In January of this year, my family enjoyed a last minute trip to The Princesa Parc, a beautiful all inclusive spa hotel in Arinsal, Andorra. For anyone not so familiar with Arinsal itself, it sits within the eastern Pyrenees mountains bordered by Spain and France in the Vallnord region which is made up of Andorra, Arcalis & Pal!
Being not so well known against the likes of your Courchevels, St Antons and Verbiers, we didn’t know what to expect as a family and presumed we were off to a seemingly average and quiet resort….how wrong we were! The trip was one of the best family skiing holidays we have been on, from impressive hotel facilities complete with Spa, games arcade, generously sized bedrooms and friendly helpful hotel staff to perfect snow conditions across all three of the Vallnord ski regions for the entire week!
After a hearty dinner, most evenings were spent playing card games and making friends with locals. The fantastic waiters were on hand to help us drink the bar dry – all inclusively of course – and provide any cocktail we fancied (Pablo’s giant Gin & Tonics with a twist were the best!) It was here we learnt about what great aprés there is and just how laid back the locals are alongside visitors of the resort which really made it stand out to us being a group that like to socialise and venture out of the hotel to explore. We were introduced by the hotel staff to some fantastic bars and clubs within resort (after working hours of course), however it was in the Princesa Parc’s very own Bogart’s nightclub where we were lucky enough to meet Fidel Alonso….
A familiar face not just within the Vallnord region but well recognised globally as one of the top Media professionals in sport. From Snowboarding, Skating and Surfing to Football and Golf, you name it he does it and well for that matter!
Fidel has been lucky enough to naturally evolve his hobbies into a fantastic career taking him all over the world to some pretty amazing new places as well as regular hangouts within the skating and snowboarding world. Although I only met him for a short time towards the end of my skiing holiday (the weeks all inclusive had unfortunately crept up on me so it was bed early on that particular night!) Fidel has been kind enough to touch base via social media after our skiing holiday and being so friendly and approachable, I decided to find out a bit more about him especially for our readers…..
Hi Fidel!
Thanks for taking the time to speak to the Ski In Luxury Team
At what age did you first get into snowboarding on a professional level? Do you have a distinct memory or time in your life where you thought, okay yeah I’m going to do this for a living!
No problem at all, my pleasure! If I remember rightly I got into the Pro scene during the 2004 season, ten years ago now….How time flies! I left my professional Football career around the age of 21, making a 180º change in my life and chose to dedicate my time to snowboarding. I always kept my personal goals clear in my head from the beginning and wanted to push myself to the top. I think the clever thing I did was to find time everyday to learn other skills for the future alongside work such as studying, working on personal projects and different business ideas. Thanks to that I was able to focus all my efforts into snowboarding with total belief that I could make it one way or the other.
It appears your Summer and Winter ventures work really well alongside each other. How did you manage to tie your snowboarding career in with your other sporting passions?
Well it wasn’t easy, but I used to try to find the time to spend practicing other sports that I love such as Golf, Skateboarding, Surfing or Football throughout the year, depending on how busy the season was of course. Honestly sometimes it seemed impossible to fit it all in! But I would research the places I am visiting to see if I can do other sports and then travel with my Golf clubs in my luggage or sometimes with my Skateboard….I love sport!
What is your favourite resort and why?
Vallnord in Winter and Madrid Snowzone in Summer (and winter as well). Vallnord is located in Andorra, a strategic location between Spain and France with huge possibilities to ride freestyle and freeride. Depending on the weather, you can find better snow conditions in different places just by moving 20 mins from one side of the mountain to the other. That is the beauty of being in a big resort with different micro climates, it´s awesome! Madrid Snowzone is one of the main indoor snow domes in Europe and I can ride and train 365 days at year with good conditions and an amazing park. Also it´s located in my city so I feel very lucky.
Where are your top 3 snow parks in Europe and why?
1. Arinsal (Vallnord): the shapers (ASP) are one of the best shape companies in Europe offering a perfect park every day. Big jump lines mixed with a huge jibbing area, it´s very complete. The most important point is that it has a ski lift just for people using of the snow park, therefore can quickly help anybody get from the last module to the top of the park again!
2. Glacier 3000 (Switzerland): A nice big park for training during the pre-season (October) with unbelievable views in the glacier. There is also usually powder around to warm just before to ride the rails and jumps.
3. Schöneben (Austria): A very creative park located in the south of the Tyrol. It’s the perfect shaped freestyle park and a very relaxed area which isn’t overly touristy to disconnect my work and riding.
What is your favourite module and trick if you had to choose?
I love the smooth big jumps with a progressive kick. One of my favourite tricks is the “Method” which consists of a backside air grab.
What has been your worst sporting injury?
Uhm…I have a fair few to choose from haha! Definitely I the injury I suffered on my back during a hard fall in a competition after flying the big jump and landing many meters past it! The other was tearing the ligaments in my knee during Summer training in Deux Alps Glacier!
If you could give one tip to any park rider what would it be?
Please, wear the helmet dude! Also – for everyone – check the basic rules just before riding if you are a visitor or beginner, it´s very dangerous to have people falling awkwardly in disturbing positions and/or any other areas difficult to be seen from the top of the park line.
How do you prepare yourself for the slopes – what is your diet and exercise routine? Do other sports help you get in shape for the ski season?
I used to keep a training program with my professional coach Eduardo Serrano (Madrid) everyday not just in the mountains but also at the sports centre with many different exercises and machines. At the same time Dr. Lidia Carpio (Mallorca) specialises in professional athletes & Olympics and is the person guiding my nutrition specific program, medical control and tests.
We know you can be found in various locations throughout the year. Can you just give our readers a brief rundown of a year in the life of Fidel Alonso?
Every season is different for me but I am used to international trips like Canadá, Japan, USA alongside may other trips in Europe. My “headquarters” are Andorra and Madrid but usually I am still lucky enough to travel on special trips to unique places you won´t ever expect to visit!
Where will you be heading to catch the first of this seasons snow?
Vallnord on 1st December – I had a rest during the summer finally! Also Sierra Nevada in the South of Spain for my first event of my 2015 agenda.
From the Ski In Luxury Team, thanks Fidel it has been a pleasure! 🙂
Be sure to follow Fidel Alonso on his Snowboarding and other sporting adventures! You can catch him through his Twitter or Facebook account.
Sponsored by Quiksilver, Head Snowboards, GoPro, Vallnord, Surf3, Compex, Madrid Snowzone and Santa Ponsa Country Club.
