Instructors clinic at Chamrousse, France

Just fifty years ago, before beginning my employment with the Avoriaz ski school, I had to attend a week long clinic in Chamrousse, the site of the 1968 Grenoble Olympic downhill.

No, I wasn’t asked to compete on the run that made Killy so famous, but to follow some basic ski instruction training and, at its conclusion, show my ability of executing the “official French turn”, called Christiania Léger, and display my natural talent to ski down a cruddy steep hill with a certain modicum of control.

I was there in company of my friend Bernard Gradel from the Cluses school and Michel Lascar, also from Avoriaz.

I remember that on exam day, the weather was extremely cold, and in order to look good and best display my ski form, I had dropped my ski parka and only wore a red sweater. Conclusion, I froze the tip of three of my fingers, but still managed to get my certification.