Tom Avery on trading polar adventures for skiing in Verbier

The explorer on how frosty conditions have taken him to the furthest reaches of the world and inspired his luxury travel company

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I suppose it all started when I got a job in Verbier in 1999 as a ski guide. I'd learnt to ski in French resorts, mainly Meribel, while at school, and had organised mountaineering trips while at university to places like Morocco, the Andes, Patagonia, Tanzania and New Zealand. Then a short and unsuccessful stint trying to be a trainee accountant at Arthur Anderson led me to escape to Verbier for a season, and I totally fell in love with the place. One season became many and I'm still attached to the resort.

To be fair, ever since I was a kid I'd been fascinated by snow, ice and adventure. My mum gave me a book on Captain Scott when I was seven, and I dreamed of journeying to the South Pole. At university I'd studied Geography and Geology, learning about ice caps, glaciers and permafrost. Skiing in Verbier seemed strangely adventurous. I've always felt the place has a frontier spirit and, actually, it's true that if you journey off-piste you can find all sorts of interesting conditions. And of course, the setting for the resort is geographically stunning – you have this south-facing plateau that drops away, and the big mountains are your vista.

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