Skiing is something essential in my life. I have done it all my life – more than half a century – and I still find it the most exciting and relaxing activity I can do with my children, my wife and my friends.
While a sunny day with deep powder day is unbeatable it is also the activities around skiing that are wonderful – the beautiful mountains, the eating (and drinking), the sense of achievement and physical exhaustion you experience at the end of a good day’s climbing and skiing, and the evenings in good company.
I also remember skiing in Switzerland in the early 70’ies with my parents and attending (a freezing) ski school. It was also there that I managed to convince my father to buy me my first pair of ski boots and skis (I still have the red Raichle ski boots). Up through my childhood we went skiing mostly in Switzerland as my father went there to buy watches for his shops in Denmark.
In the early 90’ies I was properly introduced to off piste skiing. The feeling of adventure and freedom venturing off the path was extraordinary and brought a whole new perspective on skiing and mountains. It obviously also required a whole new set of skills and equipment, as well as risks – avalanches, cliffs, bad weather, crevasses, frostbite, etc.
Apart from Alps some of the most memorable skiing has been in Eastern Turkey and north of the Arctic circle in Sweden/Norway – and of course heliskiing in Canada which partly inspired us to start Linde Werdelin.
It was in Canada where I had to leave my watch in an unlockable room while wearing my Suunto to count feet skied – we paid per feet for the heliskiing, so it was quite nice to know exactly how much you have skied/spent.
When I returned from Canada, I discussed this idea with Morten who at the same time was making a sailing watch for Danish jewellery Georg Jensen, where you could change the outer case. The idea of attachable instruments was born. We created LW out of our combined interest in skiing and watchmaking and it remains the same today.
– Jorn Werdelin