Why you need a holiday to recover from your snow holiday

there’s nothing relaxing about a ski or snowboard trip.

Ugh. Monosyllables is about all I can do right now. My body feels like it has been picked up and thrown against a semi trailer travelling at mach speed. It hasn’t, it has just gone skiing.

It started well, raw nuts and bottle of water for the drive to the snow and a bag filled with supplements to keep me on track. Nine days later and the car is filled with empty coffee cups, chocolate wrappers and the supplements remain in the bag.

The combination of schlepping mega loads of ski and snowboard gear from the car to accommodations in three different resorts, copious dinners filled with wine to ward off the cabin fever of being stuck at the snow during a rain week and then two full on days of top to bottom powder skiing. I know, I know, privileged skier problem, right?

I have always envied those glowing backcountry types with their cheeks stained by the rose hues of a wild sunset and hair washed by the fresh water of a glacial river.  They can ski for months without giving in to a mid morning latte, an afternoon lie down or an all nighter at the Keller/Farinet/Bunker.

No matter how hard I try, I always let the excitement take over and find myself begging for a lie in by day four.  It doesn’t help that I am working while on the road. I know, I know, privileged journo problem.

Adrenaline kicks in on a ski slope, trying to avoid the out of control skiers and boarders around you, negotiate the cat tracks filled with newbies and the high of hitting pillows of powder. But with every adrenaline high there comes a low so your week is filled with hormones up hormones down hormones up hormones down and the older you get the harder it gets.

The locals have got it right. Ski in the morning, do your life admin in the afternoon. But when you’ve paid big dollars for a lift pass you want to make the most of your trip, especially in a season like this one.

There’s still time for me to get it right. The season is far from over, or so I hope.

The tip is to prepare ahead, take home made snacks you know the ingredients of, ski with a camel pack, snack lots, eat protein, avoid sugar, substitute coffee with tea and ban the booze. The trick is to keep the fatigue at bay, when you’re tired it is easier to reach for sugar, caffeine and other substances that will just knacker you out by the end of the trip.

This means coming in when you’ve had enough, not taking that extra run because it’s there. Besides, you’re more likely to injure yourself when you’re fatigued. It also means getting a good night’s sleep, relaxing in a hot tub/sauna/steam and massage to release the lactic acid toxins built up from skiing and riding.

For many a skiing and boarding holiday comes with an association like caffeine and sugar foods, booze and cigarettes, hangovers and ice cream. If your association is health and wellness then good for you but if, like me, it is with socialising and all that comes with it then you may as well book a second week at a health retreat or an island beach to recover from the week before.

What do you do to say well and healthy while on the snow road?