activities Archives - FreeFlo Ski Coaching

5 Tips to keep entertained through corona virus

Posted on March 30, 2020October 26, 2020 by Jocelyn Cockle

Day 13: Corona Virus Lockdown in France

I never thought that I would be writting and sharing my 5 tips to keep you entertained through the corona virus. We are in such times of uncertainty and choas. In different countries worldwide we find ourselves in some sort of lockdown to stop the corona virus from spreading. On 14th of March 2020 all ski resorts in France closed and the tourist ski industry came to a complete halt. France is in a complete fixed lockdown. Fines have increased to €400; if you are outside your home doing exercise more than a 1km away for more than an hour. You can only leave your home once a day with your document and identification.

Skier: Craig Resort: Les 2 Alpes 13th March. My last day guiding and teaching for winter 2020.

Being the outdoor person that I am; these rules I am finding very difficult to adhere too. Especially as 2019 was a physical lockdown for me being a victim of a ski collision. I am often being asked by others, “what are you doing with your time..?” I have a constant flow of paperwork and administration to keep me entertained. This always comes with running your own business FREEFLO. A lot of my energies is also going into working out the next step. Outside that there is another world; this is what I have been doing.

1) What have I been watching?
YouTube: For the last two years I have been watching Cody Townsend trying to execute his dream of skiing 50 North American Ski Classic ski lines.

My friend Jordan Tiernan has put together a blog with the best films from the Banff Film Festival. I will look forward to watching them.

2) What podcasts I have been listening too:
I have been working through the list of Outside Magazine for the Top 14 best Podcasts

3) The best music I have been listening too:
My friends shared me this new 8D music technology. I put my earphones on and the volume up and the music blew my mind. A total different music experience.

4) In the Kitchen:
With more free time I have been enjoying getting back in the kitchen and making my bread, soups, cakes etc: I found a great receipe for glutenfree pancakes. Try them with some chocolate spread!! They are delicious.

5) What I am reading: I have am reading once again The Mind Management; The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters. This helps me to control my chimp inside. For more recommended reading in leadership and decision making. Sign up for free to my friend’s Richard Hughes-Jones newsletter.

Stay safe and enjoy the time to slow down.

Floss

FREEFLO specializes in progressive on and off-piste ski instruction, backcountry ski touring and women-specific ski courses. We offer personal British ski instruction for skiers of all abilities. Our primary objective is helping competent skiers to improve their technique on and off-piste and in the backcountry. Our intuitive coach approach will help you to progress, have fun and enjoy the full freedom of the mountains in a safe and confident manner.

Refuge Turia, Villaroger Tarentaise, France

‘The mountains will have time to rest and to recuperate…before we can explore them once again…’

Part 1: Ski touring Col Des Fours, Val D’Isere

Posted on February 4, 2020November 24, 2020 by Jocelyn Cockle

Part 1: Ski Touring the Col Des Fours in Val D’Isere

Ski touring the Col Des Fours in Val D’Isere is part 1 of my top five classic ski tours in the Tarentaise Valley in the Northern French Alps. It is also part one of the series Best Ski Touring Routes on my Freefloski youtube channel

Its a low intermediate ski tour with only a 480m of ascent. For your efforts, you are rewarded with amazing views and over 1000m of vertical off-piste descent into the Vallon Des Fours. It is a great introductory tour for skiers who have some experience in ski touring already. But it is a tour where your timing is everything! You need to make sure that you have big enough weather window and that you time the last traverse to perfection.

Route: Fornet, Val D’Isere- Col Des Fours- Fornet, Val D’Isere
Off-Piste skiing: 2976m -1915m W/NW/N
Max Ski Gradient: 38 degrees
Uphill: 480m 1.5 to 2hrs
Total Route time from Fornet: 5-6hrs
Skiers Level: Intermediate off-piste skier
Ski Touring Level: Low Intermediate
Start: Fornet cable car
Finish: Fornet cable car
Lift pass needed: Val D’Isere
Map needed: 3633ET

Depending on your size of the group and the speed of the group this tour in the winter you can actually start in Tignes and ski over to Fornet and ski back depending on your size of the group and the speed of the group. In springtime when the snowpack is warming I would advise you to start in Fornet in Val D’Isere so you aren’t depending on a ski lift home.

