Name: Roddy Willis Verbier Ski Instructor
Price range: $$

When Can We Expect Snow in Verbier?

4th January 2023/in Blog/by Roddy Willis

Snow!

So far this winter, ski enthusiasts have been treated to a little bit of snow and a whole lot of rain in Verbier. As frustrating as it may be, what goes up must come down—and when it comes to winter weather in the Swiss Alps, that goes double! So, when can we expect to see some real snow start falling in Verbier? Let’s take a closer look at the forecast.

January 9th Snow Forecast

What the Forecast Says

It looks like we will finally get the snow that we’ve been waiting for soon! The current forecast for Verbier is for snow starting over the coming weekend. Temperatures are expected to gradually drop over the course of this week before dropping below zero on Saturday. This means that by next week we should start seeing some snowfall. The skiing conditions will remain good throughout the rest of January as long as temperatures stay low.

And to sum it up

Verbier has been patiently waiting for some real snowfall this winter season—and it looks like Mother Nature will finally grant us our wish soon! With temperatures dropping and forecasts predicting snow this weekend, now is an excellent time to make sure all your gear is prepped and ready for those fresh powder turns. Happy powder skiing next week.

Bluebird Powder Day December 11 2018

11th December 2018/in Blog/by Roddy Willis

Today in Verbier – Say no more….

More Wasps = More Snow | Verbier Snow Prediction for Winter 2018-19

10th October 2018/in Blog/by Roddy Willis

Is a mega winter coming to Verbier?

Verbier Snow Prediction| More Wasps = More Snow?

This summer’s high temperatures and sustained warm weather have led to a plague of wasp. At times our garden in Bruson has looked like a wasp super highway. We have been battered all summer by the pesky blighters and the local Val des Bagnes fire service has visited our house twice to remove wasp nests from our roof. Our friendly cow farming neighbour has suggested the wasps are a sign this winter is going to be super snowy and bigger than last year!

While, I don’t personally use wasp’s as part of my magic equation to predict snowfall. However, I do enjoy the folklore and love the idea of another super snowy winter in Verbier! And there has been a lot of wasps!

If you are interested in talking climate change? or just wanting some banter on a chair lift then please do book some ski lessons with me in Verbier.

Verbier Ski Piste | The Big Clean Up

25th June 2017/in Blog/by Roddy Willis

‘Come and help us clean up the mountains we all love: let’s collect all the rubbish that doesn’t belong there!’ Well that’s what the leaflet said’

It didn’t sound like the greatest of family days out, trudging around the Verbier ski pistes collecting up other’s detritus…. but our collective civic responsibility kicked-in and off we trotted to collect up soggy tissues and wot-not left on the mountain after the skiing has finished and the snow has melted. I couldn’t have gauged the day more wrongly.

We met at Medran where the organiser provided free rubber gloves, plastic rubbish bags, a free oe day lift pass, coffee & croissants for breakfast, packed lunch, an end of day BBQ, and a 1 DAY SKI PASS WINTER 2017/2018 and … one BEANIE for the first 50 inscriptions online… plus the chance of winning the rubbish sculpture and the Instagram competition #verbierrammasage.

The day was a great success with a total of over 1000 kilograms of rubbish collect from Verbiers main ski areas.

Rubbish Sculpture Competition – May the Filth be with you.

Seven teams entered the sculpture competition, everyone was looking competitive, there was 150CHF first prize to be won. With an interesting selection of creations being built: Rubbish President with the soundbite ‘Make our mountains great again’, a wigwam affair and others. My team (Me, my wife Emma and our boys Thomas 5 and Jamie nearly 2) set about building Darth Rubbish. ‘May the filth be with you’.

And the winner is Darth Rubbish, we won! ‘May the filth be with you’

#verbierrammasage Instagram competition and Facebook page

Instagram competition was a great success with some great entries and won by Kato Kim with his image ‘what a toad of rubbish’

Verbier Skiing | Snowdome

29th November 2015/in Blog/by Roddy Willis

Verbier Snowdome

Hot off the press from some of Verbier’s finest rumour mills. Apparently, ‘The Big Mound’ of dirt, down by the road on the way to the ‘Real World’ just past Le Châble, is the start of another massive secret project. To track down the truth we’ve gone back to our sources to try and find out what is happening down on the road to Vollèges.

