007 MAGAZINE | BLOODY SNOW!

Then all of a sudden, what for me was to become something of a defining moment and the biggest personal thrill ski-wise loomed; we had reached a point that involved partially skiing on to the red run before turning sharply left back on to the blue run. Nick had already skied off whilst I was preparing myself for this manoeuvre. Then with my heart racing, as I imagined myself hurtling straight down the red run unable to stop, I set off, gathered speed quickly, turned beautifully, took off slightly going over a small mound of snow, landed expertly and shot away in hot pursuit of Nick all in what seemed one relaxed fluid motion!

Bond girl Tracy played by Diana Rigg

Once having completed the run we of course had to do it again and again. Thereafter, I was determined that I would not be beaten by this sport and whatever else happened I was going to enjoy my skiing.

Once we had deposited our equipment in the basement store it was up in the lift, checking out what was on the hotel’s menu for that evening’s meal, and return to our room for a hot shower and a rest watching TV, before going down to dinner.

Tuesday morning after breakfast one of the women staying at the hotel who was also in our class showed us a shortcut, but this still involved walking up a steep winding pathway towards the school. Her husband and daughter, who were both expert skiers themselves, persuaded us to put our skis on when we reached the top and ski the rest of the way through the village to the school. This became another confidence booster for Nick, who didn’t really need it and for me, who did, as you had also to be aware of the pedestrians. Our group had very quickly begun to gel nicely and encouraging comments were made about our arrival to the lesson on skis.

Andy, who had a good sense of humour however, suggested to me that I try to avoid the tree today as well as attempting to run him down by not stopping! Also, on a more disquieting note he thought that perhaps my skis were too long, something he felt was the cause of some of my problems the previous day. He said he would of course be watching me carefully today and if this proved to be the case advised me to go back to the ski hire shop and get them changed.

That morning we concentrated on turning both left and right, which I was still struggling with, and Andy was now convinced the skis were too big for me. He was also very surprised when I told him I had been up and down the Allmendhubel on them after yesterday’s lesson. In the meantime Nick was coming on in leaps and bounds having by now mastered all that was being taught. Before the morning session was over we had moved up via the drag lift to the top of the nursery slope. Still my skis wanted to do their own thing, but I was at least able to ski down without fear, particularly after yesterday, and then snow plough to a perfect stop.

Tracy captured by SPECTRE guards/Nick Bryant on the slopes

However, there was an incident on my first descent when I did lose control somewhat and found myself heading straight for the school building with Andy shouting frantically, “Fred snow plough, Fred snow plough”!! before finally losing my balance and crashing onto my back in a heap of snow and banging the back of my head on the ice! Shortly after this incident Andy confirmed I had to change my skis as they were definitely the wrong size.

When the lesson was over I went straight to the hire shop and without any fuss managed to get my skis changed for more suitable ones. We then decided to go back to the hotel for lunch before trying out my new skis on the Allmendhuebel. Over a light lunch on the hotel’s terrace with a brilliant blue sky and bright sunshine we watched as the occasional para-glider came down from the highest peaks, flying close by us overhead, before circling further downwards until the were just small specks in the distance. Then fortified by the hotel’s speciality coffee laced with schnapps we set off to try out my new skis on the afternoon slopes.

Whether it was psychological or just having at last got the right skis I felt even more confident about my skiing. However, I still had to master my turns, which I was not so confident about. That afternoon we also staged a couple of photos with me recreating George Lazenby’s near fatal descent over a mountain escaping from Piz Gloria and Blofeld’s men.

The first part of the lesson on Wednesday concentrated again on our slalom techniques, but now descending from the very top of the nursery slope. Although I now had the proper skis at last I still found difficulty in keeping to the correct rhythm before turning and heading down the slope. I was now cursing the two previous mornings wasted attempting to do something without the right equipment!!! This was also to be the first day we would all be going up the Allmendhubel to ski down as a class.

007 MAGAZINE On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 76-page special publication

Originally published as two separate 36-page issues in the 007 MAGAZINE ARCHIVE FILES series in 2010, (and out of print and unavailable since 2011) this latest edition features both complete issues together in one publication with a new cover and inside front and back covers. Purchase now!