Season Diary – Days 5 & 6

Thursday 11th & Friday 12th December 2025 - Tignes, France

A flurry of activity to bring the 2026 Ski Club of Great Britain Reps’ Course to a close.

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Normally I refrain from putting multiple days into one diary; the whole point of these is to consider what was unique about that ski day, what can be learned, what should be savoured to make every ski day that bit better.

But these last two days of the Reps’ Course were … very samey. Not boring, and not repetitive to the point of boredom. As on other days, we skied the pants off the whole area, Tignes and Val, ticking off every corner and kilometre of this insane ski area.

I was, however, repeating the same role as on other days of the week; rep assessment, skiing with the groups doing their final assessment days and providing feedback to them. Occasionally I would throw a character their way to mix things up a bit, or a few awkward questions, but generally these were the same as the other repping days this week.

These days were samey for one other reason, too. The lessons to be learnt and the unique takeaways were the same, as indeed they have been on other days.

Skiing is better shared.

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I’ve skied a fair bit in my life by myself. On a family holiday I’d get up and get out early to get a few turns in before meeting and helping or instructing everyone else; whilst at university, often I was the only one who actually took the skiing seriously, and at times it felt like the only one who skied full stop; entire press trips have been spent by myself, or on odd occasions where I would cut away to ski something a bit different from the rest of the group.

I love skiing. I love skiing by myself. One of the big reasons I love skiing is that sense of challenge, that it is you versus the mountain, and in the moment you surf a beautiful turn in the powder or rip a perfect carve down a steep piste that titanic challenge is all that matters, everything else fading to insignificance.

I only started skiing with my usual group of friends six years ago, when we got together to go to Japan. Since then we have become great skiers and even better friends and it has helped me learn something that keeps being driven home to me on this course: skiing is better shared.

Knowing someone else can see the massive smile on your face as you finish your perfect line of “S”s, knowing someone else is there to laugh with you when you don’t finish that perfect line of “S”s, knowing you can share stories, make memories, and create friendships through your own, unique understandings of this man vs. mountain challenge is euphoric.

And that was what these last two days were. I was skiing with groups who had been together and skiing for nigh on two weeks, I was a mere imposter in their midst. But, without fail, they brought me into that midst, making me feel welcome, sharing stories, smiles, and laughter, and driving home that, yes indeed, skiing is better shared.