Interview with Chemmy Alcott: Managing Pain with Swiss Mountain Rescue

Let’s start at the beginning. As an Olympian, you had a horrific crash that nearly ended your career and left you in crippling pain. What happened?

In 2010 I had the worst crash of my career. I was in the form of my life, ready to compete at the World Cup Downhill in Lake Louise. But in my last training run I crashed and double compound fractured my right leg. The bones broke through my ski boot plastic. You know it’s serious when you’re hanging on a rope under a helicopter. I don’t remember the crash. Or the pain. When I give talks, play back the footage and hear myself screaming gutturally like a wild animal it’s like I’m looking at someone else.

Didn’t you break your leg again… and again? And bounce back to compete at Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics?

The thing is that I didn’t really bounce back. I broke my leg a further three times and had another near career-ending crash in August 2013, six months before Sochi. I had incredible surgery but at the time I thought I’d never be able to ski again. After that, the pain was intense. I started pill popping. Masking it. What was different this time, to other injuries, was that I couldn’t beat the pain. Because this break was at the front of my boot it meant I that I had to push pressure on it to ski, so the only way through was painkillers and nerve blockers. At that time there was no alternative. I knew that it wasn’t healthy. But it was the only way that I could get to the start gate. I was an athlete. I wanted to win.

Did you look into alternative pain management?

Yes, but all the alternative pain therapies – such as CBD, which was just entering the sports market at the time and that I knew had amazing anti-inflammatory recovery effects – weren’t supported by the sport’s governing body. CBD was too young a product to be allowed so, although I knew that it was a possible solution, I couldn’t take it. Instead, it became about managing the pain. I had to, to succeed. As much as I tried to change my mindset around it, I couldn’t sleep for the throbbing. I don’t drink alcohol but eventually my coaches gave me nightly doses of red wine, which worked. Until I got to Sochi. Alcohol was banned. People had to smuggle it in for me. After retiring I wanted to find a solution to live and ski pain-free. And I did. Finally. After 10-years.

What was your secret to finally living pain-free – and seeing the niche for Swiss Mountain Rescue?

When I got the job skiing and presenting for BBC Ski Sunday during Covid, I had eight-weeks away from life, my family, my kids, solo-bubbling on my own. I thought, “How can I spin this into a positive?” Then I realised that this is my time to heal. Finally. I decided to do yoga every day and take CBD to live pain-free, once and for all. It became my ‘pain-free mission’.  I thought it would take a long time to get on top of the pain in my leg. I took CBD habitually, morning and evening, in droplets under my tongue. Very quickly my body started to heal and repair itself. I still got swelling in my right shin in the morning, where my boot rubbed on the break. But the inflammation went down far more quickly than I could ever have imagined. It took 10 days. It was that simple. I realised that I was onto something. Swiss Mountain Rescue was born of that. It became my mission to help educate other people about pain management, performance and being the best athlete that you can be, to live and ski pain-free. That’s when I first realised the niche for Swiss Mountain Rescue. No products like the CBD muscle-cream existed in the ski market at the time.

What’s the story behind Swiss Mountain Rescue and what’s it trying to do?

Well, then I started becoming quite vocal about teaching people that we don’t have to live in pain. Because my crashes and injuries had been well publicly documented over my career people would always be contacting me about their injuries, asking how they could manage them and how to overcome them. Then I met Ed (Edward Hamilton-Hill, Swiss Mountain Rescue co-founder) who loves his skiing and wanted to plug the gap in the ski performance wellness market too .We looked at problems and solutions: to help people minimise pain (injuries, accidents, hangovers, dehydration) and maximise the joys of a ski holiday (to ski better, longer, party harder). Three years on, we’re launching it in early 2025.

Tell us more: what are the products and who are they aimed at?

Our strapline is: “Live Unlimited”. Our products are aimed at skiers aged 30-55+. We’ve created the ultimate Performance Pack to get you on your A-game, focused on injury prevention and cure. We’ve created an eco-system of products to help people perform at their best. It all starts with how you feel. We’ve got an amazing range, including Rapid Recovery Electrolytes (great to crack hangovers and dehydration – which can be key causes of accidents), energy gels, Slope Off sleep gummies and our CBD+CBDA Muscle Rescue Cream – which has tested better than most pain relief medications. And more to come.

Why is all this important?

How you feel can make or break your holiday. How we look after ourselves is down to us. We really want to broaden people’s health on CBD too. It is the most amazing product to help you get your best out of every day. It’s about health benefits. The anti-inflammatory. It’s performance bettering. It’s so effective. So many people live in chronic pain that it’s a barrier to skiing. I did for so long that it was everyday reality. I don’t know how I’d manage charging at this crazy life as a mum and BBC Ski Sunday presenter if I still lived in pain. Living pain-free has been massive for me. We want to share that. And to change people’s habits. If I can teach one thing, it’s to find a solution. There are products out there. Try them.

Do you have a go-to Swiss Mountain Rescue product?

The CBD ‘muscle rescue’ pain relief cream. Definitely. It’s incredibly effective. I’ve used hundreds of products, this really works. Like CBD drops under my tongue, I use it mornings and evenings. Many people have a barrier with ingestible CBD, so we made a cream. I use both. You can be quite frugal with it, to isolate it to the pain. I use it on my shin. Or rub it into my muscles. Many are sticky and gel-like, ours is smooth and absorbent. Honestly, it’s a wonder product.

Favourite moment of the season so far?

Yesterday! In Les Carroz. I hit an airbag for the first time after my boys heckled me into it. I followed my 6-year-old, who had sent it five times. I was terrified but I did it! For me, it’s important that my kids see my fear – and know that you can feel it and overcome it.

Lastly, goal for the next five years?

Our goal with Swiss Mountain Rescue is to help reduce injuries, enhance performance and elevate enjoyment. Ski holidays are expensive. We want to help you maximise them. And my goal is to ski Japan with our boys for my 50^th – they love everything Japanese: the culture, the sushi, the powder. It’s still a few years off but my goal is to stay injury-free and pain-free.