Skiing Adventure: Verbier, Switzerland

Finally, it’s time to introduce my favorite ski resort: Verbier.

Previously, I shared four articles showcasing skiing and leisurely strolls—there are still two more to come. Plus, back home, a flurry of daily chores has been disrupting my energy and mood. That’s why the photos chosen for this article represent just one-fifth of what I originally planned. Similarly, the accompanying text will also be significantly shorter than intended. But please don’t forget the very first sentence I mentioned at the beginning: Verbier is, without a doubt, the best ski resort I’ve ever skied at.

It was already late at night by the time I arrived in Verbier—and on the way, I spotted a modified Jeep Wrangler that I really liked.

Since the decision to come was made on short notice, and the ski resort itself is already popular, plus it’s European holiday season, all the town’s hotels are fully booked—so we quickly grabbed whatever room was available.

That evening, there was only one single room available at the hotel. As soon as I walked in, wow—tiny though it was, it truly was small. And this photo pretty much summed it all up.

In the first few minutes, I thought I’d never stayed in such a tiny room before—but soon enough, I grew to love it. The basic amenities were all there, and everything was neatly organized. There was an undeniable sense of fulfillment from making the most of every available space, paired with a warm, comforting feeling of safety and coziness. It was incredibly comfortable being alone in this little haven.

Pushing open the door reveals a small street-view terrace.

I absolutely love this room—too bad I could only book it for one day. Beautiful, yet disappointing.

We arrived at the ski resort with no particular expectations, but since it was a weekend, there were especially crowded—too many people to enjoy the slopes fully. So, we casually took two quick lifts and ended up on what looked like a red-difficulty slope off the main trail.

From the scale of the photo, you can clearly see that it’s longer and wider than expected—mainly because there was no machine grooming; it had just started snowing lightly, and with quite a few skiers already out on the slopes, the surface was mostly covered with a mix of small to medium-sized mushrooms of fresh powder. Having spent the day skiing on icy terrain in Zermatt earlier, this run felt absolutely exhilarating—I hadn’t engaged in such intense physical activity for ages. As a result, I ended up stopping eight times along the way just to catch my breath and regain my energy!

There were simply too many people skiing on the first day—each cable car line required an average wait of 20 to 30 minutes. So, when I arrived at the Mont-Fort cable car station, I immediately gave up on the idea of heading to the highest peak of the ski area and turned around to head back instead.

This circular restaurant has a nice atmosphere inside.

On the very first day, I already developed a strong liking for Verbier—and here’s what I wrote to my friends:

Verbier ski resort exceeded all expectations—definitely the best ski destination we’ve visited so far in Europe! It’s huge, with vast expanses of terrain that offer seamless transitions between groomed runs and backcountry areas. The diverse, challenging terrain caters perfectly to skiers of all levels. The only downside? We happened to be there during peak European holidays, so it was packed, leading to long lines and waits everywhere. In the photos: - Figures 1 and 2 show today’s favorite runs. In Figure 2, you can spot tiny figures along the edge of the mountain—those are on the long, steep off-piste trail! - Figure 3 captures the iconic long, steep run itself. - Figures 4 (on the right) and 5 reveal massive, untouched off-piste areas—but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to fully explore them. Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

This is the ultra-wide-ranging Daowai area.

This is a long, steep snow slope—so if you fall, the sheer incline will definitely send you rolling all the way down to the very bottom, hundreds of meters below.

These next are used to describe the Yamato and its skiable areas.

The next day, we headed up Mont-Fort—great, there were fewer people than yesterday, and we didn’t have to wait long to reach the cable car station at this altitude of 3,328 meters.

The landscape above must be beautiful.

You can see that here, too, you can only slide down from the Daowai area—but I didn’t take this route.

I saw someone climbing over the railing and sliding straight down the cliff right beneath the cable car.

"Did I immediately get excited and pumped up? Of course! I’m ready to give it a shot too—here’s what it looks like from above."

Luckily, there were two Chinese friends with me, so I quickly asked them to help take a photo—just in case…

Let the challenge begin!

