Olivier Sebbar, the experienced free-skier

How Olivier passion for skiing was born

Olivier Sebbar, quick introduction?

I was born in the south of France, in Orange, in 1973. My parents were professors. They grew up in Algeria so you can imagine that snow wasn’t their focus for a very long time (laugh).

So how did you discover skiing?

When they came back to France (I wasn’t born yet), they discovered winter sports. They got hooked.
They lived in the South of France, not too far from Mont Ventoux, where you have a short ski season there.

Because they were teachers, they had a lot of free time over weekends and holidays. So, even though they discovered the mountains late, they had a lot of time to catch-up!

They ended up being the ones to introduce you to skiing, didn’t they?

Exactly. I started skiing very young. We were going a lot to Les Orres, for example. Even though we were living in the South, I was skiing a lot.

Around 7-8 years old, I join the ski club in Avignon as I wanted to compete. It was excellent training as it gave me some discipline, and I correctly learnt the technique.

Did you do anything else in the mountains? What about your family?

My mother was quite adventurous. She enjoyed speleology, canyons, high-altitude mountains in the alps. You need to imagine that this was in the 80s, Goretex did not exist; it was more demanding than today with all our new modern equipment.

I have two older sisters. I believe I got more “influenced” by my parents and receive their passion for skiing and the mountains.

When did you decide to become a ski instructor?

Very early. I hadn’t finished high-school that I decided that studying wasn’t for me and I wanted to become a ski instructor, to do what I loved.

I became a ski instructor and spent a lot of time in Alpes d’Huez. I also went to a centre, in Bourg d’Oisans, near Alpes d’Huez, that train ski patrols and mountain guides. Because I felt it was quite important, I also followed a training at ENSA (French Skiing and Mountaineering National School) in Chamonix.

I worked for ten years for the French ski school (ESF)!

Discovering new horizons in New Zealand

Did you mostly stay in France?

Around the mid-90s, I got my national ski diploma. I also discovered that, in New Zealand, you could ski during our summer seasons. From 1995 to 2001, I spent six months in France and six months in New Zealand.

I was still young (23). For the first few years, I was a real ski bump. Then less (laugh).

Besides the fact that you were skiing all year long, what did you enjoy?

In France, when you train to become a ski instructor, you are told that you are the best that the French system is the best etc. The French system wants excellent skier but not necessarily skiers who are good at teaching.

I had and still have a lot of interest in education and training. For me, travelling was a revelation, an eye-opener. New Zealand attracted a lot of foreigners who were coming from all around the globe. We were a group of passionate people. We were sharing a lot of tips on how to teach.

That’s why, today, I believe that the best ski instructors are the ones who travelled.

I decided to train to become a ski instructor in New Zealand. What I discovered is that their system’s purpose is to create skiers who are good at teaching.

Did it affect your view of teaching in France?

Yes. I started working for myself, trying to combine all the different training techniques I had learnt. I developed my method in some way.

In the beginning, I was teaching standard on-piste alpine skiing. Very quickly, I also had the envy to communicate my passion for the outdoors, for the mountains, so I started teaching freeride and ski touring.

Since 2010, I have been solely teaching freeride. I’m also a snowboarder (split-board), so I have two hats.

Nice! Do you have a lot of clients who wants to go split-boarding?

Yes, more and more. In my opinion, snowboarding was a boost for freeskiing. It forced the ski industry to adopt larger skis. In some way, snowboarding was in advance. Today, it’s the contrary, ski-touring is pushing innovation in snowboarding.

Developing his vision of the mountains

Is it better to have your own freeride company?

I don’t know if it’s better. For me, it is. It opens doors. You can look for sponsors, and you are the master of your communication.

This is how, in 2008, I was able to get in touch with Black Crows. I knew one of the founders, Bruno Compagnet. I got introduced to the entire crew. Not long after, Camille Jaccoux (the other Black Crows’ founder) asked me if I wanted to become one of their ambassadors. I accepted, and I’ve been skiing Black Crows ever since.

There seems to be a spotlight on steep skiing. Is it your thing?

No, not really. I don’t do a lot of mountaineering. Above all things, for me, skiing is about sliding, doing big turns, not turning with an ice axe in your hand because you are on half rock/ half snow.

I’m ok with doing a small climb if it means we will have a long and wide descent afterwards.

You like freeriding, what’s YOUR thing?

Have you heard of the Sentinelle? It’s an “event” organised by Bruno (from Black Crows). It’s a ski-touring / mountain skiing event. It’s designed to be a journey in the mountains. We usually are 20-30 skiers and go for a 4-5 day trip in the mountains.

Every single one of them was an exceptional experience.

Olivier Sebbar, what else can you tell us?

Do you still go to New Zealand?

No, I stopped going to New Zealand a long time ago. Now, I’m married, and I have two amazing daughters.

My wife is a ski instructor too. We work together. I do the freeride bit, and she does the teaching on-piste.

What do you do during the summer now?

In 2007, my wife and I started kitesurfing a lot. We decided, in 2010 to leave, every year, to Mauritius for the entire summer.

It’s a great spot for kitesurfing. We started doing this when our kids were still very young.

How did you organise yourself? How did you do with the kids?

We had launched a business there, selling kitesurfing equipment. We also had a small cottage in Dordogne we were renting and some income from our Chalet’s rent in Alpes d’Huez.

With the kids, we register them with the national centre for distance learning. It worked exceptionally well. They also loved the fact they could ski and kitesurf a lot. We are a real family of riders!