates on weather conditions, lifts, runs and roads open, see www.ski-glenshee.co.uk
To book a lesson with FreshTracks Glensee, see freshtracksglenshee.co.uk, email freshtracksglenshee@gmail.com or contact 01250 882277.