You start on the Col D’Iseran and ski down southwest to Pont de la Neige. At the bridge, you will find a flat area so you can transition to uphill skiing. From there you climb 480m to the col. If you are careful with your line you don’t need to be able to do a kick turn. The last two hundred metres of the tour is the most difficult and its when the timing is everything. It’s a 200m traverse which is slightly exposed and often icy. As the pitch above the traverse is southeast facing it has the sun on it early and the snowpack warms and often releases some slides.

After you reach the col you have endless options of skiing different lines to the Refuge Des Fours. Choosing your ski down after the refuge becomes a little bit more tricky as you are in more complication terrain. Depending on snow conditions you can then decide to keep left or right of the river des fours back and then back to the Manchet chairlift.

For more ski touring tips see blog: 5 Ski and Snowboard Touring Technique Tips

‘Ski tour in comfort and performance; I choose nothing but the best and highly recommend the backcountry selection from Floâ Sports,’ Jocelyn Cockle (Floss) Director of Freefloski

How to book a night in Refuge Turia, Les Arcs

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Jocelyn Cockle

Getaway from the hustle and bustle of a ski resort or your nine to five job in the city and visit Refuge Turia. Be overwhelmed with the epic mountain views that surround you. Find yourself relaxing with the peace and tranquillity of the mountains.

**Refuge Turia, picture taken from the moraines of Lac Riondaz**

In a dormitory room the refuge can accommodate up to a maximum of nineteen people per night. The refuge is looked after by a guardian from June to September. Prices start from €17.50 to €55 euros full board. The good news is that the refuge is open all year round with or without a guardian. Payment for your stay is taken in cash. When the refuge is not guarded you can pay for your stay into an honesty box called the Tronc.

When to go?
The best time to visit refuge Turia and to explore the surroundings is to avoid french and UK holidays. A good tip is to phone up the refuge and ask how many people have reserved the night you want to go. Once you have decided when to go and have booked by telephone then the next step is to plan your route depending on your fitness and ability.

**An eco loo with a view!!! Mount Blanc 4810m in the background**

How to Book?
To book your overnight stay visit Refuge Turia website. If you are looking for a winter adventure Freefloski can ski and guide you there or teach you skills for you to get there. To start your adventure send an email and get in touch with Freefloski.

For summer guiding to the refuge and around get in contact with Delphine Julliard

Ski Touring – Womens FREEFLO Introduction Tignes

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Jocelyn Cockle

For the third year running I have just finished leading the FREEFLO Womens Introduction to ski touring Course in Tignes and Val D’Isere. I love and enjoy running this two day adventure as it allows me to pass on skills and twenty years of winter mountain experience to people that have never experienced ski touring in the backcountry before. I have just had an amazing time with four special people.

Day one ski touring

On the first morning we met up in Planks Coffee Shop which is relaxing place to start any course whilst drinking good coffee. I spent the first forty minutes getting to know everyone and to find to each persons expectations and goals for the course. I then discussed the weather, the snow conditions and current situation of the snowpack and taught everyone where to find this valuable information. We then checked our gear and kit list and made sure we carried everything we needed. I gave a rough outline of a plan for the two days before heading outside on the piste for a skills session. I then taught everyone essential ski touring skills. This included how to put skins on and off, how to change their bindings and boots to uphill and down hill mode, different turns, route selection etc:

To gauge ski ability and to brush on technique before heading into the backcountry we skied a small section of off piste . The snow was great and as soon as the clouds broke and the blue skies arrived I took the opportunity and lead the group into the wilderness of the backcountry. Virgin untracked snow as far as the eye could see was our view as we crossed the Col De Palet. No one was around as skiers were skiing fresh powder in the resort. It was perfect timing as we made our own tracks in the powder as a group of five. Once we had arrived at the lake we tucked into a well deserved snack and drink. After ski touring for fifty five minutes we then arrive to the refuge de palet and enjoyed tucking into a three course meal.

Day two ski touring

The next morning was clear and no one was in sight. We took full advantage and skied the powder on the north facing slopes to lake Grattalu and then broke tracks uphill making our way through the valley of La Tourne. The valley La Tourne is one of my favourite ski touring itineraries. Its gentle and has breathtaking views especially when come out of the Col de Tourne and overlooking Tignes. It was an amazing two day adventure with great company and one that I will never forget.

