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How to ski like a Winter Olympian: join Chemmy Alcott on the slopes of Val d'Isere this winter

Chemmy Alcott represented Team GB at four Winter Olympic Games - 2014 Getty Images
Chemmy Alcott represented Team GB at four Winter Olympic Games - 2014 Getty Images

Chemmy Alcott has been the female face of British ski racing for over 15 years. After representing Team GB at four Winter Olympic Games she has effortlessly transitioned to a career that involves sharing her knowledge and sporting expertise with others in a variety of ways, including being a presenter on Ski Sunday.

This April 19 to 26, Telegraph readers can join the four-time Winter Olympian on an exclusive trip to the world-renowned French resort of Val d’Isère, with chalet operator VIP Ski. Readers will have the chance to ski with Chemmy each day and spend time with her in the evenings. Chemmy and her husband Dougie Crawford, who run CDC Performance ski race camps for children and adults, will also be on hand to offer technique advice. Chemmy will give an exclusive talk and take part in a private Q&A session on one evening as well as hosting an end-of-week celebration. To mark the end of the 2020 ski season in style on this exclusive trip, call VIP Ski on 0333 414 4695, and find out more here.

With places on the trip limited and booking fast, Chemmy reveals why the end of the season is her favourite time time to ski, what it is about Val d’Isère that she loves, and what Telegraph readers can expect from the week-long trip.

What are snow conditions like in mid-April in Val d’Isère?

A lot of people worry about skiing late in the season, but if you look at the snow depths over the last decade it has actually been a really good time of year to ski. In terms of the snow quality, especially in a high-altitude resort like Val d’Isère where you’ve got access to a glacier, despite the time of year you’re still going to get that good-quality winter snow – you’re not going to be skiing on frozen ice, like you might elsewhere.

You’ll still get great snow, but you won’t have to have your boot heaters on, you won’t have to wear multiple layers and worry about the cold, you’ll be able to enjoy the snow without many other people on the piste.

CHEMMY ALCOTT
Chemmy takes time at the end of the ski season to relax

What do you love about late-season skiing?

It’s always my holiday time. It’s quite a quiet time of year in ski resorts, the seasonaires are packing up and going home and the pistes tend to be crowd-free, which means there’s this really relaxed vibe around, because everyone is just enjoying the moment. Whether it’s people on holiday, pro skiers or people who’ve just finished their first ever season, everyone knows it’s their last turns of the winter. Everyone has respect for each other – I don’t think you get that at other times of year, when there’s this competitiveness on the slopes.

Apart from skiing, what do you most enjoy?

It’s also a lovely time of year for après ski and long lunches – sitting outside and enjoying an Aperol spritz is great. Any diet goes out the window, because you’ve got enough time before your summer holiday and it’s the end of the winter and you don’t need to worry about fitness. It’s a breath of fresh air and chance to take a big sigh and enjoy the moment.

For someone like me whose winters are so crazy with travelling so much, the last week of my season is always my favourite in terms of how much I can relax and enjoy it. I know I have to enjoy every single one of my turns because it’ll be a while before I get a chance to do it again.

folie douce - Credit: 2013 AFP/PHILIPPE DESMAZES
The Folie Douce is a legendary après ski spot Credit: 2013 AFP/PHILIPPE DESMAZES

What’s your favourite thing about Val d’Isère?

They've got the original Folie Douce, the place to go for après on the slopes in France. I don’t like going out in the evening, because I like sleep and I don’t want to sacrifice the skiing so I find that late afternoon après ski at the Folie Douce is the best in the world. It’s completely indulgent and you can enjoy the moment, knowing that it’s frivolous, fun and silly.

I also like that you’ve got so much choice in Val d’Isère: great restaurants, great food and a great spa. You can be as crazy as you want to be, you can be as chilled as you want to be or you can be as healthy as you want to be – every option is available to you and you can change your plan every day.

