A first trip ‘round the world, part 55

While we were traveling to Australia, teaching at Mt. Buller and returning through the Pacific Ocean, we missed a bunch of big world events. Can you still remember them? I didn’t, except for the moon landing, so I wanted to let everyone know, just in case you had totally missed most of them! 

On May 30, while JP and I were waiting in Genoa for our line to leave port, the first satellite to orbit Mars, the US Mariner 9, was launched. From his home, in Savoie, Gérard who might have seen that on TV thought: "After I'm done with all my travels around the world, perhaps one day, I'll have a chance to explore another planet!"

About a week later, no one told us that the Australian lady Evonne Goolagong had won at Roland Garros over her country mate, Helen Gourlay, 6-3, 7-5. As he was still in Geneva, getting ready for his trip, Marcel might have thought: "Australian girls are hot, I can't wait to meet them all!"

Later on, while Gérard had just begun to teach and that JP and I were stuck around the Canary Islands, On June 17, Nixon declared that it was time to begin the “The War on Drugs”. Still in Chamonix, Philippe might have thought, "This absolutely makes no economic sense!" Yet, the next day, still unbeknownst to us, but much more constructively, Fred Smith founded Fedex’s logistics and delivery services in Memphis, Tennessee. 

The day Marcel left Europe for Australia and JP and I were in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Jim Morrison from the Doors was found death at age 27 in his bathtub in Paris. 

As we arrived in Durban, we learned that Louis Armstrong also died at age 69 on July 7, and at the same time, the City of Paris decided to implement paid parking in its streets. 

Interestingly, during JP and I stop-over in Durban, Elon Musk was just born in nearby Pretoria, South Africa. 

As all of us were now at Mt. Buller, except for Philippe, still no one told us that Eddy Merckx had won his third straight Tour de France on July 18. 

Less than ten days later we heard that Apollo 15 had just been launched, then around August 1, we watched the 4th moon landing’s grainy pictures on Hilton-Wood’s old TV. I had never seen any of them on television before and I was impressed by the little 4x4 used by the cosmonauts! 

The following day I wasn’t aware of the Concert for Bangladesh given by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, in New York City before a crowd of 40,000 people. No one told us either when around mid August, New Zealand and Australia decided to pull out their troops from Vietnam. 

As spring skiing was beginning and snow was starting to melt, it seems to me that JP said he heard somewhere, that John Lennon was leaving the UK to move to New York City. Presciently, perhaps, and always a fan of America, I think I heard him say: "I bet you, he'll never set foot in England again!"

Still around September 10, the local news didn’t mention that the soviet Anna Konkina had won the women road cycling championships at Mendrisio, Switzerland, and that the same Eddy Merckx had won the same title in the men’s category. 

September 11 was a mixed day, as the US Open Women’s Tennis final took place and saw Billie Jean King beat Rosemary Casals 6-4, 7-6. In the USSR, Premier Nikita Khrushchev died at the age of 77 from a heart attack. Make sure to always stick to a regular annual check up routine ! 

To conclude this list and once more, without anyone telling us, Lance Edward Gunderson, later named Lance Armstrong, was just born in Dallas on September 18... 

As we finally made it back home in October, we were, once again catching up with the latest news, good or bad, serious or trivial, watching the cute anchor lady reciting them on good old French television!

 

A first trip ‘round the world, part 54

The early 70s saw the peak of the so-called sexual revolution. Mt. Buller was no exception and by and large, visitors to ski resorts didn’t hesitate a second to let their hair down, partying and drinking, in a totally carefree mode. 

Unlike what was going on with most skis resorts in the rest of the world, skiing was something that wasn’t quite part of the Australian culture. Most visitors had never seen snow, because it simply never snowed in big cities like Melbourne or Sydney. 

Going on the snow was something folks often tried once to get a sense of how it felt like, as the activities sounded as much alien as exotic to them. On top of that, people only came just for a short weekend, with one big night, and when pressed by time, people don’t have much room left to think.

They were all excited by a full day out in the snow, their adrenaline was flowing high, they drank way too much, were piled on top of each others in tiny lodges and when they finally let out the steam accumulated over a full workweek, all bets were off. 

As a society, young Australians were more likely to place stimulation and hedonism as their main values and religion wasn’t the tempering element that it could have been to their American cousins. Much more so than in Europe, social situations quickly turned out of control and cause people to often do things they’d soon regret. 

