A Day in the Life of a Glacier Skier

When we lose sight of winter most of us flock out of the mountains and go in search of summer ventures in tropical places. Well, Charlie Drummond spends his time on a glacier - AKA the summer ski beach.

Where is your go-to glacier?

"My go-to glacier is the Grand Motte which is the one above Tignes in the Tarentaise Valley."

What is the best part of glacier skiing?

"The best part about glacier skiing is definitely the sun. It's like going on a beach holiday with all your friends, but instead of going for a dip in the sea you’re hitting a 50-foot kicker."

What is your most ridiculous memory from your local ski beach?

"One of my friends decided to send a naked lawn dart front-flip off the big kicker. Sounds like fun right? Well, people tend to ski a lot faster naked than they do with all their kit on. So this resulted in him overshooting the landing and instantly imploding. He ended up with snow-burn on sunburn in some rather sensitive areas…"

What would be your go-to trick if it was your first run of the day?

"Switch misty 9 mute or a big old front-flip."

What's a standard day for you up on the glacier for you?

"I'm usually at the bottom of the glacier around 8:30, I have a quick warm up and stretch in the early morning sun, put on some sun cream and then its shred time from about 9 until 12:30. Then I hop on the funicular back down to Val Claret where I usually get the best bagel sandwich of all time at the Planks store for lunch, then I shred the pump track for an hour or so before going for a quick dip in the lake and heading back home at around 3:30."


PLANKS CLOTHING & COFFEE TIGNES

Planks Clothing & Coffee - Tignes is officially open for the summer. If you're in town for the summer shenanigans, don't forget to swing by and say hi, enjoy a coffee, eat a pie or glug a beer.

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How would you convince someone to come glacier skiing for the first time?

"I would probably tell them all about a standard day as a glacier skier (leaving out the part about the 6:30 am start) and if that still wasn’t enough to convince them - I would repeat the part about the BEST BAGEL SANDWICH EVER! If skiing isn’t enough to convince people, food usually does the trick."

What is your clothing of choice for the glacier?

"I usually wear a fall-line base layer to go under my back protector, then a long sleeved T-shirt, with either a crew or a parkside riding hood that I take off once it's heated up a bit. Finally, I always have my Happy Days Pullover Jacket in my bag, because the conditions can change pretty quickly especially at over 3500 metres of altitude."

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