Skiing with an off piste guide in Morgins

Me on my way down

my legs gave up !

Rolf Sigg

Today, my 5th day in Morgins has been one of my most memorable. Setting off from the Foilleuse lift with Rolf my guide from the Morgins Ski and Snowboard School, I was wondering what was the plan for the day.When I asked how long we would be out, he just said “for as long as your legs can keep going” and he wasn’t joking. The conditions were perfect,it had snowed the night before with around 20cms of fresh powder on top of hard packed snow. As we approached Champoussin Rolf stopped briefly and then took a sharp left into a beautiful un-tracked powder field. Not sure what to do I followed him down into the meadow turning to kill my speed, looking out for tree roots and trying see my guides line. My confidence crew as I was told to do shorter turns and keep my weight evenly on both skis. Having made it out of the meadow, having fallen twice, I soon learnt that this was to be my “off piste” test. Fortunately I had passed the initiation and then Rolf shared his plan for the day .We were off to Morzine but not by the conventional route. Soon we arrived at the top of the Col du Fornet in the Avoriaz back bowl. From there we hiked to the ridge and dropped into a massive field of fresh untracked snow. Things started off well and I soon learnt to put weight on both skis  and bounce as I turned .However after 3 or 4 minutes I started to pick up speed and my legs started to burn. With some more advice from Rolf and a bit more confidence I let the skis go and glided through the light powder. Eventually we arrived at the Mines d’Or ,an old gold mine next to a beautiful frozen lake .We had not seen another skier for at least an hour and the beauty of the Morzine valley was captivating. I was told we were only 5 minutes from a small English owned bar hidden from the main piste ,servicing off piste skiers and snow shoe walkers- you really had to be in the know to find this one . After lunch we looked at  our watch and realised we only had an hour to get to our last lift – butRolf had timed it perfectly and after a 15 minute pole from the restaurant, 2 cable cars ,3 chair lifts and a walk through Morzine town centre we made it to the lift with one minute  to spare . Today was tough , but I tried things that I wouldn’t have dreamed I could do. I felt safe with my guide and would recommend anyone to do the same when they come to Morgins ,For more information contact Rolf Sigg at Morgins Ski + Snowboard School +41(0)24 477 77 17          www.m3s.ch

Written by superadmin • 22/01/2010
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