Winram’s Winter Wonderland
Swiss Alpine Mountains, December 23, 2010 | January 16, 2011
As winter training goes, freedivers who are in the Northern part of the Northern hemisphere during the December/January holidays are stuck to training in swimming pools.
That is until they discover there is another world of possibilities outthere.
While ski touring takes 3 liters of sweat, 3 hours of climbing at a pace of 300 meters of ascent per hour, you discover snow-covered nature is very quiet. A real change from the city’s hustle and bustle.
On a sunny winter day, the summit reveals the horizon spanning 360°.
When William got the cravings for some carving, he doned his Pure Boarding snowboard and off he went to kiss the slopes.
During his three-week stay in the mountains, William was training for the upcoming freediving season using a sled of a different ilk. Instead of the underwater steel sled, it’s made of wood and has been used for centuries. It’s fast (over 40 km/h on some stretches), it’s fun, and the best part about it is, just before you take off on the sled, you can stuff your face with a chocolat viennois, heisser Schoggi, hot chocolate with whipped cream, what have you, anything and everything. This is in direct contrast to the fact that a breath-hold diver generally does not eat at all just prior to diving. Career change anyone? When are the next selection for the Wood Sled World Championships?
A huge thank you to the whole team at Passe Montagne Les Diablerets for their generous loan of ski touring equipment.