Strathpeffer skiing legend Ali Ross finally gets hands on MBE as he looks back on turning point that changed his life
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AN 80-year-old skiing instructor dubbed the "guru of modern skiing" has finally been presented with his MBE in an investiture ceremony at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.
Ross-shire man Ali Ross was awarded the accolade in the 2020 New Year Honours List for services to skiing but due to the coronavirus pandemic had to wait two years for the presentation by Princess Anne.
Mr Ross, who lives with his wife, Moria, at Heights of Achterneed, near Strathpeffer, is highly regarded within the skiing community for his contribution to the technical advancement of the sport and its teaching to a wider skiing public.
His many credentials include co-writing – with the then Sunday Times journalist Harry Evans – We Learned To Ski, a companion book to the first Channel 4 TV series of the same name, broadcast in 1984 featuring him teaching beginner, intermediate and advanced groups.
He and his wife subsequently founded the Ali Ross Skiing Clinics and he still continues to teach classes every winter in France while spending the summer months enjoying pursuits such as walking, sailing and cycling from his home at the family croft where his love for skiing was first kindled as a youngster.
He explained that debmobbed soldiers who had skied while serving during World War II would sometimes pass the croft while heading up to ski on Ben Wyvis.
"One night, a very stormy night, we got a knock on the door," Mr Ross recalled. "A chap had arrived with skis and a tent and all kind of kit and asking to shelter from the storm.
"When I was attending to the cattle, I couldn't take my eyes off these beautiful skis in our barn. I really was impressed.
"I have a lasting picture in my mind and that probably started my initial enthusiasm for skiing."
Whenever there was snow, he would venture out with other members of the Highland Ski Club on to local hills – and even Strathpeffer Golf Course.
He started his ski teaching career in 1963 in the Cairngorms with Ski School D’Ecosse in Aviemore and soon progressed through the British Association of Ski Instructors' system to become a trainer of aspiring teachers and young racers.
In the mid 1970s, he joined the Swiss Ski School in Wengen – a first for a foreigner – where he was to remain for 12 years, during which time he also trained racers both in Switzerland and in France.
He later founded Ali Ross Skiing Clinics, breaking the mould as a system independent of national ski schools.
His ideas about technique are said to have revolutionised the performance of recreational skiers, proving that technical excellence is within the reach of anyone who aspires to make real improvement in their skiing.
He is still going strong at the age of 80 while his clients are of all ages including skiers into their 70s, or even older, and whose level of skiing remains as high as it was as in their younger days.
"They are very enthusiastic," he said. "They get themselves reasonably fit. We are talking about seriously good skiers and they push me as well."
His achievements have been recognised by several awards over the years including the Pery Medal by the Ski Club of Great Britain.
But the ultimate accolade was the MBE which was presented just days after his 80th birthday.
"It was quite a birthday present to be handed the MBE by Princess Anne!" he said.
"I was most impressed with how normal she come over rather than being all official. She was very pleasant and very chatty."
