Yes, the sun was back out and we went up to ski Mont Fort.

Now, we know you’re odds-on not reading this in Verbier, so we won’t gloat, but suffice to say that the piste from the Mont Fort bumps to the little button lift is absolutely epic. And if you don’t want to take my word for it then just ask Lucas. He knows an awful lot about these things…

But the views are also amazing – and that’s precisely why we took a bunch of photos:

So after a brief return of winter yesterday, it was all change this morning and we were treated to a clear blue sky and the warm temperatures gradually returned.

Now, it’s very easy to assume that there’s not a lot of snow in the alps, but the fact is that (whilst we’re not claiming it’s the mid-winter powder that gets you face shots) it’s still really good up there. It’s spring skiing and as we have said many times on this blog, you just need to start later, finish a little earlier and go high for the best snow.

And with that in mind we took a late-morning trip up to Col de Gentianes and, after deciding to skip the queues for the Mont fort lift we nipped down the Gentianes itinerary. OK, we should have waited another hour for it to get even softer, but you know what? We don’t care. It was a stunning day and great fun and by the time we got back to Lac des Vaux the pistes were really in that Ten Minute Window™ when its soft but not too soft.

A few pistes later and it was time for lunch in the sun to talk about great it was skiing in Verbier at Easter…

 

 

After a little bit of a delay due to bad weather the Verbier Xtreme kicked off yesterday morning and didn’t disappoint.

It’s a funny situation when the competition is delayed – normally there’s all sorts of events and stands in town and it completely takes over, but the delay seem to lead to a more chilled out vibe and that’s certainly not a bad thing (last time it happened Gareth and I got to meet Glen Plake at the Fer a Cheval, which is unbelievably cool if you’re a skiing geek).

That said the Freeride World Tour estimate 8,500 spectators watched and 40,000 watched the live stream online. So don’t go thinking it wasn’t a big event…

But after the heavy snow last weekend and the promise of blue skies the decision was made to run the event and see the best skiers and snowboarders in the world take on the most impossible piece of rock you can imagine – the famous Bec des Rosses.

As usual the event was impressive and terrifying in equal measure, but when the results came this is who the judges chose…

Xtreme Verbier Winners

Ski Men: Reine Barkered SWE, 93.25 points
Snowboard Men: Ralph Backstrom USA, 77.75 points
Ski Women: Pia Nic Gundersen NOR, 83.50 points
Snowboard Women: Elodie Mouthon FRA, 72.25 points

Freeride World Tour Champions 2014

Ski Men: Loïc Collomb-Patton FRA
Snowboard Men: Emilen Badoux SUI
Ski Women: Nadine Wallner AUT
Snowboard Women: Shannan Yates USA

And what does it look like? It looks like this…

 

Reine Barkered’s winning run:

FWT14 – Run of Bib #4 Reine Barkered SWE… par FreerideWorldTourTV

 

Ralph Backstrom’s winning run:

FWT14 – Run of Bib #3 Ralph Backstrom USA… par FreerideWorldTourTV

 

Pia Nic Gundersen’s winning run:

FWT14 – Run of Bib #3 Pia Nic Gundersen NOR… par FreerideWorldTourTV

 

Elodie Mouthon’s winning run:

FWT14 – Run of Bib #2 Elodie Mouthon FRA… par FreerideWorldTourTV

Yes, it’s time to tell you that sad, sad story of our annual bowling competition with Powder Extreme.

But before we get all melodramatic and depressed, we should remember that the “Powder Extreme Trophy of Bowling” (a trophy that makes the Calcutta Cup look like a tin pot) has been in the Performance trophy cabinet for two years.

A fixture.

And before that it only ended up with Powder Extreme after a questionable last minute shift in the rules that Felix suggested when were, perhaps, slightly vulnerable / inebriated.

Still, our rich history of winning by accident and without taking it too seriously was turned on it’s head as Powder Extreme rocked up in fancy dress and stole our tactical masterstroke of drinking more than the opposition. A tactic which has always served us well.

And despite taking them to the cleaners in the first set they promptly destroyed us in the second set, and then edged us by seven or ten points (depending on show was counting) in the decider.

But we will give them their moment in the limelight, because next season that trophy is coming home…

Special mentions go to Hanna for turning from debutant into strike-rolling-expert, Jo-in-the-office for outplaying most of us despite having a broken knee, and to Olly for, well, being a bowling machine.

We have rather neglected you while the February half-term chaos was underway, but in fairness it wasn’t that crazy this year.

OK, it wasn’t quiet – but the impact of the structure of the international holidays (spread out for everyone except the British it seemed), plus the way Verbier is starting to allow easier access to different parts of the ski area (roll on the Savoleyres lift replacement), meant that the queues we saw at New Year weren’t really repeated – although there were certainly long waits at times…

Anyway, the holidays are over and Verbier is turning a little spring-like a little too early. This week has seen temperatures go right up and after the cold weather, snow and clouds that have been around for what seems like forever, it’s great to get some sunshine. Although the locals are deeply suspicious that this is a good month too soon to start thinking about spring skiing.

So here’s what it looks like right now up the mountain. Yes, these photos were sent down moments ago to Performance HQ by Sophie while she’s up teaching the girls. Now you can’t say that this isn’t a blog that keeps you bang up to date…

 

Yes, after our last appearance on Verbier WebTV, this time it was Olly Green’s turn to become a TV presenter, using the word “nice” with great enthusiasm and helping out on Verbier’s very own TV report.

Some might argue the kids in his lesson stole the show but we thought you were very good Olly, and if farming and ski instructing ever leave you searching for a new challenge, a career at the BBC beckons…