Our kindly friend from the Fer a Cheval, who was sporting a Hawaiian shirt and rambling like Salty the sea dog said “Phase 1 they are building a ski hill with snow canons and that phase 2 of the plan is a Snowdome so we’ll be skiing 365 days a year, like the one back home in Manchester. It is going to be incredible…’. And then to totally top off his ramblings he added ‘they are also going to build a wave pool for surfers with “rollers” three meters high with a unique Bagnard surf atmosphere. It is going to be epic!”.

There could be some truth in this one as the boffins from the Swiss federal environment office have predicted that small and medium-sized glaciers in Europe will have melted entirely by 2050. And another recent study concluded that ski resorts across Europe have up to 40 less days of snow cover compared to the 1970s.

One of the dudes at No.1 Ski Rental said they had no idea about ‘The Mound’ but another said that ‘Not be to out done, Vollèges has always wanted to be a ski resorts and wants to become a year round tourist destination’ he verified his statement with ‘have you seen my tax bill’.

The Democratic Republic of Clambin (DRC) released the following statement: ‘In the era of ‘Post Truth’ it is hard to distinguish the rhetoric from the facts. The only truth we know is VERBIER IS OPEN FOR SKIING’.

Verbier Ski Lesson | Its a crisp sunny winter morning

16th October 2015/in Blog/by Roddy Willis

Its a crisp sunny winter morning

Fresh snow has fallen making the mountains all white and beautiful, a reminder of why I choose the route of eternal ski bum! The real world where ever that might be has slipped off the horizon and I am left there in my own little world of bliss – ‘Excuse me is your name Roddy’ – ‘Ah Yes’ – ‘You must be my client for the today?’ And so I jump into super instructor mode – Interesting how we can choose a response appropriate for the moment? It is also interesting to think about where we get those responses from? How did I move from a bit of day dream, wondering how great the mountains looked, to choosing what I hope is the right response for the client in front of me?

After a brief chat with my client, she tells me that she has never skied before and is really scared! Now if you jump back a sentence you’ll notice that I noticed that it is interesting where we get our emotional responses from?

Here is a person who is perfectly sound of mind, who has never skied before telling me she is scared of skiing! How has she got to this point? What is she basing her fear on? She has no previous knowledge or mental map of skiing or snow – However she has managed to find a mental map of fear and then over-laid her map of fear onto skiing?! So, it could be said we have mental maps for all our emotional responses? If this is the case do we have the power to choose our emotional responses?

You know the other day I went to a café and asked for two espressos – Which, when they arrived on the table were fantastically smooth with those lovely brown bubbles on the top. All in the world is good – I enjoyed the coffee with my companion, then I asked for the bill and paid. However the waiter had not given enough change! Well as you can imagine at this moment it is very easy to find my mental map of being cross and firm and to ask the waiter for the correct change? Can you? You see you probably have the ability to choose your emotional response in this situation?

So back to my lady is it possible for her to choose a different response and make the most of her day? If she can reach into the chart room of her mind and choose the mental map best suited to achieving the most from her skiing, which map should she choose?

Whatever your sport and level only you are in control of your emotions. It is your personal choice how you see the world and also your choice how you respond to events in the world. The key is knowing how to allow yourself to take control of your emotions.

If you need help finding your mental chart room then contact: roddy

Roddy Willis Performance Coach and Ski Instructor

Today We Found The Cure For Cabin Fever

11th March 2012/in Blog/by Roddy Willis

Backcombe Verbier – Hidden Powder Stash

Cure Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever Cure. If you have been in the Alps over the last few days and have been holed up inside sheltering form the Snowmageddon. Then you might be suffering from Cabin Fever. Symptoms include: Restlessness, irritability, paranoia, irrational frustration with everyday objects, forgetfulness, laughter, excessive sleeping and a general distrust of everyone.

Unsurprisingly, not many cases of Cabin Fever have been recorded over recent years! If current predictions for snowfall are correct, then there will be more days of no skiing. Simple, because there is too much snow. Then we should expect to see outbreaks of Cabin Fever in ski resorts across the Alps.

There are not many cures for Cabin Fever. Here are some of the ones we know about. Go outside! Research has shown that even brief interactions with nature can promote improved cognitive functioning and overall well-being. I cured myself today by going outside and skiing some lush Pow and to boot the sun appeared for two runs, see photo above. Now as I look out the window it is dumping again! And I am starting to feel a little restless.

If you have a good cure for Cabin Fever or if you just want to go outside and ski some fresh tracks let me know.

Tag Archive for: Verbier