Why skiing will forever be the most glamorous sport

The Alps, 1967 (Ernst Haas/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

For over a century, skiing has been more than transportation or sport. It’s been a lifestyle, emphasis on the second syllable.

Ernest Hemingway drew a romantically colourful portrait of spending a few winters in the Austrian Alps in the early 1920s. At the end of his biographical “A Moveable Feast,” his chronicle of carefree mountain living is an aspirational vibe of downhill thrills and après chills. By day, he and his wife Hadley hiked up pre-chairlift mountains, traversing logging trails with skis strapped to their backs. By night they were in Alpine hüttes or local watering holes, indulging in beer, mulled wine, Schnapps, singing and other cozy fun.

And since the dawn of skiing-as-pastime, every devotee has known that the appeal is part downhill bliss, part après activity. They are two sides of the same piste, a ski culture embracing carefree adventure, indulgence, bonhomie and individual style.

This escapist history of ski culture is visually captured in Erin Isakov’s photography book, “Après Ski: The Scene, the Style, the Menu.” Page after page of fashion-distinctive skiers and mountain partiers, including Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Birkin, David Bowie and Hunter S. Thompson fill the archive. Hemingway, too, gets a mention — although it’s far too brief, simply noting that the author moved to Ketchum, Idaho (where he also died) to be near the first U.S. ski resort, Sun Valley.

The book is less about the best places for skiing than about the places to best be seen skiing. It points to historically choice resorts, such as Switzerland’s Verbier and Jackson Hole in America’s Wyoming, and includes recipes for throwing your own après ski fête (in other words, the fun that follows the recreational sport), including hot chocolate, an Aperol Spritz, fondue and upscale nachos. The leisurely environment is also captured: See skiers sunbathing or drinking slope side, or lounging in cabins in either activewear or comfortable, yet still stylish clothing.

Like the history of big wave surfing, skiing has evolved over generations of gear design, fashion and location hot spots (some expert only). As for the origin story of esprit de ski, at least for the rich and famous, Isakov makes the case for Switzerland’s St. Moritz in the 1860s. It then snowballed in popularity in Europe after the first World War.

The U.S. joined the trend in the 1930s and when European-stationed American soldiers returned from the Second World War with alpine skills, they helped usher in a generation of new resorts, including Colorado’s Vail and Aspen, known for their ski scene even today.

The evolution of skiwear

The largest section of the book is devoted to ski fashion, the author’s particular and familial passion. Isakov was practically baptized in powder, as her parents met at a California ski resort where they worked. She is also the co-founder of the skiwear brand Erin Snow.

We learn that women’s skiwear in the early 1900s commonly featured long, ankle-length wool skirts, but quickly gave way to the practicality of pants in the 1920s. Then came slimmer-fit, synthetic stretch fabrics after the Second World War, with fashion designers such as Emilio Pucci, magazine editors and celebrities barrelling into the trend. Over the decades the classic ski look has been complimented by Norwegian sweaters, glare-shunning sunglasses and furry boots.

The 1980s’ ski fashion stands out for its trends of neon glowing lycra pants and puffy jackets reflected in mirrored, glacier-style sunglasses. The decade rightly gets its own section in the book. The ‘80s also saw the birth of snowboarding, which would become so popular in the ‘90s it added grunge-plaid shirts, wraparound goggles and baggy pants to sartorial mountain style — an era glossed over in “Après Ski.”

Isakov believes that we’re now in a revival era of classically slim and sexy design, albeit with more technological and environmentally minded materials. And while that certainly defines Isakov’s own brand, the resort reality is more complex than that.

As with all fashion today, what you spot on the slopes and in the chalets is an anything-goes multiverse of retro and contemporary, flashy and simple. Others may be more apt to judge you on your ability to negotiate the mountain than your outfit: Better to ski well while wearing a faded jacket and jeans, than to be dressed in the latest design while taking a spill on a beginner run, many would agree.

As for the après of the title, it takes all comers as well. It’s not just a party, it’s community. It can take place in a bar, hot tub or cabin. Depending on the location, après “can be rowdy or relaxed, family friendly or far from it,” Isakov writes.

Ultimately, the ethos of après ski is to have a good time. Wear what you like but more importantly enjoy yourself. The food, the fireplace, the drink, the company, the relaxation — even non-skiers can appreciate a moveable feast of the senses, and the scene.

By David G. Allan