‘SKIING IS A WONDERFUL MOOD LIFTER!’
Nicola Davenport, 57, from Wimbledon, goes cross-country skiing in Norway
‘I’m amazed when people say I’m sporty. That’s not how I see myself. In fact, until I had young children, I didn’t do much sport at all – but I did love to ski. I’d grown up with friends who came from families who took them skiing every year. That wasn’t my experience. But I wanted to learn.
I was 21 and on a gap year abroad from university when I finally got the chance – carefully choosing to study French at the University of Toulouse, because it had its own ski club and took its students on regular trips to the Pyrenees.
I loved it so much that I’ve since been skiing every year, bar two – once, 19 years ago, because I was heavily pregnant with my second child, Celia, and once because we were in a COVID-19 lockdown.
It’s such a brilliant mood lifter that, three years ago, I joined up withWhoSki, an online marketplace for pre-loved ski-wear. We give 25% of our commission to a charity supporting mental health in teenagers who may not be lucky enough to take up this exhilarating sport.