One day I will go ski touring and have all my meals at the Arctic Cafe because I want to be healthy. The next day I will go and indulge on gin and tonics and dancing on tables at Coco Rico and Folie Douce. You can reinvent yourself every day in Val d’Isère and I think that’s great.

What’s your favourite run in Val d’Isère?

The Lost Valley is my favourite run – it’s not the best snow, it’s not the best skiing but it's one of those really epic runs where you go through the gullies and it’s really fun.

I like La Face for helping people conquer really intimidating run. I like to ski it with clients because I’m all about mindset and building peoples' confidence up. I’ve skied it with a lot of people who at first thought they couldn’t ski down it but by the end of the day they’ve completed it – it might not be fast, it might not be pretty, but it’s about the satisfaction of pushing yourself.

val d'isere
Val d'Isere is a popular resort with British skiers and snowboarders

The OK downhill piste coming down into La Daille is a lovely piste too, it’s got every type of terrain. And the connection over to Tignes is great, every little new pocket of the ski area you go to is another lovely run.

What can people expect from the trip?

My husband and I will be on the trip. Dougie is 25-time British Ski Champion and he’s also got this incredible technical eye – we run our ski coaching business together.

We’re very different in the methods we use to improve performance – I’m very feeling based, more psychological, while Dougie has an amazing scientific knowledge that comes from being the highest level of ski instructor. We bring four very different eyes to skiing – people love skiing with us both, because if it doesn’t click with me it’ll click with Dougie. Between us we tick every box.

What does a day on the slopes with Chemmy look like?

I love focusing on the whole day’s experience – I like to do morning yoga with guests to get the body nice and relaxed and awake. While I have a holistic approach off the mountain, when I start skiing I ski hard and I ski fast.

I love to demonstrate, and for people to follow me – I never realised, having been to four Olympics, that when I retired I’d have honed a sport that people find entertaining. I find it incredible that people want to watch me ski, because for me it was always about racing against the clock, but now I want to make perfect turns and want to be a exhibitionist on the slopes.

chemmy alcott - Credit: 2014 Getty Images/Clive Rose
Chemmy competed at four Winter Olympics Credit: 2014 Getty Images/Clive Rose

Will it be like traditional ski instruction?

No, we’ll do really individual work – it’ll be small groups with a real individual focus. It won’t feel like critique because I’m just there to help people get the most out of their experience.

If you don’t want to advance your skiing in leaps and bounds then I will just make sure you enjoy it. There’s no pressure to improve, you will get out of it what you want to, and if that just to be smiling every single day, that’s great.

What else are you up to this season?

I’m really looking forward to going back to St Anton – that’s the ultimate indulgence resort for me. While it’s work I’m going to have fun. It’s a big thing for me to get over that ‘mother’s guilt’ – I’ll be leaving my two boys for the first time to enjoy myself.

I’ve also got filming for Ski Sunday and I’m hosting a bunch of corporate ski events including the City Ski Championships in Courmayeur. And I’m doing my first race in a long time, the Inferno in Wengen for Ski Sunday, as well as our performance race camps – it’s a mix of everything.

What do you love most about your job?

Sometimes I get to wake up and ski with a group of eight year olds and rip around the mountain with these young girls and boys who want to be the next big thing, at other times I’m skiing with a 50 year old who has been training his whole life to be better – I’m so fortunate to have the diversity. At the same time it’s all about sharing my passion and knowledge and experience of the mountains. There aren’t many people who get to retire from their first love and find another love like I have.

Places on The Telegraph’s exclusive reader holiday with Chemmy Alcott are limited. Prices start from £999 for a week’s stay at Aspen House in Val d’Isère with VIP Ski. Prices includes chalet board, return flights from London Gatwick to Grenoble, transfers, exclusive talk, Q&A and skiing with Chemmy and her husband Dougie Crawford of CDC Performance and an end-of-week party, with prizes, presented by Chemmy. Call VIP Ski on 0333 414 4695 to book, find out more here.