For the past several decades Wayne Imber has been an avid skier. Skiing downhill, with the wind rushing in his face as the mountain setting affords him an exhilarating experience like no other. While time pressures do not always provide the luxury of traveling across the ocean to the world famous Alps, Wayne Imber still makes it a point to ski every year, often in Colorado or California.

His travel experiences outside the country are among the most memorable. Every time he has the opportunity to travel, he enjoys every minute by seeing the sights, exploring nature’s marvelous wonders, and meeting locals along with other travelers. In this post, Wayne Imber shares his experiences visiting one of France’s skiing gems, the Courchevel 1850 ski resort.

Courchevel

Courchevel is one of the most popular ski destinations in the world. It’s located in the French Alps, and is comprised of several ski villages: Courchevel 1300, Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650, and Courchevel 1850. Wayne Imber decided to visit Courchevel 1850 as the most popular and challenging of the various Courchevel resorts.

Courchevel 1850 is an exclusive ski resort that is frequented by high-profile personalities and celebrities, from England’s favorite royal couple Prince William and Duchess Kate, to power couple David and Victoria Beckham, and other well-loved royalties like the King of Morocco and the royal family of Saudi.

For Wayne Imber however, it’s not the celebrity status that inspired him to visit Courchevel 1850; it’s the challenge of skiing down the majestic black diamond slopes, and enjoying the French alpine resort town.

In his own words, he shares:

“We experienced the beauty and splendor of the magnificent French Alps in all their glory, challenging mother nature in conquering the many terrains offered at Courchevel 1850.”

Courchevel is part of the Three Valleys, the world’s biggest linked ski area. With an elevation of approximately 6,000 feet above sea level, Courchevel 1850 provides a ski-in ski-out access to each valley’s resorts. 600 kilometers of slope define this is a skier’s slice of paradise.

The 130-km stretch of cross-country skiing is also of interest to those who choose that route, full of scenic trails and great for conditioning. Although Wayne Imber’s preference is the downhill slopes.”

During the time of his visit, much of the mountain was fogged-in for a several day period, but as mentioned, he’s not one to back down from challenges and so, he and his group continued to ski…and what an experience it proved to be!

During their first time on these slopes, they were only able to see a few feet in front of them, which meant an exhilarating package of surprises. Fortunately, the resort designers anticipated these conditions, and marked the edge of the slopes with orange poles, visible as they are approached, even in the fog. As they signal a steep descent beyond, this extreme kind of exploration proved to be an exhilarating one!

Wayne Imber managed to visit two of the three valleys, spending most of his ski time exploring the scenic slopes of Courchevel and Meribel.

Do you love to ski, too? Where have you gone skiing so far? Please feel free to share your skiing experiences with us here! You may leave Wayne Imber a message through this site, at your convenience.