This is what the team thought

“I love skiing, but getting a introduction to the awe inspiring backcountry of Tignes, gave me a new level of appreciation of why we ski. Nature is even more beautiful, impressive and so much more powerful than us out there beyond the ski area boundaries. Still, we can be part of it and enjoy it if we work together, breaking track, reading the snow conditions and finally huddling together in front of a fire in the cosy Col du Palet refuge. A truly unforgettable introduction to touring.” Leizel Cloke

Leizel enjoying the uphill of ski touring

“Such an adventure to be pushed safely right out of my comfort zone, experiencing an enemies depth of powder surrounded with such stunning scenery and Flo providing us with a photographic life time memory to share..thanks FREEFLO..amazing amazing.” Sally Coates

“The two day tour exceeded all my expectations from the glorious weather, the bouncy snow and the sunny scenery to the delicious refuge dinner and the comfy beds. It was a magical couple of days and Flossie inspired confidence by creating a safe and fun learning environment for all of us touring rookies…I am so please I booked it was my best two days of the week.” Amy Cardale

FREEFLO specialises in progressive on and off piste ski instruction, backcountry ski touring and women specific ski courses. We offer personal British ski lessons for skiers of all abilities, though our sweet spot is helping competent skiers to improve their technique on and off piste and in the backcountry. Our intuitive coach-approach will help you to progress, have fun and enjoy the full freedom of the mountains in a safe and confident manner.

Step into your next adventure and email: [email protected] or visit www.freefloski.com

What are Skins?

Posted on December 15, 2015 by iwood.web

The History and info about Skins:

Often when I am talking to clients about ski touring which involves going uphill I am confronted with their puzzled and confused face and the question of HOW? The answer is that we put skins on and go uphill which makes the client even more confused then before.

By most accounts skis and skins have been around for thousands of years. For a long time skiing was called ‘skilaufren’ (ski walking). The term for ski riding and downhill skiing wasn’t born until the 1920’s and 30’s. With technology advancing so much during the first world war and the postwar revitalisation programs in Austria and Germany led to the first Gondolas which along with ski lifts changed the face of skiing forever and was then called ‘skifahren’ ski riding.

Before lift-assisted skiing, the masses earned their turns by attaching skins to their skis for traction. At the time mammal skins were used and the cheaper option some people strapped fur twigs under their skis. The seal skin was a popular material because it fulfilled two contradictory purposes, gliding properties to go forward and to provide as much traction as possible to stop you from gliding backwards.

Skins contain three parts:

The Plush
The Backing
The Attachment

The Plush:

In these modern times in Europe we often use mohair (goat hair) daily due to tradition where as synthetic skins are used more worldwide. Synthetic skins will last longer compared to natural fibre skins. You can have a combination of both. However, mohair skins have better gliding properties in colder snow compared to the nylon skins which last longer and are better in warmer conditions.

The Backing:

The Backing is what the Plush adheres to on one side and the adhesive to on the other which is generally made of nylon. Over there last couple of year recent technology has produced vacum base skins which don’t use adhesive.

The Attachments:

For a long time a leather strap around the skis was used to secure the skins onto the skis which caused a lot of problems on the traverse. The Swiss Army come over this problem by drilling holes in the skis and bolting the skins onto the base of the ski. Nowadays we have more elaborated tail and tip attachments which secure the skins.

Step into your next adventure and experience ski touring and the backcountry: www.freefloski.com

Junior Freeski Academy October Half Term in Tignes

Posted on June 20, 2015 by iwood.web

Do you run out of ideas of how to keep your kids entertained in the school holidays? Make this October Half Term special and sign up to the Tignes Junior Freeski Academy. FREEFLO has joined together with MountainSun holidays to present a unique package of adventure for intermediate skiers from nine to seventeen years old. The camp takes place on the Grand Motte glacier in Tignes which is one of the largest skiable glaciers in the world. Sharpen your freeski skills, learn new tricks and have fun with passionate experienced British coaches at a great price.

DON’T MISS OUT! BOOK TODAY [email protected]
For enquires about skiing email: [email protected]

FREEFLO specialises in women ski courses, private instruction, off piste skiing, ski touring within the resorts of Tignes, Val D’Isere and La Grave.

Category: activities