Nonstop Cervinia Ski Camps Story 2

Luka, a local restaurant owner and part time ski instructor, happens to own a vineyard, make his own wine and serves his wine in his restaurant. It sets a bit of the tone for what attracted Nonstop to Cervinia; authenticity, it's one of the key ingredients to the essential mix of what creates a Nonstop camp. The wine flows easily and generously over a meal at Luka's restaurant, our groups are always the last ones to leave. Much like being the last ones on the mountain as the lifts are closing. This is Nonstop in Cervinia!

Our hearty breakfast is served up by yet another local named Luka. Born and raised inCervinia, Luka thrives on providing us with the fuel we need and the rocket boost of Italian espressos to get us on our way up the mountain. A typical day in Cervinia has breakfast served at around 7am and departing the hotel at 8am for a brisk walk to the cable car station. At the top of the first cable car station we get ski boots on in a convenient locker area, where skis can be secured over night. Two more cable cars and we are at the top of the Plata Rosa Glacier.

The first morning back on snow is at a gentle pace, we respect the altitude of 3,480 meters and the effects it can have on sea level fairing humans. The Plata Rosa Glacier has the perfect degree of pitch to allow the skis to glide and provide us time to find rhythm and balance on our snow sliding devices. Day 1 is about re-connecting with the feeling of gliding down a mountain in an efficient way without straining muscles and joints...and finding centre.

Peter was a newcomer to Nonstop at our Fernie 2 Week Off-Piste Camp in 2015. Despite lack lustre conditions, Peter stayed on for an extra 2 weeks. He joined us in Cervinia in November of 2015. I was curious why Pete would want to do the Cervinia Camp after he had just had 4 weeks of coaching the previous season. This was his response... "l would go to Cervina in the fall, because it is always magical to be in Italy, the people are so friendly, the food and wine is fantastic, prices are very reasonable, then there's skiing on the glacier with the awesome views of the Matterhorn. The ski camp in November really does help set you up for the season with top quality tuition and video analysis that gets you tuned up and excited for the new season ahead."

Day 2 in Cervinia is a building block from day 1, the foundation is set to ski with efficiency and gliding, allowing the skis to do more of the work. Gaining confidence while having the skis tipped over on the edges allows for more efficient movements without adding muscle tension to our skiing. Understanding, doing and mastering this skill is what makes skiing off-piste and all-mountain conditions relaxing and enjoyable.

As we gain confidence and efficiency on the edges, the challenge becomes getting off the edges with ease and flow to allow for gliding between arcs. On day 3 we focus on how to effect this critical phase in all skiing. Understanding, doing and mastering this skill results in a dance with gravity instead of fighting gravity as you travel down the slopes. The slopes in Cervinia/Zermatt are ideal for gaining confidence and learning the skills of how to "release" your edges. The value of owning this skill correlates directly to controlling speed on steep slopes, skiing in moguls, short turns and all off piste situations.

On day 4 the focus continues on your own development with personal feedback. The intention is to find rhythm and timing movements properly to allow us to stay more committed to traveling down a mountain, while maintaining speed control. Not fighting the trajectory and learning how to go with it provides skiers the feeling of linking rhythmic turns - one of the fundamentals to skiing in powder snow and enjoying it.

As Peter noted, daily video feedback is a very effective tool for this camp. The video feedback sessions are conducted at the hotel in the cozy lounge where Susie, Gabriel or Cristiana will have the bar open for après drinks. The video session is usually at 6:30pm, providing time to relax and refresh after a day on the mountain. Afterwards it's off for another fabulous Italian meal with local wine and maybe a night cap at one of the watering holes on the way back to the Hotel Mignot.

Fine Italian wines, pizza or even shoe shopping are plenty of reasons to go to Italy at any time, when you can blend it with a Nonstop camp and get your ski on in November it's just that much more of a reason to join us in Cervinia this November. Check out more details about the Cervinia camp here.

To sum up, the Cervinia camps are all about fine tuning your skiing to set you up for success for the season ahead. We include 4 days of coaching, video analysis, hosting, 5 days lift passes, 5 nights’ accommodation with breakfast and airport transfers. There are limited places available, so book early to avoid missing out. Available Dates: 17th – 22nd Nov & 23rd – 28th Nov. Twin Room: £1,045 Private Room: £1,275.