St Moritz polo

Getting Sporty with the UPS Ski System in St Moritz

Getting to St Moritz is somewhat of an epic journey – and so it should be. It’s almost 150 years since the first tourists started to come to this part of Switzerland and it was the British Victorians, with their lust for exploration that first discovered the potential of this wide, high altitude valley known as the Engadine, quietly tucked away in the south east corner of the country.

Today, the town of St Moritz is well known for its glitz and glamour, the five star hotels, the designer boutiques and the gourmet restaurants that are abundant and concentrated in such a small area. But when you look at the history itself, there’s a sense that the real legacy of the Engadine is the pursuit of sport, competition and outdoor adventure.

The rail journey from Zurich takes around three hours with a couple of changes, although naturally these are very simple and are designed to make travel pleasant – isn’t that an interesting concept.

The final and by far the longest leg of the journey is a spectacular ride up through a narrow valley gorge, only possible to navigate because of a series of tunnels that carve through both sides of the rock face. It’s been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it’s one of the most enjoyable rail journeys you could ever be lucky enough to take.

As I entered what feels like the hidden kingdom of the Engadine, the previously misty weather conditions evaporated, leaving a gleaming white landscape and perfect blue skies. The valley gets over 300 days of sun a year but still manages to hold onto its snow well into late April.

I’ve come here to explore the skiing and try a unique teaching concept called the UPS System. Developed by Slovenian ski instructor and ski racer Sandi Murovec, which uses shorter ski sizes and a series of specially designed drills.

The UPS system is exclusively offered in Switzerland by Ski Cool, an English speaking ski school based in St Moritz. Vittorio Caffi, owner of Ski Cool and Vice President of the ISIA (International Ski Instructors Association), will take me through the progressions of the system and explain exactly what’s involved.

The first morning when I look out of the window of the Hotel Bernina in Samedan – opened in 1865 and now a very comfortable 4 star hotel, beautifully run by a team of Italians, I’m greeting with bright sunshine and sparkling mountains. The valley here is wide and the light has a quality that’s brought countless artists here for over 100 years.

Hotel Bernina, St Moritz

The Hotel Bernina provided a wonderful place to relax after skiing.

We drive up the valley towards the skiing for our first day and realise the amount of potential for an array of sporting activities here, from cross country skiing to bobsleigh and ice skating to walking – it really is a true winter sports playground.

The immediate ski slopes surrounding St Moritz include two distinctive areas; Corvatsch and Corviglia. Both offer something different to the skier, with Corvatsch providing more challenging, north facing, terrain and Corviglia sunny wide open slopes – still, the world championship downhill course will keep even the very best skiers happy for hours.

Skiing St Moritz

That’s me skiing in St Moritz, on the slopes of Corviglia

We gather our skis, 3 sets of them, from very short to normal length. They feel unstable on your feet, like ice skates but wider. Vittorio takes me to the nursery slopes where we start some basic drills – moving our bodies in a certain way, steering the skis in very specific patterns.

Vittorio explains that the system is transferable for all levels of skiers, from complete beginners – who will learn to turn parallel typically within one day, and professional ski racers like Tina Maze, former World Champion, who actively uses the system to train.

UPS Ski-cool in St Moritz

Starting to use the UPS system with the Ski Cool ski school

We play on the skis throughout the morning, progressing through to more advanced drills. Later on we switch back to our own skis and at first it feels strange; the length seems oversized and the feel bulky and hard to turn.

But this doesn’t last long and after a few turns you’re back into it. What you do feel is a heightened sense of your edges and your balance combined with a more acute awareness of your body position.

My feeling is that as well as beginners on one side and ski racers on the other, there’s a whole number of recreational and advanced skiers, including instructors, who could benefit from the UPS system. The key is the drills that have been designed to use with the skis – instructors teaching UPS have to have a special qualification as the progression is totally unique.

Back in St Moritz at the end of the day means firstly looking at the upmarket boutiques, visiting the very stylish cafes and wondering the streets full of even more stylish looking Italians.

As you’d expect, the restaurants here are abundant and offer fine gourmet dining, although there are several more basic and relaxed options. We decided on a seafood restaurant called Murtarol, located some miles away from the town centre, but well worth the trip. Huge tanks behind the restaurant house fish and seafood that would surpass expectations at an upmarket marina, let alone in the mountains.

Murtarol seafood restaurant

Tanks holding fresh seafood in the Murtarol seafood restaurant

Altogether I found St Moritz entirely different from my expectations. The people take their sport seriously here; after that, the food, the shopping, the hotels, the ski slopes – well, they’re serious too, with a bit fun thrown in for good measure of course.

FACTS

Ski Cool are based in St Moritz and have a team of international instructors who speak German, English, French, Italian and Russian
They provide ski lessons for all levels including freeride and the UPS System, visit: www.skicool.ch

The Hotel Bernina is located in the village of Samedan, in the heart of the Engadin valley.
Winter season prices (from 15/12 to 10/3) 7 nights half-board starts from 1,190.00 CHF per person (including ski pass). Other services include free Wi-fi, free parking area and free entry to the wellness centre / SPA.
Visit: http://www.hotel-bernina.ch

UK to Switzerland

SWISS offers 29 daily flights from London Heathrow, London City, Birmingham and Manchester to either Zurich, Geneva or Basel. Fares start from £121* return, including all airport taxes. (*Please note this is a leading fare and is subject to change, availability and may not be available on all flights. Terms and conditions apply.) For reservations call 0845 601 0956 or visit: www.swiss.com

The Swiss Travel System provides a dedicated range of travel passes and tickets exclusively for visitors from abroad. The Swiss Transfer Ticket covers a round-trip between the airport/Swiss border and your destination. Prices are £96 in second class and £153 in first class.
For the ultimate Swiss rail specialist, call Switzerland Travel Centre on 00800 100 200 30 or visit www.swisstravelsystem.co.uk