Definition: Seasonaire, “One who works a season in the Alps in order to ski or board a lot.”
Skiing is a strange thing. All year we look forward to that one week when we can throw ourselves off steep cliff-edges, twist our bodies into awkward, unnatural shapes and generally try to avoid any kind of collision with both tree and fellow skier. We moan about the bitter UK winters yet flock to the Alps where the snow falls and the temperature slips way below zero. You either love the sport or hate it, but those of us who enjoy skidding around at breakneck speeds find ourselves being pulled back to the mountains year after year.
Lorna’s the name. My first experience of skiing was on a school trip at 15 and I have become your typical ski obsessive ever since. Aside from my cat, my twin tips are the most precious possession I own and at Christmas and on birthdays I simply ask for the latest accessories to replace the battered gear I’d ruined during my spectacular wipeouts. When I ran the snow sports club at university we spent half of the academic year counting down to the annual alpine trip and the other half discussing where we wanted go the following year. So it came as no surprise to my friends and family when in summer 2012 I announced that I was planning to leave the dreary British winter behind later that year for the lure of the fluffy white pow.
Val Thorens was the resort of choice for that first winter due to its fantastic après scene, world class ski area and varied international crowd. The biggest worry that us seasonaires had was how the quality of the snow would turn out. You may remember the winter of 2011 when the rain replaced the snow and wet slush adorned the once-white slopes. The thought of a five month season without decent snow sent shivers down the spine of every seasonaire venturing out for the entire winter. But to us the weather was kind. We were greeted in early December by a winter wonderland with deep powder already covering everything. The first few days on the slopes were spent battling the blizzards and -the white-outs meant that you could barely see the person inches in front of you. A wrong turning was almost guaranteed, but every marked slope was like skiing off piste and every crash was cushioned by the deep, cotton-soft snow. This was pretty much how it remained for the entire season.
But as every seasonaire will know, spending such a long period of time surrounded by the beauty of the mountains, breathing in the pure, crisp air and having the opportunity to practise the sport you love every single day is something that never leaves you. One of the first things I was told when I moved to Val Thorens was that I’d do another season. And that person was absolutely right. In December I plan to move to Tignes for another alpine adventure. The apartment has been sorted and a job is close to being sorted for the winter so I’m now counting down the days until I can make the mountains my home once more.