Continued from Part one:
The next morning I met up with my companions and discussed what the days skiing would have to offer. Some Verbier classics were on the menu. Highway, reached from the top of the ‘Jumbo’ cable car which takes you towards, but not all the way, up Mt Fort, Verbier highest lift station at 3330 meters. To get into Highway you need to ski past the famous steps of ‘Stairway to Heaven’, a steep ladder style climb which opens up a secret powder stash bowl. There is a fairly well skied track going around to Highway and a few other skiers are in front of us. This is high altitude, unmarked terrain and although the avalanche danger was not particularly high at the time, it is important to carry the essential safety equipment which includes a transceiver, snow shovel and avalanche probe. We spot some skiers without a backpack and skiing on their own, do they know the dangers? Considering there has not been any significant snowfall for a while, the north facing series of open gullies still held some light powder and sections of un-tracked snow. The skiing is steep at top then opening out and mellowing in pitch towards the bottom, all in all about a kilometre long and it takes us a few minutes to reach the track back out to the mogul run down the Col des Gentianes to Tortin.
That day, we skied north facing slopes at the highest altitude possible. Mont-Gele front face, Col de la Mouche, Vallon d’Arby and Tortin. Mt Gele is a single mountain serviced by one cable car and provides access to one of Verbier’s itinerary routes. Other itinerary routes include Tortin, Vallon d’Arby, Col des Mines and Col de Gentianes. These are marked out runs which are left alone by the piste machines, leaving an area for ‘freeride’ skiing within the official boundaries of the ski area. They can throw up all kinds of conditions from deep powder to moguls depending on the weather at the time.
That afternoon another relaxing beer at the Pub Mt Fort felt even more deserved. But what about the legendary Verbier nightlife? I guess I had to find out what was going on later on at night. The Mardi Gras festival had taken place the week before and I had been hearing many stories of who had the best costumes and who had the most to drink. Mardi Gras or shrove Tuesday is taken seriously in Switzerland and it is the biggest party of the year in Verbier. I guessed people were taking it easy now that was over, well apparently not. Later that night I met a large group of British resort workers hammering the shakers (a cocktail based drink in many varieties) in the pub. They were mostly in their early twenties and having a great time. It was all pretty friendly although one young chap tried to steal our shaker, not successful the first time, he tried again, and again. Eventually he gave up but things got pretty crazy in there by the time the pub closed at about 1am (or was it 2am?) Then down to the Casbar, a nightclub underneath The Farinet hotel in the main square. It was packed solid and the dance music seemed to be working as a mass of people jumped up and down. I bought a couple of drinks which were not the cheapest, but what do you expect in a Verbier nightclub? We decided to leave the dancing and head over to a new club bar called Coup d’état. A recently opened sophisticated cocktail bar which seems to attract a more local crowd alongside the slightly older (ie, less drunken) resort worker. It’s certainly a contrast to the Pub Mt Fort, but alongside bars like the Kings and clubs like Coco and The Farm, it brings a much more upmarket approach to the Verbier nightlife scene.
Verbier seems to have something for everyone and although I get the impression from some of the skiers who have been around a while that Verbier has changed (more upmarket, less appealing to younger skiers doing a season) there is something for everyone when it comes to eating out and the nightlife.
Verbier is an exiting place to be. In the short time I was there I managed to get some amazing skiing in, even though the snow conditions off piste were just ok. I didn’t queue for a lift, I had some great fun in the evenings and met some very interesting and fun people. The downside…..I had to sleep for 3 days when I got back which defeated the object of being there for 3.5 days in the first place. Next year I’ll make it 6.5!
Whilst in Verbier I caught up with Verbier’s marketing and PR Director Pierre Yves Deleze.
Read my interview with him and get an insight into what is the best and worst bits of Verbier.