However, I was quickly overcome by fear—this was easily the worst skiing experience of my life! At first, I just stood there frozen for nearly 10 minutes, mustering up all the courage I could before finally daring to move, turning, and sliding downhill. Looking back at the video later, I even realized I ended up doing a classic figure-eight "plow" turn!

The relatively smooth print in the image below was created by my sideways sliding descent—but at this spot, I didn’t even dare to make a single turn!

This shared feeling instantly made me understand why mice freeze in terror when they see a cat—too scared to even run. Similarly, when humans come face-to-face with a massive, ferocious beast, we’re so overwhelmed by fear that we lose all strength to fight back. After all, standing on the edge of an incredibly steep cliff, staring down at the jagged rocks below, I felt my legs go weak and my body completely paralyzed with fear!

After tackling the two most challenging sections at the very top, the rest felt a lot smoother—almost too easy. Though I didn’t fall once during the entire run, the frustratingly sluggish glide was just unbearable. So I had to come up with some excuses for myself: it was my first time, after all. Plus, with so little snow around, my feet kept hitting either rocks—or else that icy, compacted snow that had been frozen solid and already skied over by others, making the terrain significantly tougher. Hmm, next time I definitely know I’ll handle it much better.

Here are two overhead shots taken by Chinese friends from the cable car.

And the rather pathetic challenge videos, cleverly pieced together with artistic flair.

Red—that’s the route I’ve skied. Here’s what I wrote in my social media circle:

This must have been the highlight of the snow season—challenging the most thrilling off-piste run yet: incredibly steep, with hard-packed snow, jagged cliffs, and even exposed rocks. Standing there, my mind went blank, my body froze solid, my heart raced uncontrollably, and my legs felt like jelly. I was utterly paralyzed, too afraid to even move. But after gathering all the courage I could muster, I finally managed to carve out a 3-meter section right at the most perilous spot on top—and only then did I slide down. It was the first time I’d ever felt completely overwhelmed by sheer fear. In Figure 1, the red line marks the route I took. Next time, though, I’ll definitely be able to glide down it with ease!

Sliding down the rest of the trails afterward is totally effortless—just a breeze! For instance, Mont-Gele, Verbier’s second-highest cable car station at 3,023 meters above sea level, offers only one long, exhilarating yellow off-piste run. It’s absolutely thrilling!

This is the mountaintop.

This is a yellow off-piste trail. To clarify— in Verbier, ungroomed slopes are marked with yellow lines, indicating they’re outside the groomed runs. The difficulty level can vary depending on snow conditions and terrain, often falling somewhere between the red and black runs—or even exceeding the challenges of the black runs altogether.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly gentle slope in the photo, as it tends to look less steep once captured. To get a better sense of how steep it really is, take a moment to examine the proportions of the person and the angle of their stance.

The view after sliding down is also nice.

After a fun session, it's time to head back inside for a meal. How are you doing up there, friends in the sky?

On the third day, I resisted the urge to head to the cliff—and avoid any suicidal antics. After all, it’s always safer to explore high-risk areas with someone else around.

At first glance, the photo doesn’t seem like much—but actually, there’s a cliff right below. Plus, I stood there for a while and didn’t see anyone else sliding, which made me feel hesitant, so I decided not to go ahead with it.

Went down another side street.

Then today’s bonus feature: a snow wall and slope stretching hundreds of meters along the cliff edge at the mountain’s summit—a truly unique experience, almost like skiing inside a castle.

Because it was too narrow, it was difficult for the person behind to stop—so I could only pull out my phone mid-slide and snap a quick photo.

After breaking through the snow wall, we didn’t encounter any cross-country trails along the mountain—simply because there was no way to slow down effectively; the deep potholes scattered throughout could easily send anyone flying.

And then there's Daowai—my absolute favorite.

Sliding all the way down into town.

Besides capturing a few more scenic photos, I’ll also add one more sentence: Verbier is one of the Four Valleys, with three others to explore. Although I did ski in some parts of it, my estimate is that I’ve covered less than a third of the entire area at most.

This is my favorite Verbier.

And then there’s the evening glow on the horizon.