Nice and kneesy does it skiing on the French Alps

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Colin Nicholson10 April 2012

"Bend ze knees," is what every French ski instructor will tell you. However, a week of bending ze knees can prove tiring, especially if you only ski once a year. Which is why British inventor Owen Eastwood came up with the Ski Mojo.

It means that the Mojo's main market of 45-plus skiers can keep going after lunchtime and may still be able to manage a few après-ski moves in the evening.

Fair enough, I thought, but surely the Mojo was for inexperienced skiers only and would cause me to forget the little bit of technique I
had learnt?

Not so, the Mojo's founders told me, saying that while most of its customers were intermediate skiers, it would actually improve my technique on black runs and off-piste.

I was unconvinced, so I travelled to the French resort of Val d'Isère on Eurostar with tour operator Crystal Finest to try it out with a qualified instructor to see who was right.

For the first couple of minutes the Mojo feels weird but soon you get used to the way it powers you through big turns on the gentler runs.

So I was soon ready to give it a go on the magnificent off-piste Vallon de la Sachette route, a quick hike from the landmark Aiguille Percée peak.

The first challenge we faced was deep powder and my instructor, Anthony, did notice that I seemed more nervous and tentative when I switched the Mojo on, which I did by way of two buttons under my ski trousers.

But when I followed his guidance, getting a nice, even rhythm as I bounced down the steep walls of the gully, he couldn't even tell when I had it on or off, while I began to enjoy the way it smoothed out my turns.

Sceptics will also find that this season's new model has removed a huge amount of the palaver involved in putting it on, which was a problem with early prototypes.

And putting the pistons by the calves gets over the "does-my-bum-look-big-in-this?" fears that some female users expressed.

I had no such worries. Amazingly, for one of the most popular ski areas in the world, our route was deserted as the valley funnelled us towards the plain far below. The trick to this route is to find the right turn that leads you back to the piste, which is where a guide or instructor such as Anthony comes in handy.

And even when he was taking us over tricky patches through the trees, I found that the Mojo probably improved my technique, if anything, by pushing my hips forward.

Back on the steep, mogul-covered black Sache run - one of the gnarliest bits of the descent - where I had been sure that the Mojo would slow down my reflexes terribly, I felt confident enough to ski with it switched on. In a nutshell, we concluded that most of my issues using the Mojo were in my head.

And I was still in a position to "bend ze knees" when it came to throwing a few shapes at the après-ski bar after a few vins chauds.

The Ski Mojo Mark II - new this year - costs £325 including p&p, skiallday.co.uk

DETAILS

Val d'isère

Crystal Finest has a week's half board, including all drinks, at Chalet Reuben from £949 pp, including train on Friday night or Sat morning, with free carriage of skis, crystalfinest.co.uk

Eurostar from St Pancras to Bourg St Maurice, where Crystal Finest has transfers to Val d'Isere. Retruns from £149. There are also coaches for independent travellers (Altibus: +33 4 79 68 32 96).

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