Being in the right job helps, says Keme and co.
If you ever wondered why Channel 4 News is the slickest and most-professional programme on the air you just have to talk to any of the presenters or Editors. Many of them ski but none more than the sports Ed, Keme Nzerem, who will no doubt be slipping away for a ski or two or three when covering Sochi Olympics.
For Keme is a true aficionado, starting at 12 on the Greenwich Council artificial slopes – one 10 metres long, the other 25 metres, rope tow, covered in oil. “It was a disaster, but I loved it. I absolutely loved it”, enthused Keme, now hooked.
“So I got a paper round and saved up for my first ski trip – to Courmayeur, a tiny resort but with easy access to phenomenal off-piste skiing, just brilliant.
“Then I got a job running lifts and ski tech-ing in Tahoe, California, so I spend a season there, and got more hooked and stayed in the States, skiing as often as I could. I remember one fabulous mountain in Southern Colorado called Silverton. Only one lift then you’ve got to hike a bit and they limit the number of riders, so it’s good fun and a great, great place.”
However Keme prefers being in Europe, where skiing is “more majestic, it’s phenomenal.”
Keme goes skiing as often as he can and gets more and more adventurous. “For my next ski trip, it is the Himalayas. I’m going to India in January.”
Keep an eye idea out for more ski stories from our top insiders!