Jessica is a liftie – in Britain. She’s proud to work at Nevis Range, one of Scotland’s four remaining resorts, and this season (lasting from February through April) got in about five days a week on our very own powder, hardpack and heather. Having never ridden outside Scotland before, she had planned a summer trip to the Alps with some friends – aiming to get at least a few days on snow between now and next season. The friends cancelled, Jessica typed in “girls’ freestyle camps”, and voila – she’s at Our Camp. Actually, that makes it sound a bit too easy: Jessica’s travel plans included a night bus from Scotland to Stansted, which first broke down and then abandoned her in Birmingham when she went to make a call to check on her flight. She rolled into 2 Alpes a day late, weary but determined…

“I can panic a lot about meeting new people, but when I arrived yesterday afternoon I found it really welcoming; everyone seemed really calm, despite the typical Scottish weather that they’d had up the hill. Fortunately the weather today was amazing, really hot and sunny. I only started riding in the park this year, but because I was in a group of girls I didn’t mind giving new stuff a go; at home the guys are always going huge, so unless I ride with the one other girl at our hill I find that I don’t really push myself. Today landed my first backside 180, which I surprisingly found easier than a frontside one. Gilly was telling us to just give it a go and everyone was going down the slope trying new things together – it was a really good environment to learn in.

“This afternoon we went down to the fake lake. Gilly and Sara walked in and somehow made it look like it wasn’t cold, so me and Claire walked in and it was freezing! Then we did some yoga on the grass by the lake, surrounded by the mountains. I’ve wanted to try yoga for quite a while and it really felt like it was stretching out my muscles – so that will give me something to get started with now.

“Tomorrow I want to learn some tricks on the rails. Hardly any girls enter the Highlander Comp at Nevis Range, and there are some good prizes on offer, so I’m going to build up my confidence this week to give it a go. I do miss my little boy, especially seeing the other kids out here – but it’s also quite nice being able to relax. He’ll have a go at snowboarding in the next couple of years but I won’t force him to do anything. I don’t care what he does – skiing, even blading – so long as he comes up the hill so that I can get to ride!”