Sir Andy Murray had to be rescued from the Swiss Alps after being left stranded on the slopes in an embarrassing first attempt at skiing.
Having retired last year from tennis, Murray, 37, had expressed excitement at joining a family ski holiday for the first time without fear of getting injured.
However, he came unstuck on the very first day of his trip while attempting to take on a three kilometre downhill slope in fading light after the lifts had closed.
Appearing on Sir Chris Hoy’s Sporting Misadventures podcast, he revealed his embarrassment as rescue services then had to come to his aid.
“I had to get rescued on one of those Ski-Doos,” he explained. “The rescue team were snapping because usually it’s drunk British people at the end of the day that have got stuck up the mountain and that’s not really their job to rescue them.
“They are there to help people who have hurt themselves and are injured rather than just some idiot that thought they could get down the slope late in the day...That was a bit embarrassing.”
After getting on skis for the first time, Murray said it was “pretty scary when you are picking up speed and you don’t know how to stop.”
Credit: Andy Murray/X
Explaining how “I got stuck up the mountain at the end of the first day”, he added: “We were on a beginner’s slope and my brother-in-law and I decided to go a little bit further. I can’t ski and I don’t know how to stop at this stage. The ski lift was shut and the guy said, ‘The only way to get down now is by going down the mountain.’ We asked him how far it was and he said it was about 3km to the bottom. I had no idea how to stop so I went for about 500 metres and I thought, ‘If I try to turn I’m going off the side here.’
“I was basically just going straight down the mountain. I went past my brother-in-law and I was shouting, ‘I’m in trouble here, I don’t know how to stop.’ It is pretty scary when you are picking up speed and you don’t know how to stop. I threw myself on the ground and started trying to go down on my arse which I couldn’t really do.”
Despite the mishap, Murray plans to go skiing again later this year with his wife Kim and their four children. The three-time Grand Slam champion retired at the Paris Olympics last summer and had a stint coaching Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open last month.