At the risk of repeating myself, Kooroora was the epicenter of that hedonistic culture, the spot rowdy crowds found themselves at, when no other place was still open. The perfect spot for live music, loud rock ‘n roll, whiskey and coke, where new friends were instantly found but lost the next morning, where integrity took a back seat and the world feels suddenly like a better place at 3am. 

All this set the stage for some wild nights that didn’t let young European ski instructors totally indifferent. So crazy was this “Aussie” form of fun that it got exported all the way to St. Anton, in Austria, at the Krazy Kanguruh. 

I could go on with that story, but it might be far too taxing to cover on that blog!

A first trip ‘round the world, part 53

No matter where we ski, each time we have a bad early ski season, with little snow, warm temperatures and overcrowded ski runs, we must become creative, less picky and more astute about creating the best possible experience.

At these moments, I’m reminded of our Australian ski years. We had very little in terms of terrain, vertical drop, snow quality and, let’s be honest, scenic beauty. 

Somehow, we made it work and made our experience on snow quite lovable. So, here we are today, reminiscing a treasure with not a huge quantity of gold coins and emeralds, but rarity always breeds value. This applies to so many experiences in our lives and we should never forget it. 

Yet, Laurent Vanat, the Swiss ski resort business analyst, thinks that Australia skiing is more about its skiers than what the local resorts have to offer. 

“Australia has a strong immigration program, which in effect creates a whole new emerging market within its own borders. Many ‘new Australians’ come from countries with no snow and no winter culture. These people are very keen to experience snow and have a go. This market is embracing snow tourism and flocking to the Alpine resorts, particularly on weekends. Australian resorts are clearly not very appealing to international customers, since New Zealand offers a close alternative with much greater vertical drop, lower prices and at least as much fun.” 

Clearly, this man isn’t thrilled about Australia skiing. He must be blinded by its small lift capacity figures, limited vertical drop and lack of dining and shopping options. I’d wonder if he has ever set foot in Australia and most importantly, if he has spend much time experiencing its resorts. 

Philippe had a strong reaction: “I don't remember skiing in Australia as being limited, and I was born and bred in Chamonix, of all places, where since I was fifteen I’vee been skiing the Grands Montets and descending the Vallée Blanche every spring. I know, I’m spoiled! At Bull Run, in Mt Buller there was some steeps and enough vertical to have fun. The run under the chairlift was perfect for teaching. Okay, the views weren’t the greatest… Just an endless forest of eucalypti! As an instructor, teaching there was great and the slopes we had were just perfect to make our students fall in love with the snow, then skiing, which prepared them well for a future ski-trip to Europe.”  

For me, though, and probably for all my colleagues and friends who have taught skiing there, Australia skiing means a lot and I’d personally be ready to return there, if my wife let me, of course, and if I could be joined with my good old friends that once upon a time were there with me. 

Are you all ready?

A first trip ‘round the world, part 52

If there’s something that successfully stood the test of time and still continues after half a century, it was the friendship and the excellent spirit that marked our group of people. Some solid friends, having a good time permanently, no enmity, chicanes or hidden agenda. 

Too bad of course that Alexis, Christophe and Jean-Pierre are no longer with us (Serge Empereur who came in 1972 also passed away). 

The story of our Australian adventures and pranks would be much richer if JP had been able to corroborate my account and contribute his share of narrative, miracles and unbelievable feats!

JP was also the one who tipped me about a Look job that became a game-changer for me! Likewise, Alexis could have shared his fears, worry and exasperation trying to manage a wild gang. 

It’s also long overdue to thank Alexis for giving us the opportunity to come over to Australia, improve our feeble English, help us mature a bit, as young men, and broaden our horizons in some huge ways. 

I must also say that without pioneers like Émile Allais or James Couttet, a coach like Honoré Bonnet, ski racers like Périllat, Killy, Goitschel and Famose, French skiing would have long stayed a distant second to Austria.

Gérard totally agrees and adds: “I too, will never forget those other guys who crossed the world to ski at Mt. Buller and have contributed in the effort to promote French skiing in that part of the world. The first one that comes to mind is Alexis, who headed the ski school for 14 seasons, Jean-Pierre that I could never see again since these years, and all those that are still with us like Michel Rudigoz, Maurice Jaun and all the others who paved the way to our unique experience …” 

It is absolutely true that we’re indebted to those that made the big leap of faith in 1966, pioneering the French ski technique at Mt. Buller and the many that have carried the torch ever since. 

