Verbier Apres Ski Report: 2nd April 2012

The past week has been a busy one. Last weekend saw the finals of the Freeride World Tour come to town, as part of Verbier Xtreme, with all the trimmings and treats that come with it. The competition itself was, as always, an amazing spectacle for every one of the 8,500 strong crowd that gathered on Col de Gentianes. The infamous north face of the Bec des Rosses, at 3222 metres challenged some of the best riders in the world, and as it turned out, all four winners of the Xtreme also earned a high enough score to take the World Champion titles as well. Sweden dominated on the skis, with Reine Barkered coming out on top for the men and Christine Hargin taking the women’s title. For the boarders, Jonathan Charlet flew the flag for France in the men’s competition and Maria Debari was crowned champion from the USA in the women’s. In some tricky snow conditions on the day all 4 riders went bigger and better than the rest finding some incredibly adventurous, yet smooth, lines down the face.

But the Verbier Xtreme is more than just the freeride competition, as the village was bustling all weekend with live concerts spread all over town (with some even entertaining from the roof of Fer a Cheval!), plenty of expos and equipment tests, various stalls of local food specialties and pop-up bars. Some daydreaming people strolling through town got a shock as a highline was placed spanning the rue de Medran with freestyle walkers attempting to traverse across at random times. Despite being harnessed on for safety, when one slipped off it gave an entertaining fright to the any unsuspecting walkers beneath!

Later into the week on Tuesday, Pub Mont Fort hosted the annual Verbier celebration of freestyle facial hair, with Mullit playing live music as this year’s prestigious Mo March titles were judged and awarded. ‘Taches of all styles, colours and creativity were on display, with some truly impressive efforts made by many people and then everyone continued the party onto the dancefloor of Casbah until late into the night.

To celebrate the final night of the fantastic Waste playing in Apres Ski @ Farinet, the powers that be announced that they would be serving free beer from 6pm – 6:30pm on Thursday evening. Needless to say, the mention of free anything is enough to draw the crowds in a ski resort, but offer up beer for no charge and the night is going to be a hectic one. And so it was, with every inch of the floor, tables and bar being put to good use for drinking and dancing. So following Waste’s last hurrah for the season, The Buddies have stepped into their shoes and will be playing every evening from 6pm.

With the long weekend coming up, and the inevitable crowds that flock in the holiday period, it’s time for me to advise you lovely people where to head to for what we all crave when in the mountains. Cheese. And more cheese. Ideally melted. Let’s face it, along with chocolate, cow bells and folding knives, it’s something the Swiss have frankly nailed. La Caveau, just on the Place Centrale, is a great place to cheese it up with a big group of friends, and rac-lette your hair down after a long day on the mountain. Digestifs are almost an insistence from the waiters here, so (fon)do be prepared for a heavy night. Somewhere a touch more reserved is La Channe, just underneath Hotel Bristol, which is equally great to satisfy that fondue feeling but in a slightly more formal environment.

When more cheese is just not what the doctor ordered, then there is Al Capone, just on the road up to Savoleyes. One of the most talked about restaurants in Verbier – for 4 good reasons. Chicken. In. A. Basket. They also do great pizzas, meats, salads, etc, but if you head there and order anything but ‘Poulet au Panier’, I take no responsibility for the envy you will feel when the people around you have theirs delivered and you decided to ‘try something else’. I’ve seen it happen, and I’ve seen the disappointment in people’s eyes. Don’t become one of them.

Whispers are starting to be heard now around town of closing party dates and themes – so I’ll be bringing you the lowdown on all the important information as it is released. In the meantime, have yourselves a great week!