Around the mountain

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN

SCHOOL SLOPES

Since 1932, the Swiss Ski School of Villars been instructing Aiglonians in the art of going downhill.

Words Jo Caird Photography Joe McGorty

NSTRUCTORS FROM THE SWISS

ISki School of Villars (ESS) have been training Aiglon students for longer than Marc-Henri Duc, ESS director, can remember – at least 50 years, he says. And although it’s been decades since he was himself a full-time ski instructor, he regularly encounters guests who remember being taught by him when they were students at Aiglon. “They’ve got kids now themselves! But it’s always nice to meet old students,” he says.

Of course, Aiglonians make up only a small percentage of ESS’s students; most of the guests are people visiting Villars on holiday, with the vast majority of those enrolled in snow sports lessons under the age of 18. There were just 50 instructors on the books at ESS when Marc-Henri took over the directorship in 1992 – now there are nearly 300, making the school the third largest in Switzerland. But the fact that so many live in Villars gives ESS a friendly, community feel.

“Villars is a great place to learn because the slopes are not too big, not too difficult and our teachers are perfectly formed, which makes it a really safe environment,” says Marc-Henri. “And that is vital – it is one of the first things we cover. Of the 125km of runs in the ski area, around 3km are blacks, so the challenge is there. The rest are split fairly evenly between reds and blues.”

Like many of the ESS instructors, the older generation in particular, Marc-Henri works every single day between the start of December and mid-April. “At the end of the winter I’m a little bit exhausted but I’m happy,” he says.

And he really is in his element. During the season, he begins each day at ESS HQ on Avenue Centrale, before getting the cable car to the school’s second office in the centre of the Villars ski area. He makes sure to squeeze in 20 minutes on the slopes.

“I do a small downhill, check that everything is okay with all the groups, do two chair lifts and then get to the office,” he says. At 5 o’clock he takes the last ski lift up and has the mountain almost to himself on the way before returning to Avenue Centrale for a couple more hours. “I enjoy seeing the view at the end of the day. There’s always something magical about time on the mountain.”

Villars is a great place to learn because the slopes are not too big, not too difficult and our teachers are perfectly formed!

Sloping off Marc-Henri Duc (opposite) has been Director of the ESS since 1992.

Insider

STAFF

ESS has nearly 300 instructors, half of whom live in Villars all year round, and half who join during peak periods.

HISTORY

ESS was established in 1932, with classes taking place on the site of the old golf course behind the Villars Palace.

PRICES

The cost of private ski lessons start at CHF75 per hour, while group lessons start at CHF20 for an hour.

CLASSES SUMMER

A range of snow sports are available, including heliskiing, snowboarding, ski touring, snowshoeing and biathlon. In the summer, ESS switches to activities including mountain and e-biking, hiking and multi-sports camps.