All the skills we learned and perfected at Mt. Buller have helped all of us with our careers in securing fun jobs, meeting fabulous people and gaining a more profound understanding of our ski industry, its small but fascinating universe, and our precious planet... 

 

A first round the world, part 51

If you followed this 50th anniversary story about Australia, Gérard Bouvier, Marcel Grivel-Dellilaz, Jean-Pierre Chatellard as well as Alexis Saudan and his son Christophe were the only protagonists you’ve read about. 

We mentioned other instructors and personnel too, but there was one French ski instructor that’s been conspicuously absent till now, and it’s been Philippe Coutaz. 

This is simply because we were unable to track him down. Fortunately, a bit of investigating work and some luck led us back to him. As our 1971 ski season was well underway, Philippe arrived to us from Chamonix. 

We all knew his dad, the Chief Inspector of French Ski Instruction. Upon getting to Mt. Buller, Philippe, who was around 20, went to work immediately. 

Philippe was at the starting level in terms of certification and was hoping that two season teaching in Australia would enable him to take his "Moniteur Auxilliaire" exam. He hit the ground running, appeared very smart, highly adaptable, and his English was very good. 

However, because he was a late-comer, it wasn’t easy for him to fit inside our circle, and we didn’t put too much efforts into integrating him into our group, which was a shame. 

He also was more introspective than the rest of us and the age difference, however slight, played a role too. Philippe would end up returning in 1972 with Gerard and I. 

Later on, in 1985, he got a PhD in economics at NYU and pursued his career in the economic and financial sectors.

A first trip ‘round the world, part 50

In familiar parlance, around the bars at Mt. Buller, “birds” was a very common word (today, something highly sexist as well as condescending) used among boys to talk about girls, in the context of the resort social scene. 

The birds I want to discuss though, though, are the ones with feathers, that flew around us, or sang to wake us up in the morning when we would have rather stayed in bed forever. 

Many of them sounded quite differently than what visitors hear at most ski resorts around the world where the few flying creatures left in the cold of winter were a few lone birds of pray, some ravens or magpies like we find in Park City. 

Not at “exotic” Mt. Buller, that was home to a variety of parrots, like the Cockatoos, they were also Kookaburras and the Crimson and Eastern Rosellas that stood out, like true “birds of paradise”. 

Most of them looked and sounded like no other birds encountered in the European Alps or the North American mountains during their long and mostly black-and-white winter season. 

These birds were hot, always looked super cool and reminded me of paradise!

A first trip ‘round the world, part 49

Money was not the key motivating factor for us to teach down-under, far from it! Remember, we were paid AUS$60 ($50) per week, it was not a lot, but it included complete room and board and a paid round-trip from Europe. 

In fact, after paying taxes and insurance, it was about the same as what I was making as a low-level instructor in France and $20 better per week than the French minimum wage! At that rate I would have needed to work 29 weeks straight to purchase myself a brand new Citroën 2cv, not counting my contribution to health insurance and income tax! 

Still we needed every dollar we could earn because we all had big plans to visit exotic places at the end of season, so having some extra money was important to us. Sure, we sold the free gear we got from Dynamic, Dynastar, Rossignol and Kerma, but that might have amounted to little more than a week working at the ski school. 

Just like in America, Australia used a dollar denomination for its currency that, at the time, was worth about 83% of the US dollar (1 AUS$ = 4.55 French Francs). Until 1966, there was no dollar but an Australian pound just like England.

On February 14 of that year, it was replaced by the Australian dollar. When we came, it was a bit surprising to see Queen Elizabeth’s face still adorning the one dollar bill and I couldn’t quite understand why a country like Australia that prided itself on its egalitarianism and entrepreneurship would still be under the British monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth. 

In fact, Australia was still a constitutional monarchy, in which the Queen was the head of state. After a while, I couldn’t care less and was reasonably happy when I collected my weekly salary. I’ve always wondered if John Hilton-Wood would pay us for the extra time we were held up on the ship, but I still was filled with illusions in those days, and he evidently did not. 

Yet, he and Alexis let JP and I stay a bit longer to make up for the money we couldn’t earn while we were having so much fun on the Galileo-Galilei. I had never realized that kind gesture until now, but better